Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine- March 1953 (Part 2)

So here's the inside Wiseman art from the March, 1953 issue of Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine. If you remember, the cover was way cartoonier than earlier issues. And this also turns out to be true for the spot illustration!

See?

Above: Shouldn't the ice guy's shirt read "Union" instead of "Onion"? (Or is that the joke?)

Mmmm... an Al Wiseman silhouette!

Have I mentioned that Al Wiseman sometimes drew silhouettes?

Above: Whew! That Mrs. O'Day sure was an undiscriminating little tart, no? Why, she had all the loose morals of a wanton-floozy-she-harlot!

For fun, re-read the above verse, but substitute the names Henry and Alice Mitchell when appropriate...


Wiseman digest mags:

Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine:
August 1950: Part 1
March 1951: Part 1/Part 2
April 1951: Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4
June 1952: Part 1/Part 2
March 1953: Part 1/Part 2
"Pin-Up Stationery" ad: Part 1/Part 2
"The Latrine Gazette" column: Part 1

Smiles:
#45 (January, 1951): Part 1/Part 2

Smiles:
#45 (January, 1951): Part 1/Part 2

Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine- March 1953 (Part 1)

Hey, let's do something totally spontaneous and out of character for this post today. Let's talk about Al Wiseman!

Okay, if Al Wiseman started working on Dennis the Menace in (probably) the beginning of 1952, that would mean he drew this cover while laboring under the heavy workload of the burgeoning Dennis empire. And maybe that's why this Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine drawing is a bit looser than earlier covers.

Perhaps a combination of Hank Ketcham's artistic influence and a tighter schedule motivated Al to forgo his previous quest for perfection and produce a somewhat sketchier (and more cartoony) image.

Well, that's my theory, anyway...



Wiseman digest mags:

Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine:
August 1950: Part 1
March 1951: Part 1/Part 2
April 1951: Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4
June 1952: Part 1/Part 2
March 1953: Part 1/Part 2
"Pin-Up Stationery" ad: Part 1/Part 2
"The Latrine Gazette" column: Part 1

Smiles:
#45 (January, 1951): Part 1/Part 2

Gas Buggy Gamblers Poster (Part 1)

"A Little Gallery of Gas Buggy Gamblers" was a small, undated black & white poster featuring a bunch of car-safety cartoon panels.

Yet again, this was more than likely another of Al's self-published projects. Probably from the late '60s/early '70s. It's signed "Al Wiseman" and "Rebecca Hill". So, who was this Rebecca Hill and just what part did she play in the creation of this poster? Dunno. Maybe she's related to Frank Hill?

Gee, you have to wonder if Al ever made any money off these projects. Well, you don't have to wonder. But I do.

After all, wondering about such things is all part of my prestigious job description here at the Al Wiseman Blog...



Question: Could the word "some" have been excised from the above poem, or am I just persnickety?

Pin-Up Stationery Ad (Part 2)

Welcome back yet again, folks!

Yesterday, we featured part one of our Pin-Up Stationery Ad posts. And today, we blow up the little tiny ad images to help you peer at Al Wiseman's pert 'n' pretty pin-up gals!

OK, the enlarged images aren't perfect. So what are you Wiseman fans gonna do? Cancel your subscription to the Al Wiseman Blog?

Well, I certainly hope not...

Pin-Up Stationery Ad (Part 1)

Ahhh...

Al Wiseman and beautiful women. Need I say more?

Oh, I do?
Well, I was kinda hoping to get out of here early today, but okay...

This ad for "Pin-Up Stationery" appeared on the back cover of many issues of Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine (the scan below was taken from the March, 1953 issue). I'm thinking these stationery pages were self-published by the ever-enterprising Al, but who knows?

Nice, huh?

I'll make you folks some enlarged jpegs of the smaller drawings for Tuesday's post. How's that for a plan?

Now, as long as we're all in agreement, let's call it a day and be done with it...

The Hearing Book (Part 3)

Welcome back, folks!

