Bazooka Joe, the icon of Bazooka brand bubble gum, and star of countless mini comic strips packaged with that gum, has a new modern look consisting of “a stylish, modern version of his well-known ensemble of jeans, t-shirt, and baseball cap.” The new look was chosen from 100 different stylings via an online voting process by fans, with artists offering up their looks. (You can see some of them here.) The winner was designed by Victor Intrasombat of Clockwork Animation. The new look will be given a renewed push for merchandise and gum pack comics.
Other artists that contributed potential new looks include Benjamin Balistreri (How to Train Your Dragon), Robert Lilly (Nickelodeon Animation Studios), and Ben Reynolds (mobile games forGhostbusters and Monster Pet Shop).
While there is a bit of a Poochie feeling to all this, it has at least given Bazooka Joe a renewed push. Former Disney CEO MIchael Eisner purchased the brand a while ago and in 2007 stated that he thought Bazooka Joe could be “the new Mickey Mouse.” That hasn’t exactly happened. Joe himself responded with enthusiasm to the new look. “Thanks to all of the fans who helped me talk Topps into finding me a new getup. New hairstyle, new clothes – I’m ready to take on the world!”
While Joe’s fashions were updated with new kicks and streamlined inking, he did not avail himself of modern-day prosthetic technology to get an artificial eye, and so still sports an eye-patch.
A group of four animation industry artists will create different designs that will be voted on by the public.
He was created by a cartoonist who was (in)famous for his pornographic comics, and written by a noted underground cartoonist (and later drawn by another! And then another!).
He’s one of the few iconic advertising candy characters, and along with Twinkies, one of the few brands to use comics to sell the product.
He’s known world-wide, speaking in a variety of languages, and known to just about any kid with a nickel in his or her pocket (or willing to swipe a piece from the grocery store checkout).
He’s told more jokes than Henny Youngman, and more fortunes than Zoltar.
He’s been satirized, parodied (by Topps, twice!), referenced, and even silk screened by famous artists.
But now, sixty years after his debut, Topps bubblegum is relegating Bazooka Joe to emeritus status, making token appearances with Mort as the iconic comics will be replaced by activities, brainteasers, and codes redeemable at the Topps website,
According to the New York Times, the brand will be getting a redesign, making it more appealing to today’s kids. New colors, trendier logos, and new flavors will be introduced to sell the brand, sales of which have dropped 48% in five years.
Some would say the flavor of the gum lasted about as long as it took to read the comic. (It lasted longer, about average for bubble gum, and much longer than the shingle found in Topps’ collector card packs.) It’s a cheap diversion, and I still buy a handful on occasion from the local deli in my neighborhood, stuffing them into a coat pocket for later enjoyment.
Many (myself included) will wonder why Topps is getting rid of the one thing which makes their brand stand out from other gums. With this, Bazooka is just another Dubble Bubble, another cheap bubble gum which used to run comics. (I’m still trying to figure out why chocolate bar wrappers don’t have printing on the inside. Imagine if kids collected the wrappers! But I guess the death of the sports card market has put the kibosh on that…)
Ironically, Abrams will be publishing Bazooka Joe and His Gang, a 60th anniversary collection and retrospection next May, for $19.95. (Roughly the cost of 400 pieces of bubble gum.) It will include essays, history, and 100 comics from the archives, including the complete first series.
If you’d like to hoard, I recommend ordering it online. Or you might want to relive your youth and buy (or swipe) a piece from your local candy counter. If you just want to read the comics, try this! (Variants included!)
Maybe IDW will revive Joe and the gang with a comics series, complete with multiple covers (printed on waxy paper) which can be redeemed for a cheap toy. Hey… if Choo Choo Charlie can have a comic book, why not Bazooka Joe? Or maybe he can be become a cartoon star.
I thought they stopped making the comics a couple years ago in favor of using games and puzzles.
The designs at the link are so much better. This looks like the work of a committee in 1989. They should have ditched the patch and given him a bionic eye with an ultra long-range telescopic sight. That way he could try and find anyone who even chews Bazooka gum anymore.
How long before Little Lulu, Nancy & Sluggo and Dagwood get modern day makeovers? “Michael Eisner has an eye on Bazooka Joe”….movies, TV shows, toys, games, clothing, etc. It was probably a cheap brand to pick up/acquire and now he’s going to make a boat load of cash with strategic marketing. Good for him. Too bad none of us thought of it. By the way my dentist from years past, thanks Bazooka Joe for all the freakin’ cavities that gum gave me.
He looks undernourished. Needs a good meal, not gum. :)