Bazooka Joe and His Gang

by Jeff Shepherd (Editor), Talley Morse (Preface), Nancy Morse (Introduction)

Bazooka Joe and his Gang have been synonymous with bubble gum ever since their debut in 1953, providing an irresistible combination of cheap laughs wrapped around pink, sugary sweetness. This book celebrates the iconic mini-comics that are recognized the world over. The story of Bazooka Bubble Gum is also detailed with extensive essays, including a profile of Wesley Morse, the original illustrator of Bazooka Joe. Included are reproductions of more than 100 classic comics spanning six decades—including the complete first series, reprinted in its entirety for the first time—as well as jokes, fortunes, and tiny ads for mail-order merchandise. Like Bazooka Bubble Gum itself, the book is pure nostalgia and guaranteed to appeal to kids and adults alike.
Includes 4 bonus trading cards and a genuine wax wrapper that evokes the original bubble gum packaging—like holding an actual piece of Bazooka in your hands!

Praise for Bazooka Joe and His Gang:

“A sweet bubble of nostalgia.”  —The Wall Street Journal

“It’s a sweet treat for your inner kid.” —Parade magazine

"A snappy new book, Bazooka Joe and His Gang looks at the history and heritage of one the world’s most recognized candy icons and commemorates the 60th anniversary of its origins." – American Profile.com

 

Genres: Comics, History, Art, Humor, Nonfiction, Pop Culture, Comic Strips

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, one of the reasons half my teeth rotted out at an early age is Bazooka Gum. How is it gum got to be such a huge thing?! But it surely remains huge. Gum is chewed everywhere, though now much is sugar free, sold as actually helping your teeth and so on. I live in Chicago-- Wrigley Field. But as I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI I bought the gum and looked at the tiny 3 or 4 panel comic wrapping the single piece of gum.

This idea of selling gum with tiny comics was hatched in 1953, about the time I was born! You chew, you read comics. Bazooka Joe wears an eye patch, and is one of the most recognizable advertising icons in the history of candy, and associated for decades with these tiny comics that are so small they also--now that I think of it--may have contributed to the decline of my eyesight.

This hardcover book has it all, which is to say far more than anyone would care to know about this gum and its comic characters, including Mort, a kid who always wears his red turtleneck sweater pulled up over his mouth. Jane, Joe’s gal. Hungry Herman, Joe’s pal. There’s short essays on the making of the comic by those who have done it, making gags one writer attributes to (sometimes) great humorists such as Woody Allen and Grouchy Marx, recycling bad vaudeville gags. Art Spiegelman worked for a while for Topps, who produced it. There were parodies produced by Topp, such as Gadzooka. Ads telling you to eat gum in class (and when you are done chewing it, you know where you stick it? Under your desk, natch).

There were links (as in cereal boxes and comic books) to crap you could buy cheap, which I am sure I did at 9. Topps Baseball Cards, too, don't get me started on that. . . (snooze....).

This passed an hour of time in nostalgia with a few smiles. Amazing that they took the time to put it all together, all 181 pages of memorabilia!

Here you can see some of them:

https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index...

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first item I can remember collecting as a little boy. Not sure if little girls were into Bazooka Joe comics as much as little boys, but I can remember walking around the school yard with pockets stuffed full, trying to trade my 'doubles' to my friends. A great trip down memory lane!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is a history of Bazooka Joe, both the character and the Bazooka gum he touts. In the pages of this hallowed tome, the history of Topps gum company and it's pink gum are on display, as well as the comics wrapped around the gum before Bazooka Joe, like Honey Bun, for instance. Most of the book is Bazooka Joe comics, original art, merchandise and other ephemera, even parodies like Garbage Pail Kids' Joe Blow and an Onion comic showing why Mort hides the bottom half of his face.

It's an interesting book but I don't imagine I'll be combing through it year after year like I do some books of this type. It's gum for God's sake. How interesting can it be?

[Robert Greenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheap and easily disposable, Bazooka bubble gum was always an after thought, something you got from the barber. The comics within were cheesy and the fortunes useless. But, growing up, they were a constant fixture in my life and later in the lives of my kids. When I was editing Comics Scene, I learned that my columnist Howard Cruse was also about to begin a series of Bazooka Joe comic gags and I thought that was incredibly cool. Later, I learned that other interesting people had contributed over the years but didn't know much about it. Now, this recently released book exhaustively details the background, origins, and development of the gum and its eye-patched mascot. With tons of illustrations and several insightful essays, this makes for fun reading. Well worth a look.

