The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

...Twenty-two year old Teresa Wright, now appearing on Broadway in "Life With Father," says that as far as she's concerned, glamour-girl roles are OUT. "I'm an actress," she insists, "not a sweater girl." Miss Wright has a five year contract with Sam Goldwyn which allows time out for stage work, which remains her first love. She will soon be seen on screen "high up in the cast" with Bette Davis in "The Little Foxes."...

What does the original Sweater Girl think about Ms. Wright's comments:

.. (Well, well. Something New Has Been Added. Red Ryder's gonna be sore he got kicked off the front page by a monkey-man.)...

Probably a good example of what you were talking about yesterday, Lizzie, as I bet the artwork here (very hazy) is impressive in its original form. As to story, we'll have to see how it develops, but it isn't going to sit well with current views.

...[
(Scarlet really does have super powers. If you doubt it, you try to pull out hinge pins with your bare hands.)...

No kidding, you can't always move them even with pliers and a lot of leverage and I doubt she had any WD-40 with her.

... (I dunno, Bill, bold chalk stripes? You trying out for a role as a Dick Tracy villain? And meanwhile, I'm getting even more excited by this all new "KAY FIELDS -- DEATH DEALING VIGILANTE" strip. Pity she has to inherit Irwin.)...

I feel the same way. I'm enjoying revenge-driven Kay, but, oy, why schlepp Irwin along?

I caught a snippet of a pre code Tarzan and Jane taking a swim, a quite revealing scene all the more surprising
for its innovative approach as much as Jane's nudity. A real swinger swim, still chaste yet.

Pretty famous scene filmed with a body double for Ms. O'Sullivan who claimed, later in life, that she had the body double, not for modestly, but because she felt "claustrophobic" in water. I don't know, maybe? She certainly didn't need a body double physically.

... Hey, Hill -- no cracks about "Group Theatre actors." I studied acting with one, and I can guarantee I never once saw her wearing shorts. Well, OK, once. And it was in the middle of the winter. A sense-memory exercise. And yeah, OK, I'll admit the rest of the class looked about like this. That's me in the back, telling that guy I'm not gonna play the scene with him if he doesn't stop blowing smoke in my face....

While we're on the subject of recycled stories, didn't we already have a Hill one on "City Slickers in the Country" some time ago?

...
She who lives by the poisoned door bell shall perish by the poisoned door bell....

Honor amongst thieves and all that. And talk about hanging a gun loudly, my God, nothing subtle about the doorbell gadget.

...
Yeah, well, if you don't watch where you're going, Downwind, you'll be the next lesson learned....

From what I read at the time (not holding myself out as an expert), panel six and seven explain what happened to JFK Jr. and his wife.

Also, what the heck, Mosley tossed in some gratuitous cheesecake in panel six.

... Well, let's see you get out of this one....

Caniff is a master storyteller. He set this up perfectly for Sunday right down to the torpedos going toward the ship in the final panel.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have to admit, a story with Tarzan vs. Romans has a lot of potential. And Lecia, Princess of the Sea appears to be wearing an outfit inspired by the decor at a Chinese restaurant. So I am indeed intrigued to see where this is all going.

I never liked strips that didn't use balloons when I was a kid -- Tarzan, Prince Valiant, etc -- because they seemed pretentious and stilted. Our Sunday School weekly had a "Life of Jesus" feature that used a similar format, and it was pretty dry. But Tarzan's Romans are, at least better drawn than the one in that strip.

 

[Harp]

^^^My grandmother knew Johnny Weissmuller in Chicago. I wonder what she thought of this particular splice of life.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Greek dispatches tonight stated that defense lines along the Bulgarian frontier are holding strong against heavy German attacks, with Greek sources also reporting that Yugoslavia is also resisting the Nazis with success, and has captured four German tanks. But reports from Berlin claim that the Nazi push in the Balkans has "overcome enemy resistance at fortified positions," and are continuing to advance into both Yugoslavia and Greece.

It is reported today that Pope Pius XII wept at learning of the Nazi invasion of the Balkans.

