Smokey Stover
Encyclopedia
Smokey Stover is an American
comic strip
written and drawn by cartoonist
Bill Holman
, from 1935 until he retired in 1973. Distributed through the Chicago Tribune
, it features the wacky misadventures of the titular fireman
, and had the longest run of any comic strip in the "screwball comics" genre.
, Bill Holman (1903–1987) moved to Chicago
, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts while working as an office boy in the Chicago Tribune
art department. Relocating to New York City
, where he worked as a New York Herald Tribune
staff artist, Holman submitted freelance cartoons to magazines, (including Colliers
, The Saturday Evening Post
, Life
, Judge and Everybody's Weekly.) He began Smokey Stover as a Sunday strip
for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate
on March 10, 1935. The daily strip
began three years later on November 14, 1938.
The title Smokey Stover derived from Holman's observation of an old smoking stove. Although no clear connection has ever been asserted, Holman's title and character name also could have been a nod toward the ubiquitous stationary engine
manufactured by the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company
of Freeport, Illinois
. Between 1895 and 1942, it made over 270,000 engines for use on America's farms. Such stationary engines were imprecise machines which often produced substantial exhaust smoke when fueled with kerosene, a common fuel used before catalytic cracking of petroleum became more common in the 1930s.
with seats, or an independent sidecar
), his wife Cookie, his son Earl, his cross-eyed boss Chief Cash U. Nutt, the Chief's wife Hazel Nutt and the firehouse Dalmatian
mascot, Sparks. Smokey has an array of nutty relatives who are also featured occasionally, with names like "Uncle Potbelly Stover", "Rusty Stover" and "Cousin Cole Stover".
Smokey wears bright red (or yellow) rubber boots and a clownish striped “helmet” (always worn back-to-front), which he sometimes ties to his nose with string, in lieu of a chinstrap. His trademark helmet also features a prominent hole in its hinged brim, which he occasionally uses as an ashtray for his lit cigar. Although most of the sequences in the strip (and the occasional comic book) center around Smokey's escapades with the Chief, the loose "plots" and situations are mainly a framework to display an endless parade of off-the-wall verbal and visual humor.
, with subjects literally jumping out of the frames—add to the overall weirdness. A madcap, "anything for a laugh" atmosphere pervades the strip, which also abounds in nonsensical dialogue, non sequiturs and pervasive, almost nonstop puns
. Smokey's ears frequently (and literally) "pop" off his head at the outrageousness of the incessant punning.
The puns and "silly pictures on the wall with various items hanging clear out of the frames" was the feature that provoked the most reader mail, according to contemporary articles and interviews with Holman. The cartoonist often visited the syndicate office to pick up the puns which readers suggested for the walls. He called these items "wallnuts". (Example: A picture of a fish opening a door is labeled "Calling cod".) What did Holman think of all the puns? "They're so stupid," he sighs. "I can't help it if people like 'em. Come to think of it, I love 'em, too!"
Holman's continuing inventiveness managed to keep Smokey Stover going for nearly 40 years, continuing unabated for decades after the heyday of screwball comic strips had ended. Holman often reached moments of surreality that did for comics what Tex Avery
's wild cartoons did in animation
. A typical gag:
involving ubiquitous signs with strange, incongruous nonsense word
s and phrases—such as "foo", "notary sojac", "scram gravy ain't wavey" and "1506 nix nix"—were commonly featured in Smokey Stover. They appeared arbitrarily and often, in no particular place for no particular reason, and some became catchphrases. Holman defined "notary sojac" as Gaelic
for "Merry Christmas" (Nodlaig Sodhach), and "1506 nix nix" was reportedly a private joke that included the hotel room number of Holman's friend, cartoonist Al Posen
. However, his most frequent nonsense word by far was "foo". Holman peppered his work with foo labels and puns. The term emerged in popular culture during the 1930s and found usage in 1938-39 Warner Brothers cartoons
, most notably by director Bob Clampett
, including Porky in Wackyland
.
