Dondi

I didn't like it and I din't understand his name or his black circle "eyes."

DIDN'T

I read it sometimes, although it wasn't one of my favorites. It was loosely based on a movie (1950s?) about how an American GI in World War II adopted an orphaned Italian boy. Don't know if the movie was based on a novel or whatever.

Here's the Wiki entry.

The Dondi movie is TERRIBLE. Seriously one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

I remember how he got drugged near the end for a long time due to some kidnapping and the drugs damaged his brain so he was a vegetable for the rest of his life. Then the strip ended.

[quote]Dondi was considered by some to be repellently wholesome; a Mad Magazine special issue in 1965 included a calendar that celebrated April 9 as "'Kick "Dondi" in the teeth day."

Even Little Orphan Annie snickered at that.

She had weird eyes, too.

I remember seeing it in my grandparents’ newspaper and I didn’t get it and didn’t like it at all. He seemed like he was retarded.

Also didn’t like Prince Valiant, Brenda Starr and Nancy.

Yeah, those were all bad. Especially Prince Valiant and Brenda Starr. Nancy at least had simple lines in terms of illustration even though there was something dead about it.

How could you not like Nancy? She and Sluggo were the first lesbian and gay in a comic strip.

There was something nihilistic about Nancy.

All that damned text in the Prince Valiant strip!

So many of the really old comics creeped me out as a kid. I remember one called 'Believe It or Not' that had a regular feature entitled--not making this up---'How Cum Izzit?'

I always wished there was something else instead of Dondi, Prince Valiant, Brenda Starr and L'l Abner. I hated them. I hated how they took up space in the comics pages.

......

Goshes!

I hated those naked Hippies who had some “Love” theme.

Gasoline Alley? What the fuck was that? Depressing.

Beetle Bailey? Huh?

I especially hated the daughter with the pony tail in Family Circus.

Hey, I'm still around!

Anyone read the Apartment 3-G strip?

And "Mark Trail" ..boring!

I haven’t read Apartment 3-G in 30 years.

Can you catch me up?

I never read Dondi. That was one of those comics I'd see for years and years like Gasoline Alley, take one look at and go, "Nope." I didn't know he was Italian. I thought he was, like, Mexican or something.

Let's not forget Aunt Fritzi.

Alley Oop. Playful Little Audrey. Priscilla's Pop. Little Lulu.

Marmaduke?

Marmaduke was terrible!

It was about a big dog ZZZZZZ

Love "The Family Circus."

No mention of DL's favorite comic strip of ALL time - Mary Worth?

Mary Worth was weird

I even hated the name "Mary Worth." Like the guy who said he skipped over Dondi, I skipped over Dondi, and Mary Worth and a lot named upthread. I am just looking at it now and it is kind of weird. Is it meant to be wisdom of some kind?

Whatvwas Mary Worth? A heavy-set old maid who meddled in other people's lives?

Little Lotta!

Were these Harvey Comics characters also daily comic strips in newspapers?

Who was Harvey?

I used to call Joe Carlino "Dondi."

Harvey was actually Alfred Harvey, who started Harvey Comics in 1941, reminds me a little of The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

He was horrible, but man could he make a train run on time.

Do NOT diss Little Lulu!!!!

I liked it when Dagwood married Dondi.

Didn't know Dagwood was a pedophile.

Never read Dondi because it looked creepy. The Girls in Apt 3G, now that's one I'd like to see collected in book form.

Is there a nude cartoon of Dondi's 'Dad"?

Chester Gould, the creator of Dick Tracy, once phoned our father for some investment advice.

I have never heard of Apartment 3-G. Looking it up, I would find that interesting as I am interested in 50s and 60s NY.

When I was little my friend would confuse Dondi and Andy Capp. He later had to ride the little school bus.

r40 Blondie not Donde r41

But Dag looked lustfully at the neighbor's boy.

How come no thread I start gets more than 5 replies but fuckong Dondi goes over 40?

Do you have black circles for eyes, R48?

Clearly because Dondi is nicer than you, R48.