Mobster and bail-jumper extraordinary Emanuel "Mendy" Weiss had his wings clipped today in Brooklyn Federal Court, with Judge Matthew T. Abbruzio fixing bail at $100,000 and setting May 4th as trial date on an old narcotics charge. Weiss was nabbed by Federal agents in Kansas City, ending a year of dubious freedom for the accused Murder-for-Money gunman who is also under indictment for the 1936 murder of Brownsville candy store operator Joseph Rosen, who was riddled with bullets just before he was due to be called as a witness by the Manhattan District Attorney's office as a racket probe witness. Weiss is believed to have committed that murder in league with Louis "Lepke" Buchhalter. Weiss is also wanted on narcotics charges in Texas. He jumped bail last year while awaiting trial on a narcotics charge in Manhattan. Authorities agreed to hold Weiss on that Federal charge, since the Rosen killing is considered a county matter.

An eleven year old Dyker Heights boy who was shot in the abdomen when a gun being displayed by a friend went off walked five blocks in search of medical aid last night, leaving a trail of blood on the sidewalk. Raymond Schacht of 8202 10th Avenue had been to see a movie with his friend John Isaacson, Jr. of 16 Gatling Place, and the two boys went to the Isaacson home after the show, where the Isaacson boy showed Schacht a .38 revolver belonging to his father. The Isaacson boy dropped the gun and it went off, firing a slug into the right side of Schacht's abdomen. Schacht remembered that his parents were visiting friends on 82nd Street, five blocks away, and the two boys walked the entire distance, and upon their arrival Schacht's father, a policeman, immediately summoned an ambulance. Young Raymond is reported to be in satisfactory condition at Norwegian Hospital, and no charges are contemplated against John Isaacson Jr.

A strike that would have shut down the United States Steel Corporation has been averted, with company management and the CIO Steel Workers Organizing Committee reaching an accord on a second extension of wage contract negotiations to April 15th. It was also agreed that the terms of the contract finally agreed upon will be made retroactive to April 1st, as demanded by the union.

The Federal Office of Production Management is prepared to "purge all Communists and Communist sympathizers" from the defense industry and from all labor unions involved in that industry. OPM Director William S. Knudson and Associate Director Sidney Hillman are reported to be personally directing the purge, which would "simplify but not eliminate" present labor conflicts.

Prominent Brooklyn hoodlum Charlie "The Bug" Workman will be extradited to New Jersey today, where he will faces charges in Newark for the 1935 slaying of gangland kingpin Arthur "Dutch Schultz" Fliegenheimer. Papers clearing the way for Workman's removal to Newark were signed Saturday night, with final preparations for his departure under way at the Raymond Street Jail this morning.

(Wonder if Mungo and Mrs. Hoyt ever connected in Havana?)

(Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before...)

A 10 year old Red Hook boy discovered that a "real bullet" displayed by a friend who had ordered it as a novelty from an advertisement in a comic magazine was in fact actually real -- when the cartridge discharged and propelled the slug into his cheek. Samuel Miller of 8 Richards Street was shown the bullet by his 10-year-old friend Philip Versage, of the same address, when the boys decided to see if the bullet "would make a loud noise." They wrapped it in newspaper, and set it on fire, and the shell did indeed make a loud noise, sending young Samuel to Long Island College Hospital, where the slug was removed from his face. He is said to be in "not serious condition"

(Remember those ads, "You Don't Have To Be Jewish To Love Levy's Rye Bread?" Well, I'm here to tell you that you also don't have to be Jewish to love matzo-ball soup.)

(Kids Today.)

(Pssst, the Congressional Seed Distribution Program ended in 1924.)

(I think the case is pretty much iron-clad that the Dodger uniform of the 1941 era is the acme of perfection in a baseball suit, but I'll also admit that the Cardinal flannels of the day are right up there.)

Mr. Leland Stanford MacPhail has committed many astounding acts and made many astounding statements since he took over the Dodger front office in 1938, but it's doubtful that any have been more astounding than his pronouncement yesterday that Van Lingle Mungo is once again in the good graces of the Flock. The tempestuous twirler had been optioned to Montreal in the wake of his adventures with Sr. Gonzalo and company down in Havana, and it was generally conceded that his days as a fixture at Ebbets Field were over. But Mr. MacPhail has decided otherwise, and it's up now to Leo Durocher to decide what will be done with Van, his rebuilt shoulder, and his reputation for the unexpected. Mr. Durocher, however, is reported to be none too pleased with the Red Headed One's edict restoring Mungo to the roster, and when queried by reporters today in Alexendria, Louisiana, Lippy would only say "I don't own the ball club. If I did, things would be different."

