The Comics Rack
HUH?
We recently posted a quiz on the Comics Rack Message Board. Here is the original question and then then the answers.
One of the many sub-plots John Byrne introduced to his run on the Fantastic Four was to give Reed and Sue secret identities and to move them to a house in Belle Porte, Connecticut.
In #276, the Richards family hosted a party for their neighbors and many of them seem, well, quite familiar to readers of newspaper comic strips. The clue to this is found in the introduction of 2 of the neighbors by name in the upper left of the panel.
In the picture on the left, how many comic strip (not comic book) characters can you identify. (HINT: They are a bit more realistically drawn then in their comic strip appearances). Seven seems to be the number at the moment, although there may be an eighth.
We were hoping that a few more people would hop on board an take a stab at naming the characters, but only John DiMezzies gave us any input and here is what he had to say in a series of postings:
"I see Blondie, Dagwood, Jiggs, Dick Tracy, Henry Mitchell (Dennis's father), and the character from Gasoline Alley(?) Can't make out the rest...yet."
That "character from GASOLINE ALLEY" is Skeezix."
"Hi and Lois standing by the door are givens."
"Could that be Joe Palooka sitting on the couch with Dick?"
"So, WHO are these people??"
So, WHO are these people? Well this was one of those quizzes that has no definitive answer, since John Byrne never made a list to tell us who was who. We did declare John the winner of our quiz, since he not only gave us the answers we expected, but came up with a couple more that we hadn't even thought of, but do agree with.
Taking John's answers, here is the who's who for the
comic strip quiz:
Back Row (L-R) Hi, Lois, Sue Richards, (On Couch) Joe Palooka, unknown, Dick
Tracy.
Middle Row (L-R) Unknown, unknown, Skeezix, Jiggs, Henry Mitchell.
Front Row (L-R) Blondie, Dagwood, unknown.
Now, if we could only figure out who that fellow with the receding hairline and black mustache in the front of the picture is, we could rest easy. If you have any ideas, drop over to the message boards and let us know.
(Addendum 03/2005)
At least 3 years have gone by since we posted this little quiz
and, lo and behold, we get not one, but two emails in the same month with additional
solutions to our quiz. If that don't make you go HUH? nothing will.
From Ann Nichols-
"Joe Palooka, from the research I'm doing, had a
girlfriend whom he married, but Ann Howe was a blonde.
I think the somewhat portly gentleman identified as Skeezix is
more likely his foster father, "Uncle Walt" -- Walter Wallet...Walt wears
glasses and Skeezix still doesn't."
From eggsfreebnik2 (name derived from the email address)-
"This may be ridiculously out of date, but I only just
discovered your quiz. I believe the guy up front with the black hair and moustache
is Dagwood's neighbor Herb."
(Addendum 07/05)
Well, out of all the articles around here, this little quiz seems
to be the most popular. Here we have yet another addition to our list of
solutions
From Richard Butler-
"This may be a rather late entry but I’m just seeing
your page for the first time. I believe the couple behind Blondie is most likely
Leroy and Loretta Lockhorn of the strip, the Lockhorns. My argument in support of
this is the rendering of their hair (make special note of the wife’s underside
of the wife’s hairdo). Also, Loretta is depicted as a redhead in Sunday comic
strips (although I have found her depicted as what could be blond). And the
husband’s clothing, haircut, and mustache are consistent with Mr.
Lockhorn’s. Finally, notice their demeanor in relation to everyone
else’s. They seem to be unhappy, marital dysfunction being the basis of the
Lockhorns strip."
And who are we to say "Nay"! This is becoming something of an online Roaschach-ish test and we couldn't be happier. What character will be found next?
Kind of makes you go HUH? don't it?
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