Leave It to Binky #5
Leave It to Binky #5 is a representative artifact of DC's late-Golden Age push into teen-humor comics, a genre that exploded in the wake of Archie's postwar success and a newly coined cultural concept — the 'teenager.' The issue illustrates how DC's humor line used its own superhero stable as connective tissue: a Superman cameo drops into an otherwise mundane department-store gag strip, a Captain Tootsie advertising page drawn by C.C. Beck and Pete Costanza nestles beside scripts by Sheldon Mayer and Hal Seeger, and a house ad for Scribbly #2 reminds readers that Binky's fictional DNA ran directly through Mayer's earlier semi-autobiographical boy-cartoonist strip. Taken together, the issue captures the moment when DC was actively trying to hold teenage readers across multiple genres in a single 52-page package.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Leave It to Binky was conceived by Sheldon Mayer — who had just stepped down from his editorial post at DC in 1948 to devote himself full-time to cartooning — with Bob Oksner brought in as the primary visual artist from the very first issue; Oksner later recalled that the concept and characters were Mayer's, while the drawing was his own. Scripts for issue #5 were co-written by Mayer and Hal Seeger, with Whitney Ellsworth serving as editor, and the book was published under the 'A Superman DC Publication' indicia banner of National Comics Publications. The series arrived at precisely the moment Bob Oksner described as a cultural inflection point: the post-World War II invention of the 'teenager' as a distinct market demographic, which opened the comics industry to a wave of Archie-influenced humor titles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover-dated October 1948; on-sale date confirmed by copyright registration as August 25, 1948. Published by National Comics Publications Inc. under the 'A Superman DC Publication' brand.
- Series created by Sheldon Mayer (concept and characters) and illustrated by Bob Oksner, who served as primary artist on the original run through issue #60 (1958). Issue #5 scripts are credited to Hal Seeger and Sheldon Mayer.
- Whitney Ellsworth edited the issue. The 52-page package was bi-monthly and priced at ten cents.
- The closing story 'The Clock' ends with a humorous crossover cameo by Superman in its final panel — one of the series' recurring nods to DC's superhero line within a purely comedic teen-humor context.
- A story titled 'A Word of Advice' has Binky emulate a scenario from the popular 'A Date With Judy' radio program in an attempt to win back Peggy after she breaks up with him — a direct in-panel reference to a competing teen-media property that was then also being adapted into comics by DC.
- The issue contains a Captain Tootsie advertising page with pencils by C.C. Beck and inks by Pete Costanza — the same creative team behind Captain Marvel at Fawcett — making it a notable cross-publisher artistic crossover within the pages of a DC book.
- A house advertisement for Scribbly #2 (art by Sheldon Mayer) appears in the issue, underscoring the editorial relationship between Binky and Mayer's earlier semi-autobiographical Scribbly the Boy Cartoonist strip, which Binky was consciously designed to extend.
- The Grand Comics Database records first appearances in this issue of supporting characters Mr. Draper (Jamie's father), Tish a.k.a. 'The Terrible Tish' (Jamie's seven-year-old cousin), Beanie Bellows, Mr. Bellows, and Connie O'Connor — minor figures in the Jamie Draper backup feature.
Cast · 40 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Peggy makes a date with Binky to meet under a department store clock. But when the clock is removed for repairs, Binky can't find Peggy.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).