As a few of our readers may know, we used to have a Facebook page dedicated to comics… the day we switched to a blog format was a blessed one, as dealing with FB’s daft algorithms, restrictions and stupidities would give the most resistant trooper a headache. However, occasionally we pilfer material from those earlier years – but while co-admin RG can practically quote his past self verbatim, I find myself often disagreeing with my opinion from, say, 10 years ago, from which I can only deduce that I am prone to bouts of fickleness.

Case in point, in 2014, I called Millie The Lovable Monster (whom I tend to refer to as Modern Monster Millie, getting slightly confused with Thoroughly Modern Millie, a movie from 1967) wholesome, wacky, and syrupy-sweet. Rereading it today, I think it perhaps sailed away from ‘lovable nonsense’ a long time ago, though it didn’t quite moor at the port of ‘balderdash’. It is, however, extremely well-meaning, and virtuous to the highest degree, which in a world which favours the spectacle of back-stabbing and various unethical shenanigans is, well, not exactly refreshing, but a nice change of diet. It is also not that easy to come up with proper randomness that’s equal parts fun and puzzling. Finally, this comic is likely oriented towards young readers, who have a considerably sweeter tooth than adults.

For proper historical details, head over to Toonopedia – I shall just mention that this strip was created by Bill Woggon (1911-2003) of Katy Keene fame (which I talked about a bit in Tentacle Tuesday: Splashing With the Octopus), and that Millie’s arguably entertaining romps lasted by 3 issues (1962-1964).

Thanks to a friend, I am the proud (?) owner of a full Millie collection. Here are some excerpts of Halloween-appropriate material, which doesn’t necessarily showcase the depth of absurdity this comic can attain (moments that linger in my memory include Millie riding a horse that’s about a third of her size; Millie promenading her pet tiger while showing off a series of new outfits – she’s quite the fashion maven; and especially Millie playing guitar for a bunch of singing cows performing Cry Me a River that cause a flood with their tears).

Since this is distinctly Halloween related, here is a picture from our long-Thanksgiving-weekend trip (taken at J & P’s Farm Market, in Trenton, Maine).

~ ds