Also restored to full Dodgerdom was another of Leo's least favorite fellows, Babe The Blimp Phelps, whose fear of flying and sailing, combined with his other hypochondriac eccentricities, has buried him in the sub-basement of the Durocher doghouse, but the obvious need for a third catcher on the Brooklyn roster, leaves no obvious alternative than to bring back Babe. Phelps, at least, can hit effectively, which is more than can be said for Mickey Owen and Herman Franks.

With Mungo back on the roster, the question of who will be Leo's fifth starter in his projected five-man rotation is once again on the fire. Durocher seems to have just about settled on using young Ed Head in that slot, but the ever-disappointing spring performance of Luke Hamlin, who has been firing up the old Hot Potato far more often than anyone around the Dodger organization would like, leaves his spot in the rotation very much in doubt, and it's entirely possible that Leo might overcome his distaste for Mungo's high-spirited nighttime adventures and his enthusiasm for liquid refreshment long enough to give him a shot at replacing Hamlin as a regular starter.

(What, Sparky make a wrong decision? Nahhhh.)

(First thing you learn in spy school is how to do an effective body check.)

(Once again Dale Connor gives us wonderfully cinematic images. I bet she sees a lot of movies.)

(IRWIN ALSO SHOT says a tiny little agate-type line on the back page.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Somehow I just kneeeeeeeeew that ol' Gargie would make Page Four.

Something for everyone.

"A. S.?" You're not fooling anybody with phony initials, Josephine Bungle.

Use your head, stupid. An as-told-to article called "HOW I WENT FROM FAMOUS BANDLEADER TO RAILROAD BUM" would be a natural for Liberty magazine. "Reading Time 8 mins. 40 secs."

You know, if I'd had to guess what Min's favorite delicacy would be, "pickled lambs' tongues" would not be it. Nice character touch, Gus.

Oh, Burma. Who'd have ever imagined a Somerset Maugham character, lost in a comic strip?

There is no love like family love.

Somehow I don't think Chigs' personal accounts would stand up to an audit.

And as we've noted before, Mush is the only one of this whole bunch who always seems to know what's really going on...

Tick tick tick tick tick tick BOOM!

 

[LizzieMaine]

And a delightful baseball bonus from News sports cartoonist Leo O'Mealia --

Before the "Bum" became a popular cartoon icon for the Dodgers, they were commonly represented by a clown. Durocher doesn't like that. The Yankee figure is a caricature of manager Joe McCarthy, who tends to dominate any situation. And the Giant -- well, he's always shown as some variety of a big, dumb boob.

 

[Fading Fast]

Greek dispatches tonight stated that defense lines along the Bulgarian frontier are holding strong against heavy German attacks, with Greek sources also reporting that Yugoslavia is also resisting the Nazis with success, and has captured four German tanks. But reports from Berlin claim that the Nazi push in the Balkans has "overcome enemy resistance at fortified positions," and are continuing to advance into both Yugoslavia and Greece....

Old-school fake news.

...[ (I think the case is pretty much iron-clad that the Dodger uniform of the 1941 era is the acme of perfection in a baseball suit, but I'll also admit that the Cardinal flannels of the day are right up there.)...

...With Mungo back on the roster, the question of who will be Leo's fifth starter in his projected five-man rotation is once again on the fire. Durocher seems to have just about settled on using young Ed Head in that slot, but the ever-disappointing spring performance of Luke Hamlin, who has been firing up the old Hot Potato far more often than anyone around the Dodger organization would like, leaves his spot in the rotation very much in doubt, and it's entirely possible that Leo might overcome his distaste for Mungo's high-spirited nighttime adventures and his enthusiasm for liquid refreshment long enough to give him a shot at replacing Hamlin as a regular starter....

