 The Comic Weekly Man, the Jolly Comic Weekly Man. And I'm here to read the funnies to you happy boys and honeys. Yes, boys and girls, it's comic weekly time. And here I come right into your house to bring a little fun and happiness. Right out of the pages of Puck the Comic Weekly, straight into your living room, your friend, the Comic Weekly Man, the Jolly Comic Weekly Man. Hello, hello. Hello, hello, hello. Little Miss Honey, how are you today? Oh, I'm just fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine. Well, what makes you feel so fine, fine, fine, fine? Oh, because next week I'm going to have the biggest dinner of the year next to Christmas. And what dinner is that? Well, I'll give you a hint. Coming, coming. Now, what day has to do with coming? Oh, no, no, give me another hint. All right, give me another hint. Oh, thank you. Funnies. Now, what's a holiday that has to do with funnies? Oh, you're way off. I'll try it again, will you? Thanks. Thanks for giving... Oh, thanksgiving! Of course. Oh, of course. Now, what are you going to have for Thanksgiving? Oh, thank you. Well, thank you very much. I'll come because if there's anything I like on Thanksgiving, it's turkey and cranberries and pumpkin pie. That's just wonderful. Puck the Comic Weekly? Very well, I'll read that in just a moment. But before I do, let's listen to this nice man. Now, here we go with Puck the Comic Weekly and on top of the first page, Hopalong Cassidy. Magic words for the music, please. Very well, my lady. Six guns blazing as he thunders along. Give us music for Hopalong. To a pouring rain, Hoppy, California, and Lucky with a marshal and the reinforcements that Hoppy had brought. Are continuing on their way through the Indian country after having found the cavalry massacred at the stagecoach stop. They've been moving cautiously through the woods. The marshal says, those murdering red screens must be somewhere in this area. Hoppy, who looks through the clearing, sees a wagon proceeding down the trail. He says, which means that hay wagon driver may be headed for trouble unless we warn him. So Hoppy, California, and a few others gallop toward the wagon to warn the men driving him. Seeing them approaching, a man on the wagon, first picture, second row, pulls up a gun and fires at him. California shouts, hey, duck, playing fools? They think we're road agents. Spurring ahead, Hoppy rapidly narrows the gap between them. The men in the wagon whip up their horses and gallop on faster. Hoppy draws up alongside. Third picture, middle row, leaps out of the wagon. And last picture, second row, one of the men swings his rifle and hits Hoppy in the face with a butt. Hoppy falls off. California and his pals rain up beside him. The wagon continues on its way. Second picture, bottom row, one of the men in the wagon exclaims, well, that ought to delay him till we make a getaway. Meeker's game would be ruined if that bunch got their hands and their rifles hidden inside these hay bales. But last picture, unnoticed, the tell-tale clue is jarred loose from the swaying load as a bale of hay falls off the rear of the wagon to the ground. Yes, he could have broken his jaw. Do you think he did? I'm not sure. I wonder if he did. Let's hope so. Why should they hide those rifles? I have a suspicion that those men are selling the rifles to the Indians. That's right. That's exactly it. And we'll find out more about this next week. Now? Oh, look, he did, because Prince Valiant's father, King Agua, has signed something that you call a treaty. It's an agreement not to plunder any more ships. Yes. And Valiant's friend was coming home from a long journey. And all of a sudden, he saw a ship. And on that ship was that girl Adele who'd fallen in love with our. That's right. And Boltar captured that ship. And I want to see what Valiant will say about that. And I want to see if Adele and I will meet each other again. Well, let's read right now and find out. So here we go with Prince Valiant and the Days of King Arthur, Eckett, Breckett, Gray, Malkin, and Quince, music romantic for a fair, fair prince. Boltar and his rough vikings have captured the ship of Sir DeLuke. In the scuffle, little Adele, DeLuke's daughter falls to the deck in a faint. Sir DeLuke stands over his daughter's body and yells at Boltar, the sea king, Traitor, we sail with your king's guarantee of safety. His