Book: Dynomutt
Issue No.: 4
Published: February 7, 1978
Title: “Top Banana” (plus “The Martian Menace”)
I don’t remember seeing any Marvel Hanna-Barbera books back in the day. But this is an interesting relic from a simpler time when every entertainment property wasn’t owned by three mega corporations. These days DC Comics and Hanna-Barbera cartoons are owned by Warner Bros., so any HB comic books would be published by DC. DC in fact did a big Hanna-Barbera team up/crossover series a few years back. But in 1978 Hanna-Barbera was Hanna-Barbera, and Marvel was Marvel, so if the two companies wanted to do a deal together, they could. And they did.
Based as it is on the fairly silly Dynomutt cartoon character, this book is fairly silly. And I think the writing is aimed more at younger kids than the usual 1978 Marvel book. Fruit-based villain Top Banana (his costume is about what you’d expect, but I do dig the name) goes after Dynomutt and his crime-fighting partner Blue Falcon in the “A” story, and a guy who watches too much bad sci-fi TV thinks Dynomutt is an invader from Mars in the “B” story. Plus there’s a “Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera” behind-the-scenes kind of column about actor Don Messick who voiced several Hanna-Barbera TV characters, including Scooby-Doo. And the issue wraps up with a two-page preview of the next issue of Marvel’s Scooby-Doo book. (Interesting that there is no “Stan Lee Presents” in this book or, I assume, the other books in the Marvel Hanna-Barbera line.)
Next time — Han Solo! Princess Leia! Luke Skywalker! That’s right, we’re visiting a galaxy far, far away with Marvel’s classic Star Wars comic book!