Bazooka Joe and His Gang Read online

  Bazooka Joe can be found in other Topps products apart from Bazooka gum. It was included in the Bazooka lollipop series along with other one-panel gags scripted by Lynch, Art Spiegelman (Maus), and Newgarden; the Cruse illustrations for that product appeared not in an insert but on the wrapper itself. For the Funny Li’l Joke Books series (1970), written by Spiegelman, Lynch, and myself, with illustrations by Tom Sutton and others, Bazooka Joe put in a cameo appearance. And the character graduated to the bubble gum equivalent of prime time when Bazooka Joe trading cards became part of the twenty-five-cent Big Bazooka package in the early 1970s.

  A musical homage to the character came during the 1970s with the British rock group named Bazooka Joe. This college-based band would be largely forgotten today were it not for the fact that 1) they introduced the Sex Pistols (in their first performance on November 6,1975), and 2) one of the Bazooka Joe members was Stuart Coddard, who later became singer Adam Ant. Another group to appropriate the name during the mid-1970s was the Bazooka Gang, contributors of anarchic art to the pages of the French magazine Metal Hurlant.

  And, of course, there are also satires on Bazooka Joe, including Bazonga Joe, credited to AL Andrien in the National Lampoon’s Very Large Book of Comical Funnies (1975). Escape Publishing was responsible for the Reet Petite Postcard Set, with “Johnny Tomorrow,” “Mr. Potato Head,” “Man with X-ray Eyes,” and “Lil Elvis” all drawn by Shaky Kane in the Bazooka Joe format. Cartoonist Ron Barrett, best known for his “Politenessman” strip in National Lampoon and the classic children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, illustrated Topps’s Wacky Packages Album, and he also satirized Bazooka Joe for both the Lampoon and a non-Topps postcard series. Topps published its own parodies of Bazooka—“Gadzooka,” a sticker in Wacky Packages (Series 1, 1973); “Joe Blow/Rod Wad,” in Garbage Pail Kids (Series 3,1986); and “Bazooka Jerk” (spokesman for “Flopps Gum, Inc.”), in the Garbage Pail Kids Giant Series (1986), written by Newgarden and Spiegelman. “Bazooka Jerk” was illustrated by Garbage Pail Kids artist Tom Bunk, who came to this country in 1984. Bunk was well known in Germany, where he cartooned for Pardon, the German equivalent of National Lampoon.

  Bazooka gum in squeeze-tube form, 1980s.

  Bazooka Bubble Gum Balls, 1984.

  Most of the satiric jabs at Joe have been delivered by Newgarden, dating back to “Mort and His Emotional Disturbances,” written and drawn in the Bazooka Joe format for the East Village Eye (1983) and later reprinted in Bad News no. 2 (1984), coedited by Newgarden with Paul Karasik. Next came Newgarden’s “Sad But True” (High Times, January 1985): “1982 autopsies revealed Mort’s digestive system absorbed over 4 oz. of Red Dye #3, apparently ingested from casual sportswear over a 30-year period.” For the four-page “Love’s Savage Fury” (Raw no. 8,1986), Newgarden took the following personal ad from the “Voice Bulletin Board” on the back cover of the Village Voice: “I saw you on the subway but I forgot what you looked like. I smiled. You ignored me. Send photo.” He then illustrated this ad with panels showing Bazooka Joe staring at Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy in a subway car. Bazooka Joe blows a bubble as he says to Nancy, “I want to see you again. In case I forget what you look like!” Then the bubble explodes, leaving his face, cap, and speech balloon covered with bubble gum. On pages two and three, Nancy also explodes, in his memory, and he returns on page four to take a Polaroid of Nancy.

  Satires and revamps aside, Joe will endure. How do I know? Because even though its arguable where he falls on the pop culture ladder, discarded behind piles of paper ephemera in the basement of the mind, one can nevertheless hear the slow but steady footfalls of the fanboys. Yes, even as we speak, a fandom is looming out of the shadows, gathering for a march past the picket fences of Prairie City. Between the gum and the graffiti on the wall, fans search for cards, stickers, wrappers, and maybe even chewed gum in Les Davis’s magazine of non-sports trading cards, The Wrapper, first published in 1978, and Roxanne Toser’s Non-Sport Update, a bimonthly magazine for collectors, which has been providing pop culture addicts their trading card history fix since 1990.

  There are even non-sports conventions, the first one held at a Holiday Inn in Parsippany, New Jersey, in August 1987. Since then these shows have been held at hotels and convention centers all over the country.

  Where will all this end? Who knows. But where will this article end? Right here in this paragraph. For a parting shot, I’ll leave you with this small anagrammatic oddity: Change two letters in Bazooka Joe’s name and you’ve got the name of one of the most successful newspaper strip characters of the 1940s and ‘50s—Joe Palooka. What does that mean? I don’t know. So don’t ask.

  Okay, that’s a wrap.

  BHOB STEWART is a writer, editor, cartoonist, and filmmaker who has contributed to a variety of publications over a span of five decades.

  1955

  1957

  1957

  1958

  1960

  1964

  1969

  1971

  1973

  1975

  1977

  1979

  Original art for cigar store Indian–themed sell sheet, 1970s.

