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Classic/retro comic strips thread

Old 02-07-09, 11:29 AM
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Classic/retro comic strips thread

This may go nowhere, but I've picked up a number of these and enjoyed them, with some caveats:

I really liked Terry and the Pirates, but it's so dense I read a whole bunch of vol. 1 in a concentrated burst when I was sick and haven't returned to finish it.

I really like the Peanuts and the nostalgia kick it gives me, though I keep collecting the volumes and am several behind.

I really want the Dick Tracy but I want the strips I read as a kid and am not sure which volume those are in.

I just started the Buck Rogers vol. 1 and am enjoying the ones I read as a kid (in a reprinted volume, by the way, not in the newspaper).

I haven't started the Dennis the Menace vol. 1

Which other ones are worth reading? I keep looking at this one and wondering if I'd like it



EDIT: "Classic/nostalgia..." probably would have been a better thread title

Last edited by davidh777; 02-07-09 at 11:37 AM.
Old 02-07-09, 12:26 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

I have been a life-long Peanuts fan and I'm collecting the Fantagraphics books to finally see the strips in chronological order. I am picking up the Segar Popeye strips, and I might check out Krazy Kat. About the Dick Tracy strips, you're gonna have to wait awhile until they get to your era - Dick's been around since the 30s!
Old 02-07-09, 01:06 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by RockyMtnBri
I have been a life-long Peanuts fan and I'm collecting the Fantagraphics books to finally see the strips in chronological order. I am picking up the Segar Popeye strips, and I might check out Krazy Kat. About the Dick Tracy strips, you're gonna have to wait awhile until they get to your era - Dick's been around since the 30s!
Ha ha! I also had a reprint book of Dick Tracy but I have no idea when they were from. Tracy being buried in cement was about the only bit I remember (sorry for the spoiler, lol).

Forgot I also have one of the Popeye volumes that I haven't read. This reminds me of when I was a kid and wanted at least one volume of each series like Brains Benton, Bronc Burnett, etc.

Last edited by davidh777; 02-07-09 at 01:09 PM.
Old 02-07-09, 02:57 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

I've got the first two Popeye volumes and have read the first - really enjoyed it and am looking forward to finding time to jump into the next one.

Years ago, I was trying to get the softcovers of L'il Abner (no longer in print?) - read a few volumes out of sequence (do to not having them all) and hope to see a better, hardcover version of it someday. Really liked what I had read.
Old 02-17-09, 10:57 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Krazy Kat totally rocks. That's my favorite strip ever. It's taken from 1988 until now, but I have the full set of Sunday strips. Over the next couple of years, Fantagraphics will reprint the books that were originally published by Eclipse, and then they will have the whole run in print. Highly recommended.

Pogo books are available on Ebay for pretty reasonable prices, about $10-$15 per volume for the more common titles. I have been letting that rest for a while, because all I have left to buy are the rare titles.

The best-drawn comic strip ever was Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay. Fantagraphics collected those into six volumes back in the 90s. The best strips are in the first four volumes. Last Christmas I bought myself the complete Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend, also by McCay, but I still haven't read it yet.

Peanuts has been great, but the books are reaching the end of my favorite era. I have to decide if I want to be a completist, or to stop when I'm still enjoying them.

My latest purchases have been the Nostalgia Press reprints of Prince Valiant and Flash Gordon. Prince Valiant was a revelation. The strips from the 40s have almost nothing in common with the weak strips in the papers today. My comics encyclopedia calls it the best comic strip ever.

(Be careful if you buy Prince Valiant on Ebay. Someone named Max Trell typed up the plot as a series of children's books, and illustrated them with art clipped from the comic strip. You want the actual comic strip reprints. Not all auctions are clear.)

I've only read one volume of Flash Gordon so far. It isn't as well-written or as well-drawn as Prince Valiant, but it has high adventure, strange worlds, and barely dressed women.

If you see a book of Barnaby by Crockett Johnson for a good price, jump on it. It's a gentle comic strip about the adventures around town of a boy and his fairy godfather. Except for the first hardcover, they're all rare and expensive.

Popeye is a lot of fun in small doses. But I get tired of it quickly, so I only read one storyline at a time and then put the book down for a while. But I'll keep buying them.