For today's festivities, we're going to dip our scanner into that deep well of fine Al Wiseman images we like to call "The Hearing Book”.

And what do we get?

Well, other than a downright confusing metaphor, it looks like we've got the answer to that never-before-asked question: "What if Dennis the Menace (and Mr. Wilson) had been created in the 1970's?"

Turns out that instead of the innocent, wide-eyed, hyper-active Dennis of the 1950’s, we get a slightly lethargic, shaggy-haired kid who could've been straight out of a 1970's situation comedy.

But Mr. Wilson is still Mr. Wilson (even if he’s not Mr. Wilson at all). God bless him...

Above (Page 29): "People who have very soft voices are always difficult for you to hear well."

And check out the comforting (and well-drawn) suburban background detail. Along with the unmistakable Al Wiseman lettering!

If only Al’s Dennis page-rate hadn’t been substantially lowered, he could’ve still been drawing Dennis at this point.

Oh well...

The Hearing Book:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

Al's Childhood Drawings (Part 3)

Al Wiseman figured out, and he figured out early, that the world loves cartoon monkeys. Forget Old Man Disney and his tired penchant for anthropomorphic rodents. Monkeys are obviously a giant leap up the evolutionary ladder.

Yeah, we've seen Al's childhood monkey character before, but this time the visage is supplanted with a catchy moniker: Billy Monk.

No, not the praying kind of "monk". This was the tail-swingin', banana-eatin', throwin'-feces-at-you-in-the-zoo kind of "monk".

You know, the kind that dreams are made of.

So let's give ten-year-old cartoonist Alvin "Jack" Wiseman some mad props (as we say in the hip-hop community) and make certain this ovation is a standing one.


A special thanks to Teresa Tersol-Wiseman for the scan of Al's cartoon monkey drawing. And to Jan Wiseman for making me copies years ago...

Al's Childhood Drawings:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

Wiseman Silhouettes- Dennis in Hollywood (part 2)

Welcome back Al Wiseman fans. And Dennis the Menace fans. And fans of Fine Silhouettes.

A couple of weeks ago, we at The Al Wiseman Blog started referring to Al Wiseman as the God of Funnybook Silhouettes. Why? Because if something is said often enough, by enough people, it will become a fact.

And even though this statement is already an unassailable truth, we must spread the word so that all peoples of all nations become aware of it's truthfulness!

Today we bring you even more precious Wiseman Silhouettes. And what shall we learn from today's offering? Well, not only was Al Wiseman the God of Funnybook Silhouettes, but he was also the God of Canine Funnybook Silhouettes!

See for yourself and agree:





Notice how a non-silhouetted Dennis leads us into the silhouetted panels, only to have a non-silhouetted Fred Toole look-alike (actually referred to as "Fred") lead us out again. Pure silhouette genius, I say!

And even though there were many non-silhouetted panels placed in-between the above panels, we shall pretend they never existed.

Wiseman Silhouettes:
Dennis in Hollywood:
Part 1/Part 2
Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine:
August 1950: Part 1
March 1953: Part 2

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.

Liberty Magazine: November 1947

What an odd Al Wiseman cartoon. I guess that in 1947, Al was still experimenting with his gag-cartooning style and this was the result. The men look more-or-less OK, but the woman is really bizarre creature. Wonder what Al was thinking...

Wiseman magazine gags:
Saturday Evening Post gags:
1/27/45
10/30/48
1/22/55
Liberty Magazine gags:
November 1947
Pic Magazine gags:
August 1948
September 1948

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes (Part 7)

Hey, remember last week, when we took a peek at Al's 1953 drawing of a girl in a see-through dress? Well, of course you do! But to refresh your memory, here she is again:

And now, here's Al's 1974 drawing of a girl in a see-through dress (from the book Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes):
So which is better? I like 'em both!

Looks like Al went through his old drawings for inspiration before doing the 1974 version. The conceptual difference between the two being that the first invisible dress is caused by a sunset, while the second invisible dress is solely the product of the pervy imagination of the creepy bearded-businessman in the polyester leisure suit.

