Review of "Half Hitch," by Hank Ketcham

Review of

Half Hitch, by Hank Ketcham 

Three out of five stars

 This is a cartoon book where the humor and the topics are very dated. Hitch is a sailor in the U. S. Navy and is very short, hence his being called “Half Hitch.” He is very much a ladies man and the ladies that he hits on are all depicted as being quite buxom and wearing very short skirts. The list of Hitch ladies is quite long, although he occasionally gets slapped when he tries to add to the list.

 By modern standards, the humor is quite tame, sexual innuendo is present, but so light that even the attentive viewer may miss some of it. Hitch also has a large, physically powerful fellow sailor friend that is a dunce. Very similar to Moose Miller of the Archie series.

 This book is a look back to the day when humor was less subtle and simplistic, an artificial representation of life. Women are objects to be conquered, the approach of Hitch to women is summarized in one of the three caption sequences. In the opening line, Hitch tells the woman, “All my life I have been searching for a girl like you..” When the girl objects, saying she does not want it to get serious, his response is “Who’s serious?” In many ways, this humor has past its time.