Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of Bazookabubble gum. He wears a black eyepatch, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recognizable American advertising characters of the 20th century, due to worldwide distribution, and one of the few associated with a candy.
Bazooka Joe is joined in his various misadventures by a motley crew of characters, who came from the tradition of syndicated kid gang comic strips such as Gene Byrnes' Reg'lar Fellers and Ad Carter's Just Kids. The group includes:
Pesty (formerly Orville), Joe's younger brother, with a 1950s cowboysombrero
Mort, a gangly boy who always wears his red turtleneck sweater pulled up over his mouth[1]
Hungry Herman, Joe's tubby pal
Jane, Joe's girlfriend
Tuffy, a streetwise type who wears a sailor hat
Walkie Talkie, a neighborhood mutt
The comics generally consist of soft, child-friendly jokes, as well as small advertisements for kitschy merchandise one could obtain in exchange for comics and a few cents or dollars. From the very beginning in 1954, the bottom of the comics included "fortunes" similar to those one would find in a fortune cookie, sometimes with a comedic bent.
Developmentedit
Sometime between 1952 and 1954, Woody Gelman and Ben Solomon, heads of Product Development at Topps,[2] approached cartoonist Wesley Morse to create Bazooka Joe and his Gang. The character was named after a contest was held asking for suggestions.[3]
In Heroes of the Comics: Portraits of the Pioneering Legends of Comic Books, Drew Friedman wrote: "Gelman, along with his friend and former co-animator Ben Solomon, created Popsicle Pete, who appeared in ads and packages for Popsicle ice pops for decades. Popsicle Pete caught the eye of president of the Topps Company, Arthur Shorin, who hired Gelman and Solomon to work for him full time in Brooklyn. Gelman worked as an editor and writer for Topps, and Solomon became its art director. Gelman soon became head of the new product development department, where he developed the Bazooka Joe mini-comics (drawn by Wesley Morse) and had his hand in many successful innovations for trading cards and other products."[4]
Bazooka Joe's style changed with the times, as with almost all 20th-century advertising characters with any sort of longevity. By the 1990s, Joe had adopted a more contemporary look, including low-slung, baggy jeans.
From 1967 to 1990, the main writer was cartoonist Jay Lynch.[5]
Bazooka Joe comics were localized or translated for sale in other countries. For example, the Canadian version featured bilingual (simultaneous English and French) text balloons.
Referencesedit
^Dotz, Warren; Morton, Jim (1996). What a Character! 20th Century American Advertising Icons. Chronicle Books. p. 13. ISBN0-8118-0936-6.
^Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, p. 117, Dave Jamieson, 2010, Atlantic Monthly Press, imprint of Grove/Atlantic Inc., New York, NY, ISBN978-0-8021-1939-1
bazooka, british, punk, rock, band, band, alcoholic, drink, shooter, mixed, drink, cocktails, with, less, common, spirits, comic, strip, character, featured, small, comics, included, individually, wrapped, pieces, bazooka, bubble, wears, black, eyepatch, lendi. For the British punk rock band see Bazooka Joe band For the alcoholic drink see Shooter mixed drink Cocktails with less common spirits Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka bubble gum He wears a black eyepatch lending him a distinctive appearance He is one of the more recognizable American advertising characters of the 20th century due to worldwide distribution and one of the few associated with a candy A Bazooka Joe comic Contents 1 Characters and story 2 Development 3 References 4 External linksCharacters and story editBazooka Joe is joined in his various misadventures by a motley crew of characters who came from the tradition of syndicated kid gang comic strips such as Gene Byrnes Reg lar Fellers and Ad Carter s Just Kids The group includes Pesty formerly Orville Joe s younger brother with a 1950s cowboy sombrero Mort a gangly boy who always wears his red turtleneck sweater pulled up over his mouth 1 Hungry Herman Joe s tubby pal Jane Joe s girlfriend Tuffy a streetwise type who wears a sailor hat Walkie Talkie a neighborhood mutt The comics generally consist of soft child friendly jokes as well as small advertisements for kitschy merchandise one could obtain in exchange for comics and a few cents or dollars From the very beginning in 1954 the bottom of the comics included fortunes similar to those one would find in a fortune cookie sometimes with a comedic bent Development editSometime between 1952 and 1954 Woody Gelman and Ben Solomon heads of Product Development at Topps 2 approached cartoonist Wesley Morse to create Bazooka Joe and his Gang The character was named after a contest was held asking for suggestions 3 In Heroes of the Comics Portraits of the Pioneering Legends of Comic Books Drew Friedman wrote Gelman along with his friend and former co animator Ben Solomon created Popsicle Pete who appeared in ads and packages for Popsicle ice pops for decades Popsicle Pete caught the eye of president of the Topps Company Arthur Shorin who hired Gelman and Solomon to work for him full time in Brooklyn Gelman worked as an editor and writer for Topps and Solomon became its art director Gelman soon became head of the new product development department where he developed the Bazooka Joe mini comics drawn by Wesley Morse and had his hand in many successful innovations for trading cards and other products 4 Bazooka Joe s style changed with the times as with almost all 20th century advertising characters with any sort of longevity By the 1990s Joe had adopted a more contemporary look including low slung baggy jeans From 1967 to 1990 the main writer was cartoonist Jay Lynch 5 Bazooka Joe comics were localized or translated for sale in other countries For example the Canadian version featured bilingual simultaneous English and French text balloons References edit Dotz Warren Morton Jim 1996 What a Character 20th Century American Advertising Icons Chronicle Books p 13 ISBN 0 8118 0936 6 Mint Condition How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession p 117 Dave Jamieson 2010 Atlantic Monthly Press imprint of Grove Atlantic Inc New York NY ISBN 978 0 8021 1939 1 LILEKS Friedman Drew 2014 Heroes of the Comics Portraits of the Pioneering Legends of Comic Books Fantagraphics Books ISBN 1606997319 Gene Weingarten November 20 2012 Chewish Humor Washington Post Magazine Retrieved December 3 2012 External links editHistory of Bazooka Joe Comics Hats Off to Bazooka Joe permanent dead link Bazooka Joe Turns 50 Bazooka Joe s Patch Explained Official Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bazooka Joe amp oldid 1209713802, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
