Tuesday 6 December 2016

YOGI PLAYS SANTA...


Images copyright HANNA-BARBERA Productions, Inc

Here's the bold bruin YOGI BEAR in a Christmas adventure from 1962/'63, when he was regularly appearing on TV.  He's still a major cartoon (and big-budget movie) star today, so not only is he smarter than the average bear, he's longer-lasting, too.  Let's see what he and his furry friend BOO BOO are up to...











And below is the cover to the tale you've just read.

12 comments:

TC said...

I must have had a lot of Gold Key comics with Hanna-Barbera characters, including Yogi Bear, but I don't remember having any with a Christmas setting. I'm not surprised that there was one, though. Sooner or later, every cartoon character has to "play Santa" and save Christmas. Even Fred Flintstone (in either a TV special or a regular episode of the TV series), who presumably lived B.C.

Fawcett published a Dennis the Menace comic book in the 1960's (that's the American Dennis, from Hank Ketcham's newspaper comic strip), and, each year, they did an annual, 25-cent, 80-page, Christmas Special edition. And Gold Key did an annual Christmas Parade comic, with the Disney characters.

Kid said...

The Flintstone's one was a Special (I know 'cos I've got it), but a similar theme may also have been used in an episode of the TV show, TC. I like Gold Key comics, but I don't have enough of them. Must try and get some more.

Phil S said...

I can hear Daws Butler's voice in my head

Kid said...

Hey, we're hearing the same voices in our heads, PC. What's the name of your shrink?

paul Mcscotty said...


Some really lovely cartooning in this Yogi tale amazing stuff. I’ve seen a few of the early 60s Flintstones and Yogi newspaper strips and the cartooning is top class in those as well.

Like TC I had a few Gold Key kids comic in my time but sadly I don’t remember to many of them (although I vividly recall Archie’s and other "funnies") I seem to remember a “Mr Jinks / Pixie and Dixie” Gold Key humour title but that’s all I remember from Gold Key from the 1960s. I used to pick up Gold Keys titles in the early to mid 1970s like" Ripley's believe it or not" ," Boris Karloff” and “Dr Spectrum” etc but I was never a big fan as the art was pretty bland in the ones I had (although I know they had a few titles where Alex Toth did the art chores that I would love to have - a fav artist of mine).

Kid said...

I've got one of those Gold Key Boris Karloff comics, PM, but haven't read it in years. Must dig it out and re-read it some day. My collection of Gold Key amounts to not much more than a handful of issues, but I plan on acquiring some more before I fall off the twig. Hopefully, I'll get a few more Yogi Bear mags amongst them.

TC said...

Karloff hosted a TV anthology show called Thriller in the early 1960's, and Gold Key published a tie-in comic book with the same title. When the TV series ended, the comic book title was changed to Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery, and it continued for years.

In the 1960's, Gold Key published self-titled comic book series of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Wacky Races. There were one-shots of Pixie & Dixie (with Mr. Jinks), Atom Ant, Space Ghost, and Frankenstein Jr. & the Impossibles. I think Pixie & Dixie, and maybe some other characters like Snooper & Blabber, and Hokey Wolf, may have appeared as backup strips in Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear.

In the late 1960's, Gold Key published Walt Disney Comics Digest and Golden Comics Digest. Both were mainly reprints. The Golden Digest alternated; one issue would have Hanna-Barbera cartoons like Yogi and Huck, the next would have MGM cartoon characters (Tom & Jerry, Droopy), and another would have Warners/Loony Tunes stuff like Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and Daffy Duck.

Walt Disney's Comics & Stories included a Zorro strip in the late 1950's and/or early 1960's, based on the TV series. I believe some of those were drawn by Alex Toth. They were probably reprinted in 1966-67, when Gold Key published a Zorro comic called "Walt Disney's Zorro," or maybe "Walt Disney Presents Zorro." Some may have also been reprinted in the Disney digest sometime around 1970.

Kid said...

I'd have to check, but Thriller may have started as a radio show, as I have a couple of episodes starring Boris Karloff on record that I acquired in the late '70s or early '80s (I think). Of course, it might be altogether another show, but Thriller rings a bell. I've got one of the Gold Key comics as well.

I've got a few Yogi Bear comics, but only one of them is Gold Key, the others are from the early or mid-'90s, and might be by Harvey Comics. Some of them look like they could be reprints 'though.

Those were the days, eh, TC? Comics by the bucket-load, covering all sorts of subjects from superheroes to funny animal comics. Wish it was still like that today.

TC said...

Charlton published Yogi Bear, Flintstones, Quick Draw McGraw, and (IIRC) Huckleberry Hound comics in the 1970's.

Harvey published Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, and maybe some other Hanna-Barbera characters sometime around 1992-93. They may have reprinted the Charlton stuff, although I'm not sure.

Archie Comics published The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby Doo from about 1995 to around 1997 or so. They also published two anthologies: Hanna Barbera's All-Stars, and Hanna Barbera Presents. The latter two had assorted H-B characters, including Yogi Bear, Top Cat, Quick Draw, Magilla Gorilla, and Frankenstein Jr.

Kid said...

And Marvel published HB stuff at one time as well, TC, I think, as did DC. These characters sure get around.

Nick Caputo said...

Although I've never read these Hanna-Barbera related comics I absolutely love the covers. Thanks for sharing, Kid.

Kid said...

And thanks for enjoying, Nick. I didn't buy or read that many of these comics myself when I was a kid, which is something I now regret. One day I'll track down more.



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