Author Topic: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging  (Read 640370 times)

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Offline Bigmuc13

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2135 on: May 29, 2020, 02:00:21 PM »
LeRage's and LePage's Mucilage...



Now this is a product I remember all too well.  The stuff was the worst.  The top would always get all junked up, and the glue would never come put in a uniform strip.  And it would get all over everything especially my fingers.
Still looking for Series 17

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2136 on: May 29, 2020, 02:51:23 PM »
Now this is a product I remember all too well.  The stuff was the worst.  The top would always get all junked up, and the glue would never come put in a uniform strip.  And it would get all over everything especially my fingers.

That’s what I really like about this Wacky. This one captures the essence of the real product and echos the feeling you had each time you tried to use it, after that first time.
aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2137 on: May 29, 2020, 05:08:18 PM »
Is this basically rubber cement, the same stuff that’s usually found with an applicator brush inside the cap?  If not, what exactly is mucilage, as opposed to rubber cement?  I always thought the term related to dry, pre-applied, moisture-activated glue as is found on an envelope flap or back of an old-school postage stamp.

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2138 on: May 30, 2020, 05:02:49 AM »
Is this basically rubber cement, the same stuff that’s usually found with an applicator brush inside the cap?  If not, what exactly is mucilage, as opposed to rubber cement?  I always thought the term related to dry, pre-applied, moisture-activated glue as is found on an envelope flap or back of an old-school postage stamp.

Very similar with maybe a bit more of a molasses texture. I think it was application issues associated with this product the lead to applicators in rubber cement. The mucilage top was rubber with basically a gaping wound-like slit in it that would scab over after each use.   :P
« Last Edit: May 30, 2020, 05:05:59 AM by sco(o)t »
aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Offline drono

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2139 on: May 30, 2020, 05:40:59 AM »
Whether I first saw Drain Power in a store or on a TV commercial I’m not sure, but I had no idea there was a product designed to clear drain clogs with a blast of pressurized air.

I remember the commercial vividly.  It showed a line of about 4 or 5 clogged sinks with transparent piping so the clog was visible.  Someone walked up and pushed it down on each drain, clearing them all in about 5 seconds.  I was impressed as a preteen, but the product isn't around any more, so it must not have been a big seller.

I've only had one clog in my kitchen sink that I couldn't clear.  I called a plumber that I knew and he cleared it instantly using a big plunger that looked similar to one that you would use on a toilet.  This product would definitely have a better selling point for a kitchen clog than using a toilet plunger.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2140 on: May 30, 2020, 03:01:38 PM »
Windaxe and Windex...



Offline Baked Bears

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2141 on: May 30, 2020, 03:28:02 PM »
Whenever Swiski posts a title, I always click on the image to look at it closer and see it better.  I thought that when I clicked on this image, I would see another bottle very well rendered.  This isn't the case, however.  This time the painting somehow looks as if it was rushed.

And even though I've seen this title many times before, I never noticed until now that the handle of the axe is slightly protruding from the cap of the bottle.  What gives???

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2142 on: May 30, 2020, 04:28:23 PM »
Despite its simplicity and lack of character embellishment, I always liked this one.  Very familiar product, as opposed to Drain Power and Big Wally.  I was glad to see its return in the 1982 album sticker set after being passed over in Reissues.  As for the axe handle piercing through the cap, that’s a good question.  On the one hand, it could be construed as the artist’s attempt to simulate the spray nozzle extension, but on the other, the simple type of screw cap shown looks more like that used with a refill bottle, which lacks the spraying apparatus.

On the 1982 set, I’ve always wondered why some personal favorites were used after being excluded from the Reissues, such as this one, Shot Tissue, Dr Popper, Doesn’t Delight, Alpoo Dog Food, Pupsi Cola and Poor Foolball, to name a few.  Did they pass the C&D test but were just excess over the 264 titles used in the Reissues?  Maybe I need to revisit the cancelled 5th Reissue set checklist to see if they’re on it.

