The Golden Age thread is chockablock with poor art, bizarre anatomy, unintentionally (?) suggestive elements, general nuttiness. WTF, right?

Then there are the other ones. Every so often I run across a cover that seems like it should "make sense" but I can't quite work out what the artist was trying to convey. It probably comes down to one of three things:

• cultural references no longer commonly understood
• poorly realized situation/gag
• 99 out of 100 people understand it just fine (I am the 1%!)

I'll post 'em, you guys help me out. Deal?

<spits in hand. extends to shake with LYL>

Can we just exclude all Liefeld covers right off the bat and accept that they are in a class all their own?

what category would that be.

I can only think of really bad things to say.

Better left unsaid methinks.

Grand Comics Database page for issue
Full issue at the Digital Comic Museum . (Cover doesn't seem to be related to contents.)

The sign"definitely references service flags

The Wikipedia disambiguation page for Eight-ball says that it's "U.S. military jargon for a soldier often in trouble"

OK, that's sort of making sense. But how does the guard house play into it? I've heard of standing guard as punishment, but that sounds pretty plush when compared to a frozen trench on the Russian front*. (The comic is dated January 1946 which probably means it was written months earlier, possibly even when the war was on.)


*thank you, Colonel Klink

The only thing I can think of is she is a mother who doesnt want her son going off to war and is pretending he's crazy?

8 ball = "Section 8", which is when the army dismisses you for cracking up.

"he's in the guard house" = meaning, that's where they'd lock up a crazy person? I'm unsure of that one. "We locked him in the guard house" *sounds* like it could be a recurring phrase in the 40's, but I cant pinpoint where I've heard it.

Now I cant tell if the man is a soldier or some milkman / trash collector mash-up.

There we go. I'd only been thinking of a guard house as a guard BOOTH (at an entrance of a camp) but guardhouse can mean JAIL in the military.

Where's the guys other leg? In the can?

Any bakers in the house?



What the F is in her left hand, and what the F is she doing with her right hand?

That could be a special kind of cake pan, I guess. I'm no expert in the field.

As for the right hand, that sort of looks like testing a cake for 'doneness' with a toothpick, but it doesn't work. First, if that is NOT the pan but the actual cake, well, shiny blue/black cake? That could be explained by poor touch-up work to the photo. BUT...who turns a cake out of a pan and THEN tests it?

It's burnt to a crisp and bent the toothpick. Anyway, that's what I "see" when I look at it.

Not a good dating tip from Van Johnson.

NO ONE holds a cake like that to test it, but I'll ignore that because the scene is exaggerated for the camera.

Also, if your cake is burned SO BAD that it is blue/black, there's no way you'd test it. You'd know it by the smell. Again, exaggeration for the camera -- fine.

It's a photo so I expect "reality" (as opposed to something in a drawing that doesn't work) but of course they didn't burn a cake just to take this picture. So what IS that prop in the model's hand?

Jeepers! She's just a young, inexperienced teenager! She clearly has no idea what she's doing.

Hence her taking dating advice from clearly gay actors!

It's clearly a indication that it's okay to put something crooked into baked goods.

And why is she holding the cake with a towel? if she knew the cake was tough enough to be held by a towel, why waste a perfectly good toothpick testing it?

Teens never think about wasting things!

What teens do you know?

I feel a little sorry for the model on the cover. I am sure she thought it would be her big break. Instead, she likely died a penniless, cat-hoarding spinster, her one claim to "fame" dissected 60 years later by nerds on a message board. Heartbreaking, really. *dabs tear*

Poor Matilda.

She waltzes... and bakes... no more.

But she shall live on... in the annals of Legion World history.

My first thought is that it was a horribly bad translation, and the original word was 'garderobe,' which can mean 'bathroom.'

But then a visit to Wikipedia reminded me that normal people haven't called bathrooms 'garderobes' since they stopped living in castles, and I need to come back to earth now.

Clearly Miss Teen America isn't testing a cake for 'done-ness,' but is actually 200 ft. tall and probing a blue-black alien saucer-craft to torment the aliens inside!

Gag: "Oh no, the cake came out wrong!". Check.

Still undetermined: the prop is that is standing in for the "cake". Cake pan or jello/aspic/pate mold seems likely, I've never seen one that color. Metal ones are copper or dull silver, and plastic ones are bright.

