The Tragic Tale of Gaggy, The Joker's First Sidekick

Sorry about missing yesterday's post, Dear Ones.  I get into work mode and I just can't focus on anything else until I've solved it.  Let's make up for it with the kinda awesome but kinda sad story of Gaggy, the Joker's original sidekick:

Yup... long before Joker would have his emotionally-abusive relationship with Harley Quinn, he had Gaggy.  Yes, "Gaggy" sounds like The Ventriloquist saying the word, "baggy."  But that's the hand we're dealt, and we're playing it:

Gaggy even had super-powers.  Well, at least one super power:

Where did that come from?  No one knows.  If you find that annoying, check out the origin story:

Why was he a refugee?  Why did he resort to crime?

We would learn years later that Gaggy was a tightrope walker in the circus.  He lost his job and was put in a freak show, which understandably soured him.  But for now.... eh, comics were 12 cents.

Isn't that sweet?  And it kinda makes sense.

Yeah, that really does a great job of hiding your identity, Gaggy.  You are truly a Master of Disguise! (tm!)

Hey!  It's time for Fun with Out of Context Dialogue! (tm!)

Yeah, I'm not proud of that one, but there it is.

Anyway, Gabby was surprisingly effective:

Yup.  This guy whooped on Robin, fair and square.

And that's not just a random thing.  Gaggy has a serious hate for Robin:

So why was that?  Again... it was never explained.  Again: 12 cents.

Gaggy's go-to move was apparently to climb up Batman's back and cover his eyes:

Waitaminute... doesn't he have a debilitating screaming power?  I mean, he's right by Batman's ears.

Anyway:

Followed by a ton of sound effects:

But Gaggy took it well, as long as he had the Joker's approval.

What's sad is that Gaggy wouldn't appear again for dang near five hundred issues.  Yup.  Five hundred.

And even then, it was a flashback story.

So, what was the rest of the story?

Well, Gaggy would resurface again in Gotham City Sirens #4-6.  It turns out Gaggy's time as the Joker's cellmate was short-lived.  After the Joker killed six people and got sent to Arkham, the two lost touch (which was surprising, considering Gaggy had proven to be dang competent in battle).  Gaggy would later attempt a return to his glory days.... days which didn't include Harley Quinn:

Gaggy also mentioned that he didn't understand why he hated Robin so much.  I suppose it could have simply been "sidekick rivalry," if that's a thing.  But more likely, it was because (as we learned 500 issues later in Batman#682) Gaggy lost his job at the circus when the Flying Graysons came along. Did Gaggy recognize Robin as one of the former Flying Graysons in some way?  Was he just fated to hate them, whether he recognized them or not?  It's an interesting idea.

Anyway, Gaggy would make a cameo in Batman #686.  Other than the story arc in Gotham City Sirens (which was an awesome series), his only other appearance of note was ... you guessed it... in Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series:

Best. Animated Series. Ever.

See you tomorrow.