banner of the crimson stallion flies at our mast head. Traitor! Boltar looks surprised and stops for a moment, whereupon Sir DeLuke hands him a paper bearing the agreement. First picture next row, Boltar sits down, looks at the paper, and frowns. He fingers the guarantee impatiently. He cannot read, but he knows the royal seal. A free and independent pirate doesn't want to be bothered by diplomatic details. This paper is too difficult for him to figure out, so he decides to let Val and King Agua settle it for him. He orders his men to board his ship again. And last picture, second row, he allows the vessel of Sir DeLuke to limp into Trunjem's beard and follows close behind. For if there is any doubt, he wants the plunder. First picture bottom row, news of Boltar's deed is brought to King Agua. The king is angry because his banner has been ignored. Gauharis sees all hope of peaceful trade between Thule and Orkney vanish with his crime. But young Arff and rage that Adele, the girl he loves, is hurt, cries bitterly for punishment. Last picture, soldiers of the king are sent to Boltar's ship. And he is arrested. All the Vikings and sea kings of Thule cry out against this threat to their freedom to plunder where and whom they plead. No, because that's something they've always been permitted to do. Well, but I too can capture some ship and just take whatever's on it. And it is wrong. Do you think King Agua will make the Vikings behave themselves? Well, that's something we'll find out more about next week. And now I think it's time for Flash Gordon. Nope, here's Jungle Jim, but no Flash Gordon. Well, let's turn over another page. All right, over another page we go. And here he is, Flash Gordon. Oh, and this time it's really exciting, because you remember Flash had been captured by the Martians, and the queen had her men try to put a helmet on. He said they would make him a slave. Yes, but Flash succeeded in overpowering the guard who tried it. And then he and Dale and Link, their friend, captured the queen. And then they took the queen to escape with the queen as their prisoner. And I wonder if they will succeed. Well, let's read right now and find out. Here we go with Flash Gordon. Rigorigodoon dunes. Ask him a task. Let's have music for heroic flash. Run. Escaping from his Martian captors, Flash commandeers a sand car and takes Queen Manta along as a hostage. The sand car speeds toward the rocket port where Flash's ship is grounded, racing ahead of a sudden desert sand blizzard. But not even the incredible speed of the sand car is enough to beat the blizzard. A screaming hurricane of ice and sand swallows them up, last picture, top roll. Flash can scarcely make himself heard as he shouts. We don't find shelter soon. We're doomed. First picture, bottom roll, great masses of swirling sand, hurtle from the dune tops, and toss the car around as if it were an autumn leaf. Flash fights the controls, but nothing he does can stop the car from overturning. Almost miraculously, the occupants of the car escape injury. Queen Manta's fear soon gives way to rage. She's furious. She tells Flash the storm is burying them, to check the instruments and find their location so she can send a thought message ordering her men to rescue them. But Flash prefers the blizzard's fury to recapture. And then, as suddenly as it arose, the storm is over. Last picture, Flash and his party are faced with a new danger. The icy sand has frozen in, in the bleak marsh of night. And they are entombed under a giant dune as hard as concrete. Hi. Yes, that's a terrible situation to be in. Not only that, but if they don't find a way out, they'll have no food. I wonder what Flash will do now. He'll just have to let Manta send a thought wave to her people. Yes, it certainly looks that way. But if that happens, they'll be recaptured. That's a terrible decision. Yes, it certainly is. But we'll find out about that next week. Now it's time for Dagwit and Blondie. Oh, and here they are in fiction. And we won't waste another second. Here we go with Dagwit and Blondie. Ramaphore, Ramaphom, Zim, Zim, Zombie, conjure me music for Dagwit and Blondie. Dagwit's boss, Mr. Dithers, is sitting at home very unhappy. His wife asks him if his conscience is bothering him. He answers, yes, I feel terrible about the way I've treated Dagwit all these years. She tells him it's not too late to make