In the post war Four Color books, Andy Panda and his friend, Charlie Chicken, were featured in some of the most surreal adventures ever staple-stitched between comic covers. This darkly-tinged, rollicking tale of an insane inventor intent on world domination is top of the class. The art here is all Dan Gormley, and no one drew the Panda any better. Gormley did this beauty of a cover, too.
What’s cool about Andy (besides Walter Lantz' design) is his heroic optimism; his very aggressive positivism. With the Panda, if you can't get on board the positive express, you'd best get off the tracks! Notice how he glares and balls up his balloon fists whenever Charlie’s attitude flags. This is from Four Color No. 198, September 1948. Scans are from my own comic.
What’s cool about Andy (besides Walter Lantz' design) is his heroic optimism; his very aggressive positivism. With the Panda, if you can't get on board the positive express, you'd best get off the tracks! Notice how he glares and balls up his balloon fists whenever Charlie’s attitude flags. This is from Four Color No. 198, September 1948. Scans are from my own comic.
PostScript: I have learned from my good friend, Gabriel (Joyville), that this great story is by John Stanley, which makes perfect sense. For a wonderful essay on this story, please visit Frank M. Young's blog: Stanley Stories.
More Gormley from the inside front cover. I love the hatcheck girl. Then as now, good help is hard to find.
More Gormley from the inside front cover. I love the hatcheck girl. Then as now, good help is hard to find.
Oh my, oh my, oh my... this Andy and Charlie story is INCREDIBLE. It' the first Andy Panda story I've ever read and now I'm hooked for life. He's my new hero; resourceful, brave and truly heroic...risking his life to save Morgan. Morgan, what a great villain--looking so sweet and benign at the start. I love the way the colorist uses green,yellows and Blues.. visually bright. This is just an EPIC story. Who needs to wait for Christmas Presents when we've got Mykal's blog
ReplyDeleteHey, Mykal!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting that.
I had already read this story before, but the high quality condition of yours is well worth a re-reading. Is one of the best stories you have posted here, IMHO, so it was a total pleasure!
It's a John Stanley's, by the way. I mention it just in case-- There's an insightful comment about it by Frank Young on his blog Stanley Stories.
The link:
http://stanleystories.blogspot.com/2009/06/nightmarish-sf-epic-starring-andy-n.html
Best, my friend!
Gabriel: Thanks a ton for the info! John Stanley - I should have guessed by the great, inventive mayhem! I will have to augment my post to reflect this! Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteR/E: Thanks for the kind words - you always have such fine insights. I like the colors as well - very bright and primary, and yes, there is an epic quality to the story that I love as well. -- Mykal
excellent! i love andy panda! i have very fond memories of racing home after school to watch the woody woodpecker show!
ReplyDeleteMykal, I was really happy to see this one. I have very fond memories of Andy Panda comics from the period in my youth when I had comics for entertainment, but hadn't yet learned to read.
ReplyDeleteComic books were actually my inspiration for learning to read at an early age, so that I could appreciate them for more than just the terrific artwork inside of them.
I don't currently have any Andy Pandas, so darn you for adding to my back issue misery.
Chuck: Me, too. I loved Andy Panda as a kid. I even preferred him to Mickey Mouse. Something abut Walter Lantz' character design always struck me as very cool. -- Mykal
ReplyDeleteBrad: Like I was telling Chuck, Walter Lantz's characters and cartoons were my favorites. The Woody Woodpecker Show was my all time favorite show as a kid. Buzzy Buzzard was such a great villain. -- Mykal
He he! The scene where they have light-hearted mischief with a gun and it humorously goes off and hits a guy makes me happy. That's something I miss. Good ol' gun Humor.
ReplyDeleteAndy Pandy~ and many other Walter Lantz characters~ always seemed more real to me~ like~ they were cut from familiar archtypes~ kids & other people we actually knew in our towns and neighborhoods. I never met a Mickey Mouse...(as much as I would like to); but, I can think of two different kids growing up who were kinda like Andy Panda !
ReplyDeleteKeith: For good ol' fashioned laughs, it's hard to beat the bad guy getting shot in the toe.
ReplyDeleteLysdexicuss: I know what you mean. I think somehow Andy was just vulnerable enough to feel real. Like in this story, when he goes rushing back into the burning building, it feels very heroic, as if he were doing something that scared him, but he was doing it despite his fear. With Mickey (god love him), he was simply fearless. Seeing Mickey doing the same thing would offer no surprises.
Thanks for commenting, guys! -- Mykal
You might a good point here about the difference between Andy and Mickey. With Mickey or Popeye, they're "simply fearless." However, like these two characters, Andy is often the resourceful strategist. He's not the fall guy he often is in his mid-1940s cartoons. Another interesting example of how comic book stars' personalities differ from their screen personalities.
DeleteShade - "Resourceful strategist." I like that for Andy. Well done.
DeleteHey Mykal...thank you for solving a mystery! I found a couple beat-up copies of Andy Panda at my local comic shop recently, and I was BLOWN away by the art! I looked online for more info, but I couldn't find anything on the anonymous artist. Thanks for shedding light on the name Dan Gormley -- he's terrific!
ReplyDeleteSherm: You are more than welcome! I, too, was blown away by the art. So much so that I rushed and bought more of Gormley! Stay Tuned. Oh, BTW, I just bought Character Design. I am a very, very amateur cartoonist without any further ambitions (I find it makes me calm as long as I don't take it too seriously). I like your book a lot! -- Mykal
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this old comic. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis story shows the influence of the then-popular horror/mystery radio shows and pulp magazines. The last page especially has the tone of a typical Inner Sanctum Mystery episode.
ReplyDeleteShade: Great info! I hadn't thought of that, but now I see it.
ReplyDelete