Then as now, if you have outsized talent, you can get away with a lot. The rules only apply to the rest of us.

... (First thing you learn in spy school is how to do an effective body check.)...

Something about these two reminds me of Boris and Natasha

...
(IRWIN ALSO SHOT says a tiny little agate-type line on the back page.)

Cant resist, once more Re "Secret Operative:"

... Somehow I just kneeeeeeeeew that ol' Gargie would make Page Four....

What, no pics?

... You know, if I'd had to guess what Min's favorite delicacy would be, "pickled lambs' tongues" would not be it. Nice character touch, Gus....!

Quotes added to correct editor's oversight: On his way home from "business," Andy stops at...

... Oh, Burma. Who'd have ever imagined a Somerset Maugham character, lost in a comic strip?...

Sure, good highbrow reference, but let's not kid ourselves, Burma's contemplating being the world's first cougar. Today's panel five and six were expurgated by the censor board.

....
Somehow I don't think Chigs' personal accounts would stand up to an audit....

The real question is where did Wumple find this guy. Wumple had his issues as a boss, but my God, how'd he come up with Chigger?

And a delightful baseball bonus from News sports cartoonist Leo O'Mealia --

Before the "Bum" became a popular cartoon icon for the Dodgers, they were commonly represented by a clown. Durocher doesn't like that. The Yankee figure is a caricature of manager Joe McCarthy, who tends to dominate any situation. And the Giant -- well, he's always shown as some variety of a big, dumb boob.

Before I read anything here or focused in on the pic and just saw a generic circus, I was hoping we were going to get an artist's rendering of Ms. Hoyt's contretemps with Gargantua.

 

[Harp]

^^^Gargantua reminds Rabelaisan carnival dogerel...
This thing with Burma and Terry is dragging like Hector, absolutely no spontaneity, spark, combustible explosive mix.
Simmer n' sizzle, ain't no smoke, damn sure ain't no fire.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Wait'll "that dog Ryan" shows up again.

Terry was only about thirteen when this particular adventure happened, and Burma, to be charitable, was at least twice his age when they first met. It's probably very difficult for her not to think of him as Pat's tag-along little sidekick.

(Pat will try this same stunt with the Dragon Lady, and will narrowly avoid getting cut in half by her dagger.)

 

[Fading Fast]

^^^Gargantua reminds Rabelaisan carnival dogerel...
This thing with Burma and Terry is dragging like Hector, absolutely no spontaneity, spark, combustible explosive mix.
Simmer n' sizzle, ain't no smoke, damn sure ain't no fire.

It looks to me like Burma was about to put spark to herself had we a panel five today.

Wait'll "that dog Ryan" shows up again.

View attachment 325214

Terry was only about thirteen when this particular adventure happened, and Burma, to be charitable, was at least twice his age when they first met. It's probably very difficult for her not to think of him as Pat's tag-along little sidekick.

Pat has his hands full: April Kane, Normandie Drake, The Dragon Lady, Raven Sherman, Cheery Blaze (in her mind anyway) and Burma (does Burma have a last name?). It's good to be Pat, problems and all.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Burma has kept her real identity a closely guarded secret. "Burma" is only the most popular of her many aliases. The two things we know for sure is that she is wanted in St. Louis, and that her real name is *not* "Madame Lustre."

Pat sure does have a thing for those lace-front polo shirts.

 

[Harp]

It looks to me like Burma was about to put spark to herself had we a panel five today. .

You caught that censored shag fly to the outfield too I see.

Gone With The Wind in Hong Kong had Chinese subtitles, and that staircase scene with Rhett carrying Scarlet upstairs
was cut out entirely. Mao's cultural censor hung heavy over Dixie.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Motorized German troops today swept into the Yugoslav town of Skolpje, fifty miles across the border from Bulgaria, gaining a foothold at the head of the Vardar Valley, and cut the first line of communication between Yugoslavia and Greece. German military headquarters announced the first major Nazi victory of the Balkan war this afternoon, some hours after it was confirmed that heavy-duty German mechanized forces are moving toward the Albanian border.

