I don't think that there will ever be a time when big comedians of
today (Melissa McCarthy, Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari, Kate McKinnon, Amy
Schumer) will have comic books about them. But back in the day -- Bob
Hope, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin -- were all
the stars of their own comic book series.
Jerry Lewis
had his own comic book series from DC Comics. It began in 1952 and was
known under the title DEAN MARTIN AND JERRY LEWIS. But the duo broke up.
So, after five years and 40 issues, the series was renamed THE
ADVENTURES OF JERRY LEWIS and ran another 84 issues. Here are a few of
the covers, including, a
British Australian comedy team
comic book cover. (Hat tip to David Simpson for correcting me on the
Bonzer Film Comic cover. Thanks, David!)
Sorry, Charlie (Chaplin), but you never had your own comic book series in the U.S.. A comic strip, yes.
ReplyDeleteFaint memories of a 60s Bob Hope comic drawn by Mort Drucker; I suspect the writer was another MAD stalwart. LBJ had a walk-on during a barbecue. It felt like there were a lot more comics based on TV sitcoms: Dobie Gillis, Petticoat Junction, Mister Ed and The Munsters come to mind, all but the last drawn "straight" in the manner of adventure comics.
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