''There Oughta Be a Law!'', or ''TOBAL!'', was a single-panel newspaper

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

, created by Harry Shorten and

Al Fagaly Al Fagaly (January 5, 1909 – April 23, 1963) was an American cartoonist and creator of Archie Comics' Super Duck and the syndicated gag cartoon '' There Oughta Be a Law!''. Biography Born in Waynesburg, Kentucky, Fagaly later moved to Oreg ...

, which was syndicated for four decades from 1944 to 1985. The gags illustrated minor absurdities, frustrations, hypocrisies, ironies and misfortunes of everyday life, displayed in a single-panel or two-panel format. ''There Oughta Be a Law!'' was similar to Jimmy Hatlo's '' They'll Do It Every Time''.Markstein, Don
"THERE OUGHTA BE A LAW!,"
''Toonpedia''. Accessed Oct. 22, 2018. ''TOBAL!'' was initially syndicated by the

McClure Newspaper Syndicate McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the marke ...

; eventually it moved over to United Feature Syndicate."GREEN SHEET, THROWBACK THURSDAY — COMICS EDITION: 'There Oughta Be a Law!' tapped readers for material,"
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' (May 05, 2016).

Publication history

In 1944, while an editor at

MLJ Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Al Fagaly Al Fagaly (January 5, 1909 – April 23, 1963) was an American cartoonist and creator of Archie Comics' Super Duck and the syndicated gag cartoon '' There Oughta Be a Law!''. Biography Born in Waynesburg, Kentucky, Fagaly later moved to Oreg ...

. The strip's original title was ''Bitter Laff'', changing to ''There Oughta Be a Law'' on October 22, 1945. A Sunday strip began in 1948, and ended in 1980. Eventually, the strip incorporated reader ideas. Fagaly died in 1963, with Warren Whipple taking over the art duties until 1981. Shorten provided scripts until 1970,Shorten entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928-1999''. Accessed Feb. 25, 2017. when Frank Borth took over the writing, lasting until 1983.

Mort Gerberg Mort Gerberg is a multi-genre American cartoonist and author whose work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, books, online, home video, film and television. He is best known for his magazine cartoons, which have appeared in numerous and diver ...

took over art duties in 1981, and both writing & art in 1983. The strip ended on April 13, 1985.

Characters and story

Many strips ended with a character yelling out the phrase "There Oughta Be a Law!", or just "TOBAL!" Because of its format, recurring characters were infrequently used, but ''TOBAL!'' did feature occasional characters such as Cringely, Carbuncle, Locknutt, and so on, as well as the daughter character Bratinella.

Collected editions

Many collected editions were published by companies affiliated with Harry Shorten, including

Midwood Books Midwood Books was an American publishing house active from 1957 to 1968. Its strategy focused on the male readers' market, competing with other publishers such as Beacon Books. The covers of many Midwood Books featured works by prolific illustra ...

, Belmont Books, Belmont Tower, and Roband Productions: * ''There Oughta Be a Law!'' (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.: Graphic Publications, 1952) — introduction by

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

; reprinted in 1966 by Tower Publications * ''There Oughta Be a Law'' no. 4 (Midwood, 1958) * ''There Oughta Be a Law'' (New York: Roband Productions, 19??) * ''There Oughta Be a Law'' (New York: Belmont Books, 1969, 1971) * ''There Oughta Be a Law'' (New York: Modern Promotions Unisystems Company 1970, 1971) — a "unibook" * ''Harry Shorten's There Oughta be a Law'' (Belmont Tower, 1974) * ''There Oughta be a Law'' (New York: Belmont Tower, 1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:There Oughta Be a Law American comic strips 1944 comics debuts 1985 comics endings Gag cartoon comics Gag-a-day comics