Ants, Chocolate and Chickens: Little Lulu at Summer Camp, pt. 3

Animals and insects figure heavily in this quartet of summer-camp stories from the second Little Lulu summer-camp giant, published in 1958.

That stellar human animal, Tubby Tompkins, leads the way in our lead story, "The Well-Blazed Trail."






Essentially a punchline with a story built around it, this four-pager exploits Tubby's me-first attitude. Whether he's denying the other guys access to candy bars, or leaving deliberately lousy trail marks for the girls to follow, Tub is aggressively himself here. By simply being himself, at his most uncensored, Tubby undoes his own attempted trickery.

Next is "The Spider and the Messed-Up Bed." Can you crack the mystery before Tubby does? I'm sure you can...









Yep; it's always Lulu's father who is the guilty party in these "Spider" mysteries. The humor builds as Stanley creates a situation that, for once, might not involve Mr. Moppet. It goes on long enough that the reader almost believes it could be a non-human creature.

This situation is, for once, actually caused by Tubby. I'd like to know why he felt he had to hide the ants under Lulu's bed. But that would be asking too many questions...

"Twinkle Toes" is a comedy of human folly starring Lulu. It also features the only-seen-in-these-camp-comix, female version of Tubby, albeit it in a minor role that doesn't affect the story's outcome in any way.









Several interesting elements in "Twinkle Toes:" farm animals as an active force in the story's events; the girls' eagerness to get to the "big drug store;" a pig eating, with a "CHOFF!" balloon; and, best of all, Lulu erring on the side of Tubby. She so wants to have her painted toenails admired that she misinterprets the chicken's OCD behavior as fascination.

Lulu is so often cast as the faultless heroine of her own stories that it's refreshing to see her with feet of (gaudily painted) clay.

Bookending today's allotment of summer-camp stories is Tubby, in "The Chocolate Chicken."








Is there no depth of human depravity to which Tubby won't stoop when candy is involved? You'd think he would learn, after so many embarrassing moments of utter failure, that crime don't pay.

I like the subtle threads of continuity in these summer-camp comix. It's great that Stanley brings the chicken back from "Twinkle Toes," and uses said fowl to provide a sweet little grace note at story's end.

And, last but not least, we're treated to a gem of Tompkins Philosophy (from the unpublished tome, The Tao of Tub:

"It's a waste of valuable time, smackin' your lips over something that you didn't get!"

There's one more batch of stories coming up, probably on Saturday. See Gran'pa Feeb wreak havoc at Camp Tiny Tot! Hear Tubby tell a fairy tale instead of Lulu! Wow to Lulu telling a fairy tale as well (no Lulu comic is complete without one such moment)!

Today's post goes out, with gratitude and thanks, to Bernard. I'm glad I can bring these stories back from the memories of childhood days. Your mom had great taste in comix!

Even More 1958 Summer Camp Little Lulu: part 2

Hi, gang! This time I've made sure all the pages are here, so read without fear.

Here's part two of the 1958 Little Lulu summer camp giant.

First up: "Too Many Buglers," a triangular tale of one-upmanship, graced with masterful comedic dialogue and constant action.












Stanley's writing is razor-sharp in "Too Many Buglers." This long story is stuffed with one comedic incident and witty line after another. Alvin, often the wild-card member of the Little Lulu troupe, screws things up royally in his naive bliss.

The sequence of the kids running, en masse, from one interrupted activity to another, due to the errant bugling, is high-quality sitcom. And the counsellor's exclamation, on the story's last page is priceless: "The red-blooded daily doings of Camp Tiny Tot... led by a kazoo?"

And how about that group "CHOFF?" Plus the most perfect SFX for wet clay hitting a cement floor... "SPAT!" (And delivered in a word balloon--an essential Stanley "tell.")

Tubby stars in "Flag-Raising Practice." I'll say no more 'til you've read this story...









Whew! That was a comix decathelon--a beautifully achieved comedy of escalating troubles. Every thing Tubby does makes the situation worse, until his Space Age deus ex machina, the little men from Mars, appear.

Their appearance would seem contrived, save for their reports of the alterations to Tubby's room at home--a lovely little grace note that helps to gloss over the abruptness of their arrival.

Tubby is doing fine without them. From his self-absorbed actions of page one, ending with a priceless line of self-justification, to his frantic activity (decorated by stellar SFX by Stanley), to his panic as the boat unmoors, then develops a leak (from his manic stomping), young master Tompkins is at his best here.

