Books about Comic Strips
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 books I’ve browsed or read. As I’ve been cleaning up the apartment and returning library books, I thought I’d make a quick list of some I found particularly worth reading:
Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, edited by Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams (1977): This is a huge collection of reprints, both in vibrant color and black and white. Some strips are represented by only a strip or two, others have long sections of continuity (Little Orphan Annie, Thimble Theatre/Popeye Sundays) which are the real bonus of this book. It’s a broad selection of strips that will surely introduce any reader to something new.
The Comics Before 1945 and The Comics After 1945 by Brian Walker (2004 and 2002): Two companion volumes that trace the history of comic strips from the earliest days to the nineties. These books are organized with decade overviews and then shorter pieces on major artists. A lot of full color reproductions. These have a much slicker production value than the Smithsonian book and covers more strips, but lacks the longer continuities.
The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History, Robert C. Harvey (1996): Okay, not about comic strip, this book, a follow-up to Harvey’s Art of the Funnies (which I have yet to read), picks up where comic books start. Chapters cover early superheroes, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman/EC, Will Eisner, Gil Kane, Crumb, and others. Harvey focuses a lot on image/text interdependence, but there are enough insights and historical context to make this is an important read. It’s lead me to a few new (to me) books.
That’s all for now. I’ve also got Trina Robbins’ The Great Women Cartoonists waiting to be read.
For what it’s worth here’s a list of comic strip collections I’ve reviewed: Steve Canyon, Krazy Kat, Little Nemo, Nancy, Prince Valiant, Flash Gordon, Modesty Blaise, and Little Orphan Annie, all found in the “comic strips” category.
I’ve also not yet written on the other Steve Canyon, Thimble Theatre, and Wash Tubbs & Captain Easy books I read or the Rip Kirby strips. Also on the shelf is Walt & Skeezix (Gasoline Alley), more Krazy Kat, more Flash Gordon, and the French strip 13 Rue de l’Espoir.
Tags: Comics, comic_strips
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