Space Answer Book (1972)

Space Answer Book is a collection of illustrations and questions about space flight. Because the title page says courtesy of The Associated Press, I think these were published in newspapers as a news item or filler.

Waugh, Coulton, Space Answer Book. Mahwah, NJ: Educational Reading Service, 44 p. 1972.

The author, Coulton Waugh, was a interesting figure in the history of comic strips.

"Frederick Coulton Waugh (10 March 1896, Cornwall, England - 23 May 1973) was a cartoonist, painter, teacher and author, best known for his illustration work on the comic strip Dickie Dare and his book The Comics (1947), the first major study of the field."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulton_Waugh

His work links comic strip artists of the 1940s, fine art, and art instruction. I am curious how he came to make this book but suggest that it was part of a newspaper feature (as I mentioned above). The illustrations are detailed and the questions answered cover some interesting topics.

Casper Space Ship (August 1972)

I have posted about the Apollo 16 mission and its Command Module "Casper" before.

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2010/12/apollo-16-poster-with-casper-friendly.html

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2011/01/casper-presents-space-age-dentistry.html

So this is sort of the 3rd installment of  exploring ghosts and Apollo.  This is by far one of the stranger comics regarding an Apollo mission I have ever come across. So in honor of "Apollo July" here is Casper the Friendly Ghost and Trip to the Moon!

 Maybe ghosts and space ships seems strange enough but just wait...

OK NOW THE STORY STARTS TO GET WEIRD

As a final bit of fun, here is the record that Harvey put out to honor the mission.
Link to the record: https://youtu.be/s-Xs2PlnRr8


July 1972 Casper title

Sept 1972 Casper title.

Casper Presents Space-Age Dentistry (1972)

Happy New Year!  this post is a follow-up of sorts to my post on December 13 about the Casper Apollo 16 poster http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2010/12/apollo-16-poster-with-casper-friendly.html

I am always interested in the stories behind my books and ephemera so I have been looking for more about Casper and Apollo 16. I found this 1972 promotional comic about dentistry, Apollo, and Casper!

The comic has a number of space references in the background, although unfortunately no image from my poster.

I have some scans of selected pages from the comic that reference space flight and Apollo.  It never says Apollo 16 in the comic but from the date of the comic this must have been a quick promotional item printed to take advantage of the connection.

I continue to be fascinated by how space flight ideas were imbedded in popular culture. If you notice the ubiquitous Apollo mission poster and model behind the children in the dentist's office.  This diagram needed no explanation as a summary of how we got to the Moon. 

If it wasn't for the poster I found I would never have known about this connection between a cartoon ghost and one of our great adventures of the 20th century. I also might have missed learning about "Space-age dentistry."

I would have never even bothered to look for this piece of popular culture.  It really places this comic squarely in the 1970s when the last line of the comic is "Right on!"

Apollo 16 poster with Casper the Friendly Ghost (1972)

OK this is definitely under the category of ephemera.  It is a 21 x 32 inch poster of Casper (the Friendly Ghost) flying along with the Apollo 16 Command module over the Moon.

It is probably an artist's proof from someone at Harvey Comics (the "owner's" of Casper)

You can just see the Harvey copyright on this.  The reason it was created was because the Command module of Apollo 16 was named Casper.  At some point the Apollo 16 astronuats were talking to some children about walking on the Moon and one remarked that the astronauts in their white suits looked like Casper the Friendly Ghost.  The crew decided to name their command module Casper to appeal to children's imaginations. The lunar module was called Orion. I have not be able to find out yet whether this poster was ever published. 

I do love the juxtaposition of fantasy and reality in this image.  Which is harder to believe: ghosts or that a manned ship flew to the moon? The only other information I have been able to dig up since I found this beauty is that a smaller image was issued as a button that I was able to find on a space collector's site.