Smokey "often called himself a foo fighter when anyone else would have said firefighter", according to Don Markstein’s Toonopedia. "The word foo also turned up on signs, lists, menus, and the lips of various characters at random but frequent intervals." Foo may have been inspired by the French word for fire, feu (Smokey's catch phrase was "where there's foo, there's fire"), but Holman never gave a straight answer as to the origin. The history section on the Smokey Stover website claims that Holman "found this word engraved on the bottom of a jade statue in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The word foo means Good-Luck."
, images of Smokey Stover and Spooky were painted as nose art
on several American bomber aircraft. The term "foo" was borrowed directly from Smokey Stover by a radar
operator in the U.S. 415th Night Fighter Squadron, Donald J. Meiers, who it is agreed by most 415th members gave the "foo fighters" their name. The phrase foo fighter
, also taken from Holman’s strip, was used by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II to describe various unidentified flying objects or mysterious aerial phenomena seen in the skies over both the European and Pacific Theaters of Operations. Though foo fighter initially described a type of UFO reported and named by the 415th Squadron, the term was also commonly used to mean any UFO sighting from that period.
Foo Fighters
is also the name of a Seattle rock band
, first heard in 1995. Nirvana
drummer Dave Grohl
hoped to keep his anonymity and release recordings under the title "Foo Fighters", taken from the World War II term for UFOs and indirectly from Holman’s strip.
strip called Spooky one month later (April 7, 1935), to run with Smokey Stover on Sundays. With a perpetually bandaged tail, the peculiar black cat Spooky lives with his owner Fenwick Flooky, who does embroidery while characteristically wearing a fez and sitting barefoot in a rocking chair. Holman used the pseudonym
"Scat H." to sign the strip.
. The first in this series, #7 (1942), displayed an unusual front cover of a full seven-panel sequence, a rarity in comic book covers. The next in the Dell series, #35 (1944), was followed by #64 (February 1945), #229 (May 1949), #730 (October 1956) and #827 (August 1957). In 1953-54, Holman produced two public services
giveaway comic books on fire safety, both published by the National Fire Protection Association
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
written and drawn by cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Bill Holman
Bill Holman (cartoonist)
Bill Holman was an American cartoonist who drew the classic comic strip Smokey Stover from 1935 until he retired in 1973. Distributed through the Chicago Tribune, it had the longest run of any strip in the screwball genre...
, from 1935 until he retired in 1973. Distributed through the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, it features the wacky misadventures of the titular fireman
Fireman
Fireman may refer to::* Firefighter, person who extinguishes fires and rescues people from harms way.* Fire Safety Officer, a senior ranking firefighter or Fire Safety Inspector in the UK...
, and had the longest run of any comic strip in the "screwball comics" genre.
Overview
Born in Crawfordsville, IndianaCrawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Union Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,915. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, Bill Holman (1903–1987) moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts while working as an office boy in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
art department. Relocating to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he worked as a New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
staff artist, Holman submitted freelance cartoons to magazines, (including Colliers
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
, Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, Judge and Everybody's Weekly.) He began Smokey Stover as a Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate
Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...
on March 10, 1935. The daily strip
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
began three years later on November 14, 1938.
The title Smokey Stover derived from Holman's observation of an old smoking stove. Although no clear connection has ever been asserted, Holman's title and character name also could have been a nod toward the ubiquitous stationary engine
Stationary engine
A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. It is normally used not to propel a vehicle but to drive a piece of immobile equipment such as a pump or power tool. They may be powered by steam; or oil-burning or internal combustion engines....
manufactured by the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company
Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company
The Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company was created by D.C. Stover in 1862. An established inventor, he progressed through a profitable windmill business to, in 1895, the manufacture of kerosene and gasoline powered stationary engines for use on the American farm.Between then and 1941, Stover...
of Freeport, Illinois
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...
. Between 1895 and 1942, it made over 270,000 engines for use on America's farms. Such stationary engines were imprecise machines which often produced substantial exhaust smoke when fueled with kerosene, a common fuel used before catalytic cracking of petroleum became more common in the 1930s.