things up to Dagwit. He answers, yes, you're right. I could give him a nice raise to show him how much I appreciate all his years of loyal service to me. His wife smiles and says, she's sure Dagwit will be very grateful. So last picture top row, Dithers stands up and says emphatically, I'll pay him a social call and announce his raise in front of his old family. At the bumpster at home, first picture next row, everybody is heading for the door with their coats on, ready to go out. Dagwit says cheerfully, well, come on, everybody. We don't want to be late for the show. Just then the doorbell rings. It's Mr. Dithers who stands outside saying to himself, a person gets so much joy out of doing a kind deed like this. Blondie peeks through the window and tells Dagwit last picture second row, it's Mr. Dithers. Dagwit exclaims, oh, he probably wants me to work tonight. Quick, everybody, out the back door before he sees us. They all head for the back door. Out they tiptoe, close the door, and tiptoe for the sidewalk. First picture next row, Dithers sees them and yells, hey, come back here, bumpster. They all dash away. Around the house they go. Around the garage. Dagwit shinnies up the porch. Scrambles up the roof. Slides down the other side. Last picture third row jumps for the ground. Dithers lands on him in midair. First picture bottom row, they hit the ground, and the fight begins. Dagwit yells, oh, he's running away. Dagwit yells, oh, he's running away. Alexander shouts, we'll save you, Bob. Mr. Dithers. Wait. Run, Dagwit, it tells the family. Wait, wait, wait. I just wanted to tell you that starting today, I'm giving you a $10 a week raise. And then Mr. Dithers walks off. Dagwit with his clothes torn to pieces and his face covered with bruises, sits up and says last picture, isn't this well, boss? And Mr. Dithers, his clothes torn to pieces and his face covered with bruises, goes down the walk saying, it's a wonderful feeling to have your employees love your life, boss. Yes, what a way to tell a man he's going to get a raise. Yeah, right. The money would be spent anyway. That's right. And I'll look underneath Dagwit and Blondie. Here's Roy Rogers. Oh, I'm anxious to read that. So am I. And I'll read that in just a moment, but first here's that nice man again with something interesting to say. Here we go again with Puck the Comic Weekly. At the bottom of the first page of the second section, Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys. Magic words for the music, please. Very well, my lady. Ah, yippie-yoh. Now here we go with Roy and Trigger. Ah, yippie-yoh. Roy and Jack Spratt, Deputy Sheriff, investigating at Blott Craner's ranch have fallen into a mineshaft. They were joined there a moment later by Blott Cramer, who had been accused by Norton and the Cattlemen's Consul of being a cattle rusler. Cramer tells Roy and Jack that he has come back to clear himself with the law. While they're in the shaft, Norton, who is responsible for all the trouble, and his henchman, Carp Manoray, knowing that the three men are in the shaft, set a dynamite explosion hoping to get rid of Roy. As the sound of the explosion dies away, Mallory says, Well, the dynamite blast plugged that mineshaft good. Rogers and the other two have buried. Norton replies, Right, Carp. You stay in the mineshaft and keep an eye on things. I'll head for town and file the claim and report the accident. Meanwhile in the shaft, the men are still alive, but hemmed in on all sides by the earth, which has collapsed. Jack Spratt exclaims, Hey, we're trapped! Roy lights the lantern and answers. Now, maybe not. Hey, Cramer, is there any other way out of here? Cramer answers. Well, there's a slim chance. Long ago, I dug a drip of my lion shack to this shaft, where a cave-in blocked it off. Last picture, top row, Cramer points to it, saying, There it is. We've got to get through before the air gives out, or we're done. Roy picks up a pickaxe and starts digging. First picture, bottom row. A little later, Roy takes one more poke at the earth and the shovel goes through. He exclaims, Ah, we're through. I can smell fresh air. A little more effort and they made a hole big enough to crawl through. They find themselves in a basement underneath Cramer's shack. Roy, lantern in hand, goes up the ladder saying, I'll go up first. I've got to get to town and stop Norton from tying