I have only recently become aware of the great work of Little Archie creator, Bob Bolling, and I regret the years of my ignorance.
Like John Stanley’s Little Lulu, the more you look at Bolling’s work, the more you see. Bolling had a profound understanding of dogs and cats, boys and girls, that this perfectly-realized 6 pages will demonstrate. Favorite moment? When Little Archie tells spotty he can’t go into the library because of the rules: you have to know how to read. Like any boy, Little Archie thinks of his dog as a pal, a peer, never imagining any other possible reason for his exclusion. Pure Bolling.
You know what else I like? Spotty makes a “Zazz” sound when he runs real fast. Get ready to love this story. This gem is from Little Archie No. 13, Winter, 1959/60. The scans are all from my own comic. Just click on the image for the big picture.
Like John Stanley’s Little Lulu, the more you look at Bolling’s work, the more you see. Bolling had a profound understanding of dogs and cats, boys and girls, that this perfectly-realized 6 pages will demonstrate. Favorite moment? When Little Archie tells spotty he can’t go into the library because of the rules: you have to know how to read. Like any boy, Little Archie thinks of his dog as a pal, a peer, never imagining any other possible reason for his exclusion. Pure Bolling.
You know what else I like? Spotty makes a “Zazz” sound when he runs real fast. Get ready to love this story. This gem is from Little Archie No. 13, Winter, 1959/60. The scans are all from my own comic. Just click on the image for the big picture.
Here's an ad from the same issue. Man, sometimes I hate going through my old comics. I mean, look at this cool stuff that isn’t available anymore! Don’t you sometimes wonder how our parents resisted sending in their $4.98? Me? I’d be all over that tank in a New York minute. It’s got a real revolving turret, two way radio controls, and a whip antenna! Come to poppa!
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12 comments:
I've been asking my Librarian for that same book for years ! It just doesn't exist !
"ZAZZ" indeed! And I have looked for that book too, little Archie! Haven't found it yet!
Cute story - thanks for exposing me to something I normal probably wouldn't think to look at. Anything with the word 'little' in the title conjures up images of bad 80's marketing where every successful character had a little, or baby version spinoff, like 'Transformer Babies" or the like...I realize this comes from a different era and is, aside from the word little, nothing like that. So I'm sayin' t'anks! Tanks?
Man!!What kid could resist a "real" mobile tank? Good Lord! It says it comes with a 75 mm cannon, and a co-axial machine gun!! And the helicopter!! All for five bucks??!!I bet this company made a lot of money selling their cardboard box toys -- I would have bought both if I'd a had the $5!! (Funniest thing to me...lack of disclaimers, like:Flying Helicopter does not really fly - or - Real Mobile Tank is actually not real, mobile, or a tank...!
Gentlemen both: I want that book too! It's like the Holy Grail of books, right? The problem is, if a man wrote it, it would be bull; and if a woman wrote it, we wouldn't understand it!
Apocolyte: Yeah, man, those were the good old days! I understand the model that came out after this one had a Real Flame Thrower attachment! Man, I want one so bad.
Thanks for coming by, guys! -- Mykal
I echo Apocolyte's thanks Mykal. Were it not for your blog I might never, ever, have bothered to read a Little Archie story. But this one is so delightful that my comic book taste buds have been awakened.
I love the way Bob Balling draws teeth; Little Archie, he of the "uni-tooth." :- And what a great line about Spotty (maybe the theme of the story) "what he lacks in size, he makes up for in courage." Wonderful.
Thanks, Rogue: as I mentioned, Bolling is fairly new to me as well. My first exposure was the wonderful new collection, The Toon Treasure of Classic Children Comics edited by Art Spiegelman. I have been buying up more Little Archie's so expect some more Bolling before long. As you say, he had a very endearing style of storytelling. -- Mykal
Sorry for the typo Mykal; I meant Bolling not Balling.
Quick question: How do you scan the pictures (your comics)? Do you lay them out on a flat-bed scanner(I'm showing my tech incompetence here) or use a digital camera set up? Or what? I wouldn't mind doing some of this with my old antique comics over at tROAD.
best,
r/e
Rogue: I use a flat-bed, an Epson Perfection V300 Photo scanner, for all my scanning. Great scanner, great price. The have them over on Amazon. -- Mykal
Danke schoen mein freund
I love Bolling's work! I love his confidence in letting the pictures tell the story without redundant dialog, which is on display in the story you selected. I particularly love his "Good Ol' Gang" stories, which have the same feel as the best Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts. Here's hoping IDW's upcoming Archie collections include some Bolling volumes!
Doug: I become really aware of Bolling over at your blog!! I have you to thank! I read Shrimp from Outer Space over at The Greatest Ape, and that got me very interested. When I say in the intro here that I have only recently become aware of Bolling, I wasn't kidding!
Hey, did you notice the Bolling entry in the recent collection Classic Children's Comics edited by Art Speigelman?
I am with you! I would love a hardcover reissue. I think the man is a storytelling genius. -- Mykal
I'm glad I could help introduce you to Bolling's work!
As for the story in Speigelman's book, "It's Friendship", I'm not so sure it is Bolling's work. First, it appears in Little Archie #4, as an unsigned story surrounded by a half-dozen stories that ARE signed by Bolling. Second, the kids' bodies are too lanky (or their heads are too small)...they don't match Bolling's shrimpy kids in the other stories. And lastly, what seems a dead giveaway in the art, the girls have noses. Bolling, like all Archie artists, never drew actual noses on the girls except in profile. When you see the front of their faces, the noses are represented by the shadow beneath them. But in "Friendship", Betty and Veronica have little round noses, just like Archie.
Sorry to harp on this, but it bugs me that they didn't pick a GREAT Bolling story to include with other wonderful work that was chosen. The rest of the Classic Childrens Comics collection is top notch, however.
Doug: Son of a gun. The noses. I so loved the story that I completely didn't notice the noses on the girls. Jeez. That would seem very, very strange for Bolling - in one story - to give the ladies Archie noses instead of the dainty shadows.
Plus, Archie never says "Thassa joke!" Not quite the clincher the noses are, but it did catch my notice. Good catch! -- Mykal
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