"Cookie" by Dan Gordon

Cookie O'Toole, and his subsequent, teenage universe; was created in the wake of the mammoth popularity of the teen prototype, Archie Andrews. What Cookie had going for it, besides hip jive and cool characters like, "Jitterbug," "Zoot," and "Angelpuss;" was the super-fine art of Dan Gordon. Presented here are two samplings from Cookie No. 14, Aug.-Sept. 1948. It doesn't come much better than this.

This ad comes from the same issue. I'm seeing a boy, looking out the front window of his home, watching for the mailman.

Dan Gordon & Ken Hultgren - Giggle Comics

Very few cartoonists from any era had better brushwork than Dan Gordon. This first story is from Giggle Comics No. 71, May-June 1950. Gordon animated everything from Popeye for the Fleischer Studios to Huckleberry Hound for Hanna-Barbera. Most of his comic book work was for ACG (American Comics Group), where his funny animals (and funny humans) bounce around in a three-dimensional, rubbery world.

Next comes a Duke and the Dope story from ever-reliable Ken Hultgren - although it looks like someone else had a hand in this one. That giant gorilla is drawn a bit more loose and dynamic than is typical for the artist. Ken Hultgren was one of the Disney artists that animated the monster in the great sci-fi film, Forbidden Planet! Isn't that cool?

Finally, one of my favorite unsung cartoonists: Ray Thompson - who drew the stories of the Fleer Dubble Bubble Kids for the namesake bubble gum.

Ken Hultgren's Izzy and Dizzy & Others!

Let's finish off the cream from Ha Ha Comics No. 34, October 1946 with an Izzy and Dizzy story by Ken Hultgren. Mr. Hultgren was an animator for Disney Studios in the 1930s and 40s, working on such classics as Snow White and Bambi. One can really see the Disney cuteness here with this pair of bear cubs.

Next comes a quick two-pager from Lynn Karp, who was another animator for Disney in the early 40s. By the mid to late 40s and into the 1950s, his work for comics became extensive.

I'm not sure who drew and inked this Casey story, but it is a fine example of the extremely high caliber of work done during this Golden Age of Kids' Comics!

I don't know who the artist was for this wonderful story "Crud and the Mud," but I sure wish I did. I have seen his (or her) work in many stories from Ha Ha and Giggle Comics, and have always loved it. Aren't these finely drawn pigs? And, not for nothing, the story serves to remind of a time when comics were aimed at children. This one feels like a fine bed time story.

And finally, I think this is the work of the great Dan Gordon, but if I'm wrong I want to hear about it!