The Mighty Gigantic Grape Ape!

Posted on May 22, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Hanna-Barbera cartoons were very big in my youth as I grew up in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and they seemed to be on every Saturday and Sunday mornings, with me watching many of them when they first aired and others via reruns on USA Network’s show The Cartoon Express. And while you longtime readers know that Yogi Bear is my favorite Hanna-Barbera character, another one that is at the top of my list is Grape Ape as his cartoon was so silly and entertaining that he became a must see toon for me. And over the years I feel that I have not covered enough of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons that shaped my childhood as up to this point we have only covered FooFur, Inch High Private Eye, GoBots and Yogi Bear and now Grape Ape will be joining their ranks. So if you are ready to go on an adventure with a massive purple ape who is called Grape Ape, let’s get this update started!

The Grape Ape Show was a cartoon that was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera to release via their Hanna-Barbera Productions for ABC to air for their Saturday Morning Cartoons lineup. The show would start airing on September 6, 1975 and would end on December 13, 1975, lasting for one season and a total of 16 episodes. Even though it would only run for a very short time, the cartoon would remain airing in reruns until 1978 and was very popular with the kids. The show would then end up in airing on the USA Network as part of their Cartoon Express and would find even more fans and viewers and would make Grape Ape an even bigger star in the world of cartoons. Oddly enough over the years the show has not gotten the complete series released on VHS, DVD nor Blu-Ray even though it remains a highly requested series for Warner Brothers to release. But for some reason you can get the series only digitally via Amazon. I know for many of you readers it is shocking to thank that only 16 episodes were made for Grape Ape as when I was a kid it seemed like he was always on via reruns.

Grape Ape is a 40 Foot Tall purple-furred ape that is very childlike who wears a green jacket, black bowtie and green hat that has only two things he can say and that’s “Grape Ape, Grape Ape” and “Beegly Beagly”. He has a very big sweet tooth and likes to eat ice cream and due to his size, he is very misunderstood by those who come across him as to them they see a giant monster but really his is sweet and super friendly. Because of his size he can also move cars like toy cars and can easily save the day as he is always looking to do the right thing. Besides The Great Grape Ape Show, he has also appeared in such cartoons as “Laff-A-Lympics” as part of Scooby-Doo’s team and over the years also has made a cameos of some sort on shows like Dexter’s Lab, Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law and Robot Chicken. Voice actor Bob Holt was behind Grape Ape in his original run who was a well-known cartoon voice actor in his time.

Beegle Beagle is a talking dog that is the best friend of Grape Ape and is the one that drives him around, gets him into all types of adventures as well as is the one who takes him out for ice cream! Beegle was a fan of the color red as he would wear that color for his hat as well as vest and would also rock a very cool bone bowtie. And it is clear that while Beegle does some silly things and wants to make money off his giant friend from time to time, but it is also very clear that he cares and will watch out for Grape Ape. Beegle can also drive a car and he is how the two get around as Grape Ape sits atop the vehicle. Marty Ingels is the voice behind Beegle Beagle and he was a very popular voice actor for the time as he also voiced such characters as Pac-Man and The Devil for Darkwing Duck. Beegle Beagle is the perfect style cartoon straight man to the childlike antics of Grape Ape.

Over the years, Grape Ape has had some very cool merchandise based around him and many of his fans truly enjoy getting these collectables for their collections. Like if you are a fan you can get Grape Ape toys, dolls, shirts, posters, board game, air freshener, coloring books, buttons, comics and stickers to name a few. And growing up I can remember having a Grape Ape coloring book and over the years got the comics. And for many collectors, they really enjoy the Funko Pop release of Grape Ape. But as you can see lots of cool stuff to collect and shows just how big Hanna-Barbera use to be.

So as you can see, Grape Ape was a very cool classic cartoon series that was very popular with the kids at the time and was a cartoon that my brother and I always had to watch when on as how can you not like a giant ape and his wise talking dog friend. I would like to first say thanks to Hanna-Barbera Productions for making so many amazing cartoons that shaped so many kids’ childhoods. I would also like to thank the Etsy Seller who had both of these issues in stock and made this update possible, as these comics are a little rare and hard to find. I would like to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s see what Grape Ape has in store for us in the world of kid comic books.

