ADVENTURES OF REX THE WONDER DOG (various): Rex can do anything!
One of the things I appreciated -- actually, the main thing I appreciated -- about the late, lamented scans_daily was the boundless discovery. That's true of the larger comics blogosphere, but scans_daily was frigging huge and you never knew what weird shit somebody might post. If not for scans_daily, for instance, I wouldn't be hunting back issue bins for copies of KNIGHTS OF BROADWAY.
If I made any contribution worth remembering to scans_daily, I think the below post, originally made January 12, 2007, was it. Enough to resurrect it! Because everybody on my flist should know... Rex, the Wonder Dog.
Impressed? You ain't seen nothin' yet.
THE ADVENTURES OF REX THE WONDER DOG ran for 46 more or less bimonthly issues between 1952 and 1959. The issues typically consisted of two Rex stories, a single back-up story that rotated briefly before being quickly filled by the adventures of Detective Chimp, and a couple of prose pages about dogs.
The premise was simple: Rex, a decorated military K9, was given to young Danny Dennis by his father, an Army Major, and before long their lives were full of increasingly crazy adventure. In the first issue, Rex's wonder feats were limited to stuff like jumping out of windows or over walls, identifying bad guys -- the usual.
That didn't last. I blame the dinosaur.
In issue # 11, Rex faced off against a Tyrannosaurus. It was a watershed moment for the series. After that, all bets were off. By the time the book ended, Rex was traveling to alien worlds to act as an interplanetary spy and serving as a mount for a tiny human in another dimension's steeplechase. And those weren't the weirdest moments in the series.
Think I'm kidding? Read on.
In this issue (#13), Major Dennis went missing, so Rex parachuted alone into the jungle, escaped its dangers, found Major Dennis, and rescued him from savages by donning a ceremonial mask and masquerading as one of the savages' pantheon of demons.
I am not making any of this up.
You're impressed, aren't you? Hah! IT GETS BETTER.
After the incident with the dinosaur, the writers started to go a little crazy. I think their plan was to find out exactly what the limits of Rex's abilities were by having him do more and more outrageous things and waiting for the inevitable smackdown from editorial.
I also suspect editorial liked to take a lot of three-martini lunches.
I mean, a *lot* of three-martini lunches.
You'd think that Rex reached the apex of his powers when he demonstrated his ability to steer an out-of-control car.
You'd think that, but you'd be wrong.
By Rex #32, he can drive a speedboat.
I mean, he can DRIVE A SPEEDBOAT. Alone. In a high-speed chase. With somebody shooting at him.
Actually, as Rex's abilities go, this is pretty modest.
At this point, you'd think the Dennis family would begin to suspect demonic possession or something. Their dog is capable of fishing with rod and reel, evaluating his catch, removing it from the hook, and throwing it back. With his paws.
But no. They're used to this stuff now.
And his dewclaws apparently function as opposable thumbs.
Notice: he's not using his mouth to throw the lasso any more.
The comic re-used gimmicks a few times. Rex had been a photographer as early as issue #3, but in that issue he had Danny with him and took pictures when Danny told him to.
In this story, from issue 21, he demonstrates an understanding of lighting, shadow, composition, and subject.
Remember: NOBODY THINKS THIS IS BIZARRE.
See what I'm talking about?
This is why I wish DC/Marvel crossovers weren't limited to the big characters. Can you imagine how J. Jonah Jameson would react to Rex the Wonder Dog?
"PARKER! I always suspected a dog could take better pictures than you! Now I've proved it!"
My favorite Rex stories may be the ones about him working as a photojournalist, simply because they're so surreal. There's no winking, no nudging. Everybody plays it perfectly straight, and Rex is treated as a serious professional. It's like you're reading a comic book about newspapermen, except there's one guy who doesn't talk much and the artist inexplicably keeps drawing him as a dog.
"Rex can do ANYTHING!"
You said it, Danny. You said it.