I've also wondered if it could be fake jello (like wax fruit). You know, like all the photographers had lying around back in the day. But again, it's too dark. Jello would be red or green, or something bright.

"The Sarge"'s "Yeah, you and who else?" sounds like a typical response to an unlikely claim, like a small guy threatening to kick a big guy's ass. But "The Private" is leaning away from the Sarge and even has one of his hands up so the body language doesn't read right for that.

I can't explain "The General" AT ALL. Not why he is on the ground, or what is supposed to happen next. The closest gag I can figure is Sarge chewing out Private when Sarge is inadvertently about to hit the General but neither the dialogue nor the blocking bear that out.

Does the Private's left hand mean anything, or does the artist just draw hands weird? (Look at the General's. Ouch!)

When I was a kid, the comeback was "Yeah? You and what ARMY?" I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Looks like the General is on the joke with the private. He's setting up the Sargent so when the Sarge is pushed by the Private, his legs will buckle against the General and he'll instantly fall to his butt. This was a recurring 'gag' throughout 30's - 50's cinema, comic strips, etc.

I guess the irony is that the Sarge can kick around the Private, but he too answers to someone who can kick him around, the General.

...and in real life, at least when I was growing up.

Looks like kids are still at it, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsw7feNBvIM

The classics never die, as evidenced by what the kid shouts at the end.

I think the Private's body language is part of the set up. He's ostensibly backing down to lull the Sergeant into a false sense of security until the General gets into position and then... push!

Oh... and actually now that I look closer, I don't think that rank is supposed to be a General, but rather a Major... who would generally be a Company Commander and therefore, likely the Sergeant's "boss", supporting Cobie's idea about the hierarchy of pushing someone around.

It's amusing to me because the standard phrase as I know it best is, "You and WHAT ARMY?" and these guys are Military.

I have no recall of the push-over thing, either from real life or movies. I can easily image it as a "Little Rascals" thing though.

What's not clear is why the top brass (actual rank unimportant -- main idea is that he IS ranking) would be in on it.

Armies? So last century. Today, it should be, 'Oh yeah, you and what unmanned predator drone?'

And, at some point in the future, 'Oh yeah, you and what artificially-intelligent fourth-dimensional bioweapon?'

The rank isn't super-important, but it does give the joke a little more punch if he were a Major, because then the reason that he's in on it is a little more clear.

This might be a little boring but, by way of explanation... basically, you wouldn't expect that the average low ranking sergeant would have much day-to-day interaction with a general... generals don't tend to hang around with enlisted men.

But if he were a Major - implied by the gold leaves on his epaulettes - then it's likely that he's the head of the "Company" - a smaller army unit - that the sergeant is in, and is basically the Sergeant's "boss".

So... just as the Sergeant bullies the Private (who he's in charge of), his rightful comeuppance (for being a bullying jerk) would come at the hands of his own boss, the Major. If the Private were to simply push the Sergeant without the Major's involvement, he'd be punished, but the "You and Who Else?" makes all the difference, because now the Sergeant has no recourse.

There's definitely a "there's the boss and there's the BIG BOSS" element that is not specific to the military, but the uniforms make it clear who's who in the scenario.

Sarge is probably supposed to be a loudmouth jerk, but "yeah, you and who else" HAS to be in response to a fresh remark.

I think the whole thing is visual gag that doesn't really flow with the "you and who else" conversational gambit.

Like with the Miss America cover (and lots of covers, really) you allow for certain exaggeration/simplification/whatnot to make the gag work -- or not. Even so, I can't help wondering if a senior officer would really dress down (in any manner) a lower-ranking officer in front of a GI. I can't claim any real knowledge of military culture, but it just doesn't seem right.

What's interesting is that in say, 1946, probably just about every kid buying comics knew the structure / ranks of the military.

I can tell you most kids today do not know that--not even close.

No, you're absolutely right... that sort of "dressing down" in front of someone's subordinates would very rarely happen (and be deemed really inappropriate if it did) but... yeah... suspension of disbelief, and all that.

Trust me... if military accuracy was a prerequisite to comic strips, "Beetle Bailey" would have been cancelled on day one.

80s kids learned it via G. I. Joe.

Is there a joke here?

