''The Adventures of Bob Hope'' is an American
celebrity comics
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series that was published by
National Periodical Publications
National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics.
History
The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...
(an imprint of DC Comics). The series featured stories based on
comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
, as well as assorted other humorous stories. The series ran for 109 issues from 1950 through 1968.
Publication history
As 1950 neared, sales for superhero themed comics were declining. National Periodical Publications wanted to diversify its titles and so began licensing the right to use celebrity images, including
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
,
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
,
Alan Ladd
Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...
, and
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
. Issue #1 (cover dated February–March 1950) set the tone for most of the 1950s. The lead story would feature Hope in a misadventure similar to his film roles; the back up stories tended to revolve around movie-related themes or characters. For example, issue #1 had a story on
Rhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming (born Marilyn Louis; August 10, 1923 – October 14, 2020) was an American film and television actress and singer. She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most glamoro ...
, Hope's co-star in the 1949 film ''
The Great Lover''.
By the 1960s, sales for the Hope series began to flag. The editors attempted to add some contemporary humor by introducing the character
Super-Hip in issue #95. Despite the changes, the series was canceled with issue #109 (March 1968).
Artists and writers
The first four issues featured photographs of Hope on the cover; subsequent covers were illustrated. Owen Fitzgerald was the original artist for the series. He was eventually replaced by
Bob Oksner
Bob Oksner (October 14, 1916 in Paterson, New Jersey – February 18, 2007) was an American comics artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero and humor comic books, primarily at DC Comics.
Biography
Oksner's early wo ...
, who provided the majority of the artwork for the run of the series. Oksner was replaced by
Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...
for the final four issues.
There were no story credits, though some sources credit
Cal Howard Calvin Henry Howard (March 24, 1911 – September 10, 1993) was an American cartoon story artist, animator and director mostly remembered for his work at Walter Lantz Productions and Warner Bros. Cartoons. He was also the voice actor of Gabby Goat ...
with writing some early scripts. Beginning with issue #88 (Sept. 1964),
Arnold Drake
Arnold Drake (March 1, 1924 – March 12, 2007) was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, amo ...
received a byline, and would go on to write most of the scripts for rest of the series run.
Arnold Drake
at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics. Last accessed 4 April 2007.
See also
* The Adventures of Alan Ladd
''Adventures of Alan Ladd'' was a nine-issue series of comic books published by DC Comics from 1949 to 1951. The stories featured the film actor Alan Ladd in a variety of adventurous situations. The first six issues feature photos of the actor on ...
* The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
''The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'' is the title of a celebrity comic book published by DC Comics and featuring the popular team of comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The series ran for forty issues from 1952 through 1957, ...
References
External links
''The Adventures of Bob Hope''
at the Grand Comics Database
The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...
''The Adventures of Bob Hope''
at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics - The DC Indexes]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Bob Hope, The
Comics magazines published in the United States
1950 comics debuts
1968 comics endings
Humor comics
Hope, Bob
Hope, Bob
Comics by Arnold Drake
Comics by Neal Adams
Defunct American comics
Bob Hope