In all honesty, I love this series. It's one of DC's most fondly-remembered books, and for good reason: it's sheerly delightful, and there's no point at which it stops being fun. How to sum up its appeal? Um, well -- Rex? Could you handle this one?
Atta boy, Rex. Atta boy.
If I made any contribution worth remembering to scans_daily, I think the below post, originally made January 12, 2007, was it. Enough to resurrect it! Because everybody on my flist should know... Rex, the Wonder Dog.
Impressed? You ain't seen nothin' yet.
THE ADVENTURES OF REX THE WONDER DOG ran for 46 more or less bimonthly issues between 1952 and 1959. The issues typically consisted of two Rex stories, a single back-up story that rotated briefly before being quickly filled by the adventures of Detective Chimp, and a couple of prose pages about dogs.
The premise was simple: Rex, a decorated military K9, was given to young Danny Dennis by his father, an Army Major, and before long their lives were full of increasingly crazy adventure. In the first issue, Rex's wonder feats were limited to stuff like jumping out of windows or over walls, identifying bad guys -- the usual.
That didn't last. I blame the dinosaur.
In issue # 11, Rex faced off against a Tyrannosaurus. It was a watershed moment for the series. After that, all bets were off. By the time the book ended, Rex was traveling to alien worlds to act as an interplanetary spy and serving as a mount for a tiny human in another dimension's steeplechase. And those weren't the weirdest moments in the series.
Think I'm kidding? Read on.
In this issue (#13), Major Dennis went missing, so Rex parachuted alone into the jungle, escaped its dangers, found Major Dennis, and rescued him from savages by donning a ceremonial mask and masquerading as one of the savages' pantheon of demons.
I am not making any of this up.
You're impressed, aren't you? Hah! IT GETS BETTER.
After the incident with the dinosaur, the writers started to go a little crazy. I think their plan was to find out exactly what the limits of Rex's abilities were by having him do more and more outrageous things and waiting for the inevitable smackdown from editorial.
I also suspect editorial liked to take a lot of three-martini lunches.
I mean, a *lot* of three-martini lunches.
You'd think that Rex reached the apex of his powers when he demonstrated his ability to steer an out-of-control car.
You'd think that, but you'd be wrong.
By Rex #32, he can drive a speedboat.
I mean, he can DRIVE A SPEEDBOAT. Alone. In a high-speed chase. With somebody shooting at him.
Actually, as Rex's abilities go, this is pretty modest.
At this point, you'd think the Dennis family would begin to suspect demonic possession or something. Their dog is capable of fishing with rod and reel, evaluating his catch, removing it from the hook, and throwing it back. With his paws.
But no. They're used to this stuff now.
And his dewclaws apparently function as opposable thumbs.
Notice: he's not using his mouth to throw the lasso any more.
The comic re-used gimmicks a few times. Rex had been a photographer as early as issue #3, but in that issue he had Danny with him and took pictures when Danny told him to.
In this story, from issue 21, he demonstrates an understanding of lighting, shadow, composition, and subject.
Remember: NOBODY THINKS THIS IS BIZARRE.
See what I'm talking about?
This is why I wish DC/Marvel crossovers weren't limited to the big characters. Can you imagine how J. Jonah Jameson would react to Rex the Wonder Dog?
"PARKER! I always suspected a dog could take better pictures than you! Now I've proved it!"
My favorite Rex stories may be the ones about him working as a photojournalist, simply because they're so surreal. There's no winking, no nudging. Everybody plays it perfectly straight, and Rex is treated as a serious professional. It's like you're reading a comic book about newspapermen, except there's one guy who doesn't talk much and the artist inexplicably keeps drawing him as a dog.
"Rex can do ANYTHING!"
You said it, Danny. You said it.
In all honesty, I love this series. It's one of DC's most fondly-remembered books, and for good reason: it's sheerly delightful, and there's no point at which it stops being fun. How to sum up its appeal? Um, well -- Rex? Could you handle this one?
Atta boy, Rex. Atta boy.