they waited for their food", the book involves the escapades of Big Boy, his girlfriend Dolly and dog Nugget. From the comic books children could also join the Big Boy Club, a kids' club offering them free Big Boy hamburgers, decoder cards, pin-back buttons and other premiums. The serial – sometimes called "King of the Giveaways" – once had distribution estimated at three million copies. Manfred Bernhard commissioned Timely Comics to produce the book. In the first year, Adventures of the Big Boy was managed by Sol Brodsky, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Bill Everett, Brodsky, and Dan DeCarlo. DeCarlo continued drawing in the second year and Lee writing the series through 1961. For 17 years, starting in the mid-1970s, Manny Stallman drew the (Marriott) series, followed by Bob Bindig who drew the series until 1995. Variations Because of the distinct East and West Coast Big Boy mascots, dual versions of Adventures were produced, identical except for the detail of the Big Boy figure. In July 1969, the versions merged, and a fluffy brown haired Big Boy appeared. In 1976, Shoney's began publishing their own series instead. Contracted to Paragon Products, this version featured an older, leaner Big Boy, with his siblings Katie and Tripp replacing Dolly and Nugget, and was adopted by the JB's and Azar's Big Boy franchises. After 75 issues, it became Shoney's Fun and Adventure Magazine introducing a Shoney's mascot ("Uncle Ed" bear) in place of Big Boy, allowing it to serve Shoney's non-Big Boy restaurants. Cancellation In 1996, after 39 years and 466 issues, Big Boy cancelled the comic book and hired Craig Yoe's Yoe! Studio to revamp the characters and produce a magazine styled replacement. After 63 issues, the Big Boy Magazine was itself cancelled in 2008. Food The Big Boy hamburger The signature Big Boy hamburger is the original double deck hamburger. The novel hamburger started as a joke. In February 1937, some local big band musicians, who were regular customers of Bob's Pantry, visited the restaurant. When ordering, bass player Stewie Strange asked, "How about something different, something special?" [emphasis added]. Bob Wian improvised, creating the first (then unnamed) Big Boy, intending the thing "look ridiculous, like a leaning tower". Demand for "the special" soared but Wian sought a "snappy" name, which became Big Boy. In 1938, the Big Boy hamburger cost 15¢ (). In 2018, the Big Boy cost