Characters and story
The goofy situations in Holman's comic strip usually feature Smokey (short for "Smokestack") Stover, the "foolish foo (fire)fighter", often riding in his impossible, two-wheeled “Foomobile” (a single-axle fire engine which resembles a modern SegwaySegway PT
The Segway PT is a two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation machine invented by Dean Kamen. It is produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire, USA. The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" while "PT" denotes personal transporter....
with seats, or an independent sidecar
Sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle.-History:A sidecar appeared in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper Motor Cycling. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was...
), his wife Cookie, his son Earl, his cross-eyed boss Chief Cash U. Nutt, the Chief's wife Hazel Nutt and the firehouse Dalmatian
Dalmatian (dog)
The Dalmatian is a breed of dog whose roots are often said to trace back to Dalmatia, a region of Croatia where the first illustrations of the dog have been found. The Dalmatian is noted for its unique black- or brown-spotted coat and was mainly used as a carriage dog in its early days...
mascot, Sparks. Smokey has an array of nutty relatives who are also featured occasionally, with names like "Uncle Potbelly Stover", "Rusty Stover" and "Cousin Cole Stover".
Smokey wears bright red (or yellow) rubber boots and a clownish striped “helmet” (always worn back-to-front), which he sometimes ties to his nose with string, in lieu of a chinstrap. His trademark helmet also features a prominent hole in its hinged brim, which he occasionally uses as an ashtray for his lit cigar. Although most of the sequences in the strip (and the occasional comic book) center around Smokey's escapades with the Chief, the loose "plots" and situations are mainly a framework to display an endless parade of off-the-wall verbal and visual humor.
Puns and "wallnuts"
The chaotic panels of Smokey Stover regularly include wild sight gags, mirthful mishaps, absurd vehicles and bizarre household items—including oddly-shaped furniture, clocks, vases, headwear, cigarette holders and telephones. Crazy framed pictures which change completely from panel to panel—or break the fourth wallFourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, with subjects literally jumping out of the frames—add to the overall weirdness. A madcap, "anything for a laugh" atmosphere pervades the strip, which also abounds in nonsensical dialogue, non sequiturs and pervasive, almost nonstop puns
Puns
Puns may refer to:*Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui, the Sahrawi political party* Pun, figure of speech* Phoenicians...
. Smokey's ears frequently (and literally) "pop" off his head at the outrageousness of the incessant punning.
The puns and "silly pictures on the wall with various items hanging clear out of the frames" was the feature that provoked the most reader mail, according to contemporary articles and interviews with Holman. The cartoonist often visited the syndicate office to pick up the puns which readers suggested for the walls. He called these items "wallnuts". (Example: A picture of a fish opening a door is labeled "Calling cod".) What did Holman think of all the puns? "They're so stupid," he sighs. "I can't help it if people like 'em. Come to think of it, I love 'em, too!"
Holman's continuing inventiveness managed to keep Smokey Stover going for nearly 40 years, continuing unabated for decades after the heyday of screwball comic strips had ended. Holman often reached moments of surreality that did for comics what Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
's wild cartoons did in animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
. A typical gag:
- Smokey Stover: "The wood in this roof is awfully old—this one-inch bit is drilling one-foot holes!"
- Chief Nutt: "Just use a half-inch bit—that way it'll only make six-inch holes!"
Jocular jargon and peculiar phrases
Odd bits of philosophy and a running gagRunning gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
involving ubiquitous signs with strange, incongruous nonsense word
Nonsense word
A nonsense word, unlike a sememe, may have no definition. If it can be pronounced according to a language's phonotactics, it is a logatome. Nonsense words are used in literature for poetic or humorous effect. Proper names of real or fictional entities are sometimes nonsense words.-See...
s and phrases—such as "foo", "notary sojac", "scram gravy ain't wavey" and "1506 nix nix"—were commonly featured in Smokey Stover. They appeared arbitrarily and often, in no particular place for no particular reason, and some became catchphrases. Holman defined "notary sojac" as Gaelic
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
for "Merry Christmas" (Nodlaig Sodhach), and "1506 nix nix" was reportedly a private joke that included the hotel room number of Holman's friend, cartoonist Al Posen
Al Posen
Alvah Posen was an American cartoonist on several comic strips, but he is best known for his strip Sweeney & Son and as co-producer of the now-lost Marx Brothers film, Humor Risk ....
