There's No Need To Fear!

Underdog remains one of the most thoroughly entertaining cartoons of its kind. In an era when myriad versions of superheroes were turning up in all shapes, sizes and species the hero who was the humble Shoeshine rose above the chaff. The reason was sharp writing to maximize the limited animation necessary to make the project profitable and the voice of the singular Wally Cox. Underdog was created under a specific mandate from advertisers to create something "super".  So, the crew at Total TeleVision productions (Buck Biggers, Chet Stover and artist Joe Harris among others) went to work to make a show that would as successful as had been King Leonardo and his Friends and Tennesse Tuxedo. The inspiration according to one tale is that the episode of I Love Lucy in which Lucy imitates Superman was the spur to make a superhero show. 

Underdog proved to be quite successful and one year after its creation was rewarded with a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. The show not only had the adventures of Underdog as he whipped around the globe and beyond saving Sweet Polly Purebred from the clutches of sundry aliens and villains such as Simon Bar Sinister and Riff Raff, but offered up the hijinks of the Go-Go Gophers, Klondike Kat, Commander McBragg among others from the TTV stable. 

2007 was a banner year for Underdog as the property was dusted off after several decades and given the big screen treatment using modern digital techniques to bring to seeming real life a dog who is a superhero among people. It's a charming movie, if not a great one and has some really outstanding villains in Peter Dinklage as Simon Bar Sinister and Patrick Warburton as his henchman Cad Lackey. The weakness is that like many of these kinds of movies we have to endure a cute kid as Underdog's "master" in the story. But all things considered it's a diverting and entertaining outing. 

Underdog had a decent career in comics at Gold Key and at Charlton throughout the 70's despite the fact the show was itself cancelled in 1967 after three seasons on network TV. There was a brief comic revial in the 80's and there are new comics today from American Mythology which offer new stories as well as reprints of the classic tales. I'm surprised really that Underdog has not been revised and updated for new cartoon episodes. But likely I'd dislike those as with most revivals the omnipresent irony would wear thin quickly. 

To read much more about Underdog and other Total TeleVision productions check out Mark Arnold's book on the subject. Not only is there stuff on Underdog but Tennesse Tuxedo and other dandy cartoons as well. The dvd set from Shout Factory is the most comprehensive presentation of the series and is highly recommended for cartoon lovers by the management here at the Dojo. There's no need to fear...Underdog is here!

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Showcasing The Fourth World!

It's that time of year, the time when I once again enjoy traveling into the magnificent "Fourth World" created by Jack "King" Kirby for DC Comics way back fifty years ago when Kirby broke from Mighty Marvel and sought greener pastures where he might garner the credit and remuneration for his work that he rightly felt he deserved. Kirby's foray began in the humble pages of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen but soon required new titles to contain the epic. At first the New Gods was to be yet one more entry in the long and properly celebrated list of DC creations that had first flowered in the pages of Showcase. But then it was decided that Showcase had done its work and so New Gods actually took its place on the schedule with a sparkling new number one issue. 

DC after many decades of neglect has collected the "Fourth World" titles many many times in more recent years. In paperback they have in the last several seasons put the titles out individually as opposed to presenting them as one sprawling saga. I hope to read and reflect on each of the fourth "Fourth World" titles as the month of August rolls on. Look for my reflections on Saturdays. 

I will also be consulting as I read through the King's masterpiece the new tome from Twomorrows -- Old Gods and New - A Companion to Jack Kirby's Fourth World by John Morrow who might just worship the New Gods a bit more than I do actually. Great material all assembled in one place. I'll also be checking out the Twomorrows volume Kirby & Lee: 'Stuff Said! which documents in a detailed timeline the many and varied quotes from these two great men of comics about their legendary history together and apart. 

During the week I plan to take a very close look at the individual comics that first appeared under the title of 1st Issue Special. This mid-70's title took the place of Showcase for a brief time, but during that tiny tenure offered up some tasty morsels for the Bronze Age comic book fan. These stories have recently been gathered and reprinted by DC. Several of these efforts were the handiwork of Jack Kirby or Joe Simon. Simon too had shown up at DC and while his efforts met with somewhat less success in the marketplace are still a great deal of fun since he worked closely with one of my favorite talents -- Jerry Grandenetti. Also in the 1st Issue Special run there are comics by Walt Simonson, Ramona Fradon, Bob Haney, John Rosenberger, Mike Grell, Robert Kanigher, Steve Skeates, Al Milgrom, Mike Vosburg and many others. 

Showcase returned to the stands in the later 70's for a short time and later gave its name to DC's delightful black and white reprints of some of their niftiest stories. Among those series collected in the Showcase Presents line was Showcase itself, or at least the first twenty-one key issues. I want to take a look at these important comic books. 

"The Sunday Funnies" will feature an old friend as Hal Foster's Prince Valiant returns to the Dojo. The gallant knight of Camelot and his family have grown, and during the 1960's important shifts in the storytelling begin to take hold. Also since Hal Foster was one of Jack Kirby's greatest influences it's only proper to include him this month. 

Finally on my television screen I'm currently enjoying the Total TeleVision productions cartoons. This outfit, brought together originally for General Mills advertisements was closely associated with the Jay Ward team which brought out Bullwinkle and Rocky. The TTV team gave us Underdog, King Leonardo and his Short Subjects, The Hunter, Tooter Turtle, Klondike Kat and one of my all time favorites Tennessee Tuxedo and his Friends. It's going to be a fun month. 

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Have No Fear!

Underdog is here...at long last.  At least part of what would have been the twenty-fourth issue of Underdog hits the stands, a mere thirty-nine years after it was originally supposed to drop. A company called American Mythology has picked up the Underdog title. 

It is based of course on the venerable and memorable cartoon series by Total TeleVision (the same folks that brought you Tennessee Tuxedo, Tooter Turtle, Commander McBragg and Cocoa Puffs commercials). Underdog debuted as cartoon in 1964 but didn't become a comic book until 1970 when Charlton Comics picked it up. 

After that lapsed in 1972 Gold Key eventually took up the character with a new number one in 1975 and the series ran for a good four years ending with the twenty-third issue. Harvey Comics have produced a few issues over the years, as have a few smaller publishers,  but for the most part it's been a world bereft of Underdog. (I'm not going to mention the movie from a few years back which was clever but never very good really.) 

But now he's back in a new series. I'm not so much interested in the new material, but I do have a soft spot for the vintage stuff in this comic titled Underdog 1975 which is credited to Steve Skeates and artist extraordinaire and former editor of Charlton Comics George Wildman. What we have in this volume are two stories by the above team intended for the never-to-be-released twenty-fourth issue. 

To fill out the comic we also have reprints of stories from the last published twenty-third issue. It's all dandy! I see an ad in the comic that more reprints might be coming and I have to say I'm on board. 

Here are some alternate covers for this issue. 

Have No Fear, Underdog is Here...it just took an exceedingly long time. 

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