“Don’t Give Up the Sheep”
YOGI BEAR — Issue no. 4, February 1978
Book: Yogi Bear
Issue No.: 4
Published: February 7, 1978
Titles: “Don’t Give Up the Sheep,” “The Ranger Stranger,” “Going to Waist,” “Dino for Sale”
Cover Price: 35¢
I’ve been an animation fan for as long as I can remember. As such, I’m a fan of several Hanna-Barbera shows and characters, because HB was responsible for a large percentage of animation on TV when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. Off the top of my head, I’d say my top five HB shows are...
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
Jonny Quest
Space Ghost
The Herculoids
The Flintstones
I’m not counting my favorite Hanna-Barbera show, Super Friends, since that one is based on DC Comics characters.
Hanna-Barbera has created (or adapted) a ton of characters over the years, and I am at least a little familiar with many of them. But I haven’t watched many Yogi Bear cartoons. (For talking animal shenanigans, I was always more of a Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Wile E. Coyote guy.) That said, from what I have seen, Marvel’s Yogi comic book (part of their 1970s Hanna-Barbera-branded line of comics) is true to the spirit of the original cartoons. Like the Dynomutt book, the writing in this Yogi Bear book seems to be aimed at a slightly younger audience than Marvel’s usual superhero stuff.
This issue of Yogi Bear features three Yogi stories, plus a short two-page Flintstones story that teases the next issue of Marvel’s Flintstones comic book. The stories are fine, but the highlight of the issue for me is the one-page “Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera” column. You might remember from Dynomutt that this column offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. This column is about the director’s job(s) in animation, and I found it surprisingly detailed and informative.
And there’s a fun bit in the first Yogi story, “Don’t Give Up the Sheep” — Yogi needs money and gets into a boxing match where the winner will get a cash prize. This of course reminded me of Peter Parker wrestling for money in his pre-Spider-Man days, a subplot lovingly adapted by Sam Raimi in his first Spider-Man movie.
Next time — The one you’ve been waiting for! My first comic book, the one that inspired Marvel Time Warp!