I always wondered back in the day if Cherry Poptart creator Larry Welz got in trouble for making his title character look so similar to Archie Andrew's wholesome next door neighbor, Betty. Goodness knows that Cherry certainly got into some situations that Riverdale's sweetheart would never have been a part of, and I can't imagine that the executives at Archie Comics didn't notice.
Yes. He actually DID get in trouble. However, it wasn't from Archie Comics. It was from Poptarts. Which is why later issues were called simply "Cherry". I think Archie Comics realized that their audience wasn't going to be buying Cherry's stories.
ReplyDeleteCherry Poptart eh? Well, looks like there's hope for my long wished for Dr. Strange / Cheech Wizard team up.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I never even heard of her until just this moment! Which is undeniable proof, in itself, as to how totally forgettable her stories must be.
ReplyDelete...or that you never ventured into the Adults-Only section in your comic book store.
ReplyDeleteI worked in a comic shop back in the mid-90s and had completely forgotten about Cherry Poptart!
ReplyDeleteAnd Zippy too?? Shame on you
DeleteI also worked in a comic shop and certainly didn't forget Cherry Poptart. :)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant mash-up! Well done, Ross!!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"Personally, I never even heard of her until just this moment! Which is undeniable proof, in itself, as to how totally forgettable her stories must be."
Evidently it's among those comics that people "only buy for the articles"...
^_^
@ Other Anon:
ReplyDeleteThere was no such thing where I bought my comics. So, my earlier diagnosis remains valid. :P
Lol well HAD you had access to her comics...you'd have remembered for sure.
DeleteThe stories weren't any more forgettable than in most comics. I remember having to stock Cherry on a shelf behind the register with Omaha, The Cat Dancer, Howard Chaykin's Black Kiss, and Xenophobe (if I'm getting the title right).
ReplyDeleteNever mind most of the Eros Comics that came out back then. Our policy was that if even one person subscribed to a book, we would order at least two (adult books) for the shelf.
Neil Gaiman wrote a story for an issue of Cherry. If that's not noteworthy I don't know what is.
ReplyDeleteHow about Freddy Krueger and Sleepwalker?
ReplyDeleteHow about Freddy Krueger and Sleepwalker?
ReplyDeleteImagine Pureheart, Super Teen, and Captain Hero joining the Teen Titans.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with the first Anon. My neighborhood Mom & Pop store never carried adult comics. So, I grew up never having heard of Cherry Poptart (in the non-Kellogg sense), either.
ReplyDeleteWayne Allen Sallee - Xxxenophile, I think. Another well-illustrated and fun bit of perversity.
ReplyDeleteRoss, Nice work combining grass skirts!
I might now suggest you have an Omaha-Cherry crossover, but since it could not possibly be as innocent as the Archie and Bill the Cat covers... probably just leave that one to imagination. Not that I would ever imagine, uh, never mind...
Archie knows full well about Cherry. The first printing of issue #1 of Cherry Poptart featured a short story in the back of the comic called "Vampironica" with a Veronica look-alike dressed (but not for long) as Vampirella and having too-sexy adventures. Archie threatened a very serious lawsuit, so a second printing was put out, replacing the original story (although the back cover of the comic kept the splash page as a pin-up).
ReplyDeleteI would read the heck out of that team-up! :-)
ReplyDeleteCool team up Ross. These characters work well together like they're from the same universe. Maybe you can use some more none mainstream team ups featuring Nexus, Cerebus the aardvark, E-man & Rog 2000. Here's a team up I don't know if you've done.... Marvel's Radioactive man vs. The Simpsons Radioactive Man!
ReplyDeleteI remember my shock the first time I ventured into a "big city" Manhattan comic specialty shop with an "adult section" and discovered not only Cherry Poptarts, Love & Rockets and Omaha The Cat Dancer, but European and Asian soft erotica graphic novels. Yeah, I didn't back to my "mom & pop" store in Forest Hills, Queens after that.
ReplyDeleteCatwoman and Vampirella vs. Pantha was erotic enough for me.
ReplyDeleteThere was an issue of Cherry where a Donald Trump stand-in tried to take over the book, and very rude things were done to him. I've thought about that issue often in recent months.
ReplyDeleteTheir worlds are not so different, really. Cherry's sex is literal and happens in-panel, but Robert Crumb was quite correct when he called Archie a comic entirely about sex.
ReplyDelete