Power Rankings: Comic strip characters on "Too Close for Comfort"

I watched the episode Mike mentioned in which Garfield creator Jim Davis guests. Henry goes to a convention and is excited to sign up the strip for the Marin Bugler. He brings back some promotional materials and plans a huge publicity campaign, with one of his key strategies putting Monroe into a Garfield suit. Sounds great, until his partner/boss tells him she hates comic strips and doesn't want any of them in the Bugler. Uh-oh!

I was amused by the idea that one comic strip, no matter how popular, could make a difference in the fortunes of an independent newspaper. I mean, Henry touts the fact that it's in umpteeen newspapers, which is proof of its popularity, but doesn't that mean it's easily found elsewhere?

Here is my ranking of comic strip characters I would like to have seen interact with Henry on Too Close. Remember, this list is based on how these characters would fare against each other on a neutral field in Dogpatch, Kentucky.

1) Fred Bassett: As funny as the idea of Monroe in a giant Marmaduke costume sounds, I'd rather see the unassuming Fred show up in some capacity.

2) Mark Slackmeyer: It wouldn't be funny now, but in the mid 1980s, Doonesbury's firebrand would make a compelling clash of personalities and ideologies with Henry.

3) Mary Worth: She could clean up the Henry/Monroe relationship in no time. Of course, it would be about 3 months due to comic strip time.

4) The Lockhorns: I envision a wacky dinner in which Henry and Muriel wind up at the Lockhorns' house thinking they are wealthy potential advertisers who are thinking of buying space in the paper. Kicker is, they aren't!

5) Dick Tracy: Henry could be overly eager to help the famous police detective on a case. Can't be the Warren Beatty Dick Tracy, though...unless it's the 2023 Dick Tracy who showed up on TCM.

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Hi Flagston, Broom Hilda, Bill the Cat, Brenda Starr

Brooks on Books: "Wanna Be Smiled At?" ("Affectionately Drawn by Bil Keane")

I'm gonna just say it right here once again: The Family Circus rules.

At least the original version of the strip does. Sure, it has its cloying moments, but in its earliest days, the panel offers some genuine laughs. 

Lest you wonder why we are talking about this book here, remember we discussed A Family Circus Christmas way back in our first season!

I dug up this book from my archives and tore through it this week. I loved it!

First off, P.J. rules. OK, so this cover does get at the occasional sentimentality of the strip. Also, though, P.J. IS adorable.

Here's the thing: Even if the gags aren't the best, there is often some kind of amusing facial expression that sells the panel. You get Billy scowling, Jeffy worrying, Dolly being earnest, and many times P.J. just sitting there with a goofy grin. Sometimes the kids are creating a total disaster scene in, say, the kitchen, and P.J. is in the background with a serious facial expression, and that's just as funny.

There are variations on some recurring themes: Kids say darndest things, kids embarrass their folks in public, kids create utter chaos, etc. Keane's drawing is not just affectionate, though, but it's effective. Subtleties in the faces and backgrounds often enhance the joke. Yes, I just referred to "subtleties" in The Family Circus.

It's a great book and about a 5-mintue read. I probably looked at this a lot when I was a kid, and I am paying for it now because it's starting to fall apart. I think I got my parents' 75 cents worth, though.

Power Rankings: Comic characters who should have had a TV show/TV movie in 1977

The 1977 Exo-Man TV movie may or may not have been an attempt to do Iron Man without Iron Man. It was a time of superheroes on TV. In 1977-1979, viewers got Doctor Strange, Captain America, and of course Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk in addition to The Amazing Spider-Man and the NBC DC/Warner Brothers shows. Saturday mornings in 1977 still hosted The Shazam/Isis Hour.

What besides Iron Man was missing from live action? Here is a list of comic book and comic strip characters I wish were on the air in 1977.

1) Luke Cage: The obvious number one is Luke Cage, AKA Power Man. Combine the "hip" Afrocentric aesthetic of the Marvel comic (Well, it was trying) with 1970s sensibilities, and you might get a cool street-based comic show.

