George Baker (right) The original Sad Sack artist. Photo courtesy of Mark Arnold. (below) Joe Dennett Sad Sack sketch. © Sad Sack, Inc.
SAD SACK’S OTHER BRONZE AGE ARTISTS
joe dennett
paul mccarthy
84 • BACK ISSUE • Comics Go to War Issue
jack o’brien
fred rhoads
© Sad Sack, Inc.
Sad Sack U.S.A.; Sad Sack Navy, Gobs ’n’ Gals (featuring Rhoads’ Navy creation “Gabby Gob,” also a Harvey Hits mainstay); and Sad Sack Fun Around the World. As a peacetime soldier, Sad Sack did quite a lot of traveling rather than facing active combat. Sad Sack U.S.A. was supposed to feature Sad Sack and his Army buddies traveling to a different state of the Union in each issue, surely a concept to last at least 50 issues. Unfortunately, the tour of duty was cut short as the series lasted only eight. Fun Around the World fared even worse, and only a single issue was published featuring stories about Great Britain, though it would have been interesting to see if Sad Sack would actually travel to countries engaged in actual war!! Newer artists such as Joe Dennett and Jack O’Brien were added to the fold in the 1960s to keep up with the accelerated work pace. Meanwhile, McCarthy passed away as did the title Sad Sack’s Funny Friends, which emphasized McCarthy’s predilection for stories starring the General. Dennett’s art style was sketchier than the others due mainly to his previous work on Mutt and Jeff, and his Sad Sack was similar in style, though he tried to emulate Rhoads’ style as best he could. He also did several issues of Harvey Hits, featuring the adventures of Sad Sack’s dog Muttsy. O’Brien, meanwhile, developed a style completely his own and even his own concepts, which repeatedly featured Sad Sack getting knocked in the head and having an ambitious dream life. O’Brien was also the mastermind behind the “G.I. Juniors” series for Harvey Hits.