Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Reading Room: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER "Rudolph's Swelled Head" Part 3

Before we recap, here's a kool game (that actually presages several events to come...)
As preparations for Christmas proceed, two children, Jack and Judy, make their way to Santa's Workshop.
But their innocent visit has unintended consequences:
Rudolph develops an inflated ego as a result of the kids' mention of his world-wide fame.
Proclaiming he's "too important" to do mundane things like chores, Rudolph alienates everyone around him with an arrogant, self-important attitude.
Santa grounds Rudolph from his usual Christmas Eve run, and the petulant reindeer responds by running away from home, barely escaping from both a wolf and bear.
When Rudolph hears what he thinks is a lion's roar, the young reindeer believes he's doomed...
On that philosophical note, we'll take our leave.
To be continued...
Written by Sy Reit and illustrated by Rube Grossman, this 1950 annual was the first of a series that ran until 1963.
The concept was revived in the tabloid-sized "Treasury" (10" x 14") format in 1972 and was published annually (except in '75 and '77) until 1978.
(Both DC and Marvel experimented in the 1970s with the over-sized format.
They were much bigger than normal comics with cardstock covers, though the interior pages were printed on the usual comic book paper stock.)
The series was a more-or-less sequel to the original story (which we presented HERE.) and song.
(The animated TV special that tells a totally-different version of the tale didn't appear until 1964.)
One thing you'll note is the unique idea of including activity pages as part of the story, giving us perfect chapter enders and openers in our serial presentation format.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Reading Room: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER "Rudolph's Swelled Head" Part 2

As preparations for Christmas proceed, two children, Jack and Judy, make their way to Santa's Workshop.
But their innocent visit will have unintended consequences...
To be continued...
Written by Sy Reit and illustrated by Rube Grossman, this 1950 annual was the first of a series that ran until 1963.
The concept was revived in the tabloid-sized "Treasury" (10" x 14") format in 1972 and was published annually (except in '75 and '77) until 1978.
(Both DC and Marvel experimented in the 1970s with the over-sized format.
They were much bigger than normal comics with cardstock covers, though the interior pages were printed on the usual comic book paper stock.)
The series was a more-or-less sequel to the original story (which we presented HERE.) and song.
(The animated TV special that tells a totally-different version of the tale didn't appear until 1964.)
One thing you'll note is the unique idea of including activity pages as part of the story, giving us perfect chapter enders and openers in our serial presentation format.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Reading Room: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER "Rudolph's Swelled Head" Part 1

Despite his immense popularity in the '40s, Rudolph didn't appear in a comic until 1950...
...when he finally received the first in a series of annual comic books from DC Comics!
To be continued...
Written by Sy Reit and illustrated by Rube Grossman, this 1950 annual was the first of a series that ran until 1963.
The concept was revived in the tabloid-sized "Treasury" (10" x 14") format in 1972 and was published annually (except in '75 and '77) until 1978.
(Both DC and Marvel experimented in the 1970s with the over-sized format.
They were much bigger than normal comics with cardstock covers, though the interior pages were printed on the usual comic book paper stock.)
The series was a more-or-less sequel to the original story (which we presented HERE.) and song.
(The animated TV special that tells a totally-different version of the tale didn't appear until 1964.)
One thing you'll note is the unique idea of including activity pages as part of the story, giving us perfect chapter enders and openers in our serial presentation format.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Design of the Week Redux: SANTA'S SURPRISE!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another (unless it does really well, like this one).
This week, for the second (and last) time,we take a look at a Santa Claus who's been naughty, not nice, in this vintage saucy 1930s comic cover!
Available on mugs, blankets, t-shirts, and many other kollectible goodies

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Reading Room: SNOW QUEEN "What Happened at the Snow Queen's Palace and What Happened Afterwards"


...the reunion of Gerda and Kay, the boy spirited away by the Snow Queen and taken to her icy palace in the Arctic!
Now, the conclusion...
THE END

Written by Gaylord Du Bois and illustrated by Lea Bing, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Fairy Tale Parade #9 (1943) is the only comic book adaptation of the Hand Christian Andersen fairy tale that serves as the (very loose) basis of the current Disney movie Frozen!

Adaptation writer Gaylord DuBois was one of the most prolfic (yet unknown) scribes in comics history with over 3,000 tales to his credit.

Artist Lea Bing was one of the few women working as a creative (instead of an editorial or production staffer) during the Golden Age.
From 1940 to 1954, she rendered several stories a year, usually adaptations of classic novels or fairy tales, with an occasional funny animal story.
Regrettably, nothing is known of her pre or post-comics career.