Trick or Treat!

Here's a classic from way back.

Published by Dell Comics (or actually, Western publishing): “Lulu and Tubby Halloween Fun”,  the fun lasted for several issues actually, three to be precise. Published in October 1957, 1958 and 1959 with Pencils/Inks  by Irving Tripp with scripts by John Stanley. All of them part of the Dell Giant line up. Lulu of course also had her own regular series as of 1948.

In 1960 there was another Dell Giant called “Halloween fun with Little Lulu and Witch Hazel” followed by “Little Lulu and Witch Hazel Trick ‘N’ Treat” in 1961. Also there were several regular “Little Lulu Trick ‘N’Treat” after 1962 under Western’s new label Gold Key, following their decision to start publishing comics without Dell. The comic ran as far as 1984, until the end of Western.

Tripp worked for Dell since 1941 and would remain on staff until 1982. After he came back from the Philippines where he had served during WWII, he started working with John Stanley, the original writer of the Little Lulu’s comics for Dell.

Stanley, born in 1914, worked on Lulu until 1959. He started out as an in-betweener at Max Fleisher’s animation studio (as did Tripp). The character itself, was originally created by cartoonist Marge (Marjorie Henderson Buell).

Marge first created her Little Lulu cartoons halfway the thirties for the Saturday Evening Post, one of the earliest American newspapers, first published by none other than Benjamin Franklin in 1729.

Stanley returned into the public eye when Bruce Hamilton’s company “Another Rainbow” published the “Little Lulu Library” halfway the eighties. Also, in May 2009 and 2010,  Drawn & Quarterly had a  collection of Stanley’s work for “Free Comic Book Day” that included Melvin Monster, Tubby and Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy. Stanley passed away in 1993, as did Marge, six months earlier, Tripp died in 2009.

The following classic "House of Horrors" was published in Dell Giant 50 from 1961. Now give me my snacks!