Commenter Howie reminded me that “The Kisser Strikes” story I was talking about on Monday was brought up in a Comics Journal interview with Dan DeCarlo. How I forgot a magazine with this cover, I’ll never know.
Anyway, I pulled the mag (#229) out of the vast Mikester Comic Archives and did a quick reread of the interview, and it’s the interviewer who brings up the story (in the context of semi-naughty stories leading up to DeCarlo’s creation of the slightly more…aggressive Cheryl Blossom). When the interviewer explains the plot of the story to DeCarlo (to recap: Betty, in disguise, kisses girls), DeCarlo’s priceless reaction is as follows: “I didn’t draw that, did I?” No, he didn’t (it was Harry Lucey), and unfortunately, we get no more background on just what the heck was going on with that particular comic.
Despite this regrettable omission, it’s still a great interview, and still available for a measly six bucks (plus shipping) from Fantagraphics.