Last edited by Nick Danger; 02-17-09 at 11:01 AM.
Old 02-19-09, 09:47 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Thanks Nick, good post.

I don't own much outside of the first few Peanuts collections and one Little Nemo, but I do plan to expand my collection eventually.
Old 02-19-09, 10:13 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Excellent thread. A lot of things get dated over time - movies, tv...but comics from starting from the early 1900s are still amazing, original, and timeless. Excellent, excellent thread.

As someone else has already recommended, you should definitely get ALL of Winsor McCay's books. Little Nemo is great. Dreams of A Rarebit Fiend is more of a nightmarish, scary fucked-up awesome version of Little Nemo. And my favorite is Little Sammy Sneeze. It's just so freakin' funny. Even my 3-year old son gets a kick out of it. All of his stuff his awesome. And if you have a chance to buy McCay's books in Large form, do it! That's why they make most of his books in large to mega-sizes, it's because there is so much to look at.




Better, more exciting, and lighter than Terry & the Pirates is DICKIE DARE (my dad's favorite):



I don't recommend Pogo at all - nice art, but it's tough reading - i never liked it as a kid, and I don't like it as an adult. I probably just don't get it.

Lil Abner, Popeye, and Dick Tracy are amazing as well - timeless entertaining stuff, and excellent toilet reading!

Last edited by toddly6666; 02-19-09 at 10:18 PM.
Old 02-21-09, 05:00 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Just found a couple new ones. Coming in May from Fantagraphics, which probably means it'll be good:



Coming in June also from Fantagraphics, but can't say I've heard of this one:

Old 02-21-09, 08:35 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by davidh777
Just found a couple new ones. Coming in May from Fantagraphics, which probably means it'll be good:



Coming in June also from Fantagraphics, but can't say I've heard of this one:

Captain Easy if fuckin' awesome!

Prince Valient is fair though...
Old 02-21-09, 12:28 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by toddly6666
Captain Easy if fuckin' awesome!

Prince Valient is fair though...
Nick Danger tipped us about bad Valiant copies, so this should resolve that.
Old 02-22-09, 01:29 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Fantagraphics did a complete run of Prince Valiant in 50 paperback volumes. I don't have any of them. They're almost all OOP. I saw the full set on Ebay last year go for (I think) about $1200.

According to this press release, the new editions will be better quality than the old ones. I want them.

Nostalgia Press did them in the late 70s in 4 hardcovers. They colored them in-house, and did a half-assed job. But those are what I can afford. At least they're 12 inches high.

The best Prince Valiant is supposed to be the ones from Manuscript Press. They are full-size reproductions of the original art (17"x22") but it took a year before the strip really got great. So volume 1 would cost $150 and show the first year when the strip trying to find its footing. There are only three volumes.
Old 03-01-09, 11:11 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

April:



May:

Old 03-01-09, 01:07 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by toddly6666
Captain Easy if fuckin' awesome!

Prince Valient is fair though...
I just read that Captain Easy was an influence on Carl Barks
Old 03-02-09, 12:09 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by Nick Danger
Pogo books are available on Ebay for pretty reasonable prices, about $10-$15 per volume for the more common titles. I have been letting that rest for a while, because all I have left to buy are the rare titles.
Fantagraphics is supposedly going to be doing a sequential reprint of Pogo. They've been promising that for some time now, so who knows if/when it will finally materialize, but I've got so much on my unread pile that I can wait.

I snipped the rest of Nick Danger's post, but those were some outstanding recommendations.
Old 03-02-09, 12:27 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by JasonF
Fantagraphics is supposedly going to be doing a sequential reprint of Pogo. They've been promising that for some time now, so who knows if/when it will finally materialize, but I've got so much on my unread pile that I can wait.

