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.

THREE LITTLE PIGS REDRAWN AS BEAR CUBS ON TURKISH COVER FROM 1936

Above photo is of the cover of no. 79 (dated May 21st, 1936) of Turkish children's magazine Afacan. The cover illustration originates from the cover of no. 13 (dated May 2nd, 1936) of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly (see below), but has been partially modified with the Three Little Pigs redrawn as bear cubs in an apparent self-censorship to appease Islamic sensibilities.

Nevertheless, the three little pigs would regularly be featured in Turkish Disney comics from early 1950s onwards.

BIG BAD WOLF ON THE COVER OF MMW ANNIVERSARY ISSUE (1957)

Above image is of the cover of no. 874 (dated Feb. 9th, 1957) of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly. The "birthday" referred to in the illustration is not actually of Mickey Mouse himself but of MMW.

BIG BAD WOLF GAG ON THE COVER OF MMW (1940)

Above scan is of a detail featuring a British-made Big Bad Wolg gag from the cover of no. 234 (dated July 27th, 1940) of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly. Below is the full picture of the cover:

RE-DRAWN BIG BAD WOLF COMICS FROM BRITAIN'S MICKEY MOUSE WEEKLY (1950)

The Big Bad Wolf full-page gag comics on the cover of no. 551 (dated Dec. 2nd, 1950) of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly is actually a abridged and re-drawn version of an 8-pages long comics from no. 121 (dated Oct. 1950) of the US Walt Disney's Comics & Stories. The British version largely omits the first 7 pages of the original, adding one new splash panel and two new regular panels featuring the Wolf's attempts to capture the sheep using his Bo-Peep costume. In the American original, the Wolf considers using the same costume but drops the idea:

The subsequent panels of the British version, starting with the "But Later" tag, reproduce the material on the last page of the American version:

BIG BAD WOLF COVER ILLUSTRATION FROM 1939

Above scan is of the bottom-left corner of the cover of no. 161 (dated Mar. 4th, 1939) of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly. Big Bad Wolf had been frequently featured on the covers of MMW in 1936, but this appears to be his first appearance after 1937.

RE-LETTERED AND RE-WORDED BIG BAD WOLF

The above scan is from the color central pages of no. 525 (dated June 3rd, 1950) of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly and features a reformatted edition of a Big Bad Wolf gag from the back cover of a one-shot 3 Little Pigs comics magazine (dated March 1949) from the US (below scan). Note that during the course of re-formatting of the British edition, speech balloons have been re-lettered with altered wordings of dialogue. The new lettering appears to be the work of British artist Basil Reynolds.

BRITISH-MADE LI'L/BIG BAD WOLF COMICS (1948)

A series of Li'l Wolf gag comics were briefly run in Britain's Mickey Mouse comics magazine in 1948. The above scan, featuring the Big Bad Wolf alongside his son, is from no. 468, dated June 26th.
This apparently British-made gag series had been preceeded by the serialization of a redraw Li'l Wolf comics of America origin (see post dated Nov. 5th, 2009 in this blog).

BIG BAD WOLF IN BRITAIN'S MICKEY MOUSE (1947)

The above scan is of the cover of no. 448 (dated Sept. 20th, 1947) of Britain's Mickey Mouse magazine and marks the first-ever cover appearance of Li'l Wolf anywhere in the world, as well as the first re-appearance of Big Bad Wolf in the cover of a British publication in the post-war era.
In 1947, the Big Bad Wolf also appeared in some illustrated text stories in Mickey Mouse. The first one, titled as 'The Mystery of the Missing Pig' and published in 431, is very interesting due to its un-typicality. One of the pigs is missing and Mickey and the gang take the Big Bad Wolf to Disneyville's police as the usual suspect for interrogation where he is cleared of blame.

Eventually, it turns out that the Practical Pig himself had unknowingly locked up his own brother in a coal shed!.. The Big Bad Wolf also appears in 'Sergeat Duck, Sir' published in no. 450 where he takes part in war games organized on Mickey's birthday:

REDRAWN BIG BAD WOLF COMICS IN MICKEY MOUSE WEEKLY (1948)

The comics serialized in Britain's Mickey Mouse comics magazine beginning with issue dated March 20th, 1948 is a redrawn and heavily abridged version of the Li'l Bad Wolf comics published in Walt Disney's Comics & Stories no. 77 from the previous year. The above scans are from the British version's first and the last installments published in MM.

And below is the American version of the last panel of the above scan, note how the sheriff has been redrawn as a more British-looking cop in the British version.

BRITISH BIG BAD WOLF GAG COMICS FROM 1950

The popularity of the 'Li'l Bad Wolf' comics initiated in Walt Disney's Comics & Stories would soon tempt the editors and artists of Disney comics magazines around the world to produce their own Li'l / Big Bad Wolf comics themselves in addition to the imported American material. One of the first (if not the first) to do so appear to be the staff of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly, as exemplifed in the above scan of the cover of issue dated Oct. 14, 1950. As far as I can ascertain, it does not appear to be a redrawn version of an American gag and hence possibly an original British production (If anyone knows otherwise, please correct me). The artist is unknown to me, but likely candidates are Ernest Richardson, Ronald Neilson and Basil Reynolds who are known to have worked at MMW in that era. Incidentally, the idea for this gag would later be used in a Donald Duck daily strip in the US in 1962.

