Sad Sack Comics #290

(October 6, 1993)

Memo from Alan Harvey (Table of Contents: 1)

foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 1 page (report information)

Script

Alan Harvey (credited as Al Harvey) (signed as Al Harvey) (Victoria Harvey caricature; black kitty mascot Toby)

Pencils

Alan Harvey (credited as Al Harvey) (signed as Al Harvey) (Victoria Harvey caricature; black kitty mascot Toby)

Inks

Alan Harvey (credited as Al Harvey) (signed as Al Harvey) (Victoria Harvey caricature; black kitty mascot Toby)

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Dear Friends, Welcome to a landmark month here at Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.! Happy 80th Birthday Dad!!

Genre

non-fiction; biography; historical

Characters

Victoria Harvey; Mascot Toby

Synopsis

Typeset memo from Alan Harvey (President of Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.) celebrating the 80th birthday of his father Alfred Harvey (Harvey Comics founder) and announcing re-introduction of both Sad Sack Comics and Black Cat Comics; including a price reduction from 2.75 USD to 1.00 USD.

Keywords

Al Harvey; Alan Harvey; Alfred Harvey; Black Cat; Black Cat Movie; Capital City; Diamond; George Baker; Heroes World; Ken Selig; Larchmont; Lorne-Harvey Publications Inc.; NY; Sad Sack; Sad Sack Inc.; Victoria Harvey; War Years; World War II

Indexer Notes

Alan Harvey urges Sad Sack Comics and Black Cat Comics fans to visit their favorite comic shop to purchase copies of the former. Attempts to justify issue 290's price reduction to 1.00 USD (issues 288 & 289 were 2.75 USD full color) as a celebration of publisher Alfred Harvey's 80th birthday, however, all interior pages were switched to black & white as a cost-cutting measure despite being printed on higher quality bond paper (32lb bond/80lb text/120GSM [grams per square meter]).

The Diamond Caper (Table of Contents: 2)

Sad Sack / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Fred Rhoads (pp. 3-7 uncredited)

Pencils

Fred Rhoads (pp. 3-7 uncredited)

Inks

Fred Rhoads (pp. 3-7 uncredited)

Letters

Fred Rhoads (pp. 3-7 uncredited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Fabulous! Beautiful! Gorgeous!

Genre

humor; military

Characters

Private Sad Sack; Private Slob Slobinski; unidentified go-go girl; crook Roscoe; crook Manny; crook Skin; unidentified crook; police officers; doctor

Synopsis

Privates Sad Sack and Slob Slobinski unwittingly interfere with a diamond heist inside a go-go girl nightclub in a story filled with hilarious double entendre.

Keywords

bread; club; crooks; dancing; diamond heist; diamonds; girls; go-go girl; green lettuce; ice; merchandise; money; nightclub; police; Sad Sack; Slob Slobinski

Collectors Item (Table of Contents: 3)

Sad Sack / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Fred Rhoads (pp. 8-12 uncredited)

Pencils

Fred Rhoads (pp. 8-12 uncredited)

Inks

Fred Rhoads (pp. 8-12 uncredited)

Letters

Fred Rhoads (pp. 8-12 uncredited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I wonder what that Sad Sack's up to today?

Genre

humor; military

Characters

Private Sad Sack; Sad Sack; First Sergeant Cecil Circle; The Sarge; Sarge; Cookie; Lieutenant Packrat; two aliens

Synopsis

Sad Sack gets hypnotized by two aliens visiting Earth while he's on garbage duty. Believing the garbage heap is a stockpile of something important to humans, the aliens teleport Sad Sack to their UFO with samples.

Keywords

aliens; Cookie; garbage; Lieutenant Packrat; litter; rubbish; Sad Sack; Sarge; slop; trash; UFO; waste

The Good Old Way! (Table of Contents: 4)

Nap Sack / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Fred Rhoads (pp. 13-17 uncredited)

Pencils

Fred Rhoads (pp. 13-17 uncredited)

Inks

Fred Rhoads (pp. 13-17 uncredited)

Letters

Fred Rhoads (pp. 13-17 uncredited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

An old fashioned picnic in the woods! Wow! What fun! Huh, Muttsy?

Genre

humor; animal; military

Characters

Private Sad Sack; Sad Sack's kid brother Nap Sack; First Sergeant Cecil Circle; Muttsy K9 Dog, bear; fish; patrons; waitress

Synopsis

Sad Sack, Nap Sack and the Sarge have their outdoor picnic feast thwarted by several mishaps only to learn Nap Sack cares too much for the wild fish. Sparing them, they resort to a drive-in 'picnic'.

Keywords

First Sergeant Cecil Circle; Muttsy; Muttsy K9 Dog; Nap Sack; Private Sad Sack; Sad Sack; Sad Sack's kid brother Nap Sack; Sarge; The Sarge

All in the Family (Table of Contents: 5)

Sad Sack / preview (from the publisher) / 2 pages (report information)

Pencils

Fred Rhoads (pp. 18-19 uncredited new characters); Ken Selig (cover previews issues 290-294)

Inks

Fred Rhoads (pp. 18-19 uncredited new characters); Ken Selig (cover previews issues 290-294)

Letters

Fred Rhoads (pp. 18-19 uncredited new characters); Ken Selig (cover previews issues 290-294)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

You won't want to miss out on any one of these top-notch issues!

