First appearances of Our Gang, Tom & Jerry, Barney Bear, Pete Smith, Flip and Dip, and the Milky Way. Walt Kelly art. Photo frontispiece and back cover of Our Gang.
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COVER DETAILS
Characters:
Our Gang [Janet; Mickey; Spanky; Froggy; Buckwheat]; Barney Bear; Tom; Jerry
Pencils:
Walt Kelly
Inks:
Walt Kelly
Letters:
typeset
STORY DETAILS
Characters:
Our Gang [Mickey; Buckwheat; Froggy; Janet; Spanky]; The Gashouse Gang [Feeney; Ham (as yet unnamed); Iggy]; Mr. Johnson (junk dealer)
Synopsis:
The gang members look for a place to play baseball but find an available vacant lot is covered with junk. They decide to collect the junk and sell it but are opposed by The Gashouse Gang who want the junk, and money, for themselves.
Pages:
10.000
Script:
Gaylord Du Bois
Pencils:
Walt Kelly
Inks:
Walt Kelly
Letters:
Walt Kelly
Notes:
Du Bois script credit per Funnybooks (UC Press, Oakland) 2015 by Michael Barrier, p. 65: "Kelly drew the first 'Our Gang' story from a script by Gaylord Du Bois, Lebeck's principal writer ... The first two stories--Du Bois may have written the second as well as the first--have Our Gang involved in conflicts, the first with a rival gang that ends when a misunderstanding is cleared up, very much a Du Bois marker, and then one with criminals. The third story, though, is a slapstick comedy of the kind that became a Kelly specialty." (Previous indexer credited the script to Walt Kelly.)
The children are drawn in a much more realistic style than in later stories.
Title:
Proving Bears Don't Go For Gophers and Gophers Can Barely Bear Bears
Characters:
Barney Bear; a gopher
Synopsis:
Barney finds that his beet garden has been invaded by a gopher.
Pages:
3.000
Characters:
Tom (a cat); Jerry (a mouse); Tuffy (Jerry's little brother)
Synopsis:
Jerry and Tuffy try to raid the refrigerator.
Pages:
8.000
Script:
Gaylord Du Bois
Notes:
Tom is colored brown in this story instead of the traditional gray.
Gaylord Du Bois script identification by David Porta, February 2014.
First appearance of Tuffy, a character created by Oskar Lebeck and Gaylord Du Bois, designed by them specifically for the comics, as per page 34 Reflections on The Eyrie; by Gaylord Du Bois. Eyrie Publications, Essex, N.Y. 1984. First appearance and character creator credit identification by David Porta, May 2014.
Title:
The Story of Johnny Mole
Characters:
Johnny Mole; Dr. Primrose Skunk; Mrs. Mole
Synopsis:
Nearsighted Johnny Mole is given glasses by Dr. Skunk and can see the world clearly for the first time. He still manages to get in trouble, especially when he breaks his glasses.
Pages:
6.000
Pencils:
? (spot illustrations)
Inks:
? (spot illustrations)
Letters:
typeset
Notes:
Story is in text form which is framed by wordless cartoon panels on the sides and bottom of the pages.
Characters:
Flip; Dip; Ma; Pa
Synopsis:
The monkey family moves into a new treehouse.
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Gaylord Du Bois
Notes:
Gaylord Du Bois script credit as per page 179, Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [Books] Group 2. Pamphlets, Etc. New Series, Volume 40 for the Year 1943 By Library of Congress, Copyright Office. Gaylord Du Bois script identification by David Porta, February 2014.
Title:
Pete Smith's Lions on the Loose
Characters:
A family of lions in the zoo
Synopsis:
The lion family finds life in the zoo to be to their liking.
Pages:
2.000
Pencils:
? (spot illustrations)
Inks:
? (spot illustrations)
Letters:
typeset
Notes:
Text story with two spot illustrations.
Title:
The Donkey in the Lion's Skin
Characters:
Benny Burro; various barnyard and forest animals
Synopsis:
When Benny pulls a lion skin off a clothesline and it falls on top of him, the other animals think he's a real lion on the loose.
Pages:
3.000
Title:
Barney Bear Wants a Good Plan for Hiber-national Defense!
Characters:
Barney Bear; a gopher
Synopsis:
Barney settles in for a winter's hiberation but a pesky gopher tries to mooch his food.
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Gaylord Du Bois
Pencils:
Walt Kelly
Inks:
Walt Kelly
Letters:
Walt Kelly
Notes:
Du Bois writer credit per Funnybooks (UC Press, Oakland) 2015 by Michael Barrier: "[Du Bois] was called upon to write ... 'Barney Bear' in the first issue," pg122. Previous indexer credited Kelly. (1943 Copyright Entries, Pamphlets, credits the entire publication to Lebeck, Du Bois, and Kelly, without specifying who did what. The surviving Du Bois Account Books compiled by Randall Scott pick up with entries of stories written Aug. Sept. Oct. &c. for issues 2,3,4 &c. with no Barney Bear stories.)
Title:
The Milky Way
Characters:
The Three Little Kittens; Mama
Synopsis:
The Three Little Kittens have lost their mittens and are sent to bed without supper. They decide to use balloons to fly to the Milky Way for some milk.
Pages:
7.000
Title:
Jimmy Wells Explorer
Characters:
Jimmy Wells; Professor Tubbs
Synopsis:
Professor Tubbs' magic stereoscope shrinks Jimmy and transports him in the backyard world of nature.
Pages:
4.000
Script:
Gaylord Du Bois
Pencils:
? (spot illustrations)
Inks:
? (spot illustrations)
Letters:
typeset
Notes:
Text with spot illustrations. Similar to Warner Bros.'s Mary Jane and Sniffles series in which the hero shrinks and has adventures with animals and learns about nature.
Gaylord Du Bois script credit as per page 179, Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [Books] Group 2. Pamphlets, Etc. New Series, Volume 40 for the Year 1943 By Library of Congress, Copyright Office. Gaylord Du Bois script identification by David Porta, February 2014.
Characters:
King (dog); King's master
Synopsis:
When the canoe of a young Quebec sportsman hits the rapids, his dog King is thrown into the river. They become separated and King must learn to survive on his own in the wilderness.
Pages:
9.000
Script:
Gaylord Du Bois
Notes:
Comic story with captions.
Gaylord Du Bois script credit as per page 179, Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [Books] Group 2. Pamphlets, Etc. New Series, Volume 40 for the Year 1943 By Library of Congress, Copyright Office. Gaylord Du Bois script identification by David Porta, February 2014.
Characters:
Our Gang [Froggy; Spanky; Janet; Buckwheat; Mickey]; Barney Bear; Tom; Jerry
Pages:
1.000
Pencils:
?; ? (photograph)
Inks:
?; ? (photograph)
Notes:
Back cover. Black and white photo of Our Gang, framed by color illustrations of Barney Bear and Tom and Jerry.
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CGC Census Report*
Grade
0.5
1.0
1.5
1.8
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0
9.2
9.4
9.6
9.8
9.9
10.0
Total
Universal
2
0
1
1
3
1
2
3
2
4
5
3
2
3
4
2
0
2
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
43
Qualified
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Signature Series
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Restored
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
Total
2
0
1
1
3
2
3
3
2
4
6
3
2
3
4
2
0
2
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
46
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