Forgotten Cartoon Legends #1 – Superkatt

Between the years he directed Popeye, Superman and Stone Age cartoons for Fleischer & Famous Studios in the early 40s, and his story and direction for Hanna Barbera in the late 50s and 60s, (where he was a chief architect of The Flintstones) animator Dan Gordon made a living as a prolific comic book artist. One of his most beloved creations was SUPERKATT who graced the pages (and covers) of GIGGLE COMICS for over 10 years (1944-1955).John K. writes about Gordon’s comic books here. Also Asifa Hollywood’s Animation Archive and Kent Butterworth have posted various pages for your enjoyment.In the mid-40s, a desperate Columbia Pictures licensed Gordon’s SUPERKATT comic strip for its Screen Gems animation studio. Why? It’s still a mystery. Was SUPERKATT that popular with the public to make a movie star of him? I doubt it. Did Dave Fleischer, while he was head of the studio several years earlier, make a deal with his ‘ol buddy Gordon? Maybe. Regardless, the cartoon – Leave Us Chase It (1947), produced in low budget two-color Technicolor – made no impression on anyone back in the day. The only promotion we can find is hidden in this puzzle in GIGGLE COMICS #31 (July 1946, almost a year before the film’s release). It’s been practically forgotten (as has the rest of the Screen Gems cartoon library) for six decades. In honor of 60th anniversary of Superkatt’s screen debut, we’ve posted the first three minutes of this curio You Tube for your enjoyment.We invite you to join the cult.

(Thanks to William Sobieck for the puzzle page scan)