I snipped the rest of Nick Danger's post, but those were some outstanding recommendations.
I'm waiting on Pogo as well!
Old 05-26-09, 03:58 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

September:



July:



November:



November:

Old 07-19-09, 03:44 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

October:



August:



Already out:



Old 08-05-09, 08:51 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

There is some phenomenal stuff coming up.
Will definitely be getting
Rip Kirby (long overdue!)
The Heart Of Juliet Jones V2
Bringing Up Father (probably just the IDW release)
Captain Easy Color Sundays (YES! another compilation long overdue)

Also worth looking into is Leonard Star's On Stage (AKA Mary Perkins On Stage) It's put out by the same fellow issuing the Heart Of Juliet Jones.
Excellent storytelling by Starr, with brisk story arcs that don't over stay their welcome. The publisher says he's committed to releasing the entire strip in 17 volumes (5 of which are already out). It's going to be tough, but I hope he realizes the goal. It's a wonderful strip.
Old 08-06-09, 04:04 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

I didn't see this thread before, but I've just decided that I'm going to read all of the Peanut's stuff. My library has all of the volumes, and I ADORE the Charlie Brown specials, so why not read where all that stuff originated from.

Not exactly classic, but I see the Complete Calvin and Hobbes is cheaper now, so I'm gonna grab that too.
Old 08-06-09, 06:19 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by Bronkster
I've got the first two Popeye volumes and have read the first - really enjoyed it and am looking forward to finding time to jump into the next one.

Years ago, I was trying to get the softcovers of L'il Abner (no longer in print?) - read a few volumes out of sequence (do to not having them all) and hope to see a better, hardcover version of it someday. Really liked what I had read.
The Kitchen Sink L'il Abner volumes are all out of print. They were all printed as limited edition hardcovers as well but those are also out of print. They didn't finish the set before Kitchen Sink went out of business. I have most of what was printed in hardcover. They only did the daily strips but went from the beginning (1934) until about 1960. The Sunday strips from when Frank Frazetta was Al Capp's assistant (1955-1961 ?) were more recently reprinted by Dark Horse. Dark Horse also reprinted the Shmoo comics.
Old 10-05-09, 12:01 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

October
Old 10-05-09, 12:03 AM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Old 12-23-09, 11:14 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

March:





April:





May:
Old 12-24-09, 12:23 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

I recently finished the first volume of the new Fantagraphics Prince Valiant reprints.
First time I've ever read any of the strips. It took me 40 years to finally come around to even giving this a shot because I have never been enthusiastic about the illustration/caption style.
WOW! What I was missing.
It took a little while to get into the vibe of the caption format, but not as long as I expected, and when the format finally did start to click for me, the ride was a blast. I can't rave enough about the package here. For the under $20 that Amazon is charging per volume, it's an absolute steal.
I also have to give major props to Foster as a yarn spinner. I'd had always figured the high reputation of this strip was solely weighted on the quality of the illustrations (which are indeed frequently spectacular), so I was very surprised how invested I am now in the storyline. Can't wait for the second volume!

Also picked up Rip Kirby, and that's another great one. It's so wonderful to see this influential strip finally collected in a high quality edition.

I still can't believe all the great comic strip reprint books that available now or will be shortly (Buzz Sawyer is coming soon from Fantagraphics- this is right up there with Captain Easy, one of the most fun adventure strips ever made and VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Old 12-24-09, 06:11 PM
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread

Originally Posted by Paul_SD
I recently finished the first volume of the new Fantagraphics Prince Valiant reprints.
First time I've ever read any of the strips. It took me 40 years to finally come around to even giving this a shot because I have never been enthusiastic about the illustration/caption style.
WOW! What I was missing.
It took a little while to get into the vibe of the caption format, but not as long as I expected, and when the format finally did start to click for me, the ride was a blast. I can't rave enough about the package here. For the under $20 that Amazon is charging per volume, it's an absolute steal.
I also have to give major props to Foster as a yarn spinner. I'd had always figured the high reputation of this strip was solely weighted on the quality of the illustrations (which are indeed frequently spectacular), so I was very surprised how invested I am now in the storyline. Can't wait for the second volume!

Also picked up Rip Kirby, and that's another great one. It's so wonderful to see this influential strip finally collected in a high quality edition.
Awesome, thanks. Been interested in both of these.

Originally Posted by Paul_SD
I still can't believe all the great comic strip reprint books that available now or will be shortly (Buzz Sawyer is coming soon from Fantagraphics- this is right up there with Captain Easy, one of the most fun adventure strips ever made and VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
I know, I have to think they're at least making some money out of these or they wouldn't keep bringing them out.

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