up Cramer's property with some legal tricks. He pushes up the trap door and as his head appears, last picture, carp Mallory, who is standing behind Roy with a poker, says, You're hard to get ready, Ralph Rogers, but this ought to do it. Yes, he meant to kill him. No, he's... Don't worry too much about that. Maybe there's another trick up Roy's sleeve. We'll find out next week. Now let's turn over the page and see what's there. All right. Yes, in the early days of America, Dick has been with the American Marines commanded by Stephen Decatur. The pirates had captured one of the American ships and they were going to use it against the Americans. And the American ships, so the pirates couldn't use it against them when all of a sudden, a big storm, terrible danger from the storm. Well, let's read right now and find out what happens next. Here we go with Dick's adventures. Say the magic words with me. Brigadier Pac, Cossack, Cossack. Let's have music for adventurous Dick. The excitement of his dream is awakened, Dick. He sits up in bed and says to himself, Gee whiz, I was... I was dreaming. I was back in the old days. A Marine on Stephen Decatur's ship. They were heading into Tripoli to scuttle one of our men-o-war captured by the Barbary pirates when a howling gale blew us out into the middle of the Mediterranean. And he loves his dream so much he lays back on the pillow and in a second, he's sound asleep. And then, in the middle of the Mediterranean, in a second, he's sound asleep. In his dream, he finds himself on board the ship again. The storm is over. Everybody aboard ship is working curiously to repair all the damage the storm has done. First picture, second row. Decatur says to Dick, I'm returning to Tripoli. Pitch in, Dick. A few days later, in the dark of night, the ship in tip-top shape glides back into the harbor of Tripoli. Last picture, second row. It moves toward the Philadelphia, now captured and manned by the pirates. As they slip up beside the Philadelphia, Dick, who acts as the watch, calls to the pirate watch, saying, We're traitors from all out. We lost our anchors. Can we make fast to you tomorrow morning? A second later, their little ship is next to the Philadelphia. And... Too late, the Barbary crewmen realize they've invited a deadly swarm of enemies aboard. First picture, bottom row, there's a terrific battle. The battle is over. The pirates are captured, taken off the ship, and the Philadelphia set afire. As it blazes up, the eerie flames light up the harbor. And on shore, the pirate chieftain curses as he sees how the Americans have out tricked him. Our last picture. On the Yankee ship, sailing away from the burning Philadelphia, a decater looks back and says, I'm sorry we had to scuttle one of our own ships, Dick. I'm sorry there are such things as war. Our country. May she always be right. But our country, right or wrong. Wasn't it? It was such a beautiful ship. Yes, it was. But it would have been worse if the pirates had used that ship against the Americans and had killed Americans or won the war by using it. Yes, it would have been. And I wonder what will happen with Dick next. Well, there's only one way you can find out. All right, I'll be here next week. Well, good. Now look right underneath Dick's adventures. There's Rusty Riley. Oh, yeah. Crooks and they prove that Mr. Kendall was an innocent man. And all because Rusty was curious about following a little girl in her coaster wagon. Yes. Let's see what happens next. Here we go with Rusty Riley. Gallop and run until the road is dusty. Give us music for his horse and Rusty. We're at the Miles farm out by the barn. Tex is saying to Mr. Miles, hey, boys, you ought to feel real good. He sure made Kendall and his wife and queenie happy. I just came from the other farm when he did do your heart good to see him. Mr. Miles replies, well, they have you and Rusty to thank more than me. Besides, Kendall's a good man with trotters and paces. I'm glad to have him. But, Tex, I want to see you about another matter. A few minutes later, Tex and Mr. Miles are sitting in Mr. Miles' office. Third picture, top row. Mr. Miles hands Tex a letter. Uh, Tex hears a letter from my old partner, Bruce Peters. Uh, you read it, will you? Tex scans the letter quickly and then reads a loud last picture, top row. And since I moved to Chicago, my health has been steadily growing