Offline mikecho

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2143 on: May 30, 2020, 04:50:01 PM »
Despite its simplicity and lack of character embellishment, I always liked this one.  Very familiar product, as opposed to Drain Power and Big Wally.  I was glad to see its return in the 1982 album sticker set after being passed over in Reissues.  As for the axe handle piercing through the cap, that’s a good question.  On the one hand, it could be construed as the artist’s attempt to simulate the spray nozzle extension, but on the other, the simple type of screw cap shown looks more like that used with a refill bottle, which lacks the spraying apparatus.

On the 1982 set, I’ve always wondered why some personal favorites were used after being excluded from the Reissues, such as this one, Shot Tissue, Dr Popper, Doesn’t Delight, Alpoo Dog Food, Pupsi Cola and Poor Foolball, to name a few.  Did they pass the C&D test but were just excess over the 264 titles used in the Reissues?  Maybe I need to revisit the cancelled 5th Reissue set checklist to see if they’re on it.
If you want to see the history of the lost 5th Rerun series, go to lostwackys.com and click on "1980s Lost Reprints". It'll tell you everything you need to know about it and yes, it does show a checklist. Please let me know what you think of it.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2020, 05:15:13 PM by mikecho »

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2144 on: May 30, 2020, 06:20:50 PM »
The cancelled 5th Reissue checklist has some of the titles that turned up in the 1982 minis like Fishey Prize, Family Circuit and Cult 45, but more importantly, it debunks the notion that only 260 or so out of all the OS 1-16 titles cleared the C&D hurdle for reprinting.  Who knows how many more titles may have been available even beyond a 5th series?  In other words, it’s quite possible the Reissues were cancelled due to waning sales rather than Topps exhausting all titles not killed by C&D requests.  I had always assumed the latter. 

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2145 on: May 31, 2020, 07:29:21 AM »
Whenever Swiski posts a title, I always click on the image to look at it closer and see it better.  I thought that when I clicked on this image, I would see another bottle very well rendered.  This isn't the case, however.  This time the painting somehow looks as if it was rushed.

And even though I've seen this title many times before, I never noticed until now that the handle of the axe is slightly protruding from the cap of the bottle.  What gives???

The small portion of the axe handle poking through the cap bugs me as well. The axe could have been completely inside the bottle with maybe a little red mallet connected to the cap with a chain. I'm thinking those old break the glass to set fire alarms we had in school.
« Last Edit: May 31, 2020, 07:31:48 AM by Swiski »

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2146 on: June 07, 2020, 05:01:55 AM »
Starting to fall behind on these, mainly because I'm dreading comparing the batch of magazine parodies on the checklist to the real magazines.

Here is Shorts Illustrated and Sports Illustrated...



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2147 on: June 07, 2020, 02:16:20 PM »
Another title I have a lot to say about.

First, on the general topic of the lack of precisely matching real products for magazine titles, I tend to agree that is the case, although here you have found a real SI issue cover that looks as though it could have inspired the Wacky, other than the fact it’s a different MLB team.  Kudos for finding that.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that cover, and it’s a 1975 to boot.  But there’s reason to believe that most of the magazine spoofs were created before 1975, but more on that later.

Shorts Illustrated was probably the most eagerly anticipated title that I failed to acquire in my OS ‘career’.  Why?  I had three older brothers, we were all into sports, and copies of SI were always lying around the house.  It was a strong product familiarity that was uncommon at that age.  When I saw the spoof name on the 13th checklist I was just about drooling.  Alas, the title completely eluded me until the 1982 album series.  And for whatever reason, through the eyes of a 15-year-old in 1982,  it didn’t blow me away like I figured it would when I was 8.  Not sure why, I think i had built up some kind of fantasy image in my head of what the title would look like, and the actual title was nowhere close to that mental picture, whatever it was.  Looking at it now as objectively as I can, it’s a perfectly fine title, great retro Chisox uniforms, good colorful art, etc., but I always have that slight nagging thought that it fell a bit short of my expectations, though I couldn’t tell you what those expectations were.  It’s like a dream you completely forget as soon as you wake up.

I’m curious what other members have to say, to see if this is a well-liked title.  Have never heard any critique of it before, good, bad or indifferent.


