Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

My attitude changed on LOA when I was stuck in a B&N with a friend and had to kill a few hours. They had a copy of Vol. 3 sitting on the shelf, so I figured that would be a good chance to peruse it at length and see why so many people seemed to have a high opinion of it, since it always looked totally unappealing to me.
In that volume, one of the episodes has her caught in a storm at sea and eventually making her way to a deserted island with one of the ship's old hands where they have do a Robinson Crusoe. I read about twenty pages and I was hooked. I vowed to snap it up if I ever ran across a good deal on it. Not long after, Amazon had a warehouse deal so I was able to get it for under $20.
To this day, it's one of the only (the only?) IDW volumes of collected strips I've ever finished. I'm getting close on some others, but LOA is one that fully fascinated me.

I won't be going back to the previous two volumes, and I have about five more that jump around the time line ( Vol's 6,7,8,12, 14) because the storylines sounded interesting, or they introduce a pivotal supporting character, or I simply want to see how then world events shape it. It's gonna take me forever to finish those, so I don't feel drawn to pick up any more, though I am curious to see how ultra conservative Gray will react to certain events/trends of the fifties/sixties.

While there was definitely an aspect of what rubbed you the wrong way inherent in vol.3, it was also interspersed with a charmingly picaresque sense of adventure. Gray wears his politics, which are unapologetically anti-FDR/New Deal and pro-the inherent wisdom/generosity/natural superiority of the monied elite, blatantly on his sleeve. But I can't deny there is a lot of charm and appeal (and plot potential ) in Annie's unshakable "can do" drive. I don't know how well this will all wear over five more volumes, but then again a steady diet of anything is not appealing to me anymore.

re: Bringing Up Father - I had a slim collection of the strip put out in the eighties, that I loved. I was very happy to get FStSS, and am still happy I have it- but it's one that hasn't really grabbed me yet. I feel guilty and pull it out every once in a while, but after a page or two put it back on the shelf to collect dust. Sometime over the next month I want to force myself to devote some time to it because if I can get over the hump, and get it to click for me again, I want to be sure to grab the follow up volume before it goes OoP.

Before anything else I'm probably going to finish the first volume of Star Wars. I got about half-way through before I had to hit the road this past summer and haven't gotten back into the rhythm of reading anything again yet. I was enjoying it a whole lot more than I expected to, so picking it up again isn't going to seem like a forced endeavor.

Something the I did pick up recently and am greatly enjoying, in small doses, is Fantagraphics Fletcher Hanks compendium "Turn Loose Our Death Rays And Kill Them All". I had one of the tpb volumes that I'd picked up used and cheap but never really got into it. This is a smaller, but thicker, HC that contains all his work, along with a fantastic introduction/bio. Reproduction is also sharper and more saturated on slicker paper.
For anyone unfamiliar with Hanks, these aren't newspaper strips, but they are retro, and full-on insane. Beautiful job by Fanta on the book production too.


And yeah. I have several volumes of Pogo I need to get to. I read a bit of the strip about thirty years ago and had the same reaction as Bronkster, so I know what's waiting for me. Just a matter of hitting on the right place in the rotation for it. Right now I'm already cycling through about twelve different things.
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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I have FStSS in the bathroom. We read a page or three at a time. It works great like that.

I reviewed the two paperback volumes of Fletcher Hanks farther up the thread. I love them because they're so off the wall.

Just make sure you get to Pogo someday. I think it's right up your alley.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...6f8041f802.jpg

Coming out January 14!!!!!!!!!!! :banana:

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I was going to order it because of your post, but I ordered it back in April.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I had no idea it was available for preorder for so long! Heck, I didn't even know a 6th volume was coming out! I was under the misguided impression that 5 was the last. Hope they keep going!

Started into the first Buz Sawyer book last night. I don't recall, but it's possible that the newspaper we got when I was a kid carried it - the Roscoe Sweeney character struck some weird, faint memories for some reason! I'm gonna go do a bit of diggin' to see why.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I almost ordered it again too, not seeing it in my Amazon history with 1-4, but luckily remembered that I ordered a 5/6 slipcase thru DCBS.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I’ve been picking up digital volumes but I guess I’m only up to #3. I’ll get some more in the next Fantagraphics sale.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I went back in the thread to find your Hanks review. What a trip that was! All that enthusiasm for books that hadn't been released yet, some not even announced, and yet they've been sitting on my self untouched for years now.
I have to get back into the rhythm of sitting down regularly to read. My goal is to make a good sized dent in this stuff over the next couple months.

