Horse-Shaped Fun

Normally, when a model horse collector talks about an "HSO" sighting, they're talking about a kind of model horse that sort of looks like it was meant to portray a real animal, but that has certain conformation, biomechanic, and/or coloration flaws that exclude it from becoming a part of one's show herd.  Horse-shaped objects (HSOs) attract us because of their whimsical nature, not because they are good representations of horses.

Just the other day, though, I bought an HSO for myself that isn't really even vaguely horse-shaped.  It is certainly whimsical, though.

What happened was that I got an email in my inbox from a comic book distributor I'd had prior dealings with.  They were having a Black Friday sale.  I hadn't been on their website for quite a while, so I clicked the link and took a look.  And that's where I found a Funko Pop! Quick Draw McGraw figurine on sale, and I simply could not resist bringing him home.

Quick Draw McGraw and his Zorro-like alter-ego, El Kabong, were among my favourite television cartoon characters when I was small.  The team of Quick Draw and his donkey sidekick Baba Looey pushed all my buttons -- they were cute, they were cartoons, they were equids.  What more could a kid want?

I was in seventh heaven when my local television station (one of three that we had access to during my childhood) added Quick Draw to their "Hanna-Barbera Hour" (or possibly half-hour: I don't recall the actual name of the program).  Other cartoons featured in daily rotation on that program included Yakky Doodle Duck; Huckleberry Hound; Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo; Pixie, Dixie and Mr. Jinks; and Snagglepuss -- all early additions to Hanna-Barbera's stable of animated characters and all childhood favorites.

Hanna-Barbera was something of a powerhouse of an animation studio, particularly during the 1960s when their cartoons began taking over TV.  At that time I also watched "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show," Walter Lantz's "Woody Woodpecker Show" (which I seem to recall airing only sporadically), some CanCon (Canadian content) cartoons like "Rockect Robin Hood" and "Spider-Man", and, for one brief season a show that included both "Shazzan" and "Luno," two other cartoons that I absolutely loved ("Shazzan" for its flying camel and "Luno" for its flying horse).  But despite all these contenders for my affection, my greatest love was always reserved for Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey.  Among other things, I once had a group of View-Master reels devoted to their adventures and I still have a 45 rpm record immortalizing El Kabong.

This video, called "The Good, the Bad, and the EL KABONG" probably tells you all you need to know about Quick Draw in about five minutes.

The Funko Pop! figurines honour just a few Hanna-Barbera characters in their line-up:  the back of Quick Draw's box mentions Ricochet Rabbit, Squiddley Diddley, and Penelope Pitstop, and I've never seen any of those cartoons, although I do remember once reading a comic book with Ricochet Rabbit in it.  I do believe they've expanded their line a little bit since Quick Draw debuted around December 2015 -- I've seen such characters as the Jetson's Dog Astro, Atom Ant, Touché Turtle, Top Cat, Lippy the Lion, Snagglepuss and even El Kabong and a very tempting Baba Looey for sale on eBay.

Collectible in their own right, Funko Pop! figurines win over most of their customers with cute versions of much more current pop culture heroes, like the Marvel Avengers, Star Wars characters, Walt Disney characters, the Harry Potter gang and the like.  Until I actually removed Quick Draw from his package, I thought these characters were all bobbleheads, but actually the Pop! line is a simple plastic figurine line -- Funko produces its bobbleheads under the name Wacky Wobblers.

According to Wikipedia, the large head of the Funko Pop! characters mimics a Japanese style of animation known as "chibi."  Chibi-style characters typically have small bodies and limbs and oversized heads to make them appear childlike.

Being a collector, I can certainly see the collectible appeal of these Funko figurines.  I'm already thinking that I need a Baba Looey to go with Quick Draw.  After all, I once dressed up a Breyer Traveller and Brighty and as the animated pair for a live show costume class.  But even though Funko also offers a line of My Little Pony (MLP) figures (including a Dr. Who-MLP mash-up named "Dr. Hooves") as well as such characters as Donkey from Shrek and Bullseye from Toy Story 2, I do not really need any more HSOs in my life.

It sure is fun to think about them, though, and bring back those memories of being mesmerized by the 'toons on our old black and white TV back when my choices of animated entertainment were limited to three numbers on a well-worn dial.