Bazooka Joe is a

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of

Bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...

bubble gum Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Composition In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...

. He wears a black

eyepatch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recognizable American advertising characters of the 20th century, due to worldwide distribution, and one of the few associated with a candy.

Characters and story

Bazooka Joe is joined in his various misadventures by a motley crew of characters, who came from the tradition of syndicated kid gang

s such as

Gene Byrnes Eugene Francis Byrnes (March 18, 1889 – July 26, 1974) created the long-running comic strip ''Reg'lar Fellers'', which he signed Gene Byrnes. His humorous look at suburban children (who nevertheless spoke like New York street kids) was syndica ...

' ''

Reg'lar Fellers ''Reg'lar Fellers'' is a long-running newspaper comic strip adapted into a feature film, a radio series on the NBC Red Network, and two animated cartoons. Created by Gene Byrnes (1889–1974), the comic strip offered a humorous look at a gang ...

'' and

Ad Carter August Daniel Carter (1895–1957) was an American comic strip cartoonist who created the long-running ''Just Kids'' strip. He was known as Ad Carter, the signature he used on his strips. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Carter was 11 years old wh ...

's ''Just Kids''. The group includes: *Pesty (formerly Orville), Joe's younger brother, with a 1950s

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

sombrero In English, a , ; ) is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high, pointed crown; an extra-wide brim (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck, and shoulders of the w ...

*Mort, a gangly boy who always wears his red turtleneck sweater pulled up over his mouth *Hungry Herman, Joe's tubby pal *Jane, Joe's girlfriend *Tuffy, a streetwise type who wears a sailor hat *Walkie Talkie, a neighborhood mutt The comics generally consist of child-friendly jokes, as well as small advertisements for

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

y merchandise one could obtain in exchange for comics and a few cents or dollars. From the very beginning in 1954, the bottom of the comics included "fortunes" similar to those one would find in a

fortune cookie A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese language, Chines ...

, sometimes with a comedic bent.

Development

Sometime between 1952 and 1954,

Woody Gelman Woodrow Gelman (1915 – February 9, 1978) was a publisher, cartoonist, novelist and an artist-writer for both animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcov ...

and Ben Solomon, heads of Product Development at

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

, approached cartoonist

Wesley Morse Wesley Morse was an American comic artist and advertising illustrator. History Born Wesley Cherry Morse in Chicago in 1897, the son of Charles and Fanny Cherry (1870–1946), Wesley Morse eventually settled in New York City. In 1918, Morse joi ...

to create ''Bazooka Joe and his Gang''. The character was named after a contest was held asking for suggestions. In ''Heroes of the Comics: Portraits of the Pioneering Legends of Comic Books'', Drew Friedman wrote: "Gelman, along with his friend and former co-animator Ben Solomon, created Popsicle Pete, who appeared in ads and packages for Popsicle ice pops for decades. Popsicle Pete caught the eye of president of the Topps Company, Arthur Shorin, who hired Gelman and Solomon to work for him full time in Brooklyn. Gelman worked as an editor and writer for Topps, and Solomon became its art director. Gelman soon became head of the new product development department, where he developed the Bazooka Joe mini-comics (drawn by Wesley Morse) and had his hand in many successful innovations for trading cards and other products." ''Bazooka Joe'''s style changed with the times. By the 1990s, Joe had adopted a more contemporary look, including low-slung, baggy jeans. From 1967 to 1990, the main writer was cartoonist

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his '' Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the r ...

. Bazooka Joe comics were localized or translated for sale in other countries. For example, the Canadian version featured bilingual (simultaneous English and French) text balloons.

References

{{reflist

External links

History of Bazooka Joe Comics

Bazooka Joe Turns 50

Bazooka Joe's Patch Explained

Official Website

1954 comics debuts 2012 comics endings American comics characters Chewing gum Comics about children Child characters in comics Comics characters introduced in 1954 Mascots introduced in 1954 Food advertising characters Gag-a-day comics Male characters in comics Male characters in advertising Child characters in advertising Fictional characters missing an eye Topps franchises Fictional eyepatch wearers