Toppers: Honey Bun

 

Aggie Mack was a long-running teen girl strip mostly memorable for the sumptuous brushwork of Hal Rasmussen. Especially earlier in the series, as above, Rasmussen's command of line and anatomy, and the playfulness of his posing, makes what would have otherwise been just a me-too sort of affair into a memorable and successful strip. 

Aggie Mack debuted in 1946, after the heyday of the toppers, but they were still often thrown in so that a feature could be simply and easily converted from a half to a third page format. The seldom seen topper for Aggie Mack was Honey Bun, which basically starred a pre-teen version of Aggie herslf. As best I can figure out, the Honey Bun character never appeared in the main strip. Rasmussen employed a slightly modified style for the topper, giving it more the look of classic animation. It was as well done as the main strip, though, and I feel sorry for readers who seldom got to see it. Even though the topper was included with the half-page, tab page, and half-tab formats, nearly every paper used the third page, the only format that eliminated it.

Honey Bun started along with the Aggie Mack Sunday on September 15 1946.  The latest sample I have that includes the topper is one from 1960, but it may well have gone on longer. Aggie Mack ran until 1972, and it is possible that the topper was offered until the end. Can anyone find samples later thatn 1960?

For some more great examples of Hal Rasmussen's art, check out John K's blog where he offers samples from a scarce art instruction book by Rasmussen. In John K's words, "he draws pretty girls like a sonuvabitch."