Before Groovy, There Was Terrific!

For our Sunday Morning Funnies this week, let's break from the Groovy Age and jump back another decade to 1958, back in the days when we only had black & white cartoons on TV. Of course, televisions were still black and white so that was okay. As a matter of fact, sometimes it was even Terrific!

And if we couldn't see the colours on TV, at least we had books to show us how they should be - 

Sometimes incredibly short little books, like less than 20 pages...

Well, i had the hat colour right at least.

words by Crosby Newell and pictures by Arthur Bartsch (1958)

More Far Out Fairy Tales

Let us continue with another Far Out Fairy Tale drawn by Grass Green, this time with scripting by Steve Skeates - another creator of whom i'm fond. While definitely Far Out, i think these fairy tales may have been Fractured as well.
And, perhaps, reassembled with some of the pieces mixed...

Groovy Age oddness by Steve Skeates & Grass Green for Abott & Costello #s 5&6 (1968, 1969)

Hey, Abbott! Tell Me A Story

When Charlton picked up the rights to do an Abbott & Costello comic in the 60s, they decided to capitalize on another blip on the cultural radar for a back-up feature. Fractured Fairy Tales was a popular feature on Jay Ward's Rocky & Bullwinkle show, and they tapped Grass Green to draw a series of Far Out Fairy Tales along with writer Sergious O'Shaugnessy, with whom he was partnered in this morning's initial comic strip.

The first installment:

No worries - next issue follows...

words & pictures by Sergious O'Shaugnessy and Grass Green for Abbott & Costello #s 1&2 (1968)

Puzzleless Solutions

Yesterday's Friday Fun & Games feature did not have the typical quiz, puzzle or conundrum requiring answers today. That leaves us with a new problem to solve - what to do in place of Saturday Solutions?

Easy answer?
It's Saturday morning - let's have some toons! And let's spread 'em out through the day.
So, to open - a toon about tunes drawn by our recent featured artist, Grass Green -

Next up - more Grass and Fairy Tale Fun!

Maury Decay from Go-Go Comics #9 (1967)

It's Friday?!?!

Here i am debating if i'm a day behind  when taking my Wednesday meds. Oops.
Guess i'm two days behind, and running behind here, too.
So we've got an odd edition of

 What makes today's FF&G different, aside from coming from the Groovy Age, will be almost immediately apparent. Generally, there are no right answers, and sometimes no answers at all, as you can see from the first puzzler here:

 

 

There was no page 47.

puzzle/games from Bijou Funnies, Mom's Homemade Comix, Mendocino Funnies, LA Comics, and something i failed to label (oops)

Artists Gotta Art

Just a quickie with the Queen Of The In-Crowd looking at the heart of Art -

Just because it's fun, the splash page from this issue:

groovy art by Hy Eisman and Sol Brodsky for Bunny #6 (1968)

Shades Of Groovy

Say you're a comic book editor in the Groovy Age trying to capture the times with a hero who personifies the cultural essence. You spend time with your trusted creators and decide that the way to go is a boy with his bike and guitar - perfect for the era, right?

But you're still left with something of a dilemma - tone and handling. Do you go light & swinging, or heavy and questing?

Or do you do both?

Yeah, both.
That seems easier.

The Shape Of Grass

It was mentioned earlier that Grass Green's first professional gig was for Charlton Premiere. The first issue featured his superhero strip - The Shape:

So - if this was first, why didn't we run it before the earlier tale from Go-Go Comics?
Because that's the way life worked. We'll let the editors explain:

So, as you see, he may have done this first, but it was not the first to appear. It seemed right to follow suit. Now we're here and you can enjoy Grass Green's first professional sale:

If you're wondering - yes, we will be going back to Green's underground comix, as well as some more mainstream surprises (probably) along the way.

The Shape by Grass Green (and Mac & friends) for Charlton Premiere #1 (1967)