[quote] I haven’t read Apartment 3-G in 30 years. Can you catch me up?

Yes. It's later the same day ...

Kerry Drake

So and So and the Pirates

yeah the Pirates one was terrible, too

Terry and the Pirates.

Thank you r54.

The Circus of P.T. Bimbo - Not the greatest comic strip, but notable for having a character named Legs Akimbo.

[quote] Gasoline Alley? What the fuck was that? Depressing.

There is nothing depressing about Gasoline Alley. And it is almost unique in that the characters age in real time (a trick borrowed in For Better or for Worse). It is/was a slice of life strip, almost a soap opera but without the melodrama. It's a classic.

"Dondi" the new Broadway musical. Call Tele-Charge Today!

Apartment 3-G was about three gay men living together.

Talk about a contradiction in terms!

[quote]The Dondi movie is TERRIBLE. Seriously one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

How could it have possibly gone wrong, with a cast that included those two famous thespians, Patti Page and Walter Winchell?

[quote]Sometimes Dondi looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about Dondi is, he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn’t even seem to be livin’… ’til he bites ya.

The "Nancy" comic strip actually began as "Fritzi Ritz." She was a flapper, or something. Nancy was introduced as her niece, and later the strip became about her. Aunt Fritzi was reduced to occasional one-panel appearances.

Blondie was also originally a flapper, and Dagwood came from a wealthy family. The Bumsteads disapproved of their marriage (a flapper!) and disinherited Dagwood, forcing him to go to work for Mr. Dithers.

[quote]It was loosely based on a movie (1950s?) about how an American GI in World War II adopted an orphaned Italian boy. Don't know if the movie was based on a novel or whatever.

Other way around. The movie, which is just ghastly, was based on the comic strip. There was a contest to cast the title role. The extremely untalented kid won because he looked the most like a cartoon.

Okay, bitches. How many of you have had your theme song performed by Patti Page?

It's so irritating that people get the theme song to Dondi wrong so often, even Patti Page.

Dondi, is the face in the misty light

Footsteps that you hear down the hall

The laugh that floats on a summer night

That you can never quite recall

And you see Dondi on a train that is passing through

Those eyes how familiar they seem

He gave your very first kiss to you

That was Dondi, but he's only a cancelled cartoon

Read more: Frank Sinatra - Laura Lyrics | MetroLyrics

How dare you insult Patti Page! GOSHES!!!!

She's a whore, darlin'.

[quote]How dare you insult Patti Page! GOSHES!!!!

She's the singing rage!

And, not to be pedantic, but his exclamation was actually GOSHERS!

Blondie's maiden name was Boopadoop, r63. Miss Fritzi Ritz was also a popular figure in Tijuana bibles.

"The Little King" was so weird! So was bald headed retard "Herman"!

[quote]"The Little King" was so weird! So was bald headed retard "Herman"!

I think you meant Henry, R71.

I only know him and the others from the Chuck McCann Show:

Better any of these lame comic characters than all that overplayed superhero shit.

Dondi gave me the creeps. I grew up around Italians, and none of them were named Dondi. Ralph, Vince, Anthony, Leonard, etc. No DONDI. And this is for R22.

I didn’t like the Teeny weenies. I was afraid they’d get eaten by a bird or stepped on

I think Rex Morgan, M.D., wanted to circumcise Dondi.

I always thought his name came from the Spanish "Donde esta usted"

Which I know, of course, is not Italian.

Ok one google later:

[quote]so when a pretty Red Cross worker said he was "a dandy boy," he thought she was naming him "Dondi."[3][5]

As an adult I realize that many of the supposedly funny ones (Hagar the Horrible, Funky Winkerbean, etc.) are completely, lamely unfunny.

[quote]As an adult I realize that many of the supposedly funny ones (Hagar the Horrible, Funky Winkerbean, etc.) are completely, lamely unfunny.

You try writing 365 strips a year for 50 years. Let's see how funny your output is.

I used to love reading the anthology books of comics in the library. So much fun.