Offline freetoes

  • Posts: 239
Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2148 on: June 07, 2020, 06:31:27 PM »

Shorts Illustrated was probably the most eagerly anticipated title that I failed to acquire in my OS ‘career’.  Why?  I had three older brothers, we were all into sports, and copies of SI were always lying around the house.  It was a strong product familiarity that was uncommon at that age.  When I saw the spoof name on the 13th checklist I was just about drooling.  Alas, the title completely eluded me until the 1982 album series.  And for whatever reason, through the eyes of a 15-year-old in 1982,  it didn’t blow me away like I figured it would when I was 8.  Not sure why, I think i had built up some kind of fantasy image in my head of what the title would look like, and the actual title was nowhere close to that mental picture, whatever it was.  Looking at it now as objectively as I can, it’s a perfectly fine title, great retro Chisox uniforms, good colorful art, etc., but I always have that slight nagging thought that it fell a bit short of my expectations, though I couldn’t tell you what those expectations were.  It’s like a dream you completely forget as soon as you wake up.

I’m curious what other members have to say, to see if this is a well-liked title.  Have never heard any critique of it before, good, bad or indifferent.

In general, I wasn't a big fan of the magazine Wackys, but this one had the advantage of familiarity and the artwork was decent. SI also gains points for being one of the last titles I bought from the store during the Wacky era. (Series 13 was my last such set. I was vaguely aware that there was a 14th, and I thought that was it.)

You bring up another interesting point: back then, if you had a sticker missing from your set, you never knew what it looked like unless someone else had it.

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2149 on: June 08, 2020, 07:27:51 AM »
i remember being surprised as a youth when opening packs for this series for the first time and finding magazine parodies. i liked them and still do as a change of pace. But it does give the gag writer and artist more liberty in not being as tied to the fixed packaging parody for inspiration. 
aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2150 on: June 08, 2020, 12:01:53 PM »
i remember being surprised as a youth when opening packs for this series for the first time and finding magazine parodies. i liked them and still do as a change of pace. But it does give the gag writer and artist more liberty in not being as tied to the fixed packaging parody for inspiration.
A good point - since cover images are constantly changing there is no need to strictly adhere to a specific issue to make the parody plausible, as long as the general theme is represented, Shorts Illustrated being a good example.  And if a title usually carries a recurring character, like MAD’s Alfred E Neuman or Vampirella, the artists did a good job of incorporating those characters to optimize the parodies.

Offline drono

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2151 on: June 08, 2020, 12:46:48 PM »
I guess they could have done the swine suit issue with pigs and called it Snorts Illustrated.  I never saw anything after the 12th series as a kid, but I don't think I would have liked the magazine parodies.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2152 on: June 09, 2020, 04:06:36 AM »
Umbrella and Vampirella...



Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2153 on: June 09, 2020, 06:31:40 AM »
I guess they could have done the swine suit issue with pigs and called it Snorts Illustrated.  I never saw anything after the 12th series as a kid, but I don't think I would have liked the magazine parodies.

 :great:   :great:
aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2154 on: June 09, 2020, 09:18:59 AM »
Umbrella and Vampirella...


I had planned to point out this similarity to an actual issue, but you beat me to the punch.  There is another issue with a similar framing as well.



Note that these issues, #27 and #30, are dated Sept. 1973 and Jan. 1974, well before Series 13.  However, if Umbrella was among the titles originally planned for the all-magazine series, and small sizing suggests it was, that project preceded Series 11 which would make the creation of the Wackys a year or so before Series 13, so by all means one of these issues was likely used to make this parody IMO.

Critique of this title depends on whose eyes it is seen through.  My 8-year old eyes wouldn’t have known what to think.  Hadn’t seen or heard of Vampirella by then, so I wouldn’t have known what was being spoofed with the name Umbrella.  My 53-year old eyes love this title, as a fan of the entire Warren publishing group of magazines, and on the merits of the artwork itself.  I also think this one outshines both Sleepy and Famous Mobsters.  Maybe we’ll see an Eerie spoof in Old School someday?  That way all 4 major titles would be represented, which would be awesome.

