LXGOOPLE: from Marge's Lulu and Tubby Halloween Fun #6, 1957

'Tis the season for Halloween, that proud sub-genre of comic books past, present and future. I thought I'd dig up some seldom-seen Stanley Halloween pieces for your enjoyment.

Here's an imaginative, witty fairy-tale I doubt many have seen. Its only appearance was in a square-bound Dell seasonal special, published in 1957.

This was one of at least four giant-sized comics that are wall-to-wall Stanley, from his mid-to-late 1950s prime. Each of these giants has several unique fairy-tale stories, plus the usual OCD/ADD Tubby hi-jinx, and strong examples of all of Stanley's Little Lulu writing styles. They're well worth acquiring, as their contents have never been reprinted.

Alas, it's not easy to scan these comics without doing damage to them. My copy of this particular book is not a collector's showpiece. Its submission to the scanner caused some brittle page edges to flake away.

It's worth it to preserve this energetic, colorful and curious story for your reading pleasure. Observe the really painful show-tune-based pun on page 6.

I've never had frozen custard, but, boy, do 1950s comic book stories and TV shows make it look good! This high-cholesterol treat seems to have fallen out of favor. Perhaps it still exists in the Northeast regions.

I'll put up a couple more Halloween-themed Stanley pieces--perhaps other stories from this crumbly comic book--over the next week or so.