Genre

humor

Characters

Sad Sack; Swifty Sack; Starlet Sack; Swinger Sack; Seer Sack; Potato Sack; Swampy Sack; Sadie Sack; Nap Sack; Ski Sack; Muttsy K9 Dog; Sweetie Sack; Sky Sack; Knave Sack; Wisecracker Parrot

Synopsis

Upper half of centerfold (pages 18-19) introduces panoply of new characters appropriated from cartoonist Fred Rhoads without credit, then trademarks them for exclusive benefit of Lorne-Harvey Publications, Incorporated. Lower half of centerfold features publisher's promotion and preview of front covers to five future Sad Sack Comics (issues 290-294) priced at 1.00 USD each and available only via direct market at comics specialty shops.

Keywords

First time laughs!; First time published!; Knave Sack; Muttsy K9 Dog; Nap Sack; new Sad Sack family member; Potato Sack; Sad Sack; Sad Sack 290; Sad Sack 294; Sad Sack Comics 291; Sad Sack Comics 292; Sad Sack Comics 293; Sadie Sack; Seer Sack; Ski Sack; Sky Sack; Starlet Sack; Swampy Sack; Sweetie Sack; Swifty Sack; Swinger Sack; top-notch issues; Wisecracker Parrot

Indexer Notes

Black & white previews of Sad Sack Comics issues 290-294 represent principal front cover artwork of long-time Harvey Publications employee and managing editor Ken Selig, however, proposed cover for issue 293 was never published. Moreover, proposed cover for issue 294 became actual cover of issue 292 which was published as a softbound 80-page book titled Sad Sack (Lorne-Harvey, 2005 Series).

A Star is Born! (Table of Contents: 6)

Swinger Sack / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Fred Rhoads (pp. 20-24 uncredited)

Pencils

Fred Rhoads (pp. 20-24 uncredited)

Inks

Fred Rhoads (pp. 20-24 uncredited)

Letters

Fred Rhoads (pp. 20-24 uncredited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Cousin Swinger Sack! Hi Sad!

Genre

humor; military; satire-parody

Characters

Private Sad Sack; Sad Sack's Cousin Swinger Sack; dancing partner Bunny; TV production crew

Synopsis

Sad Sack accidentally trips his cousin Swinger Sack during a TV show take, but the producers love the outcome and he slips into the script only to mess it all up.

Keywords

act; agent; Bunny; dance number; dancing partner Bunny; live show; original dance; Private Sad Sack; Sad Sack; Sad Sack's Cousin Swinger Sack; studio; Swinger Sack; swinging; top billing; TV production crew

What a Pad! (Table of Contents: 7)

Swinger Sack / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Fred Rhoads (pp. 25-29 uncredited)

Pencils

Fred Rhoads (pp. 25-29 uncredited)

Inks

Fred Rhoads (pp. 25-29 uncredited)

Letters

Fred Rhoads (pp. 25-29 uncredited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Wow! What a pad!!

Genre

humor; military; satire-parody

Characters

Private Sad Sack; Sad Sack's Cousin Swinger Sack; gorgeous babe Candy; gorgeous babe Sandra; taxi driver; Private Slob Slobinski; Private Hifi Tweeter; random soldiers

Synopsis

Sad Sack gets invited to his showbiz cousin Swinger Sack's penthouse for a party with beautiful girls Candy and Sandra, however, the party turns out to include nothing of what he was expecting.

Keywords

Baby; Candy; cuddle; dance; games; gorgeous babe Candy; gorgeous babe Sandra; music; party; penthouse; Private Sad Sack; Sad Sack; Sad Sack's Cousin Swinger Sack; Sandra; Swinger Sack; Swingy; Wolfgang Mozart

'Talkin' with the Animals (Table of Contents: 8)

Muttsy K9 Dog; Wisecraker Parrot / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Fred Rhoads (pp. 30-34 uncredited)

Pencils

Fred Rhoads (pp. 30-34 uncredited)

Inks

Fred Rhoads (pp. 30-34 uncredited)

Letters

Fred Rhoads (pp. 30-34 uncredited)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Wake up, Muttsy! I can't sleep with all your snoring!

Genre

humor; anthropomorphic-funny animals; military

Characters

Muttsy K9 Dog; Wisecracker Parrot; guard; Lieutenant Packrat; Brigadier General Rockjaw; soldier

Synopsis

General Rockjaw mistakes Muttsy K9 Dog and Wisecracker Parrot as new secure couriers sent by Washington but their coded messages--which are actually walnuts being cracked open for food--are misinterpreted as orders to blow up Camp Calamity.

Keywords

bugged rooms; code; foolproof; General Rockjaw; Lieutenant Packrat; message; messengers; Muttsy; nut; pigeon; secret; secure; tapped phones; walnut; Wisecracker Parrot

[The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc.] (Table of Contents: 9)

comics-form advertising / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

?

Inks

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Have you heard about it?

Genre

non-fiction

Synopsis

Typeset black & white comics-form advertisement including coupon for free brochure about The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc. as accredited by NATTS (the National Association of Trade & Technical Schools).

Keywords

cartoon and graphic art; cartoon graphics; cinematic animation; Joe Kubert School; Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art; N.J. Dept. of Education; NATTS; three year program

[Villains!] (Table of Contents: 10)

Alfred Harvey's Black Cat / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Pencils

Trina Robbins (credit given in p. 2 memo)

Inks

Trina Robbins (credit given in p. 2 memo)

Colors

Trina Robbins (credit given in p. 2 memo)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I see a Black Cat crossing your path!

Genre

superhero

Synopsis

Superhero Black Cat swings from a rope and into action atop a green spherical background showcasing her use of judo moves against villainous opponents.

Keywords

10th big issue; Black Cat; Lorne-Harvey Publications; Recollections; Trina Robbins; villains

Indexer Notes

Full color in-house promotion for 10th issue of Black Cat by Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.