  Bazooka Free Gift Book prize catalog, 1955.

  Front and back cover.

  Inner wax wrapper ad for the catalog.

  Interior pages.

  Bazooka Camping Knife magazine advertisement from July 1954 and accompanying letter from Topps.

  Bazooka Camping Knife premium and gum comic ad, 1950s.

  Camera premium and gum comic ad, 1950s.

  Bazooka Gob Hat and Western Union Telegraph Set,1950s.

  Microphone, Vanity Set, and Walkie Talkie, 1950s.

  Baseball Felt Pennants inner wax wrapper ad, 1950s; and Baseball Ring inner wax wrapper ad, c. 1949.

  Hot-Iron Transfer comic envelope and Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles transfers, 1950s; Major League Team Emblems envelope and St. Louis Cardinals emblem, 1950s; Boston Red Sox pennant, 1950s; and Baseball Ring premium, c. 1949.

  Sportsmen’s Sheath Knife premium and gum comic ad, 1950s; Exploding Battleship and ad, 1960s.

  Cowboy Boot Ring and Tie Lariat premium with secret code sheet, ad from prize catalog, and bubble gum box with ad, 1960s.

  U.S. and U.K. Bazooka Joe Magic Circle Club buttons, 1960s.

  Bazooka Joe Magic Circle Club welcome letter, 1960s.

  Bazooka Joe Magic Circle Club Initial Ring, ad from prize catalog, and personalized letter from Bazooka Joe, 1960s.

  Throughout the 1950s, Topps released a variety of trading cards. Packs would have an exterior wrapper, and then an inner wax wrapper used for advertising Bazooka premiums.

  Bazooka Joe Magic Circle Club Siren Ring and premium ads, 1960s.

  Bazooka-Blony Lucky Penny Charm and Key Chain, and insert card found in various Topps trading card packs, 1957.

  1955

  1955

  1956

  International pantomime, 1959.

  International pantomime, c. 1960.

  Original art, color guide, and finished comic, 1961.

  Original art and color guide, c. 1961.

  Original art and color guide, 1961.

  Original art and color guide, 1961.

  Color guide and finished comic, 1961.

  Original art and color guide, c. 1961.

  1962

  c. 1961

  1962

  1962

  1962

  1963

  Originally issued in the mid-1960s, this comic caught the attention of Topps management, and was pulled from circulation on February 27, 1970.

  1966

  In 1965, Robert Crumb (who had yet to make a name for himself as a cartoonist) started freelancing for Topps after moving to New York to work with Harvey Kurtzman on Help! magazine (only to discover the magazine was going under). “The Road to Success” was an incentive booklet intended for salesmen to boost Bazooka sales.

  Original pencil rough.

  Fina
l printed booklet.

  Letter from Woody Gelman to the Topps art department regarding Herman Graperoo gum comics, 1963.

  Two Herman Graperoo bubble gum comics and exterior wrapper, c.1963.

  Bazooka Freeze Pops window poster, 1960s.

  Bazooka Twin-EE Frozen Pops box, 1966. It is unknown whether either of these products was ever released.

  In 1975, Topps held a contest between Major League baseball teams titled the Joe Garagiola Bazooka Big League Bubble Gum Blowing Championship. The best bubble blowers of each team were whittled down in a series of matches held at ballparks around the country, with the finals broadcast on national television. Kurt Bevacqua of the Milwaukee Brewers won with an eighteen-and-a-half-inch bubble, earning a $1,000 dollar prize and a case of Bazooka for himself and for his favorite charity. Topps commemorated Kurt in 1976 with a baseball card of his winning bubble.

  Official rule book

  Original Bazooka calipers used during the contest

  Autographed Topps trading card of Bazooka Bubble Gum Blowing Champ Kurt Bevacqua, 1976.

  Press photos during team contests and finals. Joe Garagiola was the announcer, with a Major League umpire officiating.

  Big Bazooka box panel, 1970s. For this release, a large slab of Bazooka gum was sandwiched between two trading cards featuring Bazooka Joe comics. Several sets of cards were issued in this format throughout the 1970s.

  Bazooka party box with panty hose offer, c. 1970.

  Super Bazooka Chocolate Bubble Gum box panel, 1970s. A short-lived flavor from British company Trebor.

  Bazooka box panel advertisement, c. 1970.

  Bazooka comics were translated into many languages beginning in the late 1950s. Pantomime comics, or comics lacking words, could be sold anywhere. The following are just a few examples.

  Germany, c. 1960

  France, c. 1960

  Mexico, c. 1960

  Italy, c. 1960.

  China, 1980s.

  Switzerland, c. 1960

  Israel, c. 1960

  Canadian Bilingual, c. 1960

  International Pantomime c. 1960.

  U.S. Bilingual, 1973.

  Israel, 1970s

  Poland

  Turkey, c. 1960s.

  Nigerian Bazooka Joe original art with color key, comic strip, and wrapper, 1970s.

  Nigerian Bazooka bubble gum box, licensed by Cadbury, 1970s.

