Loo expresses his appreciation of the Fair Sex. Artist: Bill Williams.

AROUND THE BLOCK WITH DUNC AND LOO

Medium: Comic books
Published by: Dell Comics
First Appeared: 1961
Creators: John Stanley (writer) and Bill Williams (artist)
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Cartoonist John Stanley is best known for his years of work on the Dell Comics version of Little Lulu, which he handled from its beginning in the mid-1940s until it switched to reprints almost 20 years …

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… later. But in the 1960s, new work by him proliferated — Thirteen Going on Eighteen, Clyde Crashcup, Melvin Monster … he even ventured into non-humor, such as Ghost Stories and Linda Lark, Registered Nurse. A lot of this was attributable to the split between Dell and Western Printing, which left Dell in need of new properties to publish, but at least one, O.G. Whiz, was done for Gold Key.

Around the Block with Dunc & Loo, which Stanley wrote but didn't draw, was a product of that time. It was a teenage humor comic which, unusual for the genre, didn't emulate the appearance of Archie. The illustrator was Bill Williams, a veteran of the old Jerry Iger studio (Phantom Lady), who also collaborated with Stanley on the short-lived Kookie.

Dunc was "classically handsome", with regular features and neatly-combed black hair, and always well dressed, with a coat and tie. He focused on girls, practically to the exclusion of everything else. His main lust object was Beth O'Bunnion, whom he met in the first issue (Oct-Dec 1961). Much of the action involved him trying to avoid Beth's protective father or appease her hulking, brutish brother, Buddy.

Loo was Dunc's best pal. He was also obsessed with girls, but not so monomaniacally. He had unkempt red hair and usually dressed sloppily, in jeans and T-shirts. Loo had a kid brother, Joey, who sometimes had separate adventures, opening the comic to young kid humor as well as the teenage variety. All of the regulars lived in the same New York City apartment building.

Readers seem unanimous in their opinion that every page of every issue of Around the Block with Dunc & Loo was hilarious. Still, it lasted only eight issues. The final one was dated Oct-Dec 1963.

— DDM

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Text ©2006-08 Donald D. Markstein. Art © Dell Publishing Co.