Saturday 14 May 2011

BIG BAD WOLF IN UNDERGROUND COMICS


Above image is of the cover of no. 1 of Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories, an 'underground' satire comics magazine. The title, as well the logo design, is obviously reminiscent of Walt Disney's Comics & Stories. The "January 1948" date printed on the cover is spurious: the comics was actually published circa 1971. Dan O'Neill (1942- ) is an American underground comics artist who led a small group of like-minded artists who put out a comics magazine titled Air Pirates featuring Mickey Mouse and some other Disney comics characters in 1971. They were immediately sued by the Disney Company which won the case in a prolonged trial and appeals, but a successful protest campaign by O'Neill and his compatriots ("Mouse Liberation Front"!) led to an eventual settlement in 1980. I am not clear if Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories was also invoked in the lawsuit; if anyone knows any better, please let us know.
There were three issues of the "Vol. 1" of Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories. The cover of no. 2 featured the Practical Pig being machine-gunned by Bucky Bug.

Sunday 1 May 2011

BRITISH-MADE BIG BAD WOLF ILLUSTRATED STORY (1953)

The no. 709 (dated Dec. 12th, 1953) of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly featured an interesting Three Pigs vs Big Bad Wolf illustrated story titled 'The House That Wasn't There'. Inspired by the classic tale 'The Emperor's New Clothes', Practical Pig spreads the word that he has built a very strong house. Even though no such house has been built, he instructs his brothers to act as if there was such a house. However, the Big Bad Wolf has also read the tale and rushes onto the scene, aware that there is no house on the spot. Unfortunately for him, the cunning Practical Pig has dug up a hidden trench:
I find this story interesting because it implies the wolf to be a cultured creature; the Practical Pig can outwit him because he takes it for granted that the wolf would be familiar with the tale.