. However, his most frequent nonsense word by far was "foo". Holman peppered his work with foo labels and puns. The term emerged in popular culture during the 1930s and found usage in 1938-39 Warner Brothers cartoons
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
, most notably by director Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
, including Porky in Wackyland
Porky in Wackyland
Porky in Wackyland is a 1938 animated short film, directed by Robert Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions as part of Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes series....
.
Smokey "often called himself a foo fighter when anyone else would have said firefighter", according to Don Markstein’s Toonopedia. "The word foo also turned up on signs, lists, menus, and the lips of various characters at random but frequent intervals." Foo may have been inspired by the French word for fire, feu (Smokey's catch phrase was "where there's foo, there's fire"), but Holman never gave a straight answer as to the origin. The history section on the Smokey Stover website claims that Holman "found this word engraved on the bottom of a jade statue in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The word foo means Good-Luck."
Foo fighters
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, images of Smokey Stover and Spooky were painted as nose art
Nose art
Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of a military aircraft, usually located near the nose, and is a form of aircraft graffiti....
on several American bomber aircraft. The term "foo" was borrowed directly from Smokey Stover by a radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
operator in the U.S. 415th Night Fighter Squadron, Donald J. Meiers, who it is agreed by most 415th members gave the "foo fighters" their name. The phrase foo fighter
Foo fighter
The term foo fighter was used by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II to describe various UFOs or mysterious aerial phenomena seen in the skies over both the European and Pacific Theater of Operations....
, also taken from Holman’s strip, was used by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II to describe various unidentified flying objects or mysterious aerial phenomena seen in the skies over both the European and Pacific Theaters of Operations. Though foo fighter initially described a type of UFO reported and named by the 415th Squadron, the term was also commonly used to mean any UFO sighting from that period.
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
is also the name of a Seattle rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, first heard in 1995. Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
drummer Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
hoped to keep his anonymity and release recordings under the title "Foo Fighters", taken from the World War II term for UFOs and indirectly from Holman’s strip.
Spooky
Holman launched an accompanying topperTopper (comic strip)
A topper in comic strip parlance is a small secondary strip seen along with a larger Sunday strip. In the 1920s and 1930s, leading cartoonists were given full pages in the Sunday comics sections, allowing them to add smaller strips and single-panel cartoons to their page.Toppers usually were drawn...
strip called Spooky one month later (April 7, 1935), to run with Smokey Stover on Sundays. With a perpetually bandaged tail, the peculiar black cat Spooky lives with his owner Fenwick Flooky, who does embroidery while characteristically wearing a fez and sitting barefoot in a rocking chair. Holman used the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Scat H." to sign the strip.
Nuts and Jolts
Spooky, who makes frequent cameo appearances in Smokey Stover, also regularly turns up in the background of Holman's daily gag panel feature, Nuts and Jolts. Syndicated for three decades, Nuts and Jolts was a stand-alone panel cartoon featuring an ever-changing cast of everyday people doing silly things.Comic books and reprints
There were several Smokey Stover comic books published by Dell Comics Four ColorDell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
. The first in this series, #7 (1942), displayed an unusual front cover of a full seven-panel sequence, a rarity in comic book covers. The next in the Dell series, #35 (1944), was followed by #64 (February 1945), #229 (May 1949), #730 (October 1956) and #827 (August 1957). In 1953-54, Holman produced two public services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
giveaway comic books on fire safety, both published by the National Fire Protection Association
National Fire Protection Association
The National Fire Protection Association is a United States trade association that creates and maintains private, copywrited, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments...
.
- Smokey Stover: Firefighter of Foo (1937) Whitman Publishing
- Smokey Stover and the Fire Chief of Foo (Penny Book, 1938) Whitman
- Smokey Stover: The Foo Fighter (Big Little Book #1421, 1938) Whitman
- Smokey Stover: The False Alarm Fireman (Better Little Book #1413, 1941) Whitman
- Smokey Stover: The Foolish Foo Fighter (Better Little Book #1481, 1945) Whitman
- Bill Holman's Smokey Stover: Book 1 (1985) Blackthorne Publishing (a trade paperback of black & white reprints with an introduction by Harvey KurtzmanHarvey KurtzmanHarvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
) - Screwball Comics: The First Nemo Annual (1985) Fantagraphics (an anthology of vintage comics also featuring Rube GoldbergRube GoldbergReuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
, Milt GrossMilt GrossMilt Gross , was an American comic strip and comic book writer, illustrator and animator. He wrote his comics in a Yiddish-inflected English. He originated the non-sequitur "Banana Oil!" as a phrase deflating pomposity and posing. His character Count Screwloose's admonition, "Iggy, keep an eye on...