The Great Grape Ape # 1 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .30 Charlton Comics # 1 of 2

“The Great Grape Ape Escape” in their trusty van Grape Ape and Beegle Beagle are following a car full of mobster bank robbers and watch as they pull over and run into the bank to steal the money. Grape Ape ends up putting their get away car on top of a building, but this does not stop them as they end up taking Beegle Beagle hostage and make him drive them to the airport so that they can make a clean get away. But while in the air Grape Ape grabs the plane from the sky and delivers the mobsters to the cops and saves the life of Beegle Beagle. “The Great Grape Ape Sees A Ghost” while driving around and using their last bit of money to wash the van Beegle Beagle and Grape Ape run out of gas and decided to take a challenge to stay a night in a haunted house to win $100.00! And Beegle Beagle gets inside and is scared of the ghosts that haunt it, but once Grape Ape removes the roof to join his friend the Ghost flee in fear and while they win the prize money the end up owing it back due to the damage caused by Grape Ape entering it! “Bring Em Back Alive Clive” while driving down the highway Grape Ape by accident knocks himself out by running into an overpass and he ends up on the highway, but his troubles soon become worse when Clive, a conman who runs a circus, nabs the knocked out ape with a crane and takes him prisoner, but soon when Grape Ape wakes up he wonders around causing damage and Clive ends up climbing into a giant robot version of himself, only for it to crumble after one punch from Grape Ape! In the end Grape Ape and Beegle Beagle leave the circus and Clive is happy to see his prisoner leave!

The first issue of Grape Ape features three short stories with each of them showcasing Grape Ape and Beegle Beagle in all sorts of strange adventures from being in a haunted house to stopping back robbers and even escaping a circus and all the while the lovable giant ape has a smile on his face and a playfulness in his heart. Grape Ape is very kind and childlike in the issue as he has no fear of ghosts and does not even seem to understand that he has been Ape-napped by a conman! But because he has no fear this does allow him to scare some ghosts as well as annoy and bring down some mobsters who were very mean spirited in nature. Beegle Beagle does what he does best and that is watch over his giant friend as well as drive them around from place to place. But sadly due to his size and the fact he is a dog, he does seem to get treated poorly by the crappy people they come across on their adventures. The plots for these three stories are very simple and have a quick pace and some truly silly and fun moments, but because they are so basic they do lose a little charm as I feel that at least with this first issue they lack the true kids comic silliness of say the Whitman Looney Tune Comics. But with that said, I do feel that the comic series also did a good job of capturing the charm of the cartoon it’s based on…so I would have to say that over all it really is a entertaining comic for fans of Grape Ape. My favorite story of course is The Great Grape Ape Sees A Ghost as you can never go wrong with a spooky tale of a haunted house and ghosts. The cover is fantastic and showcases both Grape Ape and Beegle Beagle enjoying some ice cream while the interior art is really well done and truly looks like the cartoon versions, but sadly I could not find who the artist was so this is another for Unknown Artist to claim as his own. I have to say this is a really good comic if you enjoy classic Hanna-Barbara Cartoons.

The Great Grape Ape # 2 **1/2
Released in 1976 Cover Price .30 Charlton Comics # 2 of 2

“Timberrrr!” while driving through the woods Grape Ape and Beegle Beagle come across a fallen tree and find that the giant Paul Bunyan and his ox Blue are the ones doing it as they are stealing all the lumber for themselves and chasing off all the other lumberjacks! Grape Ape ends up standing his ground against the giant lumberjack and finds out that both Paul and Ox are robots being controlled by a rich man who truly wanted all the lumber for himself. Grape Ape destroys the robots and saves the day and even gets a job offer before he and Beegle Beagle ride off into the woods. “The Great Grape Ape vs. Snap Dragon” while driving through California Grape Ape and Beegle Beagle come across a town that is being tormented by a power shovel that has gone rogue and is destroying the town and drinking up all the gas and oil as it now spits fire! But Grape Ape has seen enough and decides to help the town and does so by punching and breaking the power shovel ending its reign of terror, and with that the town’s people are thankful and Beegle Beagle and Grape Ape continue their quest. “Frisbee Fun” while driving around Beegle Beagle and Grape Ape watch some kids play with Frisbees and this makes Grape Ape sad as they are too small for him to use, but just then UFOs from Mars try and invade and Grape Ape grabs one and flings it back into space causing them all to flee and stop the invasion! Grape Ape is a hero but all he really wants is a Frisbee his size to play with.

