Click the image to see a larger version.

Sometimes subtlety is not the best approach. Of course Candy can't directly tell Ted what she wants him to get her for Christmas, but rather than drop hints, the best approach is always to start a rumor mill. That way, Ted will find out what Candy wants by overhearing gossip and can pretend that he was being really thoughtful, and Candy can pretend she didn't start the rumor mill in order to steer him towards getting her this very specific item. This is how relationships are built!

In all seriousness, though, at least he tried. A lot of guys might think getting a girl a yoyo for Christmas is silly and would look for something else to get. Ted, however, doesn't judge Candy for what he incorrectly thinks she enjoys, but goes to buy it because he believes it will make her happy. And that's sweet.

Click the image to see a larger version.

Candy was a comic strip and a comic book, originally created by Henry Sahle and Ed Goggins. It's unclear which came first, as the comic book and the comic strip debuted at around the same time, and it's possible they debuted simultaneously. Sahle and Goggins appear to have worked on both of them, at least at the beginning. Sahle eventually began focusing only on the comic book, allowing other writers and artists to take over on the comic strip. Both of them seem to have lasted from 1944 to some time in 1956. The strip involves a group of high schoolers who were extremely "hip" and utilized every slang word that was available in those days. As I wasn't alive then I don't know if teenagers actually spoke like this, or if this is just how adults imagined they spoke, and the words being used had already gone out of style by the time they appeared in the newspaper. Either way, it's a fun time capsule of the kind of language that may have been in use at that time.

This particular strip takes place after the kids have successfully renovated an old building and turned it into their clubhouse. They have each decided to take turns cleaning it, and it seems it was Ted's turn. I'm not sure why Ted couldn't tell Trish that he had gotten a job and just not tell her it was to save money for a Christmas present, but then again Ted doesn't seem like the brightest of bulbs. I hope he gets Candy a good present with that money he earns. Perhaps tomorrow we'll find out what it is...

Click the image to see a larger version.

Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, created by Russell Stamm, was one of the first female superheroes, if not the very first. As her name suggests, she had the power to turn herself invisible, and she used this power to help her solve crimes. In the early days, the invisibility gimmick was quite prominent, and a small panel explaining it could be seen at the beginning of each strip (as seen here). However, over time it mattered less and was used less, and eventually the strip was renamed "Scarlet O'Neil". Perhaps she was so competent at bagging criminals normally that she no longer needed invisibility powers. Or perhaps super powered heroes and heroines had just gone out of style by that point. Or perhaps both.

Action and adventure strips such as this tend not to have Christmas related strips, but we have one here. The bad guys have utilized a community Christmas tree to send signals to each other, which Scarlet just happens to notice while sitting on a park bench. This would seem like a fairly normal thing to do, if it weren't for the fact that she's invisible while doing it, which it doesn't seem like she should need to be. But, I guess sometimes you just want to get away and enjoy some Christmas lights on your own without being bothered, which I can fully understand.

I'm not sure who these bad guys are supposed to be. The use of "comrade" suggests Soviets, but the name "Iltz" doesn't sound Russian, so maybe they're Nazis. I guess really they're just generic European-esque baddies.

Click the image to see a larger version.

There Oughta Be A Law (sometimes written "There Ought To Be A Law" or shortened to TOBAL) was created by Harry Shorten and Al Fagaly as an imitation of Jimmy Hatlo's They'll Do It Every Time. As its title suggests, it featured unfortunate situations that people may feel there should be laws against. After Fagaly died in 1963, Warren Whipple began illustrating the strip, as he does in this particular strip.

In this case, these men obviously believe there should either be a law against not getting Christmas bonuses when the company is doing well, or a law against telling stockholders that the company is doing well when it really isn't, or most likely both. Sometimes it's hard to know which one is happening. The trophy and plaque in the boss's office seem to suggest that it's the former, however. I'm glad I don't work for a boss like that, though I don't get a Christmas bonus either.

Click the image to see a larger version.

