2024 Comics Fun Advent Calendar, Day 3: The monster cereals are always in season!

I've never had any Carmella Creeper. Is it good?

I never had any of General Mills' monster cereals as a child. My parents just wouldn't go for it. Frosted Flakes and Apple Jacks were okay, but Franken Berry and Frute Brute were out of the question. I remember seeing a box of Count Chocula at a friend's house once and being consumed with both fascination and jealousy. I finally got to have them as an adult. By then, according to those who know, the recipes had been changed (for health reasons) and the cereals weren't as good as they used to be. They tasted fine to me. Maybe it's a good thing I never had any of those cereals in their '70s and '80s heyday. I might still be chasing an impossible Boo Berry high from when I was seven.

Anyway, the comic above was written back in October but I'm just sharing it now. Maybe, in this context, it's Advent and not Halloween that arouses Carmella Creeper.

(today's zomby) AND 1970s MONSTER CEREAL NOSTALGIA!

Boy oh boy! Leave it to Zomby to get himself in another pickle, am I right? It's one thing after another with this guy! But speaking of tasty snacks with deadly consequences, here are some vintage 1970s promotional records by the three General Mills "monster cereal" mascots, Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and Boo Berry. (Fruit Brute is mysteriously AWOL and Yummy Mummy had not been invented.) These originally came as freebies with boxes of the cereal themselves circa 1979, and now they're here for your enjoyment. So just close your eyes and try to pretend that Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre have formed the worst sketch comedy troupe in all of human history. Enjoy!








To be fair, that last one is actually pretty funny -- a showbiz satire in which Count Chocula wins a monster lookalike contest, goes to Hollywood, and finds that Tinseltown isn't what it's cracked up to be. I'm especially taken by the character of "Gary Glamor," the sleazy, glad-handing director who willingly endangers the health of his newfound "star." One thing that's never brought up is that this is all taking place in what seems to be broad daylight, which should pose a problem for a vampire.