The final issue in the very short lived Grape Ape comic series is a pretty entertaining one as we once more join him and Beegle Beagle in three adventures that this time have them fighting robots as well as stopping an alien invasion and of course all the while Grape Ape is a hero that is doing what he thinks is right and that is stopping the baddies. Grape Ape in this one seems to be ready for a fight as he beats the heck out of robot versions of Paul Bunyan and Blue as well as a fire breaking Power Shovel with his big bare fists and even tosses a UFO away with ease and has fun doing it! The one think that I do have to point out that the comic gets wrong is they have Grape Ape say more words than he should and that kind of makes its feel slightly off. In other words Charlton Comics needed to have Grape Ape not say as much as he does through both these issues. Beegle Beagle in this one seems more like a background player as he is featured in all three stories it’s clear that Grape Ape is the true star and is the one who gets almost all the panel time. I have to say also that Snap Dragon the Power Shovel gone crazy truly reminded me of the made for TV film “Killdozer” mixed with Godzilla and a Dragon…and I for some reason really enjoyed that showdown the best as I think it is my favorite story in the issue. Plus you have to once more enjoy the fact that this issue brings the Horror and Sci-Fi elements into the stories. I have to say that while it does have a very small amount of flaws that makes the comic feel slightly different from the cartoon I do think that if you are a fan of Grape Ape, you will really like these comics. The cover for this second and final issue is great and has Grape Ape squaring up against Snap Dragon and is super eye catching, and Unknown Artist once more did a great job of brining top notch interior artwork that does look like the toon its based on. If you really do enjoy Grape Ape or just Hanna-Barbara cartoons, make sure to checkout this series. Take a look at the artwork below to see the style used in this comic series.

As you can see, Grape Ape not only was a great cartoon but also a very fun comic book series as Charlton Comics proved that they knew how to make kids comic based on popular toons at the time and you can never go wrong with their series based on Hanna-Barbara Cartoons! And really this update was a blast to work on as it made me not only feel like a kid again but also brought back my love for the character Grape Ape that I feel is very much overlooked in this modern time…I say give me Grape Ape over 99.9% off all the modern cartoons flooding the airwaves now. Anyways I now just sound like an old man yelling at the clouds so with that I think our time with Grape Ape and Beegle Beagle has come to an end and our next update will take us to the Ultraverse as we take a look at Sludge the monster hero of Malibu Comics! So until next time, read a comic of three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for a muck monster of a gooey good time.

Horror Host Icon: Alistair Cookie

Posted on August 14, 2022 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! This update is going to be a fun one as it’s a “Horror Host Icon” update all about Alistair Cookie, the host of Monsterpiece Theater…now I need you all to relax and just have fun with this one as I am sure some of you are saying out loud “Alistair Cookie is not a Horror Host he is an educational kids show character.” You are not wrong in your thoughts, but hear me out: some of the segments he hosted had kid friendly horror themes, he himself is a monster and again just sit back and have fun with this one. While he might not be a full fledged Horror Host, he is a Host of a parody themed movie show and much like Count Floyd was a gateway for young kids to discover the wonderful world of Horror Hosts. So grab some cookies and milk, and let’s talk tales with Alistair Cookie of Monsterpiece Theater who is coming to you from Sesame Street.

