MadInkBeard | Derik A Badman

Krazy & Ignatz 1935-36: A Wild Warmth of Chromatic Gravy and Krazy & Ignatz 1937-38: Shifting Sands Dusts Its Cheek in Powdered Beauty by George Herriman. Fantagraphics, 2005-2006. 120 p., $19.95 each. I’ve already reviewed one of the earlier volumes in this reprint series and I don’t have a lot to add to what I [...]

Barnacle Press has a year’s worth of John Held’s “Oh! Margy!” strip up at their site. This is quintessential “flapper” work, Held being recognized as one of the best known illustrators of the time. His thin line work is quite attractive and minimalist, along with a lot of spot black and patterns. Worth a browse [...]

Masters of American Comics. Edited by John Carlin, Paul Karasik, and Brian Walker. Yale: 2005. 328p., 9.5″ x11.5″, $45.00. This book accompanies the Masters of American Comics exhibit currently running in California, coming to the East Coast in the fall. It features: Winsor McCay, Lionel Feininger, George Herriman, E.C. Segar, Frank King, Chester Gould, Milton [...]

I recently read both The Art of the Funnies and The Art of the Comic Book (both subtitled “An Aesthetic History”) by R.C. Harvey. I heartily recommend both volumes for those interested in the history of comics from the “Yellow Kid” to recent alt-comics. Both books are collections of essays molded into book form. As [...]

I just finished up the most recent two volumes (4 and 5) of Checker’s reprint of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon. I previously reviewed the first three volumes. These two volumes cover the period from June of 1938 to August of 1941, and Raymond’s art is even better than before. He eschews word balloons at one [...]

This was the year I discovered comic strips. Having paid very little attention to them before (even as I kid I remember reading the Sunday comics, but not having any particular favorites that I followed), I’ve discovered a lot of great classics this year. Much of this was thanks to a number of websites and [...]

Modesty Blaise: The Black Pearl by Peter O’Donnell (writer) and Jim Holdaway (artist). Titan Books, 2004. unpaginated, b+w, 8.5″ x 11.5″, $16.95. This volume (the fourth in Titan’s series) collects the daily Modesty Blaise strip from December 12, 1966 to January 13, 1968. The title character is some kind of spy (in the adventures here [...]

The Best of LIttle Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, Edited by Richard Marschall. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1997. 216p., 10″ X 12.5″, out of print. While Krazy Kat, on cursory viewing, looks unimpressive with its scratchy art, Little Nemo in Slumberland is impressive to behold in its large, colored form. Unfortunately, while Krazy Kat [...]