Yogi Bear’s Easter Parade

Yogi Bear’s Easter Parade

Cover dated 1978, Yogi Bear’s Easter Parade is the second in a hat trick of issues published by Marvel under the title The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

Captured in this static time capsule of primary colors and pastels are the kings and queens of Saturday morning cartoon favorites. H-B’s roster of characters reads like a who’s who in the history of animation. Almost all are collected in the 50 pages of this book.

Yogi leads off with his self-titled Easter Parade story. Like a vintage Our Gang short, Yogi musters the colorful inhabitants of the Hanna-Barbera world to save Easter morning from capitalism.

Scooby-Doo and “those meddling kids” team with Blue Falcon and Dynomutt in Phantasma Gloria. The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour debuted in 1976 and by 1978 had run its course and was heading for syndication by the time this book was released.

Robots Bloom in Spring brought the Jetsons out of before- and after-school reruns with a short story centered on housekeeper Rosie who feels she has become obsolete.

Spring Fever is a cautionary tale of love and bank accounts. Top Cat and his band of Manhattan alley cats heavily inspired by the 1940’s East Side Kids save Officer Dibble from financial ruin.

The Flintstones bookend the issue in Spring Training. Barney and Betty’s adopted son, Bamm-Bamm, is signed to a Major League Baseball franchise only to find black gold instead.

Sprinkled between the stories are pages of puzzles sponsored by the Hanna-Barbera gang including Yakky Doodle’s Scrambled Eggs, Captain Caveman: Twin Trouble, Touche Turtle’s Crossword Puzzle, Huckleberry’s Comic Crostic and Magilla Magic.