Elsie at the Fair!

Hey Guys!  Andrew the Bee here and I’m back with some more books to review!  Well, this isn’t exactly a book, it’s more like a comic.  OK, so there’s no superheroes and the story is kind of dull, but it’s still cool in its own way.  That’s because this comic is about Elsie the Cow and the 1964 New York World’s Fair!

Elsie the Cow was the mascot of the Borden Dairy Company from her creation in 1936 to the company’s demise in the 1990s.  For much of that time, Borden was the undisputed giant of the American dairy industry.  Weirdly, Borden also became a major player in glue and plastics manufacturing.  I don’t even want to think about that!

Anyhow, Elsie was both an anthro cow and a real-live feral cow.  She was everywhere in American advertising and she made guest appearances at different venues around the country.  She had her own “show” at the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and in 1964, they brought her back for a reprise!  In 1964, this comic was given away to everyone who visited the Borden Exhibit at the Fair's Better Living Center!

The story starts with these two kids, Ann and Dan.  As they enter the fairgrounds, they meet up with a third kid, Abdul.  Abdul is a jive-talking embarrassing stereotype who rides a flying carpet.  He wants to tag along and Ann and Dan are cool with that.   

Just then, a big limousine pulls up.  It’s Elsie the Cow, on her way in to do her show!  For some reason, she takes a liking to the kids and so she offers to be their guide.  But after a few minutes, common sense kicks in and Elsie realizes that she needs to get going!  

She boogies away, but in her rush to get to the Borden Exhibit, she forgets her suitcase!  I’m askin’ myself why she didn’t just leave it with her driver, but hey, if she did that, then there would be no story!

It’s up to Ann, Dan, and Abdul to get the precious case back to Elsie before the show begins!  But how?  Turns out it’s no problem, because Abdul has a map and he can get just about anywhere on that magic carpet of his!  Like a Saber Jet pilot, Abdul targets the Better Living Center and drops them in right at the front door, where Elsie is seen entering like all the other plebes!

Elsie’s pretty glad to have her case back and she rewards the kids with complimentary access to the Borden Exhibit!  She suggests they start with the side shows, which are so boring that I won’t take up your time with them here.

 The kids then say hello to Elsie’s old man, Elmer, who seems to be running this ark-zoo thing.  Finally, they sit in on Elsie’s big performance, which looks like some kind of torch-singing act.   

Ann pronounces it way keen and everything ends happily.   Elsie takes a bow and Abdul, loaded down with frozen TV dinners, flies off to wherever!  

So like I said, this story is hardly riveting.  But Elsie is one lovable and sharp-looking cow, and I think she more than makes up for the lack of plot here.  Hope you think so too!  That’s all for now guys.  See you next time!