2) Iron Fist: And we should go ahead and include Cage's comic book partner, Danny Rand. Given the martial arts craze of the Seventies, it seems combining some TV-friendly action with some decade-friendly mysticism would make a good fit.

3) Green Lantern/Green Arrow: The totally unsubtle but well-meaning "social relevance" era of the book had been in the early part of the decade, but at this time the two were traveling in outer space. That's not as budget friendly as two heroes roaming the country "to find America," and media is often several years behind a trend, so why not make a series of that run?

4) Mary Worth: The criminally underused, perpetually nosy senior could have had her own soapy melodrama. Maybe she's too tame for primetime TV, but a daily soap opera, maybe?

5) Rip Kirby: I don't really have a good idea for this. I just like saying 'Rip Kirby," a character maybe forgotten now but quite popular in 1977.

6) Sad Sack: Beetle Bailey got some TV cartoons earlier, but Sad Sack hasn't received his due in other media. There have been many military comedies, and some of them actually worked. Maybe the Sackster could have been a hit.

7) The Daily Planet: The live-action Spidey show gave us The Daily Bugle, and Lou Grant premiered in Fall 1977, but I would enjoy a 1970s-"Metropolis"-set newspaper comedy/drama featuring the cast of Superman comics. To save money, they could have had minimal cameos by Supes and even by Clark Kent while focusing on others like Perry and Lois and Jimmy.

Of course, this thing would probably have been seen as a cheat back then, whereas today I think we can count on more than one hand the number of, say, Batman shows without Batman that appeared in recent years. Plus there is the big problem of Superman: The Movie, which would premiere in 1978. Hey, I just think it could have been a cool TV show, is all.

8) The Haunted Tank: Forget the Confederate/Union thing, which would have been much more palatble in 1977, but let's think of this as a way to combine two types of comics DC published that didn't get much multimedia love: Supernatural and War. This is a long shot, but a series about the ghost of Jeb Stuart guiding soldiers in WWII would stand out.

9) The Spirit: There are two reasons Will Eisner's all-time classic feature isn't higher on my list: 1) The 1987 attempt to bring it to TV and 2) My fear it would be screwed up. I wonder, though, if the Seventies would have been a better time. The Spirit was in reprints then, so it was still around, and maybe the b&w magazine era and 1970s crime TV would have found some compatibility.

10) Richie Rich: Several years later, a cartoon version would appear on Saturday mornings, but I am thinking of a live-action series. ABC tried a couple of Little Lulu specials around this time. Maybe the Richie Rich character could be an appealing presence in a similar format back before the days when an embarrassment of riches might actually be considered embarrassing.

This Day in TV History: Fantastic Funnies on CBS

40 years ago today, CBS led off its Thursday night with Fantastic Funnies, a charming look at the comic strips.




Why did CBS do this special? I don't know. But it seems like back then, networks did that more often: just run specials on interesting topics for prime-time programming.  Loni Anderson, who would voice Blondie in a 1987 animated special, is an enthusiastic host, and she puts in the work, doing multiple hair style and wardrobe costumes to introduce each segment. Often her look is designed to match the particular strip she introduces.

The special, co-produced by longtime Peanuts animation figure Bill Melendez, uses some interesting techniques to adapt a print medium for a TV special. There are multiple animated segments, for one thing, including the screen debut of Marmaduke. We see cool footage of the cartoonists talking about and, even better, drawing their characters.

 

 Perhaps the biggest takeaway, though, is the sheer amount of music in this special. There are original songs like a musical video about reading "the funnies." There is a number from the stage play Annie. Anderson herself even sings various theme songs associated with comic strip characters like Popeye.


There is even a segment from CBS show WKRP  with Johnny Fever reading Flash Gordon during a Cincinnati newspaper strike. A little something for everyone! I am not sure it's the most coherent special, but it sure is entertaining and an outstanding watch for any comic strip fan.