President Roosevelt, expressing hope for a successful Yugoslav resistance to the "criminal assault" on that nation by Germany and Italy, today cabled King Peter II a pledge of "all possible American aid" under the Lend-Lease act. The message dispatched by the President to the boy monarch declared that the United States has been "profoundly shocked by the unprovoked and ruthless aggression" against Yugoslavia on the part of the Axis powers, and that the US "is witnessing with admiration the courageous self-defense of the Yugoslav people."

The Vice Chairman of the newly appointed Defense Mediation Board today declared his opposition to proposals in Congress that would compel arbitration in all cases of labor disputes in the defense industry. Appearing before the House Military Affairs Committee, Vice Chairman William H. Davis declared that such a requirement "would make slaves of American workers. When you say to John Jones, 'get up and go to work against your will,' you're making John a slave, and there's no use producing defense materials if we have a nation of slaves."

The President of the CIO is meeting with executives of the Ford Motor Company today in negotiations for an end to the strike by the CIO United Auto Workers which has entirely shut down Ford manufacturing operations. CIO head Philip Murray is in conference today with Federal Conciliator James F. Dewey and undisclosed Ford officials, although it is believed that Ford personnel director Harry Bennett and Ford attorney I. A. Capizzi are among those participating in the discussion. It is possible that Murray and Dewey may also meet with Henry Ford himself as negotiations continue. Ford is the only US automaker to refuse recognition of the UAW.

Two Kings County Democratic Party district leaders have been named as "undesirable bondsmen" in Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen's continuing investigation of the Brooklyn bail bond racket. John Landry of the 10th Assembly District, who also serves as Chief Clerk of the Kings County Court, and William J. Meagher of the 13th Assembly District were cited today by Mr. Amen for alleged improprieties in the execution of bail bonds, with Landry accused of executing bonds "in blank," while Meagher is charged with executing a bond on which he swore he was on no other bonds, when in fact he was. Also cited on the Amen list was Mrs. Anna McGoon of 606 Pennsylvania Avenue, the mother of Seymour "Blue Jaw" McGoon, prominent operative of the Murder For Hire Gang and a recent state's witness in related murder trials. Mrs. McGoon is accused of pledging the Pennsylvania Avenue house on three different bail bonds in the space of a single month.

The 37-year-old "King of the Muggers" will spend thirty to sixty years in prison following his third conviction for hauling lone wayfarers into hallways to beat and rob them. William Turner was nabbed by police as part of a crackdown on "muggings" in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Arrested with Turner was Miss Pearl Taylor, with the two accused of assaulting and robbing a Chinese man and an Austrian refugee last fall. The two robberies netted the two a total of ten dollars.

(I hate confusing layouts like this. Here I was thinking, wow, Helen Traubel playing the circus? THAT'S SOMETHING NEW!)

("Black?" sputters Sally. "I gotta wear BLACK? I'll look like a BUICK!" "No, no," stammers Joe, "ya won't neit'a! Or a Chevrolet ev'n!" "WHAAAT? "Um, jeez, lookitta time, I'm late fa class!")

(I'd give an awful lot to hear what Marjorie Hillis might have to say about Mr. Philip Cummings. After she stops laughing, of course.)

The Eagle Editorialist salutes the telephone company on the second anniversary of its WEather 6-1212 forecast service. Every day, nineteen thousand callers take advantage of up to the minute weather information relayed by friendly operators from such far away points as Mount Washington in New Hampshire and the top of the Whitehall Building.

The president of the American Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals writes in to remind Brooklyn that the practice of giving baby chicks, ducks, and rabbits to children as Easter toys is cruel and barbaric, and that city law specifically prohibits the sale of animals for novelty purposes. Those becoming aware of stores or individuals violating that law this Easter season are urged to contact the ASPCA, which will immediately take steps to file charges against such violators.

(A goatee is the positive mark of a cartoon doctor in 1941. Let's see your degree, Truffle, you look like a phony to me.)

(A lot of parents have a lot of explaining to do with their kids today. Mr. Graser, who was never west of Detroit in his life, was built like George Bungle and was terrified of horses. But he had an enormous, thundering voice, and in radio that's all you needed.)

