Sugar&Spike - Little Giants

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Little Giants
Sugar & Spike #27 [1960]
6 pages
Reprints: The Best of DC #47 [1984]
Dedication: Mrs. Marjorie Lane (age 21 plus), California

Spike is a bit of a pest while his mother tries to talk to Sugar's mother.  Sugar's mother suggests something that she learned from the baby-book that works for Sugar, letting the kids play as giants in a miniature world.  They decide to let Spike try it, and then Sugar explains her interpretation of the toys, and how she feels about their mothers ignoring them. All of this serves to dissipate the anger the kids have, though perhaps not for the reason the adults think.

This was among the earliest Sugar&Spike stories I read, through the 1980s digest reprint, and not really one of my favourites back then.  Not sure why, but I do like it a bit better now, especially some of Sugar's dialogue when explaining things to Spike.  There are also some clever bits in the art which are much easier to appreciate at full size.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson
Damage: Hopefully the dolls are waterproof
Punishment: The dolls get treated harshly
Sugar's treatment of Spike: He gets a doll smacked out of his hand and yelled at a bit, but suffers much more from the coffee dumped on his head

"Whenever I'm in the mood to play with it, I make a real pest of myself until she gets it out"

Sugar&Spike - Speech Lessons

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Speech Lessons
Sugar & Spike #8 [1957]
6 pages
Reprints:  The Sugar And Spike Archives #1 [2011]
Dedication: Wayne Posz (age 8), Indiana

A classic look at the eternal failure to communicate theme that the series featured, this time the kids put some clues together and realize that their parents don't actually understand their baby-talk. Naturally their solution is to try to teach them, starting with the easiest word they know, "GLX", meaning "Hello". When that doesn't have the result they expect, they attempt to reconcile the various reactions they get to the word to figure out what it means in grown-up talk, but their perfectly logical conclusions only get them in more hot water.

Lervly story, especially the baby logic, and some wonderful expressions on the kids.  This also features one of my favourite S&S scenes ever, a bit where Spike helps Sugar escape from her playpen "prison", only to wind up in it himself, with the final reveal that they can just lift it up and get out anytime.  Throwaway bit that isn't even referred to in the dialogue, just a cute visual to enjoy on a second level to the main plot.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Wilson, brush salesman, various neighbours
Damage: Many, many dishes, a fruit bowl and a plant
Punishment: a sentence in the "pokey" (a playpen) and various trips to the corner

"I think that when we're talking good, clear baby-talk to them, they think we're just making silly noises that don't mean anything!"

Sugar&Spike - Little Arthur Becomes a Mad Professor!

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Little Arthur Becomes a Mad Professor!
Sugar & Spike #42 [1962]
6 pages
Reprints: None
Dedication: Carol Chernoff (age 12), Illinois

One of the major recurring characters in the series is Little Arthur, a slightly older boy whose mother Myrna often brings him over.  Arthur first appears in #17, returns in #22 and then shows up every few issues for the rest of the series, including the new material drawn in the 1980s.  Arthur is quite a terror, so the kids learn to dread his visits, which usually consist of Arthur pulling Sugar's ponytail, which leads to Spike biting him.  Arthur is old enough that he speaks grown-up talk rather than baby-talk, so he lie about what happened, getting the kids punished (as Sugar once says, he doesn't so much speak in grown-up talk as he fibs in it).  Of course, his plans always backfire (I don't think the Comics Code allowed them to show success through lying).

In this variation, Arthur has a new interest in medicine, and pretty much ignores Sugar and Spike as he works on his plans for a self-propelled stretcher. The kids figure he must be sick, and are quite happy with that, until Arthur tries to put his ideas into practice, converting a coffee table to a stretcher and trying to use them as test patients.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Plumm, Little Arthur, Myrna
Damage: That coffee table is history, all Arthur's fault.  The lamp, that was all Spike

"He should be sick more often! It improves him!"

Sugar&Spike - Thumbs Up!

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Thumbs Up!
Sugar & Spike #1 [1956]
2 pages
Reprints: Sugar & Spike No. 1 Replica Edition [2002],  The Sugar And Spike Archives #1 [2011]

A little taste of what you'll see in the upcoming SUGAR AND SPIKE ARCHIVES, the second story from the first issue. Kind of an interesting look at Mayer's technique, as the basic gag of this story is the same as that used in the cover to this issue. With three times as much room to play with it, Mayer adds some nice visual bits, including the kids playing in the trashcan in the park, and also makes a lot more hay out of Spike's incredulity that Sugar was able to find a new and painless way of scamming some candy from her mother.
 
Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Wilson
Damage: Not much, maybe Spike's pride and his faith in the power of books...

"They kept pulling my thumb outa my mouth, so naturally, I kept putting it back in!"

"Naturally!"

Sugar&Spike - One Good Deed

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

One Good Deed
Sugar & Spike #87 [1969]
1 page
Reprints: None

Cute little single page story about how the kids react to the doorbell.  I like the logic of Sugar describing ringing the bell as punching the door in the face, and the action that results from that interpretation is both sensible and silly, and the proud expressions on their faces for thinking of it are adorable.

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Mrs. Wilson

"It was my mommy who punched its nose!"

Sugar&Spike - New Method

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

New Method
Sugar & Spike #11 [1957]
1 page
Reprints: None

Well, you know this isn't going to end well for Spike's dad, sleeping on the beach with his bare feet sticking out when his son finds a crab.

Nice quick little story, something to look forward to if the upcoming reprint is followed by a second volume.

And Spike's dad even brings his pipe to the beach...

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mr. Wilson
Damage: That toe's going to be sore for a while

"It's good for waking up sleeping daddies"

Sugar&Spike - Busy Corners

The Chronicles of Sheldon Mayer's Sugar & Spike

Busy Corners
Sugar & Spike #1 [1956]
6 pages
Reprints: The Best of DC #47 [1984], Sugar & Spike No. 1 Replica Edition [2002],  The Sugar And Spike Archives #1 [2011]
Dedication: None

One of my favourite Sugar & Spike stories is from the very first issue, this story that introduces Sugar's Uncle Charley, her mother's younger brother, a traffic cop who frequently visits to play with his niece, who adores him because "he's only grown up where it shows".  Spike is initially jealous, but is quickly won over by Charley's charm.

This story sets the pattern for most of the future Uncle Charley stories, where his ideas of how to handle children infuriate Sugar's mother, then seem to work, and then ultimately backfire because for all his trying, the children don't really understand what he's saying, but love him anyway.

Among other things, this story has the first appearance of one of my favourite lines, one Mayer liked enough to use a few times over the years.  "If people don't want their things busted, they shouldn't leave 'em lying around on the ceiling!"

Characters: Sugar, Spike, Mrs. Plumm, Uncle Charley
Damage: one new chandelier and everything on the living room table
Punishment: Two trips into an increasingly crowded corner

"What's he talking about?"
"I don't know, but pay attention or you'll hurt his feelings!"