It’s likely that Disney animation shorts, as beautiful as they may have been, never had a character that would continue. Sure, Uncle Walt’s animated shorts featured Mickey, Donald Goofy and Pluto, but those weren’t Sizzling Symphonies. All four had separate series, and they guest starred in one another’s. Porky, Daffy and Bugs continued to appear at Termite terrace under the LT&MM title.
Bucky Bug was a character that persisted in the newspaper versions of Silly Symphonies from 1930 until today. Bucky Bug, like Scrooge MacDuck, was only ever seen in comic books, except for one.
Bucky’s Silly Symphonies print adventures, which lasted for a few years in newspapers and were the highlight of the new collection. Bucky, a character from the Depression era who is told in rhymes, reminds me of Horatio alger. From his birth, we follow Bucky as he tries to find himself in the world. He travels with hobo’s, makes friends, enemies, fights in war, finds romance and finally settles down.
Bucky Bug is a series of comic strips that are funny, well drawn, cleverly written and stylish. The writers and artists who contributed to the Bucky Bug strip include Earl Duvall Ted Osborne and Merrill De Maris. These are not the only comic strips included in this collection. The Sunday Silly Symphonieswas a film anthology, and in March 1934, it began a new series, expanding on an existing cartoon.
Birds of a Featheroffered a rhyming tale in which three birdies are introduced, of whom one is a bit offbeat. The story was only for a short time, and a Surprise Sunday Mickey Mouse appearance filled the gap until the next one, Penguin Island, again inspired by cartoons.
The next is what gets remembered. The Wise Little Hen, written by Ted Osborne, and illustrated by Al Taliaferro introduces Donald Duck. This Donald is a far cry from the comics of Carl Barks or even the animated Donald that was so exasperating and difficult to understand.
The strip is reprinted through the month of July 1935. This book concludes with the reprint of a comic strip celebrating Bucky Bug’s 75 th birthday. Fantagraphics has produced a collection that is impressive and includes some early Disney comics which are rarely seen.
Ted Osborne is the author of this article.
Merrill De Maris, Earl Duvall
Al Taliaferro and Earl Duvall
Published by Fantagraphics