JK's Sunday Funnies :)

Hello!

I'm sure we're all familiar with the Maverick comic books which were published during the show's run. I've even featured some of them in this blog. What you might not know, however, is that Jack Kelly also "appeared" in other comic books.

Like, the May 1960 issue of Archie's Girls: Betty and Veronica.

Archie, of course, is that red-headed high school kid and Betty and Veronica are his girlfriends (he apparently can't decide which one he likes the best). The girls--blonde Betty and brunette Veronica--were popular enough to get their own spin-off comic. And, Veronica must have very good taste because she picked JK as "Star of the Month", complete with a small black and white photo and a full-page biography.

Incidentally, in one of the comic's stories, Betty describes Veronica as her "frenemy" ("a combination of a friend and an enemy"), a word which I thought was coined fairly recently. I Googled it and one source said "frenemy" originated in 1977 and was added to the  Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2009. So, if any etymologists see this post, they may want to revise that origin date! :)

Okay, so this next comic is a Maverick comic, but it's more than that. It's also a science-fiction comic book! No, Bart and Bret don't wander into Westworld. However, there are sci-fi stories in this early 1960's Spanish-language comic, which also has one of the coolest Maverick covers (inside and out) I've ever seen.

Also published in Spanish, this Mexican photo-novelization of JK's 1963 feature film FBI Code 98 (Operacion F.B.I. En Cabo Canaveral) features actual scenes from the film:

Unfortunately, most of the photos inside are pretty grainy, but here's one of the pages with JK:

"Fotonovelas" were and still are popular in Latin America. As with FBI Code 98, the content of these photo-illustrated comics isn't always kids' stuff. For example, I own several vintage fotonovelas based on Breaking Point, the 1963-'64 psychiatric drama series starring Paul Richards.

Well, I hope these JK "funnies" have put a smile on your face. Keep watching for more JK goodies in TDS! :)