Yogi Bear, Sunday, February 1962

Ah, you’ve got to love it when Gene Hazelton (or whoever) manages to work in a reference to Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera in the Yogi Bear Sunday comic (Saturday in Canada). In fact, we learn that Ranger Smith’s name is “Bill.” Apparently, it’s supposed to be John, though I don’t remember him actually ever having a first name in the original Yogi cartoons

We learn, as well, that Ranger Smith and his wife have a son. He’s named Randolph. He may be a baby, but he has the Hanna-Barbera 5 O’clock Shadow.

The scans of these cartoons are odd because the top row is taken from one paper and the bottom two from another paper. The top is overexposed and the bottoms are underexposed.



February 4 features a nice-looking horse and another (Hazelton?) cute kid. And a bear in chaps.



The February 11 comic introduces Big Mouth Benny. I’m not familiar with the strip so I don’t know if this is a one-shot. Apparently, Boo Boo isn’t living with Yogi this week. Someone should be shot for the end gag.



Joe and Bill make their appearance on February 18; “Bill” being Ranger Smith. And there are forest animals, too, the ones you almost never saw in animated cartoons because it’d cost too much to draw them all.



And here’s the Smith family on February 25. Cute toy bear, cute little-nosed wife, the kid gets his genes from the father’s side. And why is the ranger wearing his uniform going out to dinner with his wife? Is it at some ranger’s mess hall?

As usual, you can click on the comics to enlarge them.