Alistair Cookie is a blue monster that wears a smoking jacket, with early episodes even having a pipe that he would eat at the end of the show (this was done away with not to make smoking look cool to kids) and sits in a massive wingback chair in a study with a fireplace surrounded by books and photos of his friends from the past. He is a cool and calm host and loves cookies and milk as he showcases a short segment that is based on a book, fable or film and is done to teach the viewers a lesson of education as well are done in a silly nature to deliver a chuckle. And Alistair loves himself some cookies and will devour them and at time even gleefully talk about the cookies. Alistair not only during an episode would interact with the viewers at home but also those Muppets that appear in his sketches, and even at times Alistair himself will be in one of the spoof segments! Alistair Cookie started being the host for Monsterpiece Theater in 1978 that was a part of the classic educational series “Sesame Street” and was a take off of the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre and its host Alistair Cooke. Monsterpiece Theater lasted for around 36 episodes (within the main show) and came to an end in 1999 as part of the Sesame Street segment lineup. During its run, Monsterpiece Theater would spoof books, shows and movies like NYPD Blue, Chariots Of Fire, Dances With Wolves, Dr. No, Gone With The Wind, Hamlet, West Side Story and The 39 Steps to name a few. While Alistair Cookie and Monsterpiece Theater might not be on the air anymore with new episodes, kids of the time like myself loved the show and enjoyed every time it was apart of Sesame Street. And I should say that Monsterpiece Theater aired on PBS during its run, and for those of you who grew up in the late 70’s through the 90’s you know just how cool Alistair Cookie was and just how zany and crazy he was to eat cookies and share a tale with us all. I want to also say that the shows opening theme is great and has a regal sound with later seasons even having Alistair eating and talking about a cookie he is eating.

Cookie Monster is the Muppet behind Alistair Cookie and he is one of the biggest stars in the history of Sesame Street on TV. Cookie Monster is a Muppet who was created by Jim Henson and played by Frank Oz from 1969 to 2004 and David Rudman helped from 2001-2004 before taking over the role that he is still doing to this day. But Cookie Monster first appeared in TV Commercials for General Foods as he would steal and eat snack food along with fellow monsters and he was called Wheel-Stealer, but oddly enough his commercials never would be aired and the future Cookie Monster would not get his big break until 1967 when he would be used in a IBM training film and a few years later he would be called Arnold The Munching Monster and would be used in commercials for Munchos a potato chip from Frito-Lay. But then Cookie Monster took a role on Sesame Street starting in 1969 and his career was set and would lead to him being a featured cast member and one of the most loved Muppets of all time. He would go on to star in movies as well as shows like Saturday Night Live, Martha Stewart, All Things Considered and The Colbert Report and so many more. Cookie Monster who is called that cause he loves to eat cookies also later would tell kids that cookies are good but they should also eat veggies, but keep in mind he has not lost his love for cookies and is still appearing on the show to this day! And growing up indeed Cookie Monster was one of my favorite characters from Sesame Street and I had books, a patch and toys that featured him and one year my Birthday Cake had Cookie Monster on it. When you think of Icons of the Muppet world Cookie Monster has to be at the top of your list. And come on you know reading this Horror Host Icon update the song “C Is For Cookie” that he sang is going through your head. And on a side note Alistair Cookie was suggested to the Horror Host Hall Of Fame Board to be on a ballot and sadly did not get the vote to make it on in around 2021.

Like all good “Horror Hosts” Alistair Cookie has had a really cool doll made of him that was sold by PBS and come complete with his chair as well as smoking jacket. And this is one doll that I wish I would have known about as I would have 100% bought it. Now you can only find it via third party sellers on sites like Ebay and they are going for high prices. But fans of Alistair Cookie I wanted to make you aware that this doll was made and is out there for you to collect.

Monsterpiece Theater was a staple on Sesame Street for a few decades and Alistair Cookie was a Host that kids always enjoyed seeing on their TV Sets. And we are now at the part of this review were we will take a look at show and what I have here is a Best Of DVD set that I was able to get thanks to my brother and because there is so many of them I will be picking my favorite 8 episodes. And keep in mind the “movies” he showed was all part of the host segment and at times Alistair himself would be the star of the short he was hosting! So with that grab a cookie or two and pour yourself a very tall glass of milk as we are going to talk Monsterpieces with the one and only Alistair Cookie.

