(May 1951)

St. John, 1951 Series
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Volume
1
Price
0.10 USD
Pages
36
Indicia Frequency
bimonthly
On-sale Date
1951
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
St. John Publishing Co.
Editing
Tom Morrison (editor)

Issue Notes

Final issue under the title "Paul Terry's Terrytoon Comics". Series will continue as "Paul Terry's Comics".

[Fish Dinner - No Strings Attached] (Table of Contents)

Dimwit / cover / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
?
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?

Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals
Characters
Dimwit; two fish; worm
Synopsis
Two fish cut Dimwit's fishing line and serve themselves the bait-worm on a platter.
Keywords
fishing

Indexer Notes

The entire scene of this cover takes place below the water's surface - with the upper portion of the cover serving as the "water's surface" as seen from below.

Dimwit’s New Car (Table of Contents: 1)

Dimwit / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Letters
typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Dimwit certainly enjoyed his new shiny blue convertible!
Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals
Characters
Dimwit; Heckle; Jeckle; police officer
Synopsis
Heckle and Jeckle scheme to "borrow" Dimwit's new car to impress their dates.
Keywords
car; caught-in-the-act; masquerade party; trickery

Indexer Notes

Begins on the inside front cover (page 1) and concludes on the inside back cover (page 2). One black and white illustration on page 1.

Magpie Madness (Table of Contents: 2)

Heckle and Jeckle / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Jim Tyer
Inks
Jim Tyer
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Happy Birthday to Heckle - happy birthday to you!
Feature Logo
Heckle and Jeckle [St. John Logo without characters]
Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals; humor
Characters
Heckle; Jeckle; old man in portrait painting; Lester (pigeon); flock of other pigeons; milkman; baby; other upset citizens; black-masked robbers; police chief; Pickfingers Percy (crime boss); various members of Percy's gang; Louie (member of Percy's gang); fox (member of Percy's gang)
Synopsis
Heckle and Jeckle put an end to the city's massive crime wave with "Liquid Magnetism", invented by Heckle with the chemistry set he received for his birthday.
Reprints
Keywords
birthday; comic absurdity; crime wave; formula; strange chemical properties

Indexer Notes

The Tyer Touch: In the midst of the crime wave...

CAPTION: "The police chief's hands are tied." We see the chief sitting forlornly at his desk - with large and tightly wound ropes around his wrists.

POLICE CHIEF: (in despair): "I can only sit helplessly by while they steal the station house!" We see three burglars lifting the frame of the police station, and carrying it off.

Pickfingers Percy, the crime boss, does his best impression of Edward G. Robinson:
PERCY: "I'm BOSS here, seeee!! I've got BRAINS, seeee!"
MEMBERS OF GANG (answering individually): "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "No!!" "Yes."
...The one who said "No!!" gets shot!

History Doesn’t Repeat (Table of Contents: 3)

Sourpuss / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Let's go for a walk!
Feature Logo
Sourpuss [St. John Logo]
Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals
Characters
Sourpuss; Gandy Goose; female cat
Synopsis
Showing courtly courtesy, Sourpuss lays his coat over a puddle allowing a female cat to cross, a la Sir Walter Raleigh. Unfortunately for him, times have changed.
Reprints
Keywords
best of intentions; coat; courtesy; crossing; leave-well-enough-alone; puddle; Sir Walter Raleigh

[Li'l Tigers Club] (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

Fleer's Dubble Bubble Gum / comics-form advertising / 0.5 page (report information)

[Money Grows at the Kissing Bank] (Table of Contents: 5)

Heckle and Jeckle / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Every time I kiss my girl, I put a dime in her bank.
Feature Logo
Heckle and Jeckle [St. John Logo without characters]
Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals; humor
Characters
Heckle; Jeckle
Synopsis
Romantic secrets are spilled between the magpies, and also some blood!
Reprints
Keywords
bank; kissing; romantic secrets; suspicion; unwelcome surprise

Indexer Notes

Lower half of page.

