| Funnies on Parade | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofFunnies on Parade (1933) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Eastern Color Printing |
| Format | Color newsprint magazine |
| Publication date | Spring 1933 |
| No. of issues | 1 |
| Main character(s) | Blackstone Magic,The Bungle Family,Cicero,Fisher's Silly Scoops,Fisher's True Life Dramas,Hairbreadth Harry,High-Gear Homer,Holly of Hollywood,Joe Palooka,Keeping Up with the Joneses,Mutt and Jeff,Nipper,Reg'lar Fellers,S'Matter, Pop?,Somebody's Stenog,Strange As It Seems |
| Creative team | |
| Artist(s) | F. O. Alexander,Gene Byrnes,Al Capp,Clare Victor Dwiggins,A. E. Hayward,John Hix,Pop Momand,C. M. Payne,Al Smith,Harry J. Tuthill |
Funnies on Parade is an American giveaway publication of 1933 that was a precursor ofcomic books. The eight-page publication featured reprints of such popularsyndicatedcomic strips asThe Bungle Family,Joe Palooka,Keeping Up with the Joneses,Mutt and Jeff,Reg'lar Fellers, andSomebody's Stenog. Creators includedF. O. Alexander,Gene Byrnes,Al Capp,Clare Victor Dwiggins,A. E. Hayward,C. M. Payne,Al Smith, andHarry J. Tuthill.
The creation of the modernAmerican comic book came in stages.Dell Publishing in 1929 published a 16-page,newsprint periodical of original,comic strip-styled material titledThe Funnies and described by theLibrary of Congress as "a short-livednewspapertabloid insert".[1] (This is not to be confused with Dell's later same-name comic book, which began publication in 1936.)Comics historianRon Goulart describes thefour-color,newsstand periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than a true comic book".[2]
In early 1933,Eastern Color began producing small comicbroadsides for theLedger Syndicate ofPhiladelphia, printingSunday color comics from 7 in × 9 in (180 mm × 230 mm) plates. Eastern Color sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg and his coworkers – salespersonMaxwell Gaines and owner George Janosik – realized that two such plates would fit on a tabloid-sized page.
Soon after, in April 1933, Wildenberg created the first modern-format comic book when, according to legend, he folded a newspaper into halves and then into quarters and, finding that a convenient book size, led him to have to Eastern Color publishFunnies on Parade. LikeThe Funnies but 32 pages,[3] this, too, was a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from theMcNaught Syndicate, theLedger Syndicate, and theBell-McClure Syndicate.[4] This periodical, however, was neither sold nor available onnewsstands, but rather sent free as a promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped fromProcter & Gamble soap and toiletries products.[5] Ten-thousand copies were made.[6] The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals forCanada Drysoft drinks,Kinney Shoes,Wheatenacereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000.[2]
In addition to Gaines, those associated with the project includedLeverett Gleason other future industry notables working under Wildenberg's supervision.
Later in 1933, Gaines collaborated withDell Publishing once again to publish the 36-page one-shotFamous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics,[7] followed in 1934 byFamous Funnies, which ran for 218 issues and is considered the first true American comic book.[8]