Note: in the comic strip tradition all the words in the strip are in capitals, but for readability, I've deigned to write in standard English. Also the words that are in bold in the strip are in red in this text.
"Tarskin", a 4-page response to "Tarzan"
Page 1- Tarskin saves guy with diamond from a roaarr!ing lion
Page 2:
Page 3, Panel 1:
Diamond guy: Amazing! That this great black man should help and befriend a white man!
Tarskin: ?
Page 3, Panel 2:
Tarskin: You- mean – you not black?
Diamond guy: Of course not! Don’t tell me you took my sunburn-…
Page 4:
Diamond guy’s hat on ground in foreground, lion chewing on a bone, going mmrraaarrmm- and Tarskin walking away with the diamond, passing a Pogo-like character.
The chimpanzee Cheetah (looks at lion) Ooh.
Daddy Warbucks (?!) (peeks from around tree): Ooh.
While I do appreciate the fact that the man was trying to rip off our hero, I don't know how allowing the man to be fed to the animals was supposed to promote racial understanding. Even if he IS "The Man".
***
"Laughin' Black" a 4-page parody of "Smilin' Jack", a strip that ran from 1933 to 1973, and which ran in my local papers when I was growing up, as did most of the strips represented.
Page 1: (Three airmen in background, head officer shaking Laughin’ Black’s hand)
Officer: Welcome to our squadron, Laughin’ Black!
Laughin’: Thank you, sir!
Page 2:
Page 3, Panel 1:
Officer (next to Laughin’): We all fight for the same country, wear the same uniforms, and each of us has his very own plane
Page 3, Panel 2: Other pilots running to their planes)
Loudspeaker: Pilots! Man your planes!
Panel 4:
While jets are in the air, Laughin’ is shocked when he comes to his plane (Sign: L. Black), which is a rickety old biplane.
Laughin’: !
In the panel shown, the officer practically says the old cliche, "A credit to his race." This story did portray some truths about separate but unequal treatment.
I’m reminded how the valor of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II helped finally integrate the armed services.
***
"Little Ofay Nannie", a 4-page take on "Little Orphan Annie"
The convention in this strip is to underline certain words, rather than making them bold. Since I'm loath to underline - it means hyperlink to me - I will italicize the underlined text.
Page 1:
Nannie (smiling): Oh, Dandy - isn't it fantabulous that Daddy is coming home for my 65th birthday party?
Dandy (smiling): Arf
Page 2, Panel 1:
Nannie: He's been on a business trip to wonderful places like South VietNam, the Union of South Africa and Rhodesia!
Dandy: Arf
Page 2, Panel 2:
Nannie (in a classic arm-up "Annie" pose"): It'll be such fun to see him again!
Dandy: Arf
Page 3
Page 4:
Nannie (angry, pointing finger at Daddy): Turn blue, you @*O!![dagger]@ honky!!!
Dandy (growling at Daddy): Grr!
Daddy (shocked): !
While her anger was, and is, understandable, this rant left me cold, because it seemed to come out of the blue. It's interesting how the panel before the flaming is the only panel where she does not have those hollow eyes.
I was interested in the citation of South Viet Nam as one of the places Daddy was off exploiting. The African countries' white-ruled governments were obvious targets. (Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe.) I wonder if South Viet Nam was picked because a disportionate number of black soldiers were kllled in the war? Or maybe it's that, as Martin Luther King, Jr. suggested, too many people of color, including innocent Vietnamese were dying there.
***
You'll note that I've added Toonopedia links to the mention of the source comic strip. I did it for "Smilin' Jack" because I figured many of you wouldn't be familiar with him. But I've decided to add the link to all of the reviews, including those previously completed, just in case you didn't know who Superman or Blondie were.
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