Poor gal! I'm sure she'd be much happier with lovable leering Hillbillies any day...


Update: Wait, it just occurred to me- where is this woman's ear?

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7

Dennis the Menace "Real Action Toy" by Joe B.

(Note: This is a special edition of The Al Wiseman Blog written by Dennis the Menace merchandising expert Joe B. Joe has a massive collection of Dennis material and a near-encyclopedic knowledge of the lil' Menace's history. Plus he started The Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread, which brought together a large assortment of Dennis fans (and inspired me to finally get going on this site). Oh, and he's also a great guy!

As you will soon find out, Joe has been kind enough to give us some insight today on one of the coolest and earliest of the Dennis collectibles: The "Real Action Toy" squirt gun. Thanks for the swell post, Joe- hope there will be more in the future!)


The Dennis the Menace "Real Action Toy"
by Joe B.

First, I want to thank Bill Alger for starting this site and also for inviting me to post. Many of you know me as ComicBookGuy on the CGC forums and Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread. As you may also know, I've been doing lots of research on Dennis the Menace for a while and am currently completing a book on the subject. It's great to see Bill C. and JRW still posting away as the UDTM Thread has slowed down a bit lately. At this point, this is The Place to hang out for AW info, and when I have a post related to AW, I will send them to Bill for this site and save the non-AW Dennis stuff for the UDTM Thread.

The first topic I'd like to address is Al's artwork on Dennis the Menace merchandise.


When looking at the whole body of AW's work on Dennis, I have found that some of his most spectacular art embellished the many Dennis products that hit the market in the early 1950s. Following the first wave of adult-oriented merchandise from Monogram of California, the next wave targeted children since the creators of Dennis the Menace realized that their real market was not with adults but with kids. The Real Action Toy was the first toy ever developed by Hank Ketcham Enterprises, but was not the first to appear on the market. The first to appear seems to be the evil-looking doll manufactured by Glad Toys in 1953.

Above: The "evil" Glad Toys Dennis (Not by Wiseman!)

When the Real Action Toy appeared in 1954, it had the distinction of featuring seven pictures of Dennis on the box, all drawn by Al Wiseman: six on the side and one large image on the front. See for yourself, but I have found the art on the toys to be much more carefully rendered and more polished than any single panel or comic cover done by AW.


Clearly toys sold for much more than comics did and Ketcham and company seem to have taken their entrance into the world of toys very seriously. In fact, the only Dennis paintings by AW I have seen are on the covers to toy boxes. Therefore, discovering the art AW did on the many 1950s toys opens up a whole new world of this great artist's body of work for fans to discover.

-Joe B.
Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread
Joe B. posts:
Real Action Toy
Pressman Paint Set




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.

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes (Part 6)

As we have gathered from previous Al Wiseman Blog posts, Al loved drawing little old ladies in tennis shoes. And why this was, we have not yet ascertained. Nor have we uncovered the reasoning behind his other fixation of the time: tiny import cars of the early 1970's.

So what happens when Al puts his two obsessions together and draws a tiny import car into a book titled Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes (even though the Little Old Lady doesn't actually appear in the image)? Will the intersections of these two infatuations cause the corners of the Al Wiseman Blog Universe to fold in upon themselves thus creating a maddeningly entangled time paradox? Or will the weight of the two obsessions cause the Al Wiseman Blog Universe to become so heavy that it actually collapses into itself, resulting in an inescapable black hole, absorbing and obliterating everything in it's path?

Well, no. None of that. That would be silly.

But it does make you wonder. In an earlier post, this blog pondered the idea that the author of Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes may have used a pen name. In fact, the writer, Betty Fisher, seemed to have shared many of Al's interests. Could "Betty Fisher" have actually been Al (and/or his then wife Dorothy) using a pen name?

Maybe...

The Al Wiseman Blog has no proof of these allegations. And if you are Betty Fisher, please do not sue us.


Above: Page 66

Above: Page 67!