and Dr. SeussDr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
) - Smokey Stover by Bill Holman (Christmas 2011) IDW PublishingIDW PublishingIDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
Animation and oddities
- A novelty songNovelty songA novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
based on Smokey Stover—"What This Country Needs Is Foo", with words and "FOOsic" by Mack Kay—was recorded by Eddie DeLangeEddie DeLangeEddie DeLange was an American bandleader and lyricist. Famous artists who recorded some of DeLange's songs include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman.-Biography:...
and His Orchestra on Bluebird RecordsBluebird RecordsBluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
in 1939. Holman illustrated the cover for the sheet musicSheet musicSheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
, released by Joe Davis, Inc. Music Publishers. - In 1941, Bill Holman gave his blessing to The Order of Smokey Stover, a social club created by the Redmond Volunteer Firefighters Association in Redmond, WashingtonRedmond, WashingtonRedmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
. - In 1953, Pittsfield, MassachusettsPittsfield, MassachusettsPittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
firefighters William J. Knight and Walter J. Pictrowski designed and built a three-wheeled version of Smokey Stover's Foo Mobile. With permission and suggestions from Holman, the vehicle was adorned with familiar paraphernalia, such as a rubber-handled ax, a fire call box, a fire gong, crank handle and steam-generating radiator cap (a fire nozzle with the slogan "Sea-Oh-Too!"). The Foo Car has been in and out of service over the years and has been restored twice, brought back for appearances at Berkshire area parades, musters and charity events. It is currently garaged. - In 1971, Smokey Stover was a featured segment on FilmationFilmationFilmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
's Archie's TV FunniesArchie's TV FunniesArchie's TV Funnies is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation which appeared on CBS from September 11, 1971 to September 1, 1973...
, its only foray into animationAnimationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
. Smokey Stover became one of several rotating segments on the Saturday morning cartoonSaturday morning cartoonA Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
series. Other comic strip character features in the rotation included Broom-HildaBroom-HildaBroom-Hilda is an American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russell Myers. Distributed by the Tribune Media Services, it depicts the misadventures of a man-crazy, cigar-smoking, beer-guzzling, 1,500-year-old witch and her motley crew of friends....
, Dick TracyDick TracyDick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
, The Captain and the Kids, Alley OopAlley OopAlley Oop is a syndicated comic strip, created in 1932 by American cartoonist V. T. Hamlin, who wrote and drew the popular and influential strip through four decades for Newspaper Enterprise Association...
, Nancy and Sluggo and Moon MullinsMoon MullinsMoon Mullins, created by cartoonist Frank Willard , was a popular American comic strip which had a long run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of diverse lowbrow characters who...
. It was repeated in 1978, without ArchieArchie Andrews (comics)Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, as well as the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, and Archie's Weird Mysteries.-Character and...
, under the title The Fabulous Funnies. - Smokey Stover is referenced in "Jumbeliah", an unreleased song Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
wrote in his early career: "Built like Marilyn MonroeMarilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, and she walks just like Smokey Stover." - Pete Schlatter of Francesville, IndianaFrancesville, IndianaFrancesville is a town in Salem Township, Pulaski County, Indiana, United States. The population was 879 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Francesville is located at ....
constructed a workable single-axle, two-wheel Foomobile by hiding four support wheels inside the two wheels. - In 2001, Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
issued a limited edition figure of Smokey Stover in a colorful collector tin, as part of their line of Classic Comic Characters—designated as statue #21.
Sources
- Strickler, DaveDave StricklerDave Strickler is a reference librarian noted for his compilation of Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index, regarded as a major reference work by researchers and historians of newspaper comic strips....
. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1