Offline mikecho

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2155 on: June 09, 2020, 09:47:31 AM »
I had planned to point out this similarity to an actual issue, but you beat me to the punch.  There is another issue with a similar framing as well.



Note that these issues, #27 and #30, are dated Sept. 1973 and Jan. 1974, well before Series 13.  However, if Umbrella was among the titles originally planned for the all-magazine series, and small sizing suggests it was, that project preceded Series 11 which would make the creation of the Wackys a year or so before Series 13, so by all means one of these issues was likely used to make this parody IMO.

Critique of this title depends on whose eyes it is seen through.  My 8-year old eyes wouldn’t have known what to think.  Hadn’t seen or heard of Vampirella by then, so I wouldn’t have known what was being spoofed with the name Umbrella.  My 53-year old eyes love this title, as a fan of the entire Warren publishing group of magazines, and on the merits of the artwork itself.  I also think this one outshines both Sleepy and Famous Mobsters.  Maybe we’ll see an Eerie spoof in Old School someday?  That way all 4 major titles would be represented, which would be awesome.
Don't forget The Rook. That was a major title at the time, too (or was that one made in the 1980s? I can never remember these kind of things sometimes).

And I've got a good Wacky title for Eerie, too: Query.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2020, 04:11:22 PM by mikecho »

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2156 on: June 09, 2020, 02:52:41 PM »
I had planned to point out this similarity to an actual issue, but you beat me to the punch.  There is another issue with a similar framing as well.



Note that these issues, #27 and #30, are dated Sept. 1973 and Jan. 1974, well before Series 13.  However, if Umbrella was among the titles originally planned for the all-magazine series, and small sizing suggests it was, that project preceded Series 11 which would make the creation of the Wackys a year or so before Series 13, so by all means one of these issues was likely used to make this parody IMO.

Critique of this title depends on whose eyes it is seen through.  My 8-year old eyes wouldn’t have known what to think.  Hadn’t seen or heard of Vampirella by then, so I wouldn’t have known what was being spoofed with the name Umbrella.  My 53-year old eyes love this title, as a fan of the entire Warren publishing group of magazines, and on the merits of the artwork itself.  I also think this one outshines both Sleepy and Famous Mobsters.  Maybe we’ll see an Eerie spoof in Old School someday?  That way all 4 major titles would be represented, which would be awesome.

I like the angle of Vampirella on your cover a little better...not to mention the curves  :72: I borrowed that joke from the song Clap for the Wolfman
« Last Edit: June 09, 2020, 02:55:00 PM by Swiski »

Offline freetoes

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2157 on: June 09, 2020, 05:56:18 PM »
I like the angle of Vampirella on your cover a little better...not to mention the curves  :72: I borrowed that joke from the song Clap for the Wolfman

This was one of two Series 13's I didn't see until 1999 (Icicle was the other). I would not have recognized the real product. My sole memory of Vampirella magazine was Vincent Duenas's copy being confiscated during ninth-grade Spanish class.

I give it a thumbs-up all the same. As usual, it's the artwork that sells the gag.

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2158 on: June 09, 2020, 06:05:31 PM »
Umbrella and Vampirella...




I would have been 14 in 1973 and pretty sure copies of VAMPIRELLA would not have passed the Mom filter to get into the house. Although my older cousins often gave me hand-me-down copies of NATIONAL LAMPOON which had far worse in it. I think my mother assumed if my aunt let my cousins buy it, it was safe. Ha!
aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2159 on: June 09, 2020, 07:02:10 PM »
I like the angle of Vampirella on your cover a little better...not to mention the curves  :72: I borrowed that joke from the song Clap for the Wolfman
There are covers much hotter than that one!






Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2160 on: June 09, 2020, 07:06:21 PM »
This was one of two Series 13's I didn't see until 1999 (Icicle was the other). I would not have recognized the real product. My sole memory of Vampirella magazine was Vincent Duenas's copy being confiscated during ninth-grade Spanish class.

