"Whatever Happened To...Those Vintage Sunday Funnies...?"

My dad tossed me and my sister a dollar and said, “Why don’t you two kids run over to the store and buy your selves a soda and pick me up a Sunday Newspaper”

We said “Yes Sir…!” and hurriedly ran out, got on our bikes and headed for the Rexall Drug Store. It was a mile away but we didn’t care. When we got their we saddled up to the Soda Counter and ordered two Fountain Cokes. Remember those paper cone inserts that they put into those metal holders?  I guess it cut down on washing glasses but you sure don’t see them anymore. The paper edges would get a little soggy after a while but the soda sure tasted good after the mile ride to the store.

After we finished our sodas, we bought the Sunday Newspaper and headed back to the house. Now comes the really Fun Part…My dad would always pull out the Sunday Funnies and hand them to us kids. We would sprawl out on the floor with the colorful sheet of print in front of us. The giggling would begin as we started reading. Some of my favorites were:

The Katzenjammer Kids was I believe one of the earliest comic strips and was inspired by a German author Wilhelm Busch around 1860. It was about two mischievous kids called Max and Moritz who became Hans and Fritz’s by Rudolph Dirks around 1914. Mamma was always protecting them and The Captain was always trying to give them a good whipping for playing so many cruel tricks on him. One neat note of interest is that Rudolph Dirks was one of the first ones to use the Speech Balloons for the dialogue above the character.

The comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith first appeared in 1919. There was always a leak in Snuffy Smith roof and his wife was forever getting on to him for not fixing it. He would say, “Well I can’t fix it now it’s raining.” His wife would tell him, “Well then, fix it when it ain’t raining“   She would throw back at him…and his classic answer was, “Then there ain’t No Need to Fix It…!”  He had a Moonshine Still back in the woods that he was always hiding from “them revenuers”

 Dagwood Bumstead, by Chic Young, was always late for work at Mr. Dithers company and would inevitably run into the Mailman, knocking him head over heels, with the mail flying everywhere. The comic strip Blondie came into being around 1933 and her last name was Boopadoop.

 Hagar the Horrible was always fun…he was a scruffy, overweight red-bearded Viking created by Dirk Brown in 1973. Hagar was always looting and sacking England or France. He only bathed once a year and was quite a medieval character.

 Then there was Beetle Bailey, by Mort Walker in 1950. He was the typical Army Private stationed as Camp Swampy. He was always taking naps and avoiding anything to do with work…for which his Sargent Snorkel was forever yelling at him for. I think Beetle was always peeling potatoes. (Together both Mort Walker and Dirk Brown created Hi and Lois, another Sunday Funny.)  

One of my all-time favorites was the caveman strip B.C. by Johnny Hart. I loved all the characters…! Clumsy Carp would trip over a blade of grass but was the only one that could make water-balls. Peter was the self-proclaimed philosopher and genius. The ever-grumpy Wiley had a wooden peg-leg, he hated water and was a poet extraordinaire. Then the main character was of course B.C. and he had orange hair, was a bit naive and a patsy for many situations. He had an alter ego “The Midnight Skulker” Then there was Thor, who claimed to be a lady’s man and invented the wheel and comb. There was Cute Chic, Fat Broad and Grog and many more characters that added to the humorous situations in this wonderful strip. I would giggle and laugh throughout the entire strip. I have several of he B.C. paperback books and I will, occasionally bring them out and giggle through them.

Terry and the Pirates, by Milton Caniff showed up in 1934 and always had an ongoing plot happening. These included looking for a gold mine and fighting spies in WW-ll. Terry’s most notable nemesis was The Dragon Lady. This series had a barrage of good and bad characters: including Big Stoop, Captain Judas, Cheery Blaze, Chopstick Joe, Cue Ball and Dude Hennick.

For more of the medieval adventures, I liked Prince Valiant that Hal Foster created in 1937 that had a continuous story line. He was a Nordic Prince from the Norwegian West Coast. With his Singing Sword ‘Flamberge’ He fought the Huns and helped his father regain his Throne of Thule. The love of his life was Alita, Queen of the Misty Isles, who became his wife. It had a lot of adventure, some humor, a touch of history and a lot of fun to read.

The funny line “Good Grief Charlie Brown” was from the infamous cartoon strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz was and is still, one of the all time great Sunday Funnies. This wonderful comic strip came into being in 1950. You cannot say enough about all of the characters in this jewel. Lucy and Linus Van Pelt, Snoopy, Schroeder, Pig-Pen, Peppermint Patty, Sally Brown, Woodstock and a host of other delightful kids. Snoopy was always being a WW-l Ace Pilot and a member of the Royal Flying Corps. He was always fighting the “Red Baron” using his dog house as a WW-l Sopwith Camel. Of course, all us football fans know that Lucy will always move the football just as Charlie Brown runs up to kick it…and as usual lands flat on his back.

We had a great time just laying out on the floor every Sunday and reading these wonderful “Quips of Fantasy”

There are so many more to mention but, alas I will let Your mind wander back through the

“Sunday Funnies”

 For the ones that were Your Favorites.

Have a Blessed Day

Fred Kienle