Not that I can see???

I mean, really. I've checked this a few times and I don't see the joke.

I assume there's some sort of Irish thing at play here, based solely on costuming, and the idea of the ass not wanting to walk is well-known, but I see NO connection and nothing to make it an obvious "TEE-HEE" cover.

Unless there's something amusing about Irishmen and donkeys I am missing--?? *looks to Cobie*

Middle man definitely wants to get to the parade or procession or whatever.

Does redhead want to stay or go? At first I thought he was sitting, which = stay, but I think the tails of his jacket look like a stool or something.

Is it that his foot is braced against the animal's leg as a way to pull it along...but is really preventing the animal from moving?

I think they all just want to join in the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and the donkey just isn't cooperating. I think that's all there is to it.

Nah, I think it's that he's pulling the head with the rope but his foot is pushing and blocks the animal from moving. It's not that noticeable because redhead's shoe blends into middle man's shoe.

I think it's just a trick of (bad) perspective. He's leaning back with his left foot pointing in the air, trying to get the donkey to move. I think the heel is supposed to be touching the ground on the far side of the donkey's right (background) leg.

I would expect the next move to be for the donkey to stop resisting and for him to fall flat on his posterior.

Yeah...I'm at a loss on this one. I think Eryk might be right on the pretty bare extent of the joke.

Again, is there a joke here?

Going by the pitcher's stance I think the ball is still mid-pitch, and MAYBE the gag is that it's called a strike before the batter can reasonably swing. "Funny"!

What are the signals the ump is making?
Is STRIKE ONE cover text? If it is dialogue, who is saying it?

It looks to me like the batter is disagreeing with the call, and the umpire is making a fist, getting ready to deck the batter. If that is the case, I think it is kinda strange that the umpire is making the fist with his left hand, unless he is a lefty.

If the gag is that it's being called mid-pitch (which isn't a bad gag), then you'd think they would've shown the ball mid-flight. As well as making more obvious that "Strike One" is the umpire's dialogue.

Since the umpire's right arm is in an impossible position (try it - you can't put your arm at that angle behind you with your thumb down), it's probably just bad, rushed, art.

It occurred to me that the pitcher may have called "strike one" to distract the batter, and the batter may be objecting to this (possibly even, in a never-in-real-life moment, mistaking it for the umpire calling it). Or it may just be the logo being in the way of the call being in the more logical place.

Ooh, I like the pitcher-calling-it theory...

...a brief break in the WTFery....

You went and read Punch 16 didn't you? Cover to cover. And you wondered who bought the tie.



v This guy.

Splash Waters?? Really?!?

I like how the cop is just enjoying seeing a guy get reamed out by a hot woman in a fancy dress. Preparing to sweep in?

And that's mighty formal dress wear for the middle of the day.

So, apparently IW specialized in basically illegally reprinting other companies comics!

So, now I'm wondering if "Splash Waters" was originally published by someone else.

Yeah, but will you kiss me in the dark, Baby?

Century Publications (a Canadian company) - 1946:

Century was part of Superior Publishers Limited : "A Canadian publisher who mostly reprinted American comics from the same time period. Also published a number of original series that were distributed in the United States."

Haven't found info about a comic titled Splash Waters or other mention of a story (in an anthology book) with him as a character, although we know it exists. No sign of his identical cousin Pound Sand either.

Baseball cover still mysterious too.

GCD page for Full of Fun. It's clear FoF reprints the story Exy posted. GCD notes: "Most likely Bernard Baily Studio material from the mid-40s."

Okay, sentients, back to work! You can kiss Jerry in the dark later.

What is going on here? The multi-scoop ice cream cone sort-of resembles the man's multiple hats, but is that really a gag?

And what's up with that guy? Who is he calling to? Why does he have 4 hats on his head? Why does he have a pair of trousers over his arm? Where are they?

I suppose the man could be a clothier. I am reminded a bit of this cover:



...but what's the Henry gag?

Hey! These comic book mysteries aren't going to solve themselves!

My impression is that we're supposed to assume that the 4-hatted guy inspired Henry to get a 4-scoop cone. But that doesn't answer your questions.

Teeds, do you know what year this is from? I think I remember seeing this cover way back in my childhood.