I give it a thumbs-up all the same. As usual, it's the artwork that sells the gag.
Great story.  The Warren mags always had an air of mystique for me.  Friends didn’t have them, I never saw them at newsstands, only in a local comic shop that stocked a lot of back issues.  But even that was back in the late 70’s and 80’s.  I didn’t even see any at the last couple comic cons I went to!

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2161 on: June 09, 2020, 07:11:26 PM »

I would have been 14 in 1973 and pretty sure copies of VAMPIRELLA would not have passed the Mom filter to get into the house.
Indeed.  There was actually some nude art in Vampirella, at least the couple issues I’ve seen.  I would put it just about on par with Heavy Metal.  I guess like EC comics, they made them magazine-sized to get around the Comics Code Authority issue.

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2162 on: June 10, 2020, 03:59:31 PM »
Nooseweek and Newsweek compared. I researched covers from 1973 to 1975, and the closest one in design is the February 1973 cover. Was the guy on the parody cover supposed to represent anyone in particular?



Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2163 on: June 11, 2020, 01:19:39 PM »
The distinctive look of the character does leave the impression that it’s intended to be someone specific, but I doubt it is.  This one’s always been a little odd to me.  Really silly looking though which is good.  Probably not a Saunders piece, doesn’t have the look of his typical characters.  Did Jay Lynch ever say which other artist(s) did the Wackys that weren’t done by Saunders?  I wonder if John Pound or Tom Bunk were involved back then.

This also has the distinction of being one of the only OS titles I remember having dupes of, outside of Series 4 and 5.

Offline drono

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2164 on: June 11, 2020, 01:21:19 PM »
What you missed though was that banner across the top left.




Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2165 on: June 12, 2020, 05:16:57 AM »
What you missed though was that banner across the top left.




I know, that's why I hate magazine parodies. The artwork is a hodge-podge from various sources.

Offline Bigmuc13

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2166 on: June 12, 2020, 11:52:14 AM »
Nooseweek and Newsweek compared. I researched covers from 1973 to 1975, and the closest one in design is the February 1973 cover. Was the guy on the parody cover supposed to represent anyone in particular?



Two things about this one.  First, can you imagine the outcry if this one was created today?  Topps would have to fold the company.  And second, did you ever notice that the rope isn't even in a noose?  It looks ti be  knot. 
Still looking for Series 17

Offline Swiski

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2167 on: June 13, 2020, 12:37:26 PM »
Crocked and Cracked magazines. Just a little trivia - the janitor character on each covers of the magazine is named Sylvester P. Smythe.

Searching several years of magazines, there is no close match of a real issue. While searching, I found a cool issue from 1973 with a Campbell's soup parody - Cracked Chicken Soap. On the back cover, you can cut out the label and place it over a real label on a can of Campbell's soup.


« Last Edit: June 13, 2020, 12:39:00 PM by Swiski »

Offline MoldRush

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2168 on: June 13, 2020, 12:55:14 PM »
While I’m glad they decided to parody Cracked, another favorite humor mag, this one also puzzles me a bit.  Is the elephant intended to resemble Nixon or some other relevant person from that era?  With the theme of drunkenness so dominant in this parody, I’m not sure how the elephant with the part-human face fits in.  Maybe Nixon hit the bottle hard after Watergate?

The Sylvester character looks like a direct rip-off of the Alfred E Neuman/MAD modus operandi, but that never really bothered me.  If we can have 90 comic books a month on the newsstands (at the time), I think there’s room for two humor mags (or more, if you count Crazy, Sick, etc).

Offline bigtomi

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Re: Gag Criticism, Variation, and Packaging
« Reply #2169 on: June 13, 2020, 04:45:12 PM »
Is the elephant intended to resemble Nixon or some other relevant person from that era?  With the theme of drunkenness so dominant in this parody, I’m not sure how the elephant with the part-human face fits in.  Maybe Nixon hit the bottle hard after Watergate?
I believe it is as simple as this: yes, the elephant has Nixon's head/face. Seeing pink elephants is a euphemism for drunken hallucination. Moreover, Nixon was a Republican which uses the elephant as their party's symbol. So, to me, this all fit together exactly.