Best Of Monsterpiece Theater Vol. 1
Starring – Mel Gibson & Grover Not Rated 1978-1999

Host: “Upstairs, Downstairs” Alistair is sitting in his wing backed chair with a pipe and welcomes viewers and the short has Grover going up and down stairs and getting winded doing so. Once back to Alistair he thanks us for watching and then eats the smoking pipe! “Gone With The Wind” Alistair starts the episode by welcoming us to the show and saying he is very happy to bring us his favorite film today…but then says that he has never seen it but heard it was good. The short has a mansion being hit by a windstorm and inside Kermit and a female Muppet watch as things are being blown around and are both confused to what to do to stop it, and while doing match they both end up being blown away by the wind. And when we join Alistair his library is also now being hit with wind and he ushers us out by thanking us for watching. “1 Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” Alistair with book in hand is sitting in his library and welcomes us to the show and builds up the show as being a showcase of the number 1’s historic flight over the cuckoo’s nest. The segment goes wrong at first as number 3 flies over a chicken coop, and four falls from the sky into a pig pin than finally number 1 fly over the nest. In the end Alistair is relieved that they finally showed the right segment and bids us farewell and relaxes back into his chair. “Twin Beaks” has Alistair himself going toe the strange town of Twin Beaks that is populated by birds and he is trying to figure out why the town is called that and even talks to the bird with a log to try and get the answer, and does notice that all the birds do have two beaks. Once back in the library Alistair takes a pie and eats it down and ushers us once more out of the show. “Lethal Weapon 3” once more Alistair welcomes us to the show and says tonight’s feature is packed with danger and the mega movie hit Lethal Weapon 3. We then join Mel Gibson and Danny Glover standing by a Danger sign and they are looking around when all of a sudden a giant # 3 falls from the sky. And in the end as Alistair ends the show a giant # 4 falls from the sky and lands on his chair. “Hamlet” the show starts with Alistair in his chair and the moon is out and he says tonight’s episode is very classy and is very proud to bring the viewers Hamlet! The segment then has a castle and Mel Gibson as Hamlet who is reading a book when Elmo enters the scene and watches as Hamlet goes through emotions reading the book and when asked how he can get a book Hamlet tells Elmo to go to the library. In the end Alistair eats a Danish pastry as well as the plate it was on. “Dances With Wolves” Alistair once more is happy to bring the viewers a blockbuster film that is filled with action and buffalos and ushers us into the short that is set at a ball that has farm animals dancing and a young female big has no one to dance with, so enter the wolf. And just because they are different they still have a great time dancing together. Alistair ends the episode shoving cookies into his mouth. “Dr. No” Alistair is once more in his chair and tells the viewers that the night’s episode stars the master spy James Bond! The segment takes place in a eye doctors office and James Bond needs Dr. No’s help in order to read. In the end Alistair eating cookies tells the viewers that next episode will be another James Bond adventure.

That was such a fun Horror Host Icon update that I know has many of you readers split on if he is a “Horror Host” or not, and believe me I have heard that same debate over even the likes of Count Floyd, The Crypt Keeper, Miko Macabre and the cast of Dinner & A Movie as many do not look at them as full fledge Horror Hosts. And I myself say that all mentioned are indeed Horror Hosts and while they are not your traditional style hosts they all have their own styles, fans and creative ways to be a Host. And in the case of Alistair Cookie I think he is a gateway Host for kids that will help them to discover other movie hosts, as lets be honest many of the parody segments are based on cult films and TV shows from Twin Peaks all the way to Hitchcock’s 39 Steps and even a Lethal Weapon 3 in between. Also to be honest I loved all the episodes on this disc and just picked some of the more fun and silly ones. So to wrap it up I want to thank Alistair Cookie for all his years on Monsterpiece Theater that has lead to so many great memories for me as well as thousands of others who grew up with his antics on select episodes of Sesame Street. For the next update we will be leaving Sesame Street as well as the world of Horror Hosting and will be heading to Jellystone Park to visit one of my all time favorite cartoon characters Yogi Bear! So until next time eat a cookie or three, enjoy a glass of milk or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time as we go on the hunt for some picnic baskets.

