The whacky comics of yesteryear (a tear-stained trip into nostalgia by AlextheKay)
Comic strips still exist....barely. They were very much an American newspaper invention and their rise and fall came with the papers themselves. What people forget is how damned violent they were much of the time.
Take this one: The Outbursts of Everett True. Everett had a corpulent body, an expression that suggested he was suffering from gastritous and a disposition from Hell. Each strip saw Everett getting angry about something and then beating up whoever was annoying him.
That's it! That's every Everett True comic. Everett is irritated. Everett beats someone up. This went on for twenty-two years!
Then there's Thimble Theater, the original title of the Popeye strip. This had varied plots, running from romance to adventure to ...beating people up a lot. Here's a romantic little strip of Popeye and Ham Gravy (Olive Oyl's original suitor) fighting over the hand of fair Olive"
But those were all in fun. They're nothing compared to the "serious" strips like Dick Tracy.
These are what our parents (or if you're younger, grandparents) grew up on. Then they decided Bugs Bunny cartoons were too violent for us and Bowdlerized them. Go figure!
So here's your chance to share your favorite comic-strip violence! Go wild! And as The Yellow Kid from Hogan's Alley says
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