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the first reviewer is confused. wally wood was a huge flash gordon and prince valliant fan, and he was certainly familiar with newspaper comics, as was everyone of his age, he's also of the first generation of cartoonists who read the early comicbooks. robert crumb? he remembers seeing the first issue of mad comics when he was 5, but was a fan of superduck and carl barks. frank miller? you gotta be kidding. he was never influenced by 1930s comics,but that's all fanboy bullshit. Notwithstanding, whatcha gots here is an ace compilation of early comics, at a generally nice price. a hundred years ago comics were considered to have been created by illiterates for the immigrant and criminal classes, and these show why. unlike their sanitized post-war versions, these were written for an adult audience, and the modern reader who is unfamiliar with the material may find some of it surprising. did you know Gasoline Alley is almost 100 years old and the first soap opera? did you know Blondie was a 1920s flapper who married the wealthy young party-boy Dagwood, and then he lost his money in the '29 republican stock market crash? or conversely, Jiggs and Maggie were nouveau riche trying to adjust to high society? (well, maggie was, anyway) Any true comics fan should have a copy of this. it's by the smithsonian, and there's no better collection.If you're a fan and can relate to stories where not everyone has a mask or a sword, then you will probably find one or more strip that you'll want to follow up on in one of the many fine volumes of reprints that focus on specific characters if you haven't seen frank king's beautiful gasoline alley sunday pages or walt kelly's pogo, then you really should check out this book. the smithsonian book of comic book comics is a companion that reprints the best of early comic books and should also be owned by any fan.Read full review
This book is a marvelous compendium of comics from the days when they came exclusively from newspapers, before Wally Wood or R. Crumb or Frank Miller...those guys cut their teeth on this stuff. Amazing to think that printers dedicated to thrift would nonetheless give massive amounts of space, in full color no less, to what was even then considered a lowbrow form of mass entertainment. From Popeye and Mickey Mouse to The Gumps and The Smythes and Little Nemo, an education in early 20th century graphical design can be had from the pages of this tome, to say nothing of hours of entertainment. Well worth the time and money to seek this book out!
First off, this book is BIG - definitely coffee table book size. Second, it has a collection ranging from the early to mid/late 1900's. It is amazing to see how political correctness has changed comics and attitudes over nearly a century. But beyond all, we see three main themes of comics - thrill/adventure, buffoonery and slightly veiled political jabs. There is a little of each here, along with several complete serialized episodes - beautiful picture of how the world imagined and amused itself during a period of unbounded growth and optimism, together with the disaster of world wars.
Excellent deal!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great book. Many pages had old comics and articles taped to them, but helped to add to the history of the strips on the book. Overall, great publication and in good shape.
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