Quick Update

 Like the title says, quick update: I'm not dead, the blog isn't either. I didn't even intend to take a break.

Here's what happened: Just before starting to write the next entry, I noticed there was a Scribbly story missing from the order. I already told the people of DCRO and they're going to add it soon, but to avoid the hustle of having to edit the data on that entry and the one it got confused with (I'll explain later), I'm just going to wait until then to continue. Anyway, it wouldn't be that bad anyway, but I'm extremely lazy when it comes to that kind of organizational "bureaucratic" stuff. And I wouldn't want to just quit the blog to avoid having to do that, so I'll just wait.

DCRO 35- The Funnies (1936) #2 [AI Story]

Story title: "Scribbly Gets an Inspiration!" 

Cover Date: November 1936

By: Sheldon Mayer

DCRO Entry

As expected, we're still on the same issue... Feels weird to make a separate entry for what is literally a page-turn, but whatever.

After acquiring a desk last time and a smock on a previous story (forget about actual art supplies), Scribbly's all set to become a REAL artist and start drawing for a newspaper. So he sets out (figuratively) onto the realms of imagination to search for an idea worthy of his debut. That means no distractions, so baby Jibbet will have to stay somewhere else for now. Or, well, that's what Scribbly would hope.

As soon as Scribbly kicks him out, the kid starts screaming bloody murder, and his mother (understandably so), throws him back into Scribbly's room. Interesting spin on the recurrent background gag of the baby brother following Scribbly around... To put it that way.

So the boy cartoonist begins another one of his melodramatic rants while his studio is trashed by his brother.

But then, he comes up with an idea.

Er... Where's the little light bulb above his head? Anyway, he gets to the drawing and...

That's right! Scribbly's cartoon will be about annoying little brothers. Kind of a dick move to use his own little brother as the main character, but he kind of had it coming, with all the trashing he did here.

Anyway, I guess we'll see how this idea works out for him next time.

Either that or he'll go to Laputa! Also, a fun (and completely unrelated) fact: Laputa (The castle from the Studio Ghibli movie and the Jonathan Swift novel way before that) in Spanish means Thewhore. I'm not kidding, look it up.

One more thing. Here. You know what that's for.

So, the ratings:

Quality/Enjoyment: 3/5

Not much to say here. It's nice to see the continuation of Scribbly's early career, this time with the creation of his first actual cartoon (I think it's safe to assume it will be published). The end still wasn't funny, but at this point, I don't even think the series is trying to be. Or at least it's not trying to have an obvious newspaper strip punchline.

Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 1/5

Alright, see you next time for more Scribbly. For now, thanks for reading and have a nice rest of your day!

DCRO 34- The Funnies (1936) #2 [AH Story]

Story title: "Scribbly Gets a Fan" 

Cover Date: November 1936

By: Sheldon Mayer

DCRO Entry

This is "The Funnies", one of the many generic comic magazines of the time, and it will be Scribbly's home for a while. Here, the cartoonist boy will get two pages (and something else, but we'll get to that), which are always counted as separate entries on the DCRO. Each page has its own "punchline", title, and banner, so they're essentially separate stories. Let's read the first one.

I wonder how Scribbly will manage to acquire a ventilator with his non-existent salary... We'll see!

Continuing from the last issue, Ving Parker is frequenting Scribbly's neighborhood, when he recognizes the kid's art style in an ad for soda.

He dashes into the shop to ask the owner about the author of the ad, and since he thinks this whole thing is about the cartoonist's newest shenanigan, Ving gets the address he needs. Pretty irresponsible stuff, we are still talking about a kid after all. 

As a side note, people seemed to be a lot less worried about letting strangers interact with their kids eighty or even seventy years ago, sometimes to an alarming degree. I mention this because I recently watched the 1951 sci-fi classic "The Day the earth stood still", in which a single mother decides to leave her son in the care of the protagonist, who was staying at her boarding house and whom she met the previous night, so she can go to the movies with her boyfriend. Anyway, of course, neither Ving Parker nor Klaatu has malicious intentions with any of the kids, it's just that it's weird to me, a 21st-century human, the lack of worry over these sorts of stuff all those years ago. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it and it's just a thing from fiction... Whatever, tangent over.

In the meantime, Scribbly is having a semi-argument with his mom about her not taking him as an artist seriously enough. 

This is meme material right there. 

While Scribbly is exaggerating a bit here (to great comedic effect), he does have a fair point. I think having such a big passion (and talent!!) for art at such an early age should definitely be encouraged. Especially since he managed to make some money with it. 

Also, during this whole thing, Scribbly's little brother is curiously following him around.

Pretty sweet stuff,

Ving Parker, who was just arriving at the residence, overhears the whole rant. Now, one of the points was that since Scribbly is now "famous" he needs a real desk to do his work in. 

Apparently, Ving decided to go the silent admirer path, because two hours later, this is what Scribbly receives from the mailman.

Again, kinda creepy if you see it with modern eyes, but you know what? Let's not do that. This is nothing more than a kind gesture from a professional who respects and even admires a blooming talent in his own field.

And that's the end of the story (or page).

We'll get to the other page on the next entry.

You can read every Dell-era Scribbly work here. And this particular one can be found on its DCRO page.

Let's see the ratings:

Quality/Enjoyment: 3/5

I think this will be the default rating for Scribbly entries from now on. Unless of course there's one that stands out, for better or for worse. I liked this one especially, though not enough to give it a 4. The "punchline" at the end wasn't really funny, but I don't think it was trying. I found it pretty heartwarming though, once I silenced my more cynical side. What I did find funny was Scribbly's rant midway through, Scribbly's a bit annoying but in a charming way if that makes sense. Or maybe he's actually annoying, but he reminds me a bit too much of myself to be able to hate him. Anyway, this strip is the kind of thing that you like if you like the main character, and I do enjoy the main character.

Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 1/5

You know what comes next, so thanks for reading, and have a nice rest of your day!