Comic Comics #8

Capt. Kid needs to raise quick cash for a birthday gift for Betty Mae, so he lands a job at a barber shop—with hilariously disastrous results. When a well-intentioned haircut scheme goes wildly wrong, our hero finds himself on the run, wondering if he'll ever make it to the party at all.

Trader Tom bets he can sell anything to anyone who walks through his door, and proves his point by convincing a customer that a cuckoo clock is an essential purchase to go with a bag of flour. When the customer realizes the clock needs bird seed to keep the bird fed, Tom's already one step ahead with another sale up his sleeve. It's a clever con wrapped in humor that shows why this fast-talking trader always comes out on top.

When a gold rush strikes the town of Hoot Butte, the bully Carl McSnarl uses his strength to knock down everyone in his path—but Mystic Moot and his magical snoot have other plans. With the help of his trusty powers, Moot spirits a gentleman prospector to the mountaintop for a showdown that'll settle who really deserves the riches. It's a rousing 1946 tale of magic, muscle, and what happens when a schemer meets his match.

Joe Miller wants everyone to know he's a serious actor, not a joke-teller—but no matter what he says, people can't help but laugh and turn his words into wisecracks for his own joke book. When he visits an eyeglass shop looking for spectacles, his earnest observations about nature and human nature keep landing as comedy gold, much to his exasperation. It's a humorous two-pager about the curse of being funny when you're trying to be sincere.

Jetsam Joe fishes up a mysterious chest from the water, but without the key, he can't open it—until his pal Ruff M'Tuff offers to help, only to abscond with the prize and discover a treasure map inside. When the map tears in half during a struggle, Joe ends up with one piece while Ruff keeps the other, setting off a wild chase across rooftops and into trouble as each tries to claim the whole prize. This 1946 romp proves that sometimes having half the map is just the beginning of the real adventure.

Dopey Danny Dee needs to track down his twin brother at a meeting spot, but when a stranger appears claiming to have seen someone waiting there, the mix-up leads to confusion about who's actually who. A classic case of mistaken identity unfolds as Danny tries to sort out whether he's found his twin or stumbled onto something else entirely.

Kanvasback Kenny gets hired as a bodyguard for Perry Swoon, a singer desperate to keep autograph hunters away while he waits for a Hollywood contract—but Kanvasback's overeager approach to the job leads to one comedy of errors after another. When a genuine Hollywood producer arrives at the stage door, Kanvasback's inability to tell the difference between a real deal and a trick costs Perry the opportunity he's been waiting for.

When Freddy Freshman throws his hat in the ring to become chairman of Podunk U.'s boat-ride committee, he's up against the popular Ace Jackson—and Ace is willing to get creative to stay on top. With a scheming plan involving a soapy deck and a chance at heroism, things quickly spiral into chaos on the dock, leaving Freddy in an unexpected position to prove himself. It's a fun romp through campus politics where the best-laid schemes have a way of backfiring in the most satisfying ways.

Colonel Corn lands a job at a music store and decides to teach his pal Korny Kobb the finer points of musical performance—a task that proves far more comedic than melodious. As the two bumble through piano lessons and instrument demonstrations, their complete lack of talent and understanding of basic music theory leads to increasingly ridiculous exchanges that'll have you groaning at the punchlines.

Richard Richard, Podunk's hapless detective, checks into the Dew Drop Inn with his assistants Ah Choo and Flub Dub, only to stumble onto a counterfeiting operation hidden within its walls. As the trio tries to navigate a night full of gunfire, mysterious deaths, and increasingly suspicious innkeepers, Richard Richard's bumbling attempts to investigate put all three of them directly in the criminals' crosshairs. What starts as a simple search for shelter becomes a chaotic collision between amateur detective work and small-time crooks.