Al Wiseman- An Appreciation by Terry Austin

Note: This is the third in a series of "appreciations" of Al Wiseman by professionals in the comics/cartooning industry. World renowned comic book artist Terry Austin is best known for his work in the field of superhero comics. But perhaps he missed his true calling as an artist for cartoony kids' funnybooks? Could be!



AL WISEMAN AND FRED TOOLE: A LOVE STORY (MINE)
by Terry Austin

If we are to believe the ultra-modern Holo History Tapes, our planet in Ye Olden Days (a period commonly known as B.C.T.—Before Color Television,) was a vastly different place. Roughly two-thirds of the Earth’s surface was covered by molten lava, while the other two-thirds were largely inhabited by dinosaurs (FUN FACT: Edison invented the Phonograph in an attempt to capture the vocal phenomenon then known as the “love songs” of the dinosaurs; the Wright brothers invented the airplane in order to flee the wrath of love-sick dinosaurs angered over having their anguish exploited for cheap commercial gain). It is in those primitive times, that historians would have us believe that the children of our tribes carried out some sort of ritualistic human sacrifice in order to honor someone or something they called “the Good Duck Artist”. This person (or thing,) was supposedly held in high esteem by these young savages of the pampas because of his or her skill at fashioning diverting tales of anthropomorphic birds, or perhaps wombats, that served to distract the youthful moppets from their normal day to day activities of murdering, or otherwise maiming, each other for a time.


However, evidence recently unearthed proves rather conclusively that the brighter, more fully rounded child, the kind that would later excel in the Arts and Sciences (like pinochle and Yahtzee,) actually preferred to worship at the altar of the four-color offerings of two nascent creators who were brave enough to shun the cloak of anonymity that others likewise engaged cowered behind. They boldly stepped forward to declare themselves the purveyors of the mirth-filled pamphlets that our society now reveres as DENNIS THE MENACE, the comic book.

Those men (for if history is to be given any credence as all, we must trust this, to indeed be the case,) took it upon themselves to rise above their atavistic brethren and demand to be called Mr. Frederick Toole, fashioner of tall tales designed to elicit chuckles, and Mr. Alvin Wiseman, crafter of the most excellent visual japery.


In those primordial (B.C.T.) times, children rushed by the score to their local hardware stores, emporiums of notions, and cheese shops to seek out the printed adventures of those characters whose exploits entertained them for a few paltry hours each day on the infant medium then known as “Telebision”. There, they would find mostly weak gruel to sustain their appetite for innocent mayhem and destruction. Those seeking the wild, anarchistic antics of the animated Bugs Bunny found instead a more sedate, contemplative Bugs, one who preferred stamp collecting and the study of Architecture or some such. The talking rodents, goats and insects of el Señor Disney were notoriously dull in their cartoon outings, and those backward tykes who sought more of the same on the printed page probably deserved what they got in spades. But, the discerning child who desired a further exploration of the foreshadowing of gathering doom represented by the utterance of the phrase, “Helllloooooo, Mister Wilson,” was rewarded by the endlessly inventive plotlines and whimsical dialogue supplied by Mr. Toole, in concert with Mr. Wiseman’s brilliant compositions and a line so sweet, so pure, so true, that it once caused a grown man to weep (okay, twice, and the second time I was already giddy from pudding!).


And, wonder of wonders, Messers Toole and Wiseman regularly presented these deserving youngsters with giant-sized tomes of special significance… While the Flintstones and Josie went to the World’s Fair, and Mickey and Donald visited Disneyland (the wimps!), Dennis (and Fred and Al) braved the then mostly uncharted territories of Mexico, Hollywood, Washington, California, Hawaii, and His Pal Joey. These hilariously sublime volumes kept the average child helplessly writhing in delight on the linoleum for weeks, which made it easy for their parents to secretly relocate to Joplin, Missouri. (Mom? Dad? All is forgiven!!!)

Fred and Al’s comic book DENNIS was such a success that the stands were soon flooded by such knock-off titles such as PAT THE BRAT and LITTLE ANGEL. Stan Lee and Joe Maneely (no slouches,) were alone responsible for DEXTER THE DEMON, MELVIN THE MONSTER, WILLIE THE WISE GUY and LITLE ZELDA. These tawdry imitations all failed miserably in the market place. What their creators overlooked was that while Dennis was an imaginative, inquisitive child (whom the readers could identity with,) any comic mayhem or confusion that resulted from his actions grew out of his innocence of purpose; their characters were just mean kids whose loathsome behaviors were perpetrated out of hatred and spite. Kids could easily tell the difference (sadly, dinosaurs could not; they subsisted almost entirely on bad comic books and became extinct in 1963)!


But what of our latter-day Robin Hoods (some would say Tess (es) of the D’Urbervilles,) our heroes, Toole and Wiseman? How were they rewarded for their devotion to entertaining and inspiring an entire generation which, without whose influence, might well have turned to outright vagrancy, or even clam chowder?

Legend has it that Mr. Toole was elected to Congress for a full five terms, and a statue of him now stands on the spot in Washington, DC where Dennis once swam naked in a public fountain near a frozen custard stand. Mr. Wiseman, it is rumored, turned down the Presidency of Sweden, choosing to instead own and operate the largest working cattle ranch in western Canada. His bronzed baby shoes reside in a place of honor in our nation’s capitol of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Mr. Toole and Mr. Wiseman: a grateful nation salutes you! As do I; Root Beer for everybody!!!



TERRY AUSTIN, influenced by too many wonderful comic books, like the ones cited above, has been a comic book writer/penciler/inker for the last 30 plus years. He is a ten time winner of the EAGLE AWARD from the comic fans of Great Britain, as well as the SATURN, ALLEY and multiple COMIC BUYER’S GUIDE AWARDs from fans in the U.S. for Favorite Inker of the Year. He even came to appreciate, as an adult, the work of Carl Barks, “the good duck artist” whom he jokingly depreciated above.

Above: (Click on images to enlarge) Dennis wanders through one of Mr. Austin’s sketchbooks, much to his parent’s dismay…

Above: (Click to enlarge) Needing a couple of extra pages to fill out Marvel Comics’ reprint book of old Incredible Hulk stories, writer Roger Stern came up with the idea of substituting the Hulk for other animated or comic book characters for the sake of a good, cheap laugh, which editor Jack Abel then assigned Mr. Austin to draw. Jack had been replaced as editor by Al Milgrom by the time this entry was entirely written, drawn and lettered by Mr. Austin to pay homage to one of his favorite comic books and the artist who brought it thrillingly to life…


Al Wiseman Appreciations:
Bill Wray
Joe Staton
Terry Austin
Jim Salicrup
Mike Lynch

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.