Oh, man, not that picture again.
I have a reason for running this image again…well, sort of a reason, anyway, as I wanted to run down the titles featured on the newsstand, and see how many of them were used for real-life print publications. So, here we go (omitting repeats and titles obscured by Charlie Brown)…let me know of any additions and corrections:
Mangle – I think the closest we got was Mangle Tangle Tales, published by Innovation in 1990.
Terror – “Terror” was used frequently in titles, but I don’t think it was used as a title just by itself. The closest I found was one of the EC Comics mags Terror Illustrated. And, of course, the Comics Code forbade its use in any titles.
War – A comic by this title was published by Charlton Comics from the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s. Here is one of my favorite covers from that series. (I know it says “World of…” above the “WAR” logo, but the official title was still “WAR.”)
Hate – Of course everyone remembers the classic and funny Peter Bagge series, beginning in 1990 and still occasionally coming out today.
Gouge – Like I told someone in the comments for yesterday’s post, what a great name for a comic. I picture a Punisher-type character as the star.
Kill – Several comics with the word “KILLER” or “KILLING” in their titles, and of course there’s Kill Your Boyfriend. None called just “KILL,” far as I know.
Slaughter – Slaughterman, baby! Close enough for horseshoes.
Choke – There was a title called (I believe) The Choke from Anubis Press. Choke also sounds like something Eros might publish, someday.
Murder Comix/Comics – Renegade Press published a series called Murder in the ’80s, and, though it’s not an exact match, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one of my all time favorite comic book titles: Murder Me Dead by David Lapham. Man, I love that title.
Ouch! – Seems to me like this would have been the title of one of the many, many Mad Magazine rip-offs that have come out over the years.
Stab! – Unused, I think. What a great title, though.
Throttle – There was an Aircel comic called Full Throttle, which isn’t exactly the same thing. Well, then again, this is Aircel we’re talking about…
Crush – Dark Horse and Image both had comics by this name, but probably not nearly as interesting as the sorta-implied contents in the Crush comic from the Peanuts strip. “In this issue – more criminals crushed! Under collapsed walls! In crashed cars!”
Hit! – Quality Comics has a series called Hit Comics prior to this strip’s 1952 publication date. Debuting in this series: Kid Eternity and the freakin’ Red Bee!
Kick Komics – Nothing called just Kick or Kick Komics, or, God help us, Kid’s Kick Komics, which would only cause problems. There was Kickers, Inc., but not quite the same, really.
Smash – Another Golden Age Quality Comics title that preceded the Peanuts strip. Debuting in this series: Bozo the Robot. Don’t look at me, that’s what Overstreet says. Here, read more about it.
Jab – Adhesive Comics published a funnybook by this title in the ’90s, and it featured not only Too Much Coffee Man, but also my favorite cover enhancement.
Ruin Funnies – As some of you have noted, this title is strangely appropriate for my site. And there has been a mini-comic with “Ruin” in the title….
Slash – Northstar Comics had a horror comics anthology by this title a decade or so ago. Crow creator Jim O’Barr had some work in it.
Mob – Nothing called just Mob as I recall, but the first closely-related title I can think of is the Kirby-riffic In The Days of The Mob. “Mob” pops up in several other titles, too (Mobfire, etc.).
Killer – As I noted under Kill, lots of titles use variations of the word. However, there was a comic with the prominent logo “KILLER” – though technically the full title is KILLER…Tales by Timothy Truman. And there’s a series currently running called The Killer.
Horror Funnies – There was a book shortly after that Peanuts strip was printed called The Horrors. “Horror” actually is used a lot as part of longer titles, and it too was banned from use by the Comics Code. Nothing called Horror Funnies, unfortunately…I’m amused by the juxtaposition of terms in that title.
Blast Comics – There was a British comics mag called Blast, which is about as close as we get, and “Blast” was used a lot as part of longer titles. Otherwise, the title would have been ideal for one of the many atomic bomb-related comic books from the 1950s (and it kinda, sorta looks like an atomic blast on that cover Schulz drew, there).
So there you go. Like I said, any corrections or additions, please send them my way. There are probably some undergrounds or, more likely, mini-comics that used some of those titles that I may have overlooked. And yes, I didn’t list every single title variation of every real-world comic that uses some part of the titles Schulz created for his newsstand. I mean, what do you think I am…obsessive or something?
