''There Oughta Be a Law!'', or ''TOBAL!'', was a single-panel newspaper comic strip, created by

Harry Shorten Harry Shorten (1914–1991) was an American writer, editor, and book publisher best known for the syndicated gag cartoon ''There Oughta Be a Law!'', as well as his work with Archie Comics, and his long association with Archie's publishers Louis S ...

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 Oregon ...

, 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 James Cecil Hatlo (September 1, 1897 – December 1, 1963), better known as Jimmy Hatlo, was an American cartoonist who in 1929 created the long-running comic strip and gag panel ''They'll Do It Every Time'', which he wrote and drew until his d ...

'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 United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...

."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, Shorten created the strip, bringing along MLJ artist

. 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 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 illustrat ...

Belmont Books Belmont Books, also known as Belmont Productions, was an American publisher of genre fiction paperback originals founded in 1960. It specialized in science fiction, horror and fantasy, with titles appearing from 1961 through 1971. The company publ ...

, 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, an ...

; reprinted in 1966 by

Tower Publications Tower Publications was an American publisher based in New York City that operated from 1958 to c. 1981. Originally known for their Midwood Books line of erotic men's fiction, it also published science fiction and fantasy under its Tower Books line ...

* ''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