U.S. Acres Down On The Farm!

Posted on March 23, 2022 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and for this 10 Year Anniversary update and for this update I figured why not vist the Sunday Funnies and take a look at a comic strip that I loved as a kid that also spawned a cartoon series that was must watch TV for me and better yet it was created by Jim Davis the mastermind behind Garfield and I am of course talking about U.S. Acres the fun farm set and animal led strip that was all the rage for a very short amount of time. And you guys know me I have a soft spot for the old comic strips of my youth as well as even discovering new ones so one of these updates had to be featured. So grab a glass of milk, coffee or orange juice sit at the place you eat breakfast and lets dive into the world of U.S. Acres and see what Orson Pig and his friends have in store for us!

U.S. Acres was a comic strip created by Jim Davis the man behind the Garfield strip and was set on a farm that featured talking animals and their times living on the farm as well as dealing with each others zany personalities. The Comic strip started in 1986 and would run in Newspapers all over North America and was a hit with young kids as well as adults would get a chuckle from its silly humor. Jim Davis would work on the strip with his assistant Brett Koth who was also helping on the Garfield strip at the time. The cast of characters include strip star Orson Pig a good natured Pig who was the leader of the barnyard, Booker was a small chick who was saved as an egg and hatched and cared for by Orson who Booker calls Mom, he has a little attitude but is a good kid. Sheldon is bookers brother and has the same back story of being found and saved by Orson, he however is still stuck in his shell and is super smart. Bo and Lanolin are brother and sister sheep with Bo being nice and Lanolin being a mean loudmouth. Wade Duck is a duck who is scared of water and wears a pool inner tube around the farm, is one of Orson’s friends. Cody is the farms puppy and Blue is the farms kitten. Filbert is a worm who has a family with wife Estelle and son Willy. And lastly is Roy Rooster who is a joker and is kind of the series bad guy as he lives pranks and teasing, but also is a friend to them all. The comic strip was so popular that it would spawn merchandise as well as a cartoon (but more on them a little latter) and would run until 1988. The strip would make a comeback as a WebComic in 2010 and in 2019 Viacom would buy Paws, Inc. from Jim Davis and they would now own Garfield and U.S. Acres and the comic strip would end again in 2020. Now in the hands of Nickelodeon the fate of U.S. Acres is unknown at this time, and lets all hope the strip makes a comeback.

Garfield And Friends was an animated show that aired on CBS for Saturday Morning Cartoons and started on September 17, 1988 and would run for seven seasons with 121 episodes made and the show would end in 1994. The show was 30 minute episodes (later two back to back episodes) and would feature segments of Garfield as well as U.S. Acres and would be a super popular cartoon that was must see TV and one that I can remember watching as a kid as well as talking with my friends at school about. And this is the case of all segments being good and both the Garfield and U.S. Acres being on equal ground, even if Garfield was the main star of the cartoon. Garfield And Friends was must see Saturday Morning Cartoons TV as it was super popular and was even as popular when reran after the shows run came to an end. Episodes of the show was released on VHS and later the whole series was released via DVD volumes, and these sadly are out of print and are going for high prices. But fear not the first three seasons of the show have been released again and are budget priced. If you grew up when this showed aired or discovered it on home media decades later you know how much fun this cartoon was and is one that showed be viewed still to this day.

Besides reprints of the comic strip U.S. Acres would get a good amount of other merchandise for fans that would include kids story books, key chains, stickers, posters, shirts and plush dolls. Its crazy to think that U.S. Acres is not as well knows as Garfield and that the merchandise is way harder to find then Garfield’s as I feel that both are amazing comic strips and should get more love then they do in the modern times. As a kid I had many of the paperback books as well as a keychain of Orson Pig. I would love to get some of the plush dolls now and have them in my classic toy collection. But if you are a fan of U.S. Acres there is lots of cool stuff for you to collect.