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7

Golden State Dairy (Part 7)

Why, it's Al Wiseman's Wizard of Ohs and Ahs- blessing us once again with his dazzling dairy deeds! We at The Al Wiseman Blog are constantly amazed at the miracles the lil' Wizard can perform using nothing more than deliciously overflowing glasses of fresh bovine extraction!


Today the Wizard appears to us in the form of a Golden State Dairy ad from the November 1951 issue of The California Pelican (which was published by the Associated Students of the University of California). I sure hope those college kids heeded the advice of the wise Wizard and subsisted on little more than the nutritious products of The Golden State Dairy Company. It'd do 'em some good!

Oh, and here's another ad from the same publication. And it's very nicely illustrated by Dennis the Menace creator Hank Ketcham:

Above: A simple cigar ad or a casebook study of disturbing fetishes?

Golden State Dairy Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7/Part 8

Hillbilly Matchbook Covers! (Part 2)

Look, it's yet another beautiful woman drawn by Al Wiseman. And if it wasn't for her underwear and see-through dress, she'd be practically naked!

It's no wonder the nation loved hillbillies! They were, without a doubt, our greatest national treasure.

Where did they all go? I vote we bring em' back!

Above: Notice how a version of this matchbook was specially ordered to give away at a "match cover club" picnic. It just goes to show you- even in 1953, collectors knew the genius of Al Wiseman!

Hillbilly matchbooks:
Hillbilly Set 6.5(1953) "Pretty Sunset... Ain't it?"
Hillbilly Set 13.1(1960) "What's Brakes?"

Safety Series matchbooks:
Safety Series Set 2.2 (1952) "Drive As Though They Were Your Own"
Safety Series Set 4.1 (1955) "Slow Down at This Sign!"
Safety Series Set 5.5 (1956) "Don't Jump the Signals"

The Big Fearon Bulletin Board Book (Part 1)

The Big Fearon Bulletin Board Book actually was a really big book (well, page-count wise). Published in 1978, this educational volume was designed to be cut apart by teachers who would then pin the pages up on school bulletin boards. The book could also be placed under a projector and shown, enlarged, on a screen. Or it could be used in just about any other way an inventive teacher could imagine. Why, the possibilities were endless!

Many artists contributed to the book. In fact, here's a credit list:
Unfortunately, most of the (non-Wiseman) illustrations were spectacularly craptastic. Never before have I witnessed such shockingly poor chicken-scratchings masquerading as professional artwork in a nationally distributed book.

Don't worry, I'll share some of the worst examples in upcoming posts...

Yes, the pay rate for drawings must have been pretty low. But Al, being the consummate professional, still turned out some solid (if unremarkable) pages. See for yourself:

Above: Page 145

Above: Page 162

Dennis Sunday Comic Strip 9/26/54

So, we're all quite familiar with Al Wiseman's Dennis comic books (or we should be, no?). But what the heck do we know about his work on the Dennis comic strip?

Well, not much. According to Hank Ketcham's book The Merchant of Dennis, Hank hired Al to work in his studio when he found out that his syndicate wanted a Dennis Sunday strip to go along with the daily panel. The daily had started in 1951, the Sunday strip premiered in 1952 and the comic book followed in 1953.

The very early Sunday strips tended to hide Wiseman's distinctive style under a heavy Ketcham influence. Was it that Wiseman was such a talented mimic that he was able to copy Ketcham's style so convincingly? Or perhaps Hank himself was pitching in? Chances are there were other artists involved as well.

Here's a mighty keen strip from 1954, by which time Al's easily recognizable style had finally broken through to the surface:



Seems that around this time Al's comic book workload got to be so intensive that his contributions to the Sunday strips lessened and finally ceased altogether...

Hey, wouldn't it be nifty to see the early strips reprinted?
Oh, if only...

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.

The Hearing Book (Part 2)

Look folks! It's an angry gang of sharp-toothed demonic motorcyclists!

Gosh, we never saw the likes of these sorts of scary fellas in the relatively peaceful confines of the Dennis the Menace funnybook.