[T. Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was great for a history and trivia info on how it all started. I got this back in 2014 when I happen to pass by a BN at the right time where R. Sikoryak was doing signings, which was awesome. I would have bought it regardless though because the format of the book amazed me. I love how the cover, without dust jacket, is printed like the gum and I still haven't opened the comic trading cards that came with the book. I was also surprised by the $19.99 (US) price - which I consider a good deal for what's in it. If there is a follow up collection of all the comics - please let me know!

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought back nice memories from many years ago. Pretty much covers anything you would want to know about Bazooka gum & the comics we enjoyed with it. I love books which thoroughly and succinctly cover a subject; this one did just that. Very well done.

[Nysa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that the book wrapper is the same waxy paper used on the gum packets! Fun photos of the “free” gifts you could send away for. I can finally see what the “real camera” looked like (and oddly still want one). Interesting history about the characters and the comics and why Bazooka Joe has an eye patch.

[Maria Skyllas · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I received this book, I was immediately seduced by it. It has a removable paper cover that looks like a classic Bazooka gum wrapper and when you take it off it reveals a pink rectangular hardcover resembling a bubble gum.

Its content is also awesome. The entire book is printed on glossy paper, with a lot of beautiful pictures and illustrations including many Bazooka comic strips and vintage paraphernalia. I chuckled at some of the fortune lines under the comic strips, and also at some of the gifts kids could get in exchange of a certain amount of Bazooka wrappers, like a knife. Something that wouldn't fly today. Bazooka products were sold all around the world. I particularly liked the look of Nigerian Bazooka gum wrappers.

This album also contains a few informative essays on the history behind Bazooka gum and comic strips and their creators.

A great purchase. It looks great on my bookshelf, I know I'll want to go look at the pictures again, and I'll strongly recommend it to friends. I might let them borrow it, but I'll remove the fragile paper wrapper before...

[Tom Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I'm the target sentimental audience for this, because I chewed so much Bazooka Joe in the 60s (and have—or don't have—the teeth to prove it). Lots of fun history about the people behind the comics, the underground comics scene of New York, the deep cornball aspects of the gags, and the inspired goofiness of the fortunes that accompanied the comics. And of the oddball prizes you could send away for (and I think I sent away for one of their secret rings with the hidden compartment and decoder code chart).

Many full-page illustrations of the comics themselves, and many tiny illustrations of the comics themselves, which make old eyes squint. Sketches too. I would never have bought this book, but as a gift, it was fun.

[Steven Latour · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly fascinating look at the history of some really silly jokes that came with a piece of gum. I never thought I would be nostalgic about a kid with an eyepatch and his friend who wore his turtleneck sweater up to his nose, but here we are. This book also includes some Topps trading cards and a dust jacket made out of paper similar to gum wrappers.

[Ben Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange and wonderful look at an American institution that means nothing where I come from. Gorgeous to look at from both an aesthetic and pop cultural view if I can say that without sounding like a massive wanker. Also: quite made me want some bubblegum.

[John Valesano · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read of the history of Bazooka bubblegum and the Topps company.
I learned many interesting things about Bazooka bubblegum, the comics, prizes, the company history, the artists, etc. It was a nostalgic visit back to my childhood. I used to buy Bazooka bubblegum by the box of 100 pieces and chew a piece continuously, so it seemed. No doubt, it contributed to my early dental caries. The reproduced comics were fun to revisit. My only complaint is that a magnifying glass was needed to read some of the finer details of the comic strips.
A fun read for anyone who remembers chewing Bazooka bubblegum or collecting the comics for prizes and collecting Topps baseball cards.

[Trey Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun history and gallery of Bazooka Joe bubble gum. Comics and packaging and other cool tidbits of information along with write-ups from those in the bubblegum biz. The design of this book is great too. The dust jacket is wax paper and the book (along with the edges of the pages) are pink so it looks like a big chunk of gum!

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun blast from the past. I am not like most people. I liked the gum not for the comics, but for the free stuff that you could send away for by saving comics. Looking back, those days felt simple and fun. I never did send for anything, because I would always lose my comics before I had saved enough. Good times. :)

[Ign33l · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bazooka joe silly asf i felt bad laughting because it was so pointless.

[Movie Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why are the pictures so small?

Pictures of the comics in the kindle version look like they were taken with a potato. They couldn't be more than a few pixels a piece.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun history on a childhood treat.

[Donald McEntee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun! A look at a bygone time. Have a magnifying glass handy. It'll take an afternoon to read through. (Do NOT pay full price for it; find it at Ollie's!)