So as you can see U.S. Acres was a big part of my childhood and even still to this day I love these characters and the world that Jim Davis created for them. Plus I mean fans of Garfield should also enjoy this comic strip as they are set in the same universe. But we are now at the time for the review for this update and I first want to thank the Etsy and Amazon sellers for having this book in stock and allowing me to read these again, as book 6 is the one Paperback version that I remember owning as a kid! I want to also remind you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets take a stroll around U.S. Acres and see what Orson and his friends have in store for us.

U.S. Acres: Take This Rooster Please! ***
Released in 1990 Cover Price $2.50 Berkley Books # 6 of 6

This book is tons of one-page stories of the U.S. Acres crew having silly and loveable adventures! So while I cannot cover each one I will select 10 of my favorite strips in no real order. First: Roy Roster is on the barn roof and is mad when the weathervane that looks like a rooster will not talk to him, making Roy thinks that the other rooster is snubbing him. Second: Orson Pig uses earplugs so that Roy Rooster cannot wake him with his early morning call, but Roy has another way of waking up Orson as he pours a bucket of water on him. Third: Orson Pig is making a garden with Booker and Sheldon, and when he calls for the seeds to planet we see a big belled Booker passed out with a empty big box that reads seeds. Fourth: Sheldon is looking at himself in a trick mirror and he gets worried when he sees that he no longer looks like an egg but a peanut. Fifth: Orson, Roy, Booker and Sheldon sneak into the Farmers home to borrow some Christmas ornaments for their barnyard tree and they find Sheldon in the refrigerator kicking out eggs saying he is setting them free. Sixth: Sheldon and Booker try and stay awake Christmas Eve so they can see Santa Claus, but when they fall asleep Santa ends up putting them to bed and tucking them in. Seventh: Sheldon is wearing an Elvis wig and big lift shoes and has Orson write a thank you letter to Santa, as well as ask for help on how to walk in the massive heeled shoes! Eighth: Cody Dog is walking around with feathers in his mouth and Orson asks him why, and he says he ate Roy but before he can finish that he at his Pillow Orson freaks out and runs around screaming that Cody ate Roy! Ninth: It’s bedtime and Orson heads to brush his teeth when he tries his toothbrush bounces all over, he is supper mad, as someone has slipped him a rubber toothbrush. Tenth: Booker and Sheldon have made a small snowman when Roy runs by and kicks it, so the brother make another bigger one and as Roy runs over to kick it he smashes into a tree as the brother built it around one to teach the rude Rooster a lesson.

This Paperback Book that reprinted some of the classic comic strips is a great read and an amazing flashback for me as it made me remember just how much I loved these characters as a kid. This book does a great job of giving every character a time to shine and have some funny moments. The only one that I feel is a little left out is Wade Duck who has less panel time then the rest. I do like that they also give a little attention to side characters like Blue The Kitten and Cody The Puppy as for most of the time they are the characters that seem to be forgotten and are not aloud to shine as brightly as the main cast, but here they are given respect and time to bring some chuckles. Orson of course gets lots of the pages dedicated to his zany life as does Booker and Sheldon and they are clearly the comic strips main stars and are some of the most loved characters. Roy Rooster who is my favorite gets some great gags in this book and his terrible jerky rude attitude is in full effect as he is mean and yet also friendly too much of the cast! The cover is great and eye catching and is the one I remember the most as a kid, with the interior art by Jim Davis being topnotch comic strip stuff. Over all if you love U.S. Acres like I do get this Paperback Book and enjoy the flashback of barnyard humor. Check out the artwork bellow to see the style used in this book as well as almost all of the characters.

I love Comic Strips and it’s a shame that they are not as big as they once were and that modern day kids will not understand the excitement of Sunday Mornings rushing to read the Funnie Pages as well as look at the Toy Ads from your favorite department store all the while eating breakfast. And its sad also that this generation of Kids who do love comic strips will not get to enjoy U.S. Acres and if they do they will have to find the strips online or track down one of these books that tend to be a little pricy, but its worth it if you like light hearted humor of comic strips and Davis. But as you can see we are at the end of this Funnie Page update and for our next one we will be heading to the world of Lucha Libre to take a look at the first in the “Indie Luchador Files” series and I promise it will be a fun one! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update at the Rotten Ink Arena!