The Dodgers and Yankees began their northbound tour yesterday along Tobacco Road in Durham, North Carolina, with the Flock slapping back the McCarthymen 2-1. The Dodgers have now won eight straight games, and the loss broke a seven-game Yankee winning string. The two clubs will joust for the rest of this week as they proceed homeward, with the tour ending in the traditional pre-season clash at Ebbets Field on Friday.

Larry MacPhail leaped with glee as the Dodgers won yesterday, excited not just for their performance on the field but also for the fact that for the first time all members of the Flock took the field wearing the MacPhail Skull Protector plates inside their regular cloth caps. MacPhail has made the headgear mandatory for the 1941 campaign, and the team has spent the springtime getting used to it. MacPhail says Casey Stengel of the Bees told him that, after inspecting one of the new Brooklyn caps this spring, he is going to insist that his own players wear them as well. While early versions of the headgear used metal plates, the versions now in use are made from a lightweight plastic that players often forget they're wearing. The plates are proof against a baseball traveling at 100 miles an hour, and while they won't necessarily prevent all possible concussions, they will almost certainly guard against skull fractures.

Big Joe Gallagher, whose expanding avoirdupois earned him a permanent seat in the Durocher doghouse this spring, was among six Dodgers cut from the roster as the team works toward its opening-day composition. Gallagher was outrighted to Montreal, but is refusing to report to the Royals, and has reportedly headed for his home in Buffalo.

Television station W2XBS inaugurates the 1941 season of telecasts from Ebbets Field on Friday with pre-season action between the Dodgers and Yankees.

(Poor Doc needs to stop messing around with forces beyond his comprehension and start taking viosterol for his severe case of rickets.)

(Ahhhhh, Sibyl Dardanella -- whom Jo hates almost as much as she hates Oakdale. I'm sure they are, in fact, VERY DEAR FRIENDS.)

(All Mary had to do is slip the kid a spoonful of ipecac, and boom, her MASTER PLAN!)

(I mean, I know, the Skull has shown us time and again that he is ruthless and a cold-blooded killer, but -- I mean -- shouldn't he be TALLER?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Blonde? She doesn't look like she's ever even said the word "peroxide."

That number again is WEather 6-1212.

What, you didn't push the bum down a flight of stairs? Work harder, kid.

Pete, we'd like you to meet our good friend Punjab...

"My friend Mr. Ponzi is perfectly legitimate! So there!"

Arnica -- a naturopathic pain reliever distilled from a daisy-like East Asian flower. Better you should ask for a fast car and a loaded gun.

Pat isn't as dumb as Irwin, but they clearly attended the same school.

We all knew that Chigs is a louse, but the fact that he's friends with a process server just proves it.

It's often hard to tell what Lil is really thinking in any given situation, but she actually looks kinda -- sympathetic here. On the other hand, if we had to bet on who in this crowd is most likely to tear Harold limb from limb, my money would have to be on dear little sister Josie there.

For a second here, I thought we were about to see Willie and Mamie in the throes of living-room-floor passion, and I just don't think I'm ready for that.

 

[Harp]

Kiel seems a benign villain, all bark but no bite. And this waiting in the wings all tease and no strip comic strip
is altogether much too chaste for prurient voyeur-vicarious expects who desire a little more perform at the plate stuff
instead of Prince Valiant daydreaming. Terry needs to get with the program and characters who forfeit all credible
currency go bankrupt. Take a roll to the track, ya make it count by putting some skin in the game.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
(I'd give an awful lot to hear what Marjorie Hillis might have to say about Mr. Philip Cummings. After she stops laughing, of course.)...

Having read "Kitty Foyle" last year (comments here: #8419), I would have said the book expressed more optimism than pessimism, but was, overall, a well-balanced look at the life of a young woman in the '30s.

Also, Cummings seems to be combining two distinct concepts - the outlook of a book (optimistic or pessimistic) with the quality of the writing.

... (Ahhhhh, Sibyl Dardanella -- whom Jo hates almost as much as she hates Oakdale. I'm sure they are, in fact, VERY DEAR FRIENDS.)...

If things don't work out for Sibyl Dardanella working for "The Bungle Family," with that name, she could interview at "Terry and the Pirates." She could be Burma's long-lost sister or something. I'm just sayin', she has career options.

