If You Ask Me - This Is A Job For Supersnipe!

Koppy (Supersnipe) McFad* lived in a very odd little town, even when adjusted for looking back into a different time. How many towns other than Yapburg do you suppose decided "Hey! That kid is the Happiest, so we need to make him more happy!"? 
Okay, yeah - they do that all the time. But how many say that's what they're doing?

*(Yes, i know i spell McFadd elsewhere, but it changes story to story, and so it changes.)

In Yapburg, they not only do that, they do it every week! Ed Gruskin and George Marcoux tell us all about it...

<Insert SFX: Record scratch mixed with screeching brakes> 

Um, wait - What?

Koppy is Trouble's 'protecter'? 
Trouble is a boy?

When did this happen? Last we saw in Supersnipe, Trouble was Dotty's dog! Okay, we didn't actually see that. We looked at Dotty Loves Trouble before they added the dog named Trouble, but we did mention it. So... who's this guy?

Let's journey back a year earlier and find out, with the full 23 page tale Introducing - "Trouble"...

Despite that ending, Trouble's curse remained. He returned for a few stories, eventually getting his own short feature - just five appearances ranging from 3-8 pages each.

Since it wasn't in our previous collection, here's the cover for Trouble's first appearance - 

page art by George Marcoux for Supersnipe v.2#8 and v.3#9 (1945, 1946)

Intentionally Spouting Silly Nonsense

Well, it seems i've accidentally started a tradition. 

Today marks two years since this blog started babbling into the void. (A week of looking backward makes more sense now, huh?) Between breakdowns of computer, net, and brain, there have been more than a few months of down time along the way; but we're actually running quite a bit ahead. Over the last 712 days we've had 827 posts, including this one. Good thing i get obsessive at times, eh?

I was trying to decide how to mark the occasion and eventually settled on another crossword puzzle. After all, we haven't done one of those since the Kirby centennial, right?

Um...  wrong. As i went to post this into the queue, i found the July 20th Xword from last year's anniversary. So, i guess that's the way we celebrate now?
Good thing i decided not to go with the logo art again for this puzzle.

Last year's puzzle featured things that occurred on the 20th of July throughout the years. This year, we're sticking with just The Voice Of ODD! Some of the clues are straightforward, some are rather obtuse. But, all puzzle answers can be found in the last two year's worth of postings.

Across

 2 - What emits from cave hermits.
 7 - 30 Down's obvious pseudonym. 
10 - They introduced Da Frantic Four to the Bestest League of America.
12 - Ellis keeps Holly in ___.
13 - Back In The _ _ _ _.
15 - She do that HooDoo that i view; so swell.
16 - The ___ Voice Of ODD!
17 - Lucille wasn't the only Ball.
18 - He followed me home from the Philippines.
20 - He's Koppy's Wacky friend.
22 - Bunny's Hippie was ___.
26 - Subtract one letter from a long running cable channel to get an old fave newspaper.
27 - He drew the first model sheets for (Disney Princess) Satana.
28 - At 15 posts, he's not one of our Briefer topics.
31 - Where i keep a bunch of cartoon critters.
33 - They introduced Da Frantic Four to the Bestest League of America.
37 - One of my favorite children's magazines.
38 - Zappa's friend.
42 - He gave Tom & Huck a Robot Duck.
43 - America's Foremost Hero!
44 - Chitra Katha.
45 - Wherein one might find Fun & Fact stored.
46 - Ron Jeremy wore Crocs when he played ___.
47 - Jr. and Penny visited there on a Whizz Bang.

 

Down

 1 - He has the most posts (and clues).
 2 - He drew the first comic story of (Disney Princess) Satana.
 3 - She was the first Fly girl.
 4 - My favorie EC.
 5 - Chitra Katha 
 6 - The ___ ___ 100. 
 8 - She was the first Fly Girl. 
 9 - When i'm intentionally spouting silly nonsense. 
11 - Cassidy's passing left the world less ___. 
14 - He Dreams. 
19 - He's got a magic book. 
21 - My favorite Chinese movie star. 
23 - Two-Gun's name. 
24 - It was Reborn from The Monster Times. 
25 - My favorite Post. 
29 - Been done by it. 
30 - His identity was secret for over a century, until 2005. 
32 - She was M before Bond existed. 
34 - His face kicked things off. 
35 - Coye's Odd things. 
36 - Captain Thunder's 'middle' name. 
39 - "Part Wise-man, part Wise-ass." 
40 - They're the band that has played here most frequently. 
41 - Superman appeared on the cover of this Marvel magazine.

puzzle by -3-, of course (2019)

My Name Is PET PEEVE, But You Can Call Me PETTY!

A year ago this past Friday we took a peek at one of those truly odd comic creations that could only have come from the '40s toon boom - Tommy Tot and The Heir Corps.

Tim Howe's Heir Corps didn't last long. Tommy debuted in the summer of 1946 and bowed out in the spring of '47, with one odd exception. During his period of publication, Tommy Tot was the feature of a few of those two-page text features required for the postal discount. He showed up again in 1951 for another of those. (And again six years later, but it was the same story repeating). That story was credited to Tom Howe, not Tim, fueling speculation on the possibility that it was a pen name. I am wholly ignorant in this matter. So, moving right along...

We've got a trio of tales today, beginning with the story that appeared in the same issue of Nutty Life (#2) as the tale we saw previously (in the link above)...

"But it looked so wonderful from the outside!" sure seems like it could explain a lot of the other silliness out there. That might even top good intentions.

Next up, Tommy's longest tale. With a whole 10 pages, he can even have a full page splash...

And, finally - Tommy Tot's final story...

"The past can take care of itself but the Heirs Corps will always be on guard for a better future!"

...and they were never seen again...

page art by Howe for Nutty Life #2 and Ribticklers #s 7 & 8 (1946, 1947)