The Comic Weekly Manby Various authors
narrated by Lon Clark
Copyright: 2013 Radio Archives
Duration: 6 hours unabridged
Genres: old time radio, comic heroes
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
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PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: “I’m The Comic Weekly Man, the jolly Comic Weekly Man and I’m here to read the funnies to you happy boys and honeys.”
This memorable theme song welcomed its audience to one of the most unique programs of the era of Classic Radio. The concept was simple. The Comic Weekly Man sang his song, then picked up the newspaper, flipped right to the comic strips, and read them aloud to millions of listeners, replete with different voices, music, and sound effects.
Airing on Mutual beginning in 1947, The Comic Weekly Man combined two pastimes important to American families, Radio and Comic strips. Reading from Puck: The Comic Weekly found in the papers owned by William Randolph Hearst, The Comic Weekly Man brought comic strip favorites – from Flash Gordon to Beetle Bailey, from Prince Valiant to Snuffy Smith - to life in a way most strips had never been heard.
One amazing aspect of this program is just how many voices were heard each week. The Comic Weekly Man, voiced by veteran radio actor Lon Clark, voiced all the male parts while Little Miss Honey, a young girl, assisted with the female roles. A whole cast of comic strip heroes and villains performed by two actors.
Fully restored, the sparkling audio quality of this collection features 12 episodes of comic strips turned radio adventures. Listen as the comic strips of your childhood joke, fight, and tickle their way to your ears with the The Comic Weekly Man.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The more I dive into old-time radio, the more fascinating it becomes. I never would have imagined a radio program that was nothing more than reading the funnies from the newspaper. Okay, it was a little more than just reading the comics. The Comic Weekly Man was hosted by actor Lon Clark who really was capable of a remarkable range of voices as he not only read, but acted out the comics. At his side each week was Little Miss Honey, who sounded like a little girl but was probably older, and who often read the female roles. Accompanying the two as they delved into the funnies were some basic sound effects and that old-fashioned type of organ music to add some flair and drama.
Now, these funnies were not quite like the funnies that appear in today’s newspapers. The Comic Weekly Man read from Puck The Comic Weekly, which was a magazine-like insert featuring longer version of the comics in full color. Puck began as a satirical humor magazine in 1871. In 1916 it was purchased by newspaper mogul William Hearst who transformed it into a 16-page Sunday comic feature, which was then included in all 17 of his newspapers with a total distribution of around 5 million.
The Comic Weekly Man was a kid’s program. Each week The Comic Weekly Man and Little Miss Honey would read the funnies along with the kids at home, telling them which page they were on and everything. It was common to hear the pair reading funnies such as Flash Gordon, Blondie and Dagwood, Roy Rogers, Donald Duck, Uncle Remus and His Tales of Brer Rabbit, Prince Valiant, and Hopalong Cassidy. After each funny, they would briefly discuss the comic making sure that the kids at home understood the moral behind the comic, if any. And of course two or three times during each broadcast, The Comic Weekly Man would say “but first let’s listen to this nice man with interesting things to say.” which meant that it was time for a commercial break. Unfortunately the commercials have been cut from these original recordings. It’s rare to hear any commercials in an old-time radio broadcast, which I think is really too bad as they are often as interesting as the program itself.
The Comic Weekly Man aired every Sunday from 1947 until 1954. Don’t miss out on this colorful piece of American history and culture.
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CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
Mutual Radio Theater Volume 5 by Various Authors (Audiobook Review)
We Take You Now To Grover's Mill by Joe Bevilacqua (Audiobook Review)
The New Stories Of Old Time Radio by Joe Bevilacqua (Audiobook Review)
Special thanks to Radio Archives for this review copy.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt.
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
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