Goofy is a Disney character I’ve always found repugnant both his character and his looks. But it IS fascinating to think about all the different names he has had! Dippy Dawg was, I believe, the first. Then he was Dippy the Goof. Then, I recall, just The Goof. He was also Mr. George G. Geef. Following that was he was called Goofy Geef. There was Sport Goofy, there was Mighty Knight and his action hero guise was Super Goof. It is interesting that Mickey Mouse was canine Goofy’s best friend yet he never complained to Mickey about the second class treatment and citizenship of Pluto.

Did you know that Mickey and Minnie went to divorce court? The judge inquired, “Ms. Mouse, why are you seeking a divorce from Mr. Mouse?” Minnie tearfully replied, “It was Mickey that instigated this divorce and he said he wanted one because, pardon my French Your Honor, but Mickey said I was a ‘fucking idiot’!” Mickey jumped from his chair and shouted out, “I didn’t say I wanted a divorce because you were a fucking idiot. I said I wanted a divorce because you were fucking Goofy!”

Always glad to hear from the blog’s readers! I’ll post the best comments. Please let me hear from you. E-mail yoecomix*hotmail.com (replacing the asterik with an @ symbol).

Tom Heintjes of the wonderful Hogan’s Alley magazine wrote about Mutt and Jeff being homosexual (see the Tuesday entry below). Tom said, ” those Mutt and Jeff images on the site today are hilarious! I don’t how you get any other work done apart from excavating material for Arf Lovers!”

And Andy Mangels, wrote, “Loved the examples you gave. Do you have more? We might want to do something fun with them at www.prismcomics.org. I’m mulling a piece on casual attitudes towards things that now would be considered gay, such as preponderance of cross-dressing and men sleeping together”.

Thanks guys! I DID excavate one more curious Mutt and Jeff example. I’m not sure exactly what it means, but it’s an 1917 artifact presumably from a period gay bathhouse…

Some Arf Lovers were shocked at the picture I ran yesterday of Mutt and Jeff. Though it is not generally talked about I thought everyone knew of Mutt and Jeff’s homosexual relationship. Batman and Robin were hardly the first gay duo in comics. In fact, since Mutt and Jeff’s adventures were chronicled in the first successful daily comic strip, that would make Mutt and Jeff the First Couple of Homosexuality of the Comics. Yesterday’s image was one of many that could be cited that showed this sexual preference of these “Arf Lovers”. I am sharing just a few more such pictures today for the edification of this blog’s readership.

Arf reached Jeff at the Elvira, NY Home for the Aged where he had this to say: “Mutt, may he rest in peace, and I shared a special bond. Unlike today we were not always able to openingly display our affection for each other because of the restrictive times we lived and worked in. But, the knowledge of our relationship was none-the-less obvious to our readership and supported by our syndicate, newspaper editors and fellow comic strip characters. Thus, I am proud of the ground we broke for people of all sexual orientations. I want to add, though he was known as a strong pratictioner, shall we say, of male/female relations our cartoonist, “Bud” Fisher, was particularly supportive of our lifestyle.”The Arf Lovers Blog also reached Batman at the stately Wayne Manor for comment where he had just finished sliding down the Bat Pole into the Bat Cave with Robin. Speaking for them both Batman commented, “Robin and I have talked many times about the courage and great example that Mutt and Jeff set of love and commitment for all couples, caped or otherwise. Mutt and Jeff especially opened many doors to couples like Robin and myself. The Boy Wonder and I salute these brave pioneers”.

(click for a closer look)

(Click for a closer look)

D.D.Degg on the Platinum Comic Yahoo list alerts us to the nice profile http://tinyurl.com/mxuks on Otto Messmer of Felix the Cat fame in the North Bergen, NJ newspaper. *SIGH* I ALMOST met Messmer. I called his home when I was visiting the East Coast back in the 80’s and asked if I could stop in. The woman who answered the phone, his wife as I recall, said Otto loved to meet with fans but he wasn’t feeling well that day. She encouraged me to call next time I was in the area. Messmer died a few days later.

I agree that Otto Messmer never got enough recognition for his brilliant art job on Felix in both the strip and animation. But like so much of this kind of thing, the pendulum swings too far. Pat Sullivan WAS a talented cartoonist and could very well have originated the character himself. But current Felix fans dis this and now give Messmer all the props.

Conversly, when I traveled in Australia folks loved pointing out to me that Sullivan, a homie, was Felix’s creator. And they insisted, too, that the Phantom was a home-grown Aussie creation. Not so on the later, but they were sure of it. Certainly The Ghost Who Walks is uber-popular there.

Similarly, Canadian comic fans now like to point out that Joe Shuster, the original Superman artist, natch, is a Canadian boy (though he left there at a very young age). There are even “The Shusters”, a Canadian comics award program. Check out the nifty poster for this year’s contest below.

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I used to say with Walt Disney, “I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known”. But, to be honest, when I produced the book The Art of Mickey Mouse I kind of overdosed on all things Mickey/Disney. I became real sick-y of Mickey.

But, 15 years later, there’s a new book by David Gerstein that is actually rekindling that old flame. I feel like a giddy teenager again. Mickey my love, take me back I’ve just read and reread and reread Walt Disney’s Mickey And The Gang (Gemstone Publishing). This incredible tome reprints all the gorgeous art that Disney artists did for Good Housekeeping Magazine from 1934-1944. Even though I knew how beautiful it was I never collected this stuff as it was always so hard to find and so expensive when you did find it. Now for what you would pay for one page of it torn out by a member of S.C.U.M. (Society for Cutting Up Magazines) you get the whole blame treasure trove. And so much more: hundreds of related items, from toys to puzzles to comic strips to animation conceptual drawings to…it all leaves me so breathless…especially all the breathtaking color…the large format…

Mickey Mouse has got it goin’ on
He’s all I want and I’ve waited for so long
Donald Duck, can’t you see you’re just not the girl for me
I know it might be wrong but I’m in love with Mickey Mouse
…or something like that…

Below is just a small smattering of the art found inWalt Disney’s Mickey and the Gang…

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If you’d like to order one of these books click the cover below.

— C. Yoe (in the funny papers)

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Wednesday, March 22, 2026

It’s Wacky Wonder Woman Wednesday!

— C. Yoe (in the funny papers)

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Tuesday, March 21, 2026

FACTOID #836,289: Enrico Caruso was a Cartoonist!

The great opera singer loved drawing caricatures of singers to politicians and his work was collected in a number of books. Here’s a few of my faves, the first is a self-caricature.

— C. Yoe (in the funny papers)

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Tuesday, March 21, 2026

Happy First Day of Spring, Arf Lovers!

Here’s one the greatest Mad covers, #28…

(click for a closer look)

— C. Yoe (in the funny papers)

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