Mystery on the Waterfront (Table of Contents: 6)

Mighty Mouse / comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Connie Rasinski
Inks
Connie Rasinski
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
At police headquarters in Terrytown we find the champion of justice conferring with the chief of police.
Feature Logo
Mighty Mouse [St. John Logo without Character]
Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals; superhero
Characters
Mighty Mouse; Mitzi Mouse (also as "The Masked Beauty"); The Claw; Terrytown chief of police (mouse); old seafaring mouse; various mice of Terrytown; Spike (cat, member of The Claw's gang); Slug (cat, member of The Claw's gang); Shanghai Jake (cat); many sailor mice attending the show at Shanghai Jake's; dopey-looking one-toothed cat (member of The Claw's gang); speedboat pilot (cat); cat cannoneers
Synopsis
The Claw has his spies obtain Mighty Mouse's autograph, which the villain uses to trick Mitzi into a trap. Once in captivity, Mitzi is forced to sing (as "The Masked Beauty") at Shanghai Jake's waterfront dive, packing in many love-starved sailor mice - who are dropped through a trap door and into the Claw Gang's hungry clutches.
Reprints
Keywords
art or lettering modification or omission; autograph; captives; heroics; notable coloring modification; sailors; singer; waterfront

Indexer Notes

Normally a brunette, Mitzi is a redhead in the original printing of the story - and is a "hybrid" of mouse-gray and red for this reprint.

Connie Rasinski's signature appears in the final panel of the original printing but is omitted for this reprint.

A reprint of the third appearance of Mighty Mouse's recurring villain The Claw.

The Picnic Stowaway (Table of Contents: 7)

Dinky / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Art Bartsch
Inks
Art Bartsch
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Where are you going, fellows?
Feature Logo
Dinky [Duck] [St. John logo without character]
Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals
Characters
Dinky Duck; Rudy Rooster; Mrs. Rudy Rooster; three little chicks; game warden
Synopsis
Rudy excludes Dinky from the Rooster family picnic. A disappointed Dinky tries to help Rudy in various ways, in the hope that Rudy will change his mind. Will Dinky "kill Rudy with kindness", or just plain kill him?
Reprints
Keywords
art or lettering modification or omission; best of intentions; notable coloring modification; picnic; series of mishaps; unwanted help

Indexer Notes

Ordinarily colored black, Dinky is colored orange in the original printing of the story - and is colored gray for this reprint.

Art Bartsch's signature appears in the opening panel of the original printing but is omitted for this reprint.

Sunken Treasure (Table of Contents: 8)

Farmer Al Falfa / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Come on, Puddy, we're a goin' to blast that old tree stump.
Genre
humor
Characters
Farmer Al Falfa; Puddy (frisky pup); school of swordfish; school of sharp-toothed fish; eel; sea turtle; barracuda; octopus; Davy Jones (skeleton)
Synopsis
When blasting a tree stump, Farmer Al Falfa finds a map to a treasure buried at sea... or does he?
Reprints
Keywords
dynamite; fish; octopus; sea or island setting; skeleton; story-adapted-from-a-cartoon; treasure; treasure map; tree stump

Indexer Notes

The lead character here is identified as "Farmer Al Falfa", when in most comics he is called "Farmer Gray". This reads very much like a cartoon adaption -- and perhaps it was, at least partially...

Merlin Haas points out that there was a 1936 Terrytoons cartoon titled "Sunken Treasures" (alternately known as "Down in the Deep" in its Castle Films "home-projection" film prints, prevalent throughout the years that preceded modern home video products) starring a character named "Puddy the Pup" - and it is the same character that appears in this story.

Puddy, with a human boy rather than Farmer Al Falfa, seeks the titular "Sunken Treasures" in a largely different story, but with a number of similar gag elements to this later comic book adaptation.

The connection would seem to be more than mere coincidence, right down to the almost matching titles "Sunken Treasures" (1936 cartoon) and "Sunken Treasure" (1954 comic book reprint - originally printed in 1951), as the Terrytoons comics published by St. John were largely produced by veterans of Paul Terry's animation studio.

Wanted Boys & Girls to Get These Swell Prizes (Table of Contents: 9) (Expand) /

American Seed Company, Inc. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Editing
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. [Fish Dinner - No Strings Attached]
    Dimwit
  2. 1. Dimwit’s New Car
    Dimwit
  3. 2. Magpie Madness
    Heckle and Jeckle
  4. 3. History Doesn’t Repeat
    Sourpuss
  5. 4. [Li'l Tigers Club]
    Fleer's Dubble Bubble Gum
  6. 5. [Money Grows at the Kissing Bank]
    Heckle and Jeckle
  7. 6. Mystery on the Waterfront
    Mighty Mouse
  8. 7. The Picnic Stowaway
    Dinky
  9. 8. Sunken Treasure
    Farmer Al Falfa
  10. 9. Wanted Boys & Girls to Get These Swell Prizes
    American Seed Company, Inc.
This issue was modified by
  • Katy Hayhurst
  • Lou Mougin (R.I.P.)
  • Ramon Schenk
  • Dan Stevenson
  • Joe Torcivia
  • Jim Van Dore