Sunday "Funnies" of Old

by Sam Crenshaw

Close your eyes with me for a moment. Remember spreading the funnies onto the floor in the living room? I had my favorites, but part of the wonderment of getting the funnies was to force myself to begin with the one on front and methodically work my way to the back page, taking in each of them including my favorites wherever they were placed in the line-up. Oh joy! Joy! Why did I have to grow too old to stop reading the Sunday funnies?

Do you remember Smilin’ Jack? If so what was his last name? What was unique about the character, Downwind? What happened to the buttons that popped off the fat native’s shirt, and what was his name? Who was Lil’ Abner’s girlfriend? What was the name of the creator of the hillbilly clan? He created a special little animal called what? Hint: the animal could become lamb chops or pork chops, steak or chicken, when slaughtered, and when you killed one for food, it cloned itself into two more. He looked like a bowling pin with feet, and had a constant smile underneath whiskers. What was he called? What was the famous celebration day named in Dogpatch, USA? What was the feature event of the day? Did you ever wonder how two people like Mammy and Pappy Yokum could produce such a physical specimen as Lil’ Abner? One more question about Lil’ Abner. He spoofed another cartoon character within Lil’ Abner. Do you remember who that was?

Buzz Sawyer, like many of the comic strip characters came into fruition during WWII. He had a navy buddy named Roscoe. Can you remember Roscoe’s last name? Roscoe had a sister who looked a lot like him, only with a dress. She was a great athlete, playing football, and baseball better than most men. Can you remember her name?

I read, but did not particularly care for, Mary Worth, Dr. Rex Morgan, and Steve Roper, until Mike Nomad became the feature character in Steve Roper. Also, I did not care much for Terry and the Pirates or the Captain and the Kids.

I enjoyed Gasoline Alley, only because it seemed to be ongoing with the Wallet Family. They kept getting married and having more funny paper babies. Skeezix Wallet got married on Gasoline Alley to a blonde. Her name? Hint: Her first name was Nina.

What was Nancy’s boyfriend’s name? What was unique about Henry’s face? Did anyone ever read Prince Valiant? I don’t mean to just glance at the pictures, but did you ever actually read it?

Dagwood and Blondie had a son and daughter and a "mama dog." Can you name all three. What was the name of the Dagwood comic strip? His boss was named Mr. Dithers. Do you remember the rest of his name? Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, and Hagar the Horrible have a commonality. Do you know what that is? It is early Sunday morning. I may buy a paper today.

If you liked this story, you might enjoy Drive In Movie Theaters

© 2005 Sam Crenshaw

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