Joe Palooka Looka Like 1944
(La Nostra Costa Photo Archives)
Above image copyrighted by Estate of Ham Fisher and appears on Toonpedia website;www.toonpedia.com/palooka.htm
Well what do you know? Another year has passed and your ‘Grand Blaggatore’ will be celebrating another one of ‘them thar birthdays’. Guess what? Another famous character, of which I mention in ‘La Nostra Costa’ P.152, is also celebrating a birthday on April 19. Of course he is much older than I; however, I understand that he is still in very good physical shape. Happy Birthday to us, Joe Palooka.
The following was taken from the website: www.geocities.com/jnevins/pulp .
Palooka, Joe. Created by Ham Fisher, Joe Palooka debuted on 19 April 1930 and ran through 1984, one of the most successful comic strips of all time. Palooka, a genuinely nice man, was a poor man whose skill was boxing, and who used that skill to become the "undefeated heavyweight champion of the world." Actually, that's not quite correct. Palooka's greatest skill was in being human. Very much a working class hero (it's something to be), he was humble without being craven, shy without being withdrawn, laid-back without being a slacker, easily embarrassed without being a stiff, and genuinely likable. To quote one critic, "Joe personified the ideals of the American majority of old--the simple life, the virtues of the Boy Scout code, and goodness for its own sake. He also exemplified toughness and power and could be moved to intense anger when his or someone else's toes were stepped on." He really was a good guy. Palooka fought his way to the top of the fight game, and then, when war was declared, entered the Army as a private and fought through the war at that rank. Joe was assisted by Knobby, the small, nervous, twitchy and argumentative fight manager, and by Smoky, whose vocabulary and appearance was that of a racist stereotype but who was always treated by Joe as an equal and friend. (Joe, like I said, was a good human being)
In “La Nostra Costa”, I write: “Joe Palooka never lost a fight and I thought he was a great funny-book Champion. However, there was another, rival “Funny Book Heavyweight Champion” at the time. His name was Curly Kayoe. He, also, was white and he, also, never lost a fight. My greatest wish was that the two champions would one day slug it out in the same ring, and resolve once and for all the disputed “Funny Book Heavyweight Championship.” Then we would know for certain who the best fighter really was. Much to my disappointment, they never did.” *
* “La Nostra Costa” (Our Coast), copyrighted by Ivano Franco Comelli, 2006. Order on line:
Well what do you know? Another year has passed and your ‘Grand Blaggatore’ will be celebrating another one of ‘them thar birthdays’. Guess what? Another famous character, of which I mention in ‘La Nostra Costa’ P.152, is also celebrating a birthday on April 19. Of course he is much older than I; however, I understand that he is still in very good physical shape. Happy Birthday to us, Joe Palooka.
The following was taken from the website: www.geocities.com/jnevins/pulp .
Palooka, Joe. Created by Ham Fisher, Joe Palooka debuted on 19 April 1930 and ran through 1984, one of the most successful comic strips of all time. Palooka, a genuinely nice man, was a poor man whose skill was boxing, and who used that skill to become the "undefeated heavyweight champion of the world." Actually, that's not quite correct. Palooka's greatest skill was in being human. Very much a working class hero (it's something to be), he was humble without being craven, shy without being withdrawn, laid-back without being a slacker, easily embarrassed without being a stiff, and genuinely likable. To quote one critic, "Joe personified the ideals of the American majority of old--the simple life, the virtues of the Boy Scout code, and goodness for its own sake. He also exemplified toughness and power and could be moved to intense anger when his or someone else's toes were stepped on." He really was a good guy. Palooka fought his way to the top of the fight game, and then, when war was declared, entered the Army as a private and fought through the war at that rank. Joe was assisted by Knobby, the small, nervous, twitchy and argumentative fight manager, and by Smoky, whose vocabulary and appearance was that of a racist stereotype but who was always treated by Joe as an equal and friend. (Joe, like I said, was a good human being)
In “La Nostra Costa”, I write: “Joe Palooka never lost a fight and I thought he was a great funny-book Champion. However, there was another, rival “Funny Book Heavyweight Champion” at the time. His name was Curly Kayoe. He, also, was white and he, also, never lost a fight. My greatest wish was that the two champions would one day slug it out in the same ring, and resolve once and for all the disputed “Funny Book Heavyweight Championship.” Then we would know for certain who the best fighter really was. Much to my disappointment, they never did.” *
* “La Nostra Costa” (Our Coast), copyrighted by Ivano Franco Comelli, 2006. Order on line:
www.authorhouse.com or through your favorite bookstore.