I enjoyed your take on Hanks. That's pretty much 100% how I see it. I will say I prefer the complete HC collection far more than I did the paperback volume I had. Nicer all around, and I think that uptick in the presentation has enhanced my enjoyment of the material overall. Though I don't know how compelling this stuff will be to upgrade for most people. Not very, I'm guessing.

My problem with Pogo was that I jumped around buying them. I think I'm missing vol.2 . I might be missing 4 also. I screwed myself out of being able to pick up the more economical two volume sets. I won't make that mistake again if they go past six.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Loved Peanuts, Garfield, and Asterix. Used to collect the latter 2.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

The 7th volume of Pogo (Pockets Full of Pie) is available for pre-order! Available in October!

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I'm still reading Pogo volume 6. It makes me laugh out loud, but the tone is different. Maybe it's that Kelly is relying on the characters for humor instead of the situation.

For example, four of the more aggressive characters get into a fight inside of Pogo's house while Pogo isn't home. Pogo's reaction is to jam a log against his front door so it can't open, sit down, and listen to the ruckus. Porky Pine walks by, asks what's going on, and then sits beside Pogo. That's a very funny sequence. I'm smiling as I type this. But it only works if the reader is completely familiar with all the characters. If the reader doesn't know the characters, there isn't much humor in the situation.

A comic from years earlier, where a bird moves into Albert's mouth and then insults Albert's housekeeping, doesn't expect the reader to know who all these people are to get the joke. The situation is funny.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I wasn't too familiar with Porky Pine when I started the books, but he quickly became one of my favorite characters. I'll be starting the 5th volume soon.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Continuing with my interest in the early incarnations of comic strips, I came across (and bought!) a book on the first couple years (1930-33) of Blondie (and Dagwood). Very different from what we're used to in the current strip - which is still running ninety years later! Blondie's a flapper and Dagwood is a very spoiled rich kid living with his very rich parents. Parents don't like Blondie, and a lot of the strips center on the friction between them. It's a fun experience, if not a bit repetitious at times, but seeing the characters as they meet and fall in love is a kick! I just received the second (and last?) volume, which covers the next few years where they're married and meet most of the regulars that have continued all this time. The books are nice! About the same size as the Pogo volumes, and excellent reproduction quality. Fun stuff!

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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I'm reading Popeye Volume 4: Plunder Island. I somehow missed it when I bought it years ago. I'm having a great time. With sixteen panels to work with every Sunday, Segar is able to plot a complete story in one page, or have a huge arc with a satisfying episode on each page. It's funny, it's dramatic, it's exciting, and it's sometimes scary.

The bottom strip is a gag-a-day about a couple who take in a mad scientist as a boarder. It's goofy fun.



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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I've got the first three volumes (I haven't read the 3rd yet) and really enjoyed them. Sadly, the remaining books are a bit too pricey for me at this time.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I didn't know they were so expensive. Abebooks lists just one used copy of Volume 5, and it's $300. I'm glad I bought them when they were new.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Received Pogo Volume 7 and Barnaby Volume 4. I haven't looked at them yet.


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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I was going to ask what Barnaby is, but I’ve probably asked in this thread already. :) It looks like Harold without the purple crayon.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Barnaby has a fairy godfather, Mr O'Malley. He's real, but adults never see him. Mr O'Malley is an incompetent blowhard, card cheat, and fraud, but young Barnaby thinks he's great. Mr O'Malley leaves chaos in his wake through carelessness, but adults never never figure out why some piece of equipment broke at just the wrong time. Other characters include a 3 foot tall giant, a shy ghost, a sarcastic invisible elf, gangsters, policemen, an escaped lion, and of course Barnaby's baffled parents. (Calvin's parents were obviously influenced by Barnaby's parents.) It's quite funny in a low-key manner.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I started into the 2nd volume of Blondie (and Dagwood). They're now married, had a honeymoon and have set up a household. No kids or dog yet, but I'm still at the start. The more familiar dynamic is beginning to show a bit, but still with 1933 sensibilities. Really fun to experience this.

I've also been slogging through a book that covers the origins of Mutt and Jeff. Very different from the familiar 4-panel gags that came later. It started with only Mutt; Jeff comes in later as the strip develops. And - oh my goodness - some of the accepted racism from back then (1909-1913) is quite jarring! All through the lens of history, I guess.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Just saw on Amazon that the 8th volume of Pogo will be coming out October 26! :banana:

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Has the early Popeye strips, including his first appearance, ever been reprinted? I see that Volume 1 by Fantagraphics covers only 1928-1930 but the early years from 1917-1927 are nowhere to be found. Also, all those Fantagraphics edition seem to be out of print. Has IDW taken over releasing this?