Other non-American Big Bad Wolf comics will eventually be also covered in this blog, so please stay tuned on..

PS: I am sorry to have neglected this blog for some time; this time around, the unfortunate reason is the world-wide economic recession which has began to hit the shores here as well, prompting me to spend some of my extra time in trying to find ways to make ends meet in the face of devaluation of our currency.

BIG BAD WOLF FOOTBALL GAG STRIP FROM 1939

The above scan (click on the image to view it in larger size) is from Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly no.202. I find the pig's facial expression in the first two pictures as priceless. Also, the fact that the wolf is depicted with its gaze turned towards the readers is very interesting -and in line with a feature frequently seen in his appearances in Sunday comics in the pre-war era.

BIG BAD WOLF POEM SERIAL FROM 1939

Above scan is of the illustration accompanying the last installement of a three-part poem-story published in Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly in 1939. The story is about the pigs being kidnapped by the wolf ona sea voyage and then being rescued.

Update from Dec. 7th: I have now realized this poem was earlier published in Mickey Mouse Magazine of the US in 1936 albeit with different illustrations; see post above on Dec. 7th for scan of the original American edition.

PRE-WAR LANTERN SLIDE SETS

I give a short break to my coverage of post-war Big Bad Wolf publications and temporarily revert back to the pre-war era with this post about British lantern slides. The above image is of the box of a set of slides with sequential images from the short cartoon Three Little Pigs (1933) in which the Big Bad Wolf had debutted. Below are the actual slides themselves; click on the image to view it in real size.

This set is one of the many slide sets based on Disney cartoons which were manifactured by the London-based Ensign Ltd. I cannot see any copyright date in the original box of the set in my collection, but it must date from the period 1933-40, possibly circa 1936. The first Three Little Pigs set by Ensign Ltd, which also happened to be their first set with color slides, reportedly came out in 1933, but that set is reported to feature only 14 slides while the set in my collection is from a later edition with 24 slides (as can be seen in the above images).

Among other sets released by Ensign is one based on Three Little Pigs's first sequel, The Big Bad Wolf (1934):

These sets were marketed either individually or in groups together with the lanterns themselves:

Below is a close-up of the wonderful illustration on the reverse side of the lid and further below is the same illustration on the worn-out front side of the lid:

The below advertisement is from no. 40 of British comics magazine Mickey Mouse Weekly, dated Nov. 7th, 1936 (the same advertisement was also published in several other issues of the said magazine in late 1936):

Tragedy befell Ensign Ltd during the 2nd World War as its facilities were hit and destroyed during the Nazi air bombardment of London in September 1940; as a result, the company had to cease its activities and got liquidated...

More info on Ensign can be found here: http://www.luikerwaal.com/newframe_uk.htm?/catalogus_ensign_uk.htm

'SHUFFLED SYMPHPONIES' AND 'LAST GROUND-UP' FROM 1939

In an earlier post on this blog, I had covered Big Bad Wolf's appearances in the 'Shuffled Symphonies' illustrated stories series in Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly in the years 1936-37. The Big Bad Wolf appeared at least two more 'Shuffled Symphonies' episodes in 1939.
In the story published in no.176, the wolf opens a snack bar as a front for his plans and manages to capture not only the two silly pigs as usual, but also Mickey's nephews (and he plans to eat them as well!):

Of course, Mickey and the Practical Pig come to the rescue in the end.
On the other hand, the Big Bad Wolf is portrayed relatively in a better light than usual in the episode on no. 182, which takes its cue from an earlier cartoon short titled Mickey's Polo Team (1936). Here, Mickey sets out to assemble a polo team and the duty of inviting the wolf to take part falls on the shoulders of Donald Duck:

At the end of the game, it is revealed that the Big Bad Wolf hadn't refrained from carrying out a petty theft in the meantime, but he is nevertheless pardoned for the sake of his performance in the game!

The Big Bad Wolf appeared in another illustrated story series published in the same amagazine in the same year. The three-part series titled as 'Last Ground-Up' stars Toby Tortoise as a "tender-foot" hero in the wild west with Peg-Leg Pete and the Big Bad Wolf as a team of villains. The below scan is from the second installement, on. no. 194:

HIGHWAYMAN BIG BAD WOLF CUT-OUT FROM 1940

The above cut-out from the no. 210 of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly enables the readers to dress up Big Bad Wolf as a highwayman, a fitting identity for this character. Highwayman was the name given to outlaws who laid in wait on roads and robbed travellers in the medieval ages in England. It has been recorded that they were nevertheless subject to a degree of admiration from the public and heroic portraits in literature.

