Mr. Punch in the Arts: “Punch and Judy Comics,” 1944

Dedicated to my friend, "Whirligig."  Whirl, you
never told me about your thriving washing
machine concern...

Fans of vintage comics know the name Jack Kirby. He gave us such timeless characters as “Lockjaw the Aligator” (sounds painful) and “Earl the Bunny” (equally painful in a different way). He also gave us “Punch and Judy” Comics. But, don’t be fooled—this isn’t the Mr. and Mrs. Punch that we know from the puppet shows. No, it’s kind of like Mr. Punch, but not quite. In fact, if you’ll pardon an editorial moment from me, it’s just wrong…wrong, wrong. But, I’m a Punch purist.


So, it seems the comics followed the adventures of a living marionette named Punch and his relationship with a human girl named Judy (who looks oddly like “Little Audrey”). Why he’s living, I’m not sure. However, he has a human uncle—“Uncle Tony” to be exact. It seems that “Uncle Tony” somehow imbued Punch with life. It’s got the stink of Pinocchio all over it.

Not only did the comic follow this imposter Punch and his chum, Judy (who doesn’t seem to be at all terrified), it also gave Kirby a chance to interject his famous animal antics. Punch interacts with such characters as “Fatsy McPig” (Ha!), “Captain Catfish” (Huh?) and “Buttons the Rabbit.” Seriously, what’s with all the “so-and-so…the Rabbit” names in 1940’s comics? Okay, that’s the gist of it.

Like it or hate it, it’s just further evidence of how pervasive Mr. Punch is and how much he’s influenced popular culture for centuries. I wouldn’t mind taking a look at one of these comics in its entirety. Who knows? I might just become enchanted with Fatsy McPig.