TRULY GONE&FORGOTTEN: WHAM-O GIANT COMICS PRESENTS KLUNKER THE MISFIT MONSTER

It me.

Klunker the Misfit Monster
(w/a: Willie Ito)

Willie Ito -- whose career placed him at Disney, Hanna Barbera and Warner Brothers (at Termite Terrace itself, nonetheless!) -- brings to the Wham-O Giant Comics family a John Stanley-flavored feature by way of Stu Pydd and his misfit monster, Klunker.

Stu Pydd is a kid who's obsessed with monsters, to the point that he spends most of his day trying to terrify his family and friends by way of his monster mask. Before I go any further, do you mind if I vent about how much I hate the name "Stu Pydd?" I mean, I know this is one of those "It's kids' entertainment, keep your adult expectations at home," but seriously. It's hard to imagine Stu's parents running through possible names and running the "defense against getting called bad names" spell that most new parents do, and settling on Stuart. "There's no way you could make something bad out of Stuart and Pydd," says dad, as he's frog-marched into the Soylent Green vat. We gotta do something we these people.

"...and married one instead."

Rejected by his monster-ambivalent friends, Stu retreats to the forest where he meets a legit terrifying monster! It's Klunker, a giant robot who can be reduced to toy size by way of a key attached to the top of his metal skull. This is handy, as Stu is able to shrink Klunker to nothing-sized just as his inventor, Dr.Jeepers Creep, plods through the forest in search of his errant creation.

In fact, despite his name, Stu pulls an incredibly smart trick in order to hide his pal's presence. With telltale tracks leading Dr.Creep directly towards his target, Stu rides his bicycle violently and enthusiastically around the aforementioned indentations, effectively obscuring them and saving his new pal from discovery.

Stu takes Klunker home, making this the second strip in this publication which features a young boy taking home a tiny monster who grows large when fiddled with. I think this might be a metaphor for puberty.