The below scan is the instructions to the readers regarding the cut-out.

CUT-OUT AND CARD GAME CONNECTION FROM 1938

A 'cut-out' collection of Disney characters were run in the center pages of Britain's Mickey Mouse Weekly issues from 1938. Below scan is of the Big Bad Wolf cut-out from no. 110:

The illustrations from this cut-out collection were also printed on the cards of a card game from Britain titled as 'Shuffled Symphonies', as seen in this scan of the Big Bad Wolf card:

Its title derived from the title of a series of illustrated stories in Mickey Mouse Weekly, this card game carries a "permission" notice from the said magazine. What makes this game special for the Big Bad Wolf angle is that his card is the pivotal one, as can be read from the rules booklet inside the deck:

The card game itself would be promoted in the magazine on issue no. 145, later in the same year:

Next year, the same card game would be re-released as part of a promo package of a British soap brand.

BRITISH-MADE BIG BAD WOLF COVER ILLUSTRATION FROM 1937

In a previous post (on June 3rd), I had posted cover illustrations, featuring Big Bad Wolf, from Mickey Mouse Weekly issues dating from 1936. The above scan is from the cover of issue no. 52, from 1937 (it's too large to fit my scanner completely, but you can click over the image to view this upper portion in larger size).

BRITISH-MADE BIG BAD WOLF GAG COMICS FROM 1937

The above gag panel is from Mickey Mouse Weekly no. 49 and the below successive gag-comics were ran in no.'s 74 and 75:

The writers and the artists involved are unknown. As far as I know, they have never been reprinted (or posted on the web), so this is the first time they are being available for public viewing in more than 70 years..

'SHUFFLED SYMPHONIES' WITH BIG BAD WOLF FROM 1936-37

In addition to comics, each issue of Mickey Mouse Weekly, from its inception in 1936 until 1940, featured installments of a series of loosely-related illustrated stories titled as 'Shuffled Symphonies' (which the online comics artists encyclopedia Lambiek credits to Basil Reynolds.) and the episode on no. 5 was the first to featured Big Bad Wolf:
The plot of this story involves the Big Bad Wolf kidnapping Mickey's nephews and then hiding in the house of Red Riding Hood's grandma. In the end, the visiting girl realizes the situation and lures away the wolf by lying out loud that she had seen on the way that the wolf's house is on fire. The story is somewhat a-typical of Big Bad Wolf's character in that he is portrayed as brandishing a rifle!

Here is a round-up of his further appearances in 'Shuffled Symphonies' in the remaining issues of Mickey Mouse Weekly in 1936:

The plot of the episode in no.22 entails a boxing match between one of Mickey's nephews and one of Big Bad Wolf's son; however, the match ends as soon as it starts because the over-weight referee causes the floor to crack, causing big frustration on the part of the Wolves:

The episode on no.23 has the Big Bad Wolf kidnap the Cookie Queen and take away the prize money she had brought for a horse race (note that the money bag in the illustration has a British sterlin sign over it!), only to be caught by Mickey...

and brought to justice:

The follow-up episode in no. 24 entails the punishment devised for the Wolf, which is clearly inspired from the 'wolf pacificier' gizmo featured in the cartoon short Three Little Wolves (1936):
At the end of this episode, the Big Bad Wolf and his sons somehow manage to escape on a plane, which is inexplicably carrying a Xmas sign (interestingly, the text acknowledges to this anomaly by saying the wolves were either too late or too early for Christmas, as this was published in July!):

The Big Bad Wolf's next set of appearances in Mickey Mouse Weekly's 'Shuffled Symphonies' would come in no. 29; The theme of this episode is far more ingenious than the previous stories as it entails the Big Bad Wolf forging gold coins in, of all places, the Land of Midas (the king with the gold touch):

In the follow-up on no. 30, he is caught by Mickey in a trap set by the Three Pigs:

and given an intricate punishment:

In a succession of stories set in Nursery-Rhyme Land and published in no.'s 49-53, he teams up with Mickey Mouse's nemesis Peg-Leg Pete!.. However, the wolf himself does not get center stage until the third installement of this serial. Below are scans from no's 51-53:

This succession of stories which start in Nursery-Rhyme Land are rather disjointed with poorly articulated plots. On the other hand, another episode with the Big Bad Wolf later in the same year is very interesting as it is based on a uniquely British cultural motif. November 5th is traditionally celebrated in the UK with fireworks as the anniversary of the uncovering of a Catholic plot to blow-up the Parliament. The 'Shuffled Symphony' episode in no. 92, which came out on Nov. 6th, 1937 features the wolf's plot to blow-up the big brother pig during these celebrations:

A few issues from 1937 are missing from my Mickey Mouse Weekly collection, so these might not be all the Big Bad Wolf appearances in that year's 'Suffled Symphony' episodes. However, I can confidently say that the wolf wasn't featured in any episode in 1938. Scan of his next appearance in 1939 will be posted in the coming days.