Chicago Spanking Review

Abbie an' Slats #3

---> Comics Gallery 2

Art by Raeburn Van Buren; date unknown [later discovered to be March 14, 1945]. Posted by the Web-Ed on 10/22/2010.

We had not been able to identify this strip since we found it on Yahoo earlier this year, but almost immediately after we put it up CSR Resident Artist Dan Rivera posted this explanation on the Bulletin Board, the relevant portion of which we reproduce here:

"In the strip in question, the bald, corpulent fellow with eyeglasses is actually a successful novelist, John Smith. He has written a bestselling book that has brought him fame. The blonde lady over his knee is a gold digger, not so pure and not so simple. She and her publicity agents inveigle Mr. Smith into actually marrying the blonde floozy... for the publicity, natch. But he thinks her love is sincere.

"When he discovers their marriage was a sham, he puts his new bride over his knee and spanks her soundly. That's when Becky bursts in, along with the bride's PR people, who claim she has 'grounds for a lawsuit -- harsh and inhuman treatment.' The phony bride gets a good spanking all right, but then John Smith stands up to face the PR guys. He tells them that, despite his tame physical appearance, he is an expert on boxing. Then he proceeds to knock them both out. And guess what? The paddled princess realizes she has learned a good lesson, and decides to stay married to the big lug."

03/24/2017 Update: Thanks to Sweetspot, and Andre we can now nail down the date this spanking occurred as well as present the surrounding circumstances that have already been described by Dan. First, let's take a quick look at the two daily strips from March 14 and 15, 1945:

Abbie an' Slats, March 14, 1945. Scan by Sweetspot. © United Features Syndicate (click to enlarge).

Abbie an' Slats, March 15, 1945. Scan by Sweetspot edited by Web-Ed. © United Features Syndicate (click to enlarge).

It appears Dan remembered the plot pretty well after all those years! Our movie star, Lola Burner (a play on "Lana Turner" that would have been recognized by readers at the time), is using Mr. Smith for publicity, but he believes her to be his "predestined mate". Perhaps this plotline was suggested by Turner's reputation in some quarters for having gotten ahead in Hollywood for reasons other than her acting ability, namely her ability to fill out a sweater in an era before half the women in California had had breast augmentations done.

But just as Turner did have some acting ability, Lola Burner seems to have had a heart, or at least feminine desires, that were reachable by the trusty method of spanking! Her fanny on fire (Van Buren uses unusual "lightning bolt" lines to indicate her stinging seat) and her PR men knocked down by the furious fists of Mr. Smith, Burner (her name now doubly appropriate) decides he's the man for her after all - another happy ending brought about only by a good spanking!

Let's see the surrounding context for the spanking now with the strips from March 8-10 and then March 12-15, which were provided by Andre:

Abbie an' Slats, March 8-10, 1945. Scan by Andre. © United Features Syndicate (click to enlarge).

Abbie an' Slats, March 12-15, 1945. Scan by Andre. © United Features Syndicate (click to enlarge). Posted by the Web-Ed on 03/24/2017.

09/17/2021 Update: Our old friend Robin discovered a reprinted version while poring over some scans of old comics. The whole story is here although the panels from the strips of March 13-15, 1945 have been rearranged on the page.

Abbie an' Slats from Sparkler Comics #64 (V7 #4, Feb. 1947). Discovered by Robin. Scan by FreddyFly. © United Features Syndicate. Posted by the Web-Ed on 09/17/2021.