Right Around Home!
Do you recognize this wonderful layout style? It’s the 3/4 downshot, one of the most difficult angles to stage action from, done to perfection every week in a Sunday page called “Right Around Home with Myrtle”. This episode was probably drawn by Bob Vittur, but the feature was originated by a cartoonist named Dudley Fisher. Starting this post, the Cat and I will start reprinting some of the daily episodes of the strip, starting Jan. 13, 1947:
I love the character of Little Myrtle, and you’ll get to know her better through these dailies, scanned from newspaper clippings. I’m starting out just posting a few at a time, as the first few weeks of the strip in this collection skip quite a few dates. There IS a little bit of continuity, but it’s mainly the adventures of Myrtle, Freddie and Susie (her parents), Sampson (her lisping boy friend), Slug (her brother), Alice and Archie (the birds in the 1-25 above) and the funny canine characters Bingo and Junior. The Sunday pages mostly “star” the 3/4 staging in one large panel, but the dailies are more intimate, and Myrtle’s tomboy, energetic personality comes to the fore. I like the way Fisher uses Myrtle’s hat as a “bubble” around her face, you can’t tell it’s much of a hat until she turns profile, but that’s part of the abstraction in Fisher’s cartooning. Like Patrick from 1967, Myrtle is a disruptive force in her parents’ and neighborhood’s lives. UNlike Patrick, she is never mean or mean-spirited, just a lot of fun. The characters in “Right Around Home” know they are in a comic strip, and comment occasionally to the reader about that. A lot of people seem to enjoy this comic, hope you will too. The cat character in the strip is named “Hyacinth”, by the way.
Recent finds in the L.A. Jr. Times!
 Bob Clampett draws Aunt Dolly, 12-6-25
 The first two Fred Moore comics from the Junior Times, 1-17 and 2-7-1926. The last panel in the 1-27 is illegible.
 The earliest Larry Martin comics, from 11-15-25, he called himself “Buster” in the first one.
 Cartoonist Alex Perez makes Chase Craig into one of his characters, 2-7-26.
 George Manuell 12-13-25,  Ray Patin 12-20-25, Frank Tipper (?) 11-8-25 Manuel Moreno doing a parody of the 1925 hit: “Doodle Doo Doo” as a salute to the Times Junior Club, 12-27-25. It just gets better as it goes along folks! Too many interesting comics to post!
 In Barker Bill this time, from 4-4 to 4-17-1955, the Cold War moves in on the story. Russian Spies Dripsky and Bugovitch want to cop Col. Whetwhistle’s Boo-Boo Tonic to disguise themselves as plants to be placed in Washington D.C. hotel lobbies. That way, they can overhear state secrets! Barker Bill and Puddy are on the job, though, and foil the spie’s plot. Puddy is made an honorary member of the K-9 Corps for his service. The supply of Barker Bill Sundays just about dries up this time, in the 4-10, Puddy is scratched up by a lot of alley cats, and in the 4-17, Puddy tries to eat a dinosaur skeleton.
 In Felix, from 7-8 to 7-14-1935, the serpent vine story continues as Danny escapes and saves Felix. Felix is given credit for the discovery of the vine by the Professor, but in the 7-11, Felix could care less about his discovery, he just cares about his recovery. A sailor who is an expert wrestler tackles the vine next. In the Sunday, Felix again plays God from Dreamland heaven as he changes the life of Tommy, the little lier by giving him a fantastic nightmare. I like the panel where the God-Devil Felix lies in wait for Tommy with a Candy Box containing a vicious leopard!
 Krazy from 5-19 to 5-24-1941, features the brick, both rubber and clay types. I love the gag in the 5-24 where Mrs. Kwakk-Wakk asks Krazy if he ever gets headaches from all the brick punishment that his cranium takes. Krazy responds by using a barrel to protect his body! What a mahogany head!
Speaking of cats, my cartoon cat, who now has named himself “Itza”, rebelled against me and escaped to Facebook. I don’t feel comfortable on Facebook, I don’t like to be that easily available on the ‘net, it scares me! But Itza is fearless where the Internet is concerned. He’ll still visit here from time to time, but if you want to see him all the time and maybe write to him, go to www.facebook.com/someothercat and you’ll see what the great webmeister Charles Brubaker and Itza cooked up! There are some drawings and cel set-ups from TMBSOC there as well. I really didn’t want to post any links to Facebook, but Itza threatened me with a loaded cactus.
Charles Brubaker says:
I love these vintage strips you post. “Right Around Home” looks like a nice strip.
Speaking of which, do you think Itza and Mooch (from “Mutts”) would get along?
(Thanks for the shout out. Hopefully you’re getting more traffic from the Facebook project)
Mark says:
Hey Charles,
Actually, Itza was created long before Mooch, but Mooch has more exposure, due to the “Mutts” comic strip. In a shnozzola contest, Itza would be the winner against Mooch! I think that Itza and Mooch would get along fine, maybe Itza could hit up Mooch for some moola! “Mutts” is one of my favorite contemporary comic strips, natch, except when Patrick McDonnell is “marking time” with the dailies by using the “Shelter Stories” or extended sequences with the big crabby cat on the front doorstep griping about a rainshower. However, I can’t get enough of Mooch playing with the “little pink sock”, that’s always good for a chuckle.
Charlie Judkins says:
That Dudley Fisher is a great cartoonist! Myrtle’s design really reminds me of Frank Moser’s old “Kelly Kid” character that he animated for Raoul Barre’s shorts.