Henry #32: Jul/Aug 1953

All Funny Comics #9: Winter 1945

Thanks. It preceded my birth, but maybe it crossed little LT's path somewhere later.

I read it that Henry just happens to have four scoops and sees a man with four hats. The man is too busy to notice the similarity, but Henry seems surprised--an example of kids being more aware of what's going on than adults, perhaps.

Why the man is wearing four hats to begin with is anyone's guess. Perhaps the cover is supposed to make the reader who is wondering the same thing pick up the issue.

What's up with these kids? The usual pantomime for "sleepwalker" is to have both arms out. If that's what it's supposed to be -- kids faking sleepwalking so they can get a look at Santa -- why is only one of them actually peeking?

The others are actually sleepwalking. The message: It's more naughty to see Santa than it is to sleepwalk. Never mind the dangers of sleepwalking. Notice how Santa isn't concerned at all with the kids' safety; he's only put out that one is peeking.

As for the extended arms, maybe they're Hitler Youth?

The one with an eye open is subliminally controlling the other sleepwalking chiddren, and is going to use them to overpower Santa and steal his sack of toys!

Unfortunately, Lil' Miss Ginger Wave McPeeksalot was unaware that her orphanage was the *last* place Santa visits every year, and that the only toys left in his sack was whatever leftover junk at the bottom of the pile (mostly factory seconds, pre-owned toys donated to charity and 'distressed merchandise') he was going to leave them anyway before heading back to the Pole.

That disappointing revelation will be the dramatic turn that leads to her turn to *real* super-villainy, as she hijacks his sleigh and, with her army of mind-controlled orphans, takes over Santa's Workshop!

So, Set, you're saying that's the secret origin of

Not so secret know that we've told everyone!

She thought she could hide her perfidy, but *now* the story can be told!

She's already on it.

In this case, I have no problem with the general premise: Elmer is surprised to find Daffy in the ice cream freezer. Daffy's in there because he's daffy! Fine.

My question is about Elmer's "6" pin. Does that mean something? Are they at Six Planets?

Elmer's part of a satanic trio. I'm guessing Sylvester the Cat and Yosemite Sam have the other two "6" pins.

The Hitler Youth was good this year?

That joke is so page 3.


This cover still requires demystifiction:


In this case, I have no problem with the general premise: Elmer is surprised to find Daffy in the ice cream freezer. Daffy's in there because he's daffy! Fine.

My question is about Elmer's "6" pin. Does that mean something? Are they at Six Planets?

Um...Teeds, did you miss this post of mine? It was right before Cobie's post.

I missed nothing.

Why's it all Satan & Hitler up in here, people?

What liquid is in that punch bowl (and Donald's cups)?
What the HELL are H/D/L doing? With guns??
And just what's the gag?

Is this an Australian thing?

Hmm, here's the American print (presumably the original).

Squirt guns. Water pistols.

I've never seen water pistols that fill from the barrel, but that makes sense.

BACK TO WORK, SLACKING SENTIENTS!




Foot off ground: left or right?
Foot on ground: left or right?

This is all crossed up, something's not right. Or maybe too right.

What's funny is that if either foot was a left foot, you could say the legs are crossed or not.

This is a freebie, I done figured it out.

The Better World Inside the Sugar Egg

These days, Donald would be arrested for child abuse.

Got Wood.

What's the question about that cover?

He's holding his dad's log. What's so unusual about that?

My bad fellows, I jumped the gun on this one read the headline and not the set up of the post. the only thing I got is every time I see this cover I think WTF! sorry I'll try and do better next time now that I know the guide lines.

Go grab a snack. This one might take a while.



There's like 2 and a half physics problems here.

What is Crimebuster (our Boy Hero) doing? Why?

How did the hoodlum get thrown back-first into the wall? He was, presumably, driving, and facing front.

Did that car crash into a wall, or a corner?

(I have no questions about the monkey. It's a comic book. Ipso facto, et cetera et cetera.)


The interior of the comic sort of explains question 1, but as an image, does this hold? Am I the only one having problems processing this? (It took me 10 minutes to realize the front of the car was on the right.)

My guess is that the crook had turned around in the car to shoot at ol' Chuck Chandler, and that's why he's flying out back first!

The lesson: Don't let your monkey drive while you're shooting at the boy hero.

