Cub Scout Comics

Last year I wrote a few blog entries about Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting making appearances in various comics like Peanuts and Garfield. Did you know the BSA has also produced its own comic books? Oh, they are not usually the funny style comics that you would see in Boy's Life magazine (although a comic book collection of Peewee Harris could be interesting). These comics usually tell Scouts about important lessons.

Currently, through Scoutstuff.org, there are three short comic books for Cub Scout age boys featuring the three Cub Scout characters T.C., Akela, and Baloo. The comics deal with some serious issues, and are priced low enough (only 20 cents each) that you may consider getting a copy of each book for each boy in your Pack. Here is a quick explanation of each book taken from the scoutstuff.com site:

Power Pack Pals #1: Bullying Comic Book
These eight page comic books feature T.C., Akela, and Baloo talking to kids about bullying. Publication is collaboration between the BSA® and several leading youth protection advocacy groups to help address the problem of bullying among youth.
(available HERE)

Power Pack Pals #2: Internet Safety Comic Book
This comic book is the second in a series of youth protection comics for Cub Scout aged kids featuring Akela, Baloo, and T.C. addressing dangers kids could encounter on the Internet and how to avoid them.
(available HERE)

Power Pack Pals #3: 4 Rules for Safety Comic Book
This 8-page comic is the third in a series of youth protection comics for Cub Scout aged kids featuring Akela, Baloo, and T.C. It illustrates scenarios that advise kids about the dangers of strangers and inappropriate behavior by adults toward children, and what to do in scary situations.
(available HERE)
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The Beagle Scout Snoopy Ornament

Do you have a Scouting related ornament hanging on your Christmas tree this year? (I have a few that were made for me by members of the troop.) If you do not, but are looking for one, you may want to make a trip to a Hallmark store and take a look at one of this year's ornaments. It features Beagle Scout Snoopy roasting marshmallows around a campfire with Woodstock and a couple of his friends. It is a really cool ornament and may make an excellent gift for a Scout leader, or even an Eagle Scout.

I happened to be shopping last night and wondered into a Hallmark store to look at this year's Star Wars ornaments. The Beagle Scout Snoopy caught my eye first. Snoopy was in my hand first. Two Snoopy ornaments were in my shopping bag when I left the store. I did not buy any Star Wars ornaments, although the Millennium Falcon looked pretty sweet.

I am looking forward to hanging Beagle Scout Snoopy and his campers on my tree tonight. It will be a nice addition to the other Scouting ornaments already on the tree.

Do you have any Scouting ornaments decorating your house? What are they?
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Cub Scout Casper, Boy Scout Clark.

To tell the truth, I have no idea why I have been on a string of Scouting in Comics this last week. But I have enjoyed it, and I get a feeling that many of you who read this blog have enjoyed these posts too. That being said, I have two more things to add to the "comics" list.

I came across this today on eBay. Someone is auctioning a comic book in which Casper, the friendly Ghost, becomes a Cub Scout. It is a 1975 special edition to celebrate the BSA's 65th anniversary. I would not mind bidding on the comic book since it has a starting bid of only $1.99. However, the postage price is pretty steep at $5.60. It really should not cost more then $1.50 to ship a comic book. Besides, now that I have told you all about it, it will probably go for over $150.00. (smiles to myself)

After all, I have seen what can happen when I post something. I wrote about the nine plush Beagle Scout Snoopy's for sale on Amazon. I bought two right away for 3.99 apiece. Good thing I did. The next day, when I thought I should buy a couple more to use as gifts, I noticed all the cheap ones were gone and I would have to pay more for the next ones I bought. I looked again as I was writing this article and noticed there are now only two left. Coincidence? I think not!

The second thing about comics that came to mind today is that Superman has been called a Boy Scout many times. It was done in the comic books, in the movies, and even in the newest incarnation on television, Smallville. Unfortunately, it is usually said when people are making fun about Superman or Clark Kent. You know, who cares? Superman is a great role model. I am glad that even though Superman never was a Boy Scout, people regard his trustworthiness, loyalty, and bravery as Boy Scout attributes.