I'm struck by what funny pieces we have here. Each and every story, so far, has hit a humorous home-run. No corners are cut, and what might be a deluge of information, in other hands, becomes a cornucopia of comedic decoration.

Let's see what's next. I'm reading these for the first time as I create this post...






"The Fourth" is as close to a throwaway story as we'll get here. It's light-years beyond mere filler, due to the gleeful melding of many essential ingredients:

a) Tubby's gluttony
b) Lulu's stubborness
c) the girls' demonstration that they can be just as uncouth and self-centered as the boys

I can't recall Lulu biting one of her friends anywhere else. Or perhaps I've overlooked such behavior up 'til now...

I love that Tubby actually does find another ice-cream cup at story's end. Stanley forever favors his anti-heroes. Altho' he puts them through rigorous paces, they usually get what they want, no matter how "right" or "wrong" that desire may be.

Moral ambiguity in a "wholesome" summer camp comic book... what's not to like about that?

Part Three in a day or so...

Even More Little Lulu Summer Camp Shenanigans! (pt. 1--MISSING PAGES FIXED!)

Times are tough all over: that's the sense I got from my previous post. Thanks to the two kind souls who responded. Look for super-cool news involving one of these kind individuals very soon!

But it's also summer, and that means it's time for another Little Lulu-at-summer camp shindig!

I recently located this second LULU summer-camp giant, from 1958. It's new to me, and it's a pleasure to present it to you.

I don't have much to say that I haven't said before about these summer camp giants. They follow an established formula. The formula works because the characters are invested with great personalities and quirks. These quirks continually up the narrative stakes, and fuel the stories.

What might be paint-by-numbers, mind-numbing blandness in most hands becomes vivid, humorous, consistently rewarding material a la John Stanley.

Foist things foist... here's the cover--unusual for Stanley comix, it's painted, in that delightfully creepy '50s storybook-moderne style. Sootable fer framin'!



Here are the first three stories from this 100-page book. I'll keep posting the stories 'til it's all complete.

The opening story offers a novel variant on the typical summer-camp-giant introduction. "The Big Frame-Up" is a highly charged piece of writing. Stanley captures the tension of childhood friendships here with a keen eye.

[A note to those who tried to read this story before today: oops! Yow! Sorry for the missing pages... I somehow missed them. Here they are now. Please re-read this story...]











Tubby is rightfully paranoid in this story. Like a film noir protagonist, he's hounded by pre-determined, inexorable fate. At the end, when it's revealed that Lulu and Tubby's mother have conspired in this large-scale erosion of Tubby's freedom of choice, Tubby is righteous in his indignation.

This comedy of antagonism is also a comedy of invasion. Tubby can't compete with Lulu's keen wit--perhaps that's the rub for him... she's trumped him yet again, despite his high self-opinion.

Darn it! I said I wasn't going to say anything, but I can't control myself...

"Bushopper" is a brilliant Tubby solo piece in which his stubbornness and self-absorption creates 20 shades of trouble--all of them inventive and amusing.






Stanley's wit is subtle here, and I appreciate that he respects the reader's intelligence in his staging of events. It's especially impressive when one considers that the target audience for these comix were grade-school kids.

Stanley must have known, or sensed, that adults read these comix as well. Lulu wasn't a top seller just from childhood purchases. Friends of mine who grew up in the 1950s recall their parents regularly reading Little Lulu, without shame or subtext; one person remembers his mother buying it every month, alongside Family Circle, Redbook, Collier's and other coffee-table staples of post-war America.

Whatever his motivation, Stanley's was the gift to write for young and adult readers, and offer something of value to both--without condescending to one or the other.

In "The Guilty One," Tubby completely falls apart. I'm struck by the richness of Stanley's writing here, and how deeply invested he is in every character.

And, as Thad pointed out, check out the decorations on the tepees on page 19! Er, um, uh... I know that was a Native American symbol before a certain hatemonger adopted it for his ill-fated Evil Empire. Still, it was the 1958, and people surely had that icon fresh in their collective memory...









"I'll wear the mask of a normal human bean! I'll put on a care free smile! I'll lose myself in the milling crowd!" Tubby is at his finest in this story.

As well, the boys' interactions, and how they turn on Tubby, and ostracize him, rings true. It imbues the story with tragicomedy that builds. "The Guilty One" approaches the tension of an EC "SuspenStory" while never forsaking the fundamentals of the Lulu universe.

More soon--maybe even tomorrow, if I can get up early enough...