In the modern world of pop culture, many people equate “comic books” with “superheroes,” but that hasn’t always been the case. Are you ready to experience Earth-Vaudeville? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of The Adventures of Bob Hope #1 awaits!

THE ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE #1

Writer:  Cal Howard
Penciler: Owen Fitzgerald
Inker: Owen Fitzgerald
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Uncredited
Editor: Whitney Ellsworth
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing:
Release Date: November 23, 1949

Previously in The Adventures of Bob Hope: The son of a Stone Mason and an opera singer, Bob Hope began his performing career while still grade school-aged. By 1934, he was a star on the radio, transitioning to film with The Big Broadcast of 1938, which also gave him his theme song of Thanks for the Memories. Throughout the 1940s, he became a well-recognized comedic voice, which is what clearly led to this series. We open with a standard issue comic book plotline, one that could have easily starred Porky Pig, Woody Woodpecker, or half a dozen other folks.

Having invented a new all-in-one golf club, Bob drills holes all over his apartment to fashion a makeshift golf course. This, of course, brings him to the attention of his landlady, the Miss Grundy-lookalike, Mrs. Peabody, who has a bone to pick with our man Bob about unpaid rent.

In the hopes of making the scratch to keep his home, he heads out to the offices of attorney Pat Pending (Heh) who specializes in new patents, but finds that his invention isn’t particularly trustworthy. This leads him to a Yoyo competition, which somehow leads Bob to a job as a ski instructor, despite not knowing how to ski. The art is by former Disney animator Owen Fitzgerald, whose most noteworthy gig is probably his time working on Dennis The Menace with Hank Ketcham. His style was perfectly suited to his later work on the likes of Super-Goof (Goofy’s superhero persona), and that bigfoot comics influence makes this issue visually interesting despite its lack of ducks in sailor suits.

He miraculously ends up competing in (and winning) a ski competition, but makes no money, returning home only for Mrs. Peabody to lock him in his room to get her back rent. Bob tries to pull a George Thorogood, but can’t get out. He tries to get a jealous husband to break him out by ogling his girl, only to get a black eye, fails to get a locksmith to free him, and barely avoids severe burns when he tries to slide down sheets to freedom. But when he throws his mattress to the street, intending to jump out, Bob discovers that it’s stuffed full of cash!

His rent woes are solved, with a final joke that marks the third reference to Hope’s film career in the issue. Though we’re out of the “massive 100-page anthology” era of comics, there’s still a lot of secondary material to be had here, including a profile of Doris Day, a two-page story about Hope’s co-star Rhonda Fleming, as well as funnies by Bob Oksner, Harry Lampert, and Henry Boltinoff. It also features one of DC’s one-page public service announcements of the McCarthy era, featuring a certain Dynamic Duo.

Nearly 75 years later, that message still resonates with me as a reader, carrying even more weight in our 21st-century post-truth era. The upshot of The Adventures of Bob Hope #1 is the realization that it’s actually perfectly fine, with some lively art and a completely nonsensical ending that feels like a quintessential funny book experience and earns 3 out of 5 stars overall. If nothing else, you can see how this book managed to last nearly 20 years (!!) at DC, as it does provide a few chuckles even for a jaded reader like myself.

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