But you know, I bet Dennis the Menace could kick their sorry asses without even trying...

Above: (Page 95) "To safeguard your own future, protect your ears against very loud noises."

The Hearing Book:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

Al Wiseman & Broccoli! (Part 1)

So Al Wiseman is hired to draw a series of broccoli recipe cards in the 1970's. And who does he make the mascot?

Why, the little old lady in tennis shoes, of course!

Bon Appétit!

Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine- August 1950

Sure, this is a mighty swell street-whore that Al has drawn for us here. And we could very well elucidate on this somewhat illicit theme for the rest of today's post (and beyond). But instead, we shall expound upon a much less degenerate subject matter entirely- silhouettes.

Yes, silhouettes. Many of you readers have emailed me to proclaim that Al Wiseman was, indeed, the God of Funnybook Silhouettes. And for this, I must commend you on your rare insight and uncommonly good taste. But other, more difficult, readers have commented that Al only put silhouettes in his Dennis comics under the direction of Dennis creator Hank Ketcham, and would never have done so otherwise. Nay, I say!


Proof of Al's predisposition towards silhouettes is provided in the pages of the August 1950 edition of the highly regarded literary publication, Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine. See for yourself!


A good two years before starting his beloved series of Dennis the Menace masterworks, Al Wiseman was already silhouetting to his heart's content.


So next time someone puts forth the counterfactual opinion that Al Wiseman was not the God of Funnybook Silhouettes, don't look at them with disdain and scorn, but instead see this as an opportunity to educate a misguided infidel on the fallacy of his ignorant dogma.


Oh, and for some reason, Al didn't provide the cover for this issue of Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine, which surely must have decimated newsstand sales (and leaves me with one less thing to post, dammit).



Wiseman digest mags:

Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine:
August 1950: Part 1
March 1951: Part 1/Part 2
April 1951: Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4
June 1952: Part 1/Part 2
March 1953: Part 1/Part 2
"Pin-Up Stationery" ad: Part 1/Part 2
"The Latrine Gazette" column: Part 1

Smiles:
#45 (January, 1951): Part 1/Part 2

The Imported Ticky-Two (Part 6)

Grrrrrr! This poor fella bought a "Ticky-Two" car and isn't a particularly satisfied customer. Seems his "Ticky-Two" is suffering from some minor factory defects:

(Above: Page 31) Silly driver! Has he never seen the automobiles from The Flintstones cartoon? Driving is multitudes more fun with no floorboard.

The drawing of the enraged driver has me particularly impressed. He's sorta similar to some character you might see in an old television show- like, say, The Honeymooners. And since The Flintstones was (more or less) a rip-off of The Honeymooners, then this "Ticky-Two" panel has a layer of unintended pop-culture references so deep that I cannot possibly unravel it's meaning.

(Above: Page 11) I hate to say it, but sometimes Al really needed to hire a gag writer to help him with the jokes...


The Imported Ticky-Two:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7

Dennis the Menace On Safety (Part 3)

Well, I certainly hope you've been paying close attention to the Dennis the Menace On Safety posts we've been providing to the Al Wiseman Blog community as a free public service. We don't do this for our health- we do it for your health!

Taken from the 1956 mini-comic, these cartoons illuminate common, everyday occurrences that could very likely lead to the destruction of your well-being and the eventual loss of everything you hold dear.

For instance, today we have two examples of potentially life-threatening situations that everyone can easily relate to (and hopefully avoid):

Above: Warning! Listening to your son's faulty (though precociously adorable) advice could result in a vicious beating from an officer of the law!

Above: Warning! If your child cannot grasp the simple concept that a fish cannot be seen through a 1950's telephone, then said child is showing advanced signs of a delusional (and perhaps sociopathic) personality!

Thank you for your time. Remember- look, listen and learn. By identifying signs of dangerous situations, you're very likely to avert and eliminate such situations. (Oh, and also- beware of little blonde-haired children!)


Dennis the Menace On Safety Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

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.