You can do that now on the Internet r82

r81

You can read Schulz's output online and you can see how FAST the strip declines after 1970. By 1990 he clearly had health issues because the drawings themselves are horrible and have no charm of the original. His hands are shaky and the characters often morph into unrecognizable in some panels.

The thing is Schulz could've had help but refused to even use anyone to letter for him. He gets praised for this, but it's false praise because all it does is make the comic look poorly.

"How Cum Izzit" would be a great title for a cheap, but long lasting porn series. It could have some kind of extreme sport skaterboi theme. I envision at least 34, maybe 35 editions. "How Cum Izzit XXXV: The V Stands for Vagina this time, Or Does It?" would be a failed attempt to revive it.

"How Cum Izzit..." could also be the catchphrase of a queen on Rupaul's Drag Race. It could be a contender, maybe as big an internet meme as "Vangie."

It could never make it again in the comic arena. Maybe some 90s themed irony-laden graphic novel. The whole skaterboi thing would be savaged.

Sorry, R69, it was definitely " Goshes."

Hmmm, apparently Dondi has been to Pinkley Park...

Maybe just stop writing, Charles M.?

Until they added a "Kick Little Orphan Annie in the Cunt Day", r7

Beetle Bailey was Lois's (Of Hiram and Lois) brother.

Beetle Bailey was an insatiable bottom.

Sarge was an insatiable bottom.

[quote]Sorry, [R69], it was definitely " Goshes."

Goshes! I stand corrected.

[quote]You can read Schulz's output online and you can see how FAST the strip declines after 1970.

I loved reading "Peanuts" as a kid, but even I gave up on it when it seemed that 90 percent of the strips were about Snoopy and Woodstock. Painfully unfunny.

In my very extensive Italian family I had a second or third cousin named Dondi, who was born 20 or so years prior to the comic strip. I'll see if I can get the scoop on him at the next family reunion.

Did he have black circles for eyes?

That "dandy kid" explanation for the name mentioned about sounds like bad dialogue contrived for the awful movie.

Lil' Abner had a great body, but no bulge at all.

R75, thanks! Newton Figg, I remember that character. Wore tortoiseshell glasses.

In college, Dondi was a pass-around bottom. Then came meth. It wasn’t pretty.

Someone on this thread mentioned The Little King. It's one of my favourites - very whimsical but there can never be too much whimsy in my opinion.

In OP's picture, the dog appeared more lively, perceptive and intelligent than Dondi.

The dog is more lively, perceptive and intelligent than Dondi.

I read Dondi as a child in the 50s. I thought he was Mexican. Oh! I'm thinking of Gordo. Read both of them. I mixed up Dondi with Gordo's nephew Pepito.

I loved Dondi. Fascinated with Lil Abner as a child. The illustrations mainly.

r93

Schulz said when he came up with the idea of "Peppermint Patty" he wanted to do a seperate strip for her and he couldn't work it out, so he put it into "Peanuts." It would've been better if he had done another strip.

It's really sad to see by 1980 how he would just alternated one day "Charlie Brown and gang" the next "Marcie and PP" and occasionally mix the two (usually at camp or via phone).

It wasn't till the mid 90s when the strip showed life again as Rerun took over the strip, which is likely due to Schultz using his grandchildren for ideas as he used his own kids through the early 70s

I remember Dondi from the Sunday papers, but not as a daily comic. i think I was too young to be interested or really care about his adventures or stories.

My dad was terrific in sitting with me to read the comics - honestly, I think it was one way he helped teach me to read, especially on a Sunday morning when the comics were a section of the paper and in color. He'd explain what was happening in Mutt & Jeff (there were no words used), read Dick Tracy (I loved DT), Brenda Starr, Prince Valiant and other strips. I actually followed Brenda's travails (how gay) and Dick's cases (so butch).

One more thing about Dad - he sat down with us to go through Highlights and later he paid for the subscription to MAD (he'd explain Spy vs Spy and other drawings without words). He was (I think) entertained by my love of SPY magazine, which seems like a natural extension from MAD.