...[ (I mean, I know, the Skull has shown us time and again that he is ruthless and a cold-blooded killer, but -- I mean -- shouldn't he be TALLER?)

He's also got to come up with a better henchman-vetting process. Crimps has always been a complainer. I bet his performance reviews were awful.

... Blonde? She doesn't look like she's ever even said the word "peroxide."....

Agreed, that kinda jumped out. Also, the News milked about as much titillation out of that story as it could.

...
That number again is WEather 6-1212.....

Had I been asked to guess what would be the top-five answers, weather would not have made my list.

.. "My friend Mr. Ponzi is perfectly legitimate! So there!"...

Sorry to be working you so hard recently Kermit, but your services are just needed.

... Arnica -- a naturopathic pain reliever distilled from a daisy-like East Asian flower. Better you should ask for a fast car and a loaded gun....

Um, Burma, you might want to be a bit nicer to the help, if not out of decency, then realize you'll probably need her help shortly. Can't wait to see how Terry escaped this one.

Kudos to Caniff - his talent at illustrating is right up there with his story-telling skills. Burma is wonderfully drawn, very realistic and nuanced.

 

[Harp]

Kudos to Caniff - his talent at illustrating is right up there with his story-telling skills. Burma is wonderfully drawn, very realistic and nuanced.

Wholehearted agreement exactamundo but the babe never gets between the sheets when mood and moment arrive.

Caniff has conjured up a stirring scenario but the boil cauldron never overflows. Just simmers.

 

[Fading Fast]

Wholehearted agreement exactamundo but the babe never gets between the sheets when mood and moment arrive.

Caniff has conjured up a stirring scenario but the boil cauldron never overflows. Just simmers.

I agree, but to be fair, Caniff can't show that, only imply it.

He did imply it pretty clearly, to my memory, one time when Raven Sherman visited Dude one night when they were held captive - she came in through his widow and it was pretty darn clear what had happened.

My guess, Caniff is as frustrated by the censor limitations as we are.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Given that newspaper comics in 1941 are "family entertainment," two things stand out -- I never cease to be amazed by exactly how much Caniff gets away with, and I never cease to be amazed at how cleverly he implies what he can't.

The pip of all time was in 1939, when April Kane was captured by a cross-dressing French lesbian gold smuggler named Sanjak, who left absolutely no question of what she had in mind for her captive:

The implications here are exceedingly obvious, and that Caniff was able to get away with this situation in 1939 -- when the movies were hamstrung by the Code, and radio was under complete censorship by sponsors and networks -- is nothing short of astounding. Not that he didn't entirely avoid picayune interference with his strip -- witness the prissy insistence of the News Syndicate that he never refer to Japan or Germany by name -- but he got away with far more than he could have in any other popular-culture medium of the time.

There is absolutely no question of what happened between Raven and Dude, the only question now is have they managed to work it out since we last saw them, or have they killed each other? I look forward to finding out.

 

[Harp]

Given that newspaper comics in 1941 are "family entertainment," two things stand out -- I never cease to be amazed by exactly how much Caniff gets away with, and I never cease to be amazed at how cleverly he implies what he can't.

The pip of all time was in 1939, when April Kane was captured by a cross-dressing French lesbian gold smuggler named Sanjak, who left absolutely no question of what she had in mind for her captive:

View attachment 325378

The implications here are exceedingly obvious, and that Caniff was able to get away with this situation in 1939 -- when the movies were hamstrung by the Code, and radio was under complete censorship by sponsors and networks -- is nothing short of astounding. Not that he didn't entirely avoid picayune interference with his strip -- witness the prissy insistence of the News Syndicate that he never refer to Japan or Germany by name -- but he got away with far more than he could have in any other popular-culture medium of the time.

There is absolutely no question of what happened between Raven and Dude, the only question now is have they managed to work it out since we last saw them, or have they killed each other? I look forward to finding out.

Of course, my facetious commentary aside, Caniff seems to have pushed the envelope as far as it was possible
then added some yards of rope for good measure. I mean a cross-dressing lesbian French gold smuggler named
Sanjak is as good a hustle as an avid reader in 1939 was likely to chance across.