Thimble Theater, created by E.C. Segar, is better known as the place where Popeye the Sailor first appeared. However, not only was Popeye not the main star of the strip when his first appearance took place, but the strip had been running for a full 10 years by that point. As I have posted about previously, the original main character, and original boyfriend of Olive Oyl, was a man named Harold Hamgravy, and he was about as interesting as his name suggests. He was fairly dull as well as dimwitted. It's not really a wonder that Popeye eventually vastly exceeded him in popularity and that Olive Oyl decided to get a new boyfriend.

The situation in this strip is understandable, though, even for those of sharper wits. If what you really want was some heat, and you got it, you aren't immediately going to look at why exactly it's happening. Still, given the amount of heat increase, one would think you would notice the smoke at some point, and most likely before the fire brigade burst into your window.

Click the image to see a larger version.

The great thing about having an icebox cake outside in the middle of December in a cold snowstorm is that it will stay cold. The bad thing is that so will you. I guess we know why the baker was willing to part with it at a discounted price.

When I look at this strip, perhaps it's just my bias as someone who has made comics before, but I'm extremely impressed by the depiction of the snow and wind here. I can't imagine enjoying drawing all the individual snow flakes in each panel, and having to do it more than you normally would because it's a Sunday. The depiction is very effective, though. You can certainly feel the oppressive nature of the snow as it continues to come down in each panel.

Click the image to see a larger version.

While it's obviously wrong for kids to pick on a homeless person by throwing snowballs at him, Pete was also obviously wrong to angrily pelt the kids with snowballs in retaliation. The upside to him breaking a window and alerting a local policeman, however, is that he doesn't have to worry about finding a place to sleep tonight (and he will be safe from those kids, I guess). I'm not sure why the dog and the kid have to be in the cell with him, though. They gave some angry looks to the snowball kids, but it doesn't show them throwing anything. Maybe throwing angry looks makes you an accomplice to throwing snowballs.

Click the image to see a larger version.

Pete the Tramp often appeared with a terrier dog as well as what appears to be an orphan boy. The dog is usually referred to by Pete as "boy," though no name is ever given. It bears a resemblance to the dog that appears in the Pete the Tramp topper strip originally titled "Bumps" and later retitled "Pete's Pup." Oddly, despite the name of the topper, that dog does not appear to be owned by Pete, so the name of the dog that Pete is seen with remains a mystery. I was also unable to find anything about the child, though I have concocted a head canon. C.D. Russell was an assistant to Percy Crosby on his strip Skippy, so I imagine this child is one of the kids that Skippy would have hung around with. Until I can discover who he really is, that's what I'm going with.

As for this particular strip, I like it a lot. I love the third panel of the three of them sitting there in silence. I love the last panel that shows all three of them with equally exasperated expressions. I love how, when the cat arrives, none of them get up and do anything about it. In most other strips, someone would get up and shoo the cat away, but here they all just sit and watch it. Maybe, given the cat's success, they'll invite the cat to go fishing with them next time.

Click the image to see a larger version.

While it's a good thing that Pete was able to get a job of some sort during the winter, this is probably the worst one he could get. I wonder, if the sandwich board he's got on him says "One Way To Keep Warm This Winter - Buy One Of Benny's Overcoats" why Benny didn't also supply an overcoat for Pete to wear. An actual coat would do far more to advertise it than a sandwich board. Unless Benny's Overcoats are just sandwich boards and he is actually wearing one.

Click the image to see a larger version.

Pete The Tramp, created by Clarence Russell, began his life in the pages of Judge magazine in the 1920s. He didn't have a name at that time, and wouldn't be given one until King Features began syndicating him to newspapers in 1932. Pete was your stereotypical homeless bum, put upon and mostly harmless, but not without his prickly edges.

Here we see him as he tries to enjoy a bit of ice skating on the local pond. I like this strip for the most part, but I think there was a missed opportunity to have someone falling into the water due to the sign no longer warning of the crack in the ice. I guess maybe the panels are a bit too small for that.