The Voice Of ODD!: If Only A Fish Would Fly Down From Heaven With A Job In His Bill!

25 November 2019

If Only A Fish Would Fly Down From Heaven With A Job In His Bill!

Today we've got a little dalliance with three ladies from the '30s - Becky(Helen), Laverne, and Susie. Becky Sharp wrote and Laverne Harding drew a Sunday comic about Cynical Susie. (There was a daily, too, but just barely. It was soon a Sunday Only strip.) The series debuted in 1933 and ran through the end of the decade, though both creators left before that point.

One of the especially noteworthy aspects of Cynical Susie is the artist; Laverne Harding became the first female animator in Hollywood. She was already working with Walter Lantz at Universal when Susie started publication, and was promoted to Animator in 1934.

We come in at the end of Laverne's run on the strip, with Bernard Dibble taking over the art in her absence. Some may recall another strip from Dibble that appeared here previously, Looy Dot Dope. These come to us from Comics On Parade - one of those early comic books that re-packaged newspaper strips. That included L'il Abner, who pushed Susie, and everyone else, out of the book a few years later.

Let me just say right now - "I don't know."

I only have one or two issues before we're jumping in, and the $50,000 debt was already incurred. How this happened or what the debt is supposed to cover...?

That's one of Life's Little Mysteries for me. Just acknowledge how very special Lily Whey must be to stand as collateral on that much cash in 1930s dollars.

Before too long, Susie managed to turn things around, though things seemed to fall apart first. The Director discovered that Susie was back on the lot...