Here's the interior bit. It's an a non-convertible Alternate Reality.

The covers with food make me huuuungry

Answers, sentients! We need answers!

Such as: does the top 1/3 of the comic above make sense to anyone?

Man, I suck at these "wait till you see it" things.

"Again?"

Is this the first or what? She's going for a crotch feel so I'd at least wait for her to finish that before knocking off her and Conan.

Where is the roof of the house?

Is that a house?

What is that horrible creature lurking in the window of the house?!?!

light reflections,

Door open on left, house with roof on the background. In between is I figure a New Yorker's impression of what a privacy fence looks like in the Catskills.

Take note, Henry und Daffy.

Wish I could keep 8 scoops balanced like that...

I guess it is literally "Fun with pig thick."

The newspaper Dick-whacking needs no explanation. But WTF else is happening in this image?

I really thought one of you pervs would have some idea what was going on here.

Or maybe you're all too busy with due to the Dick inspiration up there.

Is this a clue?

I thought it was going to be a bit pervier than spooning...

OK, so Henry likes the suit jacket he's trying on. His pal thinks it's sharp too. The shoulders might be a bit exaggerated and the orange plaid might be a bit bright (although by comic book standard it's nothing special) but what's with the nail biting? They are in a department store in Aldrichville, America, so there's hardly going to be SHOCKING male fashions there. (Cover is from summer 1951, well after any zoot suit panic. And this ain't a zoot suit.)

The lead story inside isn't much help either. It's about Henry wanting to buy a new tuxedo in order to ask his girl to the formal, but since his father refuses to give him money, having secretly already ordered him a tuxedo to surprise him, Henry secretly gets a job working at the department store in order to earn the money.

So it's kind of vaguely related to the cover, but not really helpful in deciphering the nail biting.

Henry's still questionable:




G.Jones gives us food for thought...




...is Jughead the missing link? Or does he merely multiply the WTFery?



Maybe Henry Aldrich was getting his eatin' clothes on.

Oh, very nice Teeds. Very nice indeed.

If three's a hatrick, what's four?

Ok, this cover is just not right.

That expression is not giving a seal of approval.

I do not even want to know what this story is about.

^The Action artwork was manipulated. (But not by much.)

What's the question about the ALF cover?

My question about the Alf cover is what height is he going to drop that child from? I don't want to like Alf if he's just going to put it back down again. Is this Alf's Michael Jackson impersonation?

I think they would both end on State Registries by the way they are surprised by each other's appearance.

That was the issue where Robin betrays the duo to the evil Mer-Children of the Deep!

Don't be fooled by the shoes next to the sign. Those in the pool never needed them. Their last wearer, the children's last victim, doesn't need them now either.

All to recruit an Aqualad for your Teen-Team Robin. How could you?!

There's got to be a better way if you don't have a date, buddy!

Down below, Johnny Thunder feels a bit left out.

"Say, you get all the fun Thunderbolt!"

Why is there a giant flying baby behind their airborne Jeep? And wearing a Nacho Libre mask as well?

Feel free to post the "it should 'make sense' but I don't get it" covers you run across to crowdsource an answer (maybe).

"WTF were they thinking" and "Why did they publish that" falls outside the purview of this thread -- but the answer to both for ANY COVER is they thought someone would buy it. (And they were probably right.)

Clearly a failed attempt to get into the Woozy Winks thread with those trunks.

I think the jeep is supposed to be staying aloft because it's supposed to be attached to the balloon. The giant yellow disc is either another balloon for redundancy or a suddenly appearing astronomical body whose gravity makes things go as wild as an early Justice League cover!

Or...

The guy in the car is a magician - see cape. So he can levitate jeeps just like any stage magician can do, as is well known. The giant yellow disc is a portal to another dimension, and they've sent their robotic construct Mr Trunks through to take care of any doo gooders, prior to an invasion.

Simply really. You're getting two answers only because golden age editors used to reuse covers for different stories, and this one was used twice.

This is just the wrong product placement.

Please see page 4.



Please also note:

OK, this just weirds me out. Is this for future Fascists or Evil Clowns? Either way, jeez!



And then there is the creepy uncle when you are taking a bubble bath...




And why does Superman have this machine anyways?

Jfposey -- please see the thread setup above/at the beginning of the thread.