A very early effort: "Andy Panda" from New Funnies 81, November, 1943

Hi all. Here is the third "Andy Panda" story by John Stanley. At this stage, he is still learning how to utilize the still-new comic book format.

Nonetheless, there is something distinctive--and border-line creepy--about this story. A dry sense of humor lurks right beneath the simple surface.

To boot, this may be Stanley's earliest story with a fantasy-fairytale angle. Already, a sense of the sinister aligns itself with fantastic subject-matter.

The story's dissolution into was-it-a-dream-or-not, at the end, sets up another familiar Stanley story theme. He leaned on this motif regularly, throughout his career.

Indeed, the first story posted here, "The Guest in the Ghost Hotel," pushes that uncertainty to its limits. It's most interesting to see an early usage here.

I originally intended to gang this story up with one of the three stories in the Bugs Bunny Dell one-shot attributed to Stanley, and also published in 1943.

I only have a horrible microfiche scan of this book (Four Color #33); as well, I'm not convinced it's Stanley's work--even though he himself claimed it among his comix credits. It's not a bad comical book--it's a sight better than the average lackluster 1943 Bugs Bunny comix story. But it contains none of the language, SFX or character motivations that, even this early, identify a Stanley Story.

Notice that the snowman and snowdog turn pink for one page. As well, both Charlie Chicken and a fire become a muddled fecal green-brown. Oops! Someone mixed up the color separations! This gaffe only enhances the story's curious qualities.

Stanley's resistance to the use of punctuation marks is another distinguishing "tell" of his early work. He later went to the... opposite... extreme -- using! such! effects! to the max...

I'm a big fan of his wild usage of ellipses, bold type, and other visual-verbal kicks in his late '50s and '60s work. It really helps the reader "hear" the stories' intended emotional and tonal inflections. The blank-verse approach of the early Stanley stories is a curious thing. As said, it helps distinguish his lesser stories from the works of other creators.

No masterpiece today--but for its themes and approach, this story has a lot to offer the John Stanley enthusiast.

Non-Stanley Plug: By all means, procure a copy of Drawn + Quarterly's absorbing, massive autobiographic novel A Drifting Life by Japanese cartoonist Yoshihiro Tatsumi. I have mixed feelings about Tatsumi's work. He is a master storyteller, but, to be honest, his unremittingly grim, brutal portraits of desperate people taking desperate measures in their aimless, miserable lives can wear me out quickly.

This book, however, is the finest piece of comix-on-comix yet conceived. Part history lesson, part cautionary fable, A Drifting Life conveys the creative desire to make comix, against often impossible odds, boldly and vividly. The parallels to the American comix publishing world are eerie. It's hard to think that many comix creators must still put up with the same haphazard inconsiderations that Japanese manga artists endured over half a century ago.

This is a must-have item. Take the money you've saved by not having to buy rare John Stanley comix and put it towards the purchase of Tatsumi's great book.