Debbi's Dates #4

Debbi's Dates #4 (On Sale: August 19, 1969) has a cover by Samm Schwartz..

We began with three Debbi's Dates' stories, "Better Date Than Never," where Buddy and Debbi sign up for a computer dating service, "Double Date, Mate," where Bernard wins a new car and clothes enabling him to easily get dates, and "A Date with Him... is Quite a Charge," wherein Debbi goes out with Harold but ends up paying for everything. This last one was drawn by Doug Crane.

We end with the Ding-a-Lings in "Swing n' Slay" where Bingo, Jinks,Denny, and Yo-Yo decide to form a band called The Ding-A-Lings.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Date With Debbi #5

Date With Debbi #5 (On Sale: July 17, 1969) has a cover by Samm Schwartz.

We begin with an untitled Debbi story drawn by John Rosenberger. That is followed by "Debbi Meets the Hawk" by Henry Boltinoff, John Rosenberger and Henry Scarpelli, which was reprinted in Best of DC #53. We next have Debbi in "Who's Flirting?" and we end with an untitled Flowers story drawn by L. Stuchkus and Frank McLaughlin.

This is the first DC work by L. Stuchkus who would do done more story in the next issue. In the early 1980s Stuchkus would work on a daily newspaper strip entitled Chip's Place. What other work Stuchkus did I do not know.

This is also the first DC work for Frank McLaughlin who would go on to ink more than 365 stories for DC in the next 26 years. McLaughlin is another of the Dick Giordano imports from Charlton, where McLaughlin got his start in comics.

He became Charlton's art director working under Giordano and worked on such books as Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Sun of Vulcan, The Fightin' Five and Sarge Steel, it is his co-creation of Judo Master with Joe Gill for which McLaughlin's stint at Charlton is remembered.
McLaughlin remained the art director at Charlton through 1972, despite also working for DC during this period.

Despite his skills as a penciler, Frank McLaughlin was only utilized as an inker at DC and besides his work on Date With Debbie and Debbi's Dates, he is mainly remembered for long stints on Action Comics Weekly, Flash, Batman, Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, the Justice League of America, Wonder Woman and World's Finest Comics. His last work at DC was on Batman: Shadow of the Bat #39 in 1995.

At Marvel McLaughlin inked Captain America, Captain Marvel and The Defenders. He also did articles and pencils and inks for Marvel's black and white The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu.

Frank McLaughlin has also had a long career in newspaper strips. He was an assistant on The Heart of Juliet Jones. He also worked on Brenda Starr, Nancy and The World's Greatest Superheroes.

As an author he was written How to Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics and How to Draw Monsters for Comics both with Mike Gold.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Debbi's Dates #3

Debbi's Dates #3 (On Sale: June 17, 1969) has a cover penciled by Samm Schwartz.

We begin with "Buddy Gets the Cake" drawn by John Rosenberger. That is followed by two more Debbi's Dates stories, "That's the Way the Rock Crumbles" and "When All the Votes Are Out" of which I have no information.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Date With Debbi #4

Date With Debbi #4 (On Sale: May 15, 1969) has a cover by Samm Schwartz. This is the last issue to use this original logo.

We begin with "T.V. or Not T.V.," "And the Beat Goes On" and "Double Standard," all Debbi stories by persons unknown. Next is an untitled Flowers story drawn by Phil Mendez. We end with "Tennis Bums" a Debbi story by Henry Boltinoff and John Rosenberger which was reprinted in Best of DC #39.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Date With Debbi #3

Date With Debbi #3 (On Sale: March 18, 1969) cover where Debbi has the same dark eyes as last two issues, so I am going to guess that this is also the work of Samm Schwartz.

Inside Debbie stars in "The Brain Game" and "The Cave-Man Cometh" by persons unknown. Flowers stars in an untitled story drawn by Phil Mendez and we end with another Debbie story, "The Minor Becomes a Drum Major" drawn by Henry Boltinoff.

This is the first of only three stories Phil Mendez would draw for DC comics, one in this and the next issue of Date With Debbi and one in Kissyfur #1 in 1989.

Phil Mendez started a comic strip in the Mercury Shopper’s Guide at the age of sixteen and was hired by Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample at the age of eighteen as an assistant art director on the General Mills account. Phil freelanced on comic books at Charlton in 1966 and DC in 1969. He worked as a storyboard artist, head designer and layout director for Totem Productions' Voyager (NASA).

In 1970 he worked at Disney Studios on the feature film Robin Hood. He then worked for Fred Calvert Productions and Ron Campbell Films on projects including Nanny and The Professor, Sesame Street and the IBM specials The Great Blue Marble.”

Mendez designed presentations and layout work for Hanna-Barbara Productions on The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Yogi Bear Show, Hong Kong Phooey, The Buford Files, The Partridge Family, The Banana Split Show and more. He was hired by Mark Davis in 1975 as his assistant to design attractions for Disneyland where he worked on Fantasyland rides, Epcot Center and concept work for future Disney Projects.

He started his own company, Phil Mendez Productions, in 1982 where he designed the original presentation and characters for An American Tail and “Rose Petal Place. He created the children’s shows Kissyfur and Foofur, and he wrote The Black Snowman which won the Martin Luther King “Living the Dream Award” in 1991 (to date the book has sold over 1.7 million copies.) You can see much of Phil's work on his website. You never know who you are going to find in these old DC Comics.

Edited by Dick Giordano

Debbi's Dates #1

Debbi's Dates #1 (On Sale: February 18, 1969) has a cover by Samm Schwartz.

We start with Buddy in "Driven Insane" by persons unknown. That is followed by Debbi's Dates in "A Quick Dip" drawn by Henry Scarpelli. Next is Buddy again in "Ah -- Sweet Valentine's Day" and a final story, "Study Hall 'B'," both by persons unknown.

Edited by Dick Giordano.

Date With Debbi #2

Date With Debbi #2 (On Sale: January 23, 1969) has a cover where Debbi has the same dark eyes as list issue, so I am going to guess that this is also the work of Samm Schwartz..

Inside we have Debbi in "Who's Blue?," "I'll Be Suing You" and aan untitles story all by persons unknown.

Edited by Dick Giordano.