Well, this is probably the last post about this topic. I hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to leave a comment and enter this month's drawing.

Scouts Calvin, Mickey, and Garfield

In the last blog post I wrote about Snoopy, the Beagle Scout. I think it is great to see Scouting in this type of media. Innocent, yet very entertaining. Charles Schulz did a great job of touching our funny bone with this favorite Peanuts character. But it was not the only time Scouting has been a part of a major comic strip.

There was once a young boy named Calvin. His best friend was a tiger by the name of Hobbes. For a short time Calvin decided to join a Cub Scout pack and go out for an overnight hike. Calvin quickly discovered that Scouting was not his favorite type of activity. Why, there was no place to plug in the microwave he had brought along. Nope, Calvin and Hobbes would rather spend their days exploring strange new worlds, or playing a rough and tumble game of Calvinball. You can see some of the Calvin the Cub Scout comics here!

The picture I used for this post is Mickey Mouse dressed in a Boy Scout-like uniform. I do not remember where I collected this picture from. I do not know the story behind it. I did a quick search in Google for "boy scout mickey mouse" and did not come up with much. Drop me a line if you know the story behind the picture.

Then, of course, there is Garfield. In 2000-2001 Garfield's creator allowed the fat cat to be used to help promote Cub Scouting. I have not heard anything about how well the promotion went, but I do have my patches of Garfield the Cub Scout that I received at the 2001 National Jamboree. You can some of the Garfield images here.

Well, that wraps up what I currently know about Scouting showing up in popular comic strips here in the USA. I am sure there are other cases of this occurring, but I can not think of any other at the moment.

**Drawing update - So far only two people have entered the drawing for the dvd of Scouting promotional films. If you wish to qualify for the drawing then look back for a previous post about the rules.

The Beagle Scout

I have a scrapbook that few people have seen. In fact, I seldom take it out to look at it myself. It contains some old Scouting mementos. It has my BSA membership cards, merit badge cards, and Totin' Chip card from when I was a Boy Scout. It's pages include over twenty years of BSA cards from my stint as an assistant scoutmaster and scoutmaster of Troop 68. It also contains pictures from my elementary school years, a couple report cards, and my high school graduation program. All these things are interesting to look at once in a while, but the book also contains something that is really fun to read, or look at, depending on your point of view.

The scrap book contains fifteen comic strips that I cut from a newspaper when I was a teenager. These strips feature that wonderful dog we all know and love, Snoopy! What makes these strips so special to me is that they are the ones that feature Snoopy as a Boy Scout.

The strip begin with Snoopy as a Tenderpaw. Lucy teases him about being such a low rank to which Snoopy replies that he will work and work to reach the top and become a... Beagle Scout! As the story line continues we watch as the lovable beagle go out for a hike, and then becomes hopelessly lost. He is finally rescued by a Girl Scout selling cookies. Of course, Lucy is true to form and has to tell Snoopy how disappointed she is to see a Beagle Scout rescued by a Girl Scout.

The strip then goes on and we see Snoopy as the "Scout Leader" of a "patrol" that contains Woodstock and his friends. Did you know Woodstock's friends were named Conrad, Oliver, and Bill? I like the strips when Snoopy talks about first aid and the evening meal with his troop.

I discovered, after a quick search on the internet, that Snoopy first appeared as a Scout on May 13, 1974. I was thirteen years old at the time. Wow, I did not realize that these newspaper strips were that old. You can see this first strip here and read about Lucy criticizing Snoopy on his new identity. The strip is found at the bottom of the page.

I also discovered that there are a couple Beagle Scout Snoopy toys available on Amazon.com. One plush Snoopy seems to come with a little book conatining the Scouting comic strips. Hmmm... how much credit do I have left on my card? Oh boy! Looks like I have enough to buy two of them!