Li'l Menace #1

When a youngster schemes to snag a free ticket to the big game between the Philadelphia Willies and the Cincinnati Stars, his resourceful approach backfires in the most hilariously ironic way possible. It's a quick, clever bit of comedy that captures what happens when a kid's determination meets the real world—and the law.

A young boy's dream of chasing a massive grizzly bear around the world is cut short when his father wakes him up—and he's convinced he'll never have that same dream again. Desperate to make his dad feel better about the interruption, the boy decides to take matters into his own hands with a scheme that involves rousing the neighborhood in the middle of the night.

A young woman explains her foolproof method for lifting her spirits—a new hat always does the trick—only to have her companion arrive at a hilariously literal conclusion about where such fashion finds actually come from. It's a quick, punchy gag that plays on the gap between what she means and what he hears, pure throwaway fun from 1958.

Li'l Menace has a question for you, and he wants to make sure you know him first—so he walks you through his daily life, from his exhausted parents and unfortunate baby sitters to his library visits, money-making schemes, and tendency to cause chaos wherever he goes. By the time he asks why everyone calls him "Li'l Menace," you might just have your answer, though a chance encounter with a kind stranger suggests there's more to the story than meets the eye.

A young troublemaker complains about the unfair treatment he receives from his parents—when his father does chores around the house, he gets rewarded with cool drinks and affection, but when this Li'l Menace tackles the same work, he finds himself chased instead of praised. This humorous 1958 tale from Li'l Menace #1 explores the rocky logic of household justice through a kid's exasperated eyes.

A young boy's nightmare about being a criminal named Dangerous Bill puts him on edge—so when the police show up at his door the next morning, he panics and bolts, leading to a wild chase through the neighborhood full of mishaps and close calls. What he doesn't realize is that the officer chasing him has very different intentions than he fears.

When Mom's doctor puts her on a strict diet, the sight of food in the refrigerator leaves her miserable—so Lil Menace decides to take matters into his own mischievous hands with a solution that's sure to solve her problem in the most chaotic way possible. This 1958 humor story proves that good intentions and a kid's logic don't always add up to a tidy result.