Almost all the old strips were full of pun names, like Olive Oyl (and the whole Oyl family), Ann Howe from Joe Palooka, Washington Tubbs, and more. Anyway…I’ve been reading a great run of old Alley Oops on a FB group and one character is named G. Oscar Boom. If that’s a pun I can’t quite suss it.
G. O. Boom (“go boom”)?
That sounds about right.
Dick Tracy had B. O. Plenty.
Of course, in Alley Oop you also had Professor Wunmug.
“Wunmug” = “One Mug”
In German, “One” is “Ein” and “Mug” is “Stein”, so “Wunmug” = “Einstein”
I came up with one a long time ago, and a comic strip artist used it before I could do anything with it.
Howie Schneider’s strip Eek and Meek had a circus acrobat named “Legs” Akimbo. I shoulda sued.
I remember a Legs Akimbo from a zany circus strip, circa mid 70s. Can’t think of the name right now.
Luann has Ann Eiffel (an eyeful).
There’s the Hi and Lois strip (high and low)
Eek and Meek also had a psychiatrist named Sang Froid
Look it up. The “Froid” part was obviously a pun on “Freud”.
The Wizard of Id had the Frankenstein-like Abra-Cadaver
In Jerry Scott’s strip Zits one of Jeremy’s close friends is Pierce, which wouldn’t be a pun, except that Pierce is a punk type with plenty of obvious piercings.
Popeye had Prof OG Wotasnozzel:
Known in German as OG Riesenrüssel (“Giant Probiscus” or “Trunk”).
Legs Akimbo was in Eek & Meek, and also in P.T.Bimbo, a circus strip by Schneider.
Churchy LaFemme from Pogo
Senator Jack S. Phogbound from L’il Abner
Before comics, there was the political satirist Orpheus C. Kerr.
Rick O’Shay (from Wikipedia): “The strip is set in the Western town of Conniption where Rick O’Shay is the deputy sheriff, since the town is too small to have a full sheriff. His best friend is gunslinger Hipshot Percussion. Other key characters include gambler Deuces Wilde, dance hall owner Gaye Abandon… nurse, Ophelia Pulse… banker Mort Gage and a boy named Quyat Burp…”
I still miss it.
Also, it’s French for “cold blood”.
Shoe has Senator Batson D. Belfry.
Gil Thorp has Hadley V. Baxendale, whose name is a lawyer joke.
O-Dor of Uranus appears in Brewster Rockit: Space Guy occasionally.
I admit, I’m a bit out of it today, but I don’t get any of these puns.
In Calvin and Hobbes, the author of Calvin’s favorite book (“Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie”) is named Mabel Syrup.
Ella Cinders was a comic take on the Cinderella story. One of Ella’s stepsister was Lotta Pill,* and her boyfriend was Waite Lifter.
*“Pill” was slang at the time for someone who ruins your fun.