  Bazooka Joe Rag Doll premium mailer bag, 1973.

  Bazooka Joe Rag Doll premium, 1973.

  Bazooka Joe Wacky Wobbler bobble head doll issued by Funko, 2003

  Bazooka Bubble Blowing Toy Gun, 1970s.

  International Bazooka Advertising Coin, 1970s.

  The Atom Bazooka Bubble Gum Buddy L Toy Car, 1970s. Bazooka Lip Balm, 1980s.

  Bazooka promotional golf balls given to jobbers and retailers, 1960s.

  Bazooka Joe candy dispenser, 1960s.

  International Bazooka Club toy truck, c. 1960.

  Bazooka Joe and His Gang were relaunched in 1983, introducing several new cast members while dropping others. The series of forty-five comics were illustrated by Howard Cruse and issued through the end of the 1980s.

  Unpublished Howard Cruse instructional comic, mid-1980s. “I always liked this strip because it’s practically the only time I was invited to draw the character at a size large enough to allow some stylistic personality.”

  Howard Cruse original art and finished comic, 1983.

  Howard Cruse proposal for 1988 revamp.

  “Not-for-actual-inclusion-with-any-gum-package” Bazooka Joe strip from the mid-1980s by Howard Cruse, which he did “strictly for Len Brown and the gang at Topps to enjoy.”

  “When I was asked by Len Brown at Topps in 1983 to reconceive Bazooka Joe as a teenager and provide him with a new ‘gang,’” recalls Howard Cruse, “the only holdover from the earlier tykes who had served as his supporting cast was Mort, the weird sidekick who wore a turtleneck pulled up to his eyes. Len and Art Spiegelman, who was consulting for Topps at the time, thought the ultra-lengthy turtleneck was a bit—in fact, was literally—over the top, though. So for my first series of strips the sweater’s collar was brought down below Mort’s chin where a sweater’s neckline should be. Apparently this change disturbed some unnamed traditionalists at Topps, so when I was hired to draw a second batch of strips in 1988, the turtleneck was restored to its original position just under Mort’s eyes.”

  Bazooka party box featuring Howard Cruse comic, 1985.

  In 1990, Topps brought in artist Jay Lynch to redesign the cast and ink fifty additional comics. This series ran for over six years and in a variety of formats. Marketing decided to drop “Gang” from the title and replace it with “Company” given the negative connotations of the word “Gang” at the time.

  Craig Yoe and Yoe! Studio created yet another redesigned batch of seventy-five comics in 1996.

  In the late 1980s, books such as Maus, Watchmen, American Splendor, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns were changing the public perception of comics from childish fun to sophisticated fine art. The media responded with articles about how “pictorial narratives” were finally growing up. This emboldened artists and publishers to create more ambitious, literary comics. But Topps, bless them, remained true to their original vision of Bazooka Joe: old-fashioned, disposable gum wrappers. In 1987, I was honored and privileged to briefly write for Bazooka Joe, in the process exploring and attempting to expand their long, storied legacy—while being paid a reasonable per-gag rate.

  No one would call the Bazooka Joe strips timeless and intelligent graphic-novella packaging for mature audiences. But Bazooka Joe can hold great pleasure for adult comic strip aesthetes and ironic postmodernists like myself. There is a wonderful purity in the rigid format of comic-plus-ad-plus-fortune, the economy of storytelling, and the comic archetypes of the Bazooka cast. It also helps if you’re a fan of extremely corny jokes.

  But back in the late eighties, having just graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York, I struggled to make my way as an illustrator and cartoonist through various freelance jobs. I drew diagrams for humorless medical textbooks, did production work at Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly’s Raw Books, and toiled away on my own postmodern comic strips.

  I was one of many freelance artists brought into Topps by Art Spiegelman, and there I worked with him and Mark Newgarden. I’d previously attended some classes they taught at the School of Visual Arts, where I learned a lot about the formal and storytelling properties of comics. Art and Mark had an appreciation for all kinds of comics, from the brilliant to the low-brow (which are not mutually exclusive, of course), and I began regularly visiting the Topps offices in Brooklyn, where I would get my freelance assignments.

  I illustrated designs for various products, such as Sneaky Snacks (plastic candy containers disguised as notebooks, pencils, erasers, and other school supplies); wrote gags for the backs of trading cards, including Garbage Pail Kids, which were still wildly popular and going into their fourteenth series; and was tapped to sketch comics stories for Topps’s longest-lasting cultural phenomenon, Bazooka Joe.

  Every week I’d brainstorm four to six Bazooka strips and doodle them out in a very rudimentary style. I roped my brother, Steve, into suggesting additional ideas that I then sketched—his appreciation for bad puns and stale gags probably exceeds even mine. With the same methods I used as a kid, I drew tiny images with magic markers on scrap photocopy paper, and used white tape for corrections. My total cost for materials was about $3.15. Although my scribbled layouts had none of the flair—or even the consistency—of Wesley Morse’s dashed-off original strips of the fifties, the plan was for my approved gags to be rendered by the legendary Howard Cruse, who had been drawing the more recent Bazooka Joe series since 1983 in a simplified version of his crisp, signature style.