Woody Woodpecker was also one of the Lantz characters who appeared in the book. He was such a new character at the time, he was a guest-star in the Oswald stories for a year or two before he received his own comic strip in New Funnies. At first, Woody's strip was only one page. With issue 87, he began receiving a longer strip. Of course, as time went on, Woody Woodpecker became Walter Lantz' biggest star and was featured on most New Funnies covers from the mid-1940s until it was cancelled in the early 1960s.
New Funnies is a great series. Not only are issues fairly easy to find--something surprising for A Golden Age comic book series--but many issues are not too expensive. Of course, the most sought-after issues are the earliest issues from the time the book switched to featuring the Lantz characters. The earliest issues can cost hundreds of dollars in near-mint condition.
In my opinion, some of the best covers are the ones that feature Woody, Andy Panda and Charlie Chicken, a character who only appeared in a few cartoons but was featured in the comics from the 1940s to the 1970s. He's one of those forgotten characters who never received large-scale fame. But, that's a blog for another day...
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