worse. Now my doctor tells me there's a surgeon in Vienna who can help me. Since this is an emergency, I'll be on my way when this letter reaches you. I had no time to wait for an answer from you. So, uh, under strength of our old friendship, I'm sending my adopted child, Vivian, to stay with you. Well, I'm away. I know this is presumptuous, but, uh, I also know what a true friend you are. Good luck and thanks. There's ever Bruce. First picture, bottom row. Tex looks up and says, Hey, I recollect Longhorn Peters when you and him was in the cattle business in the border. So he's sending us his adopted daughter, Vivian, huh? Well, boss, that ain't so bad. Well, no, I, uh, guess not. He, uh, doesn't mention her age. I'm hoping she'll be company for Patty. Meanwhile on the state road, next picture, a car goes whizzing down the highway. A motorcycle cop who is off on a side road exclaims, Holy smoke, look at that hot rock go. Must be hitting around 90. And after the speeder, he goes. After a hot chase, the motorcycle cop flags down the speeding car. As they stop, third picture, bottom row, the trooper says, We don't give tickets to drivers like you. Our magistrate just loves to meet them in person. So just follow me. The phone rings in Mr. Miles' office. He answers it. Hello? Yes, this is Quentin Miles. Mr. Miles, this is the police. We're holding a youngster here for speeding and reckless driving. The party gives you address. And, uh, oh, yes, the name is Vivian. Yes, 90 miles an hour. Why, that's three times as fast as a girl should go, even when somebody else is driving. We'll find out more about that next week. Now let's go over the page and see. Oh, look, here's Alice in Wonderland. Oh, yes, Alice in Wonderland. You remember last night. And the rabbit letter into Tolgywood where Alice couldn't find a way. I wonder what she'll find in Tolgywood. Let's read right now and find out. Here we go with Alice in Wonderland. Say the magic words with me. And now for a story that gets curiouser and curiouser. Alice in Wonderland. So music, sir, music, sir. Lost in Wonderland, Alice wanders through the eerie depths of Tolgywood. First she sees a pair of spectacles with legs out and staring at her. And a funny bird with a face like a mirror. And she exclaims... Oh, no. She walks a little further. She sees a large automobile horn which runs off followed by a lot of baby automobile horns. And Alice exclaims... Oh, oh, oh. And she continues along. More weird creatures appear from the shadows of Tolgywood, third picture. And all of them look half-animal and half-something crazy. She sees strange-looking frogs and then a bird with a long neck like an accordion. And she exclaims... Good. And she walks her way. Then the strange creature with a bird's head and a body like a birch cage dashes by. And then Alice sees a sign which reads... Don't step on the momerats. Alice exclaims... Momerats? And she looks around her feet and sees a lot of funny-looking little flower-like things. And as Alice watches, the momerats form themselves into a sort of arrow, first picture-bottom row. The arrow points toward a patch. And Alice exclaims... So Alice hurries along. And all of a sudden, she meets an odd brush-dog, an animal with a body of a dog and a head in the shape of a brush. Alice says... And as the dog goes by her brushing the path away, third picture-bottom row, Alice standing on one last bit of path exclaims... Oh, no! And she sits down, last picture, as the momerats and all the other weird creatures cry, sinks down wearily. And suddenly, a strangely familiar form begins to take shape above her. It's the Cheshire Cat. He looks down at Alice and says... Wow! As it certainly is weird. I wonder if she'll ever get out of there. Well, maybe the Cheshire Cat'll help her. That's right. He did help her once before. We'll find that out next week. Now, that's all the time I have. There's more interesting information. Little honey and all you boys and girls, I've got to go now. Okay, that's a date. And a date with all you boys and girls. Be sure to meet me with our little friend Miss Honey next week when I read Puck the Comic Weekly. For I'm the Comic Weekly Man, the Jolly Comic Weekly Man. I'll be back to read the funnies to you happy boys and honeys. Don't forget, boys and girls, see you all next week. Your friend the Comic Weekly Man, the Jolly Comic Weekly Man.