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

The Fantagraphics book does cover Popeye's first appearance - from 1929. I think the 1919 date is coming from when Thimble Theatre first appeared, which is the strip he appeared in - later changing to Popeye.

As for any not out-of-print books ... :sad:

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

That's exactly what I'm looking for. The Thimble Theater era. IDW released this book called Thimble Theatre and the pre-Popeye Comics of EC Segar, but the actual Thimble Theaters with Popeye, including his first appearance, don't seem to have ever been reprinted/released


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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Do you mean never reprinted other than the Fantagraphics book? Because Popeye Book 1 "I Yam What I Yam" includes the Thimble Theatre strips leading up to - and including - Popeye's first appearance. As for any other books with Thimble Theatre, no idea.

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Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Oh, cool. I misread your previous post and thought that they weren't included. And sadly, yes, Fantagraphics no longer has this book available. I wonder if IDW plans to release something similar in the future.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Since we don't have a "regular" comic strip thread, I'll comment here. For a number of years I've been reading a strip called Endtown on gocomics.com. It's a world where, after WWIII, half the population turned into anthro animals due to a mutagenic virus, and the remaining humans have to live in biosuits to avoid the virus. And the humans want the anthros dead. This has been one of my must-read strips due to the amazing art and writing. For anyone who enjoys the comic strip format, I strongly urge you to check it out. Gocomics.com is free, but there are 4 books out now, and I would also urge anyone who likes Endtown to support the artist and buy the books.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

So, I read the first Buz Sawyer book awhile ago and really enjoyed it. Started the 2nd one yesterday. Sitting down today to continue I was shocked to find the book is missing six pages!!! I can't express how disappointed I am in this! And since it's been a few years since I got them, I doubt there's any way I could return the bad book. Does anyone else have the 2nd Buz book? Are pages 33-38 intact?

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Oh man, that sucks Bronkster.
I just checked mine and no issues. I hate to tell you this, but those are some pivotal pages too.

I don't have a scanner, but will try to photograph them and post them here so you can at least read them.

You may also want to contact Fantagraphics and see if maybe they can hook you up with an exchange. Amazon still shows it as in stock, so it doesn't appear to be OoP. It's also the least expensive of the four volumes right now.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I thought about contacting Fantagraphics, but since I got it off Ebay I don't know if they'd do anything. I may snag another off Ebay (after verifying the pages) since that seems to be the best price.

If you're able to post 'em, that would be greatly appreciated. I saw enough of page 39 to know that a MAJOR event went down! :eek:

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I'd still contact FG- just don't tell 'em you got it off ebay. Tell 'em Amazon. It's not like it would matter. Either they'll replace it for you or tell you to go pound sand. It's their QC anyway that is the whole problem in this case.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Those should be huge files. Don't know why the software here is compressing them so small.

Let's try this

pg 33



pg 34



pg 35



Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Pg 36



pg 37




pg 38





Yeah, that's probably the most famous sequence in all four volumes. Fanta needs to make that right.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Wow, thank you so much for that! I've saved 'em so I can read 'em tomorrow. :banana:

I guess it couldn't hurt to contact Fanta. It's been awhile since I've pounded sand anyway! :lol:

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

That sucks, Bronkster—sorry that happened to you. I just checked my copy, and the pages are intact. Glad Paul_SD was able to assist. And yeah, those were important pages. I started reading vol. 2 a while ago before getting distracted, and according to my bookmark, I had just finished that sequence. Maybe I needed some time to recover?

Speaking of Roy Crane, I have only one volume of Captain Easy but feel like I should get the others before they go out of print. I just got the hardcover Caniff book from IDW, and it makes me want to dig into my copies of Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon, but I have only one volume each, and a lot of the others are OOP. I’d love it if more of these classic strips went digital but it doesn’t look like anyone cares much about that.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Taking Paul_SD's advice, I started a message to Fantagraphics on their website, but paused to go through the book to check for any further problems. Yup! Pages 51 thru 56 are also missing, but in this case are substituted by repeating pages 45 thru 50. So I included that info in my note. I'm not holding much hope that they'll do anything, but the book now is basically worthless to me as I won't continue it. I'll go as far as Paul's photo'd pages, but that'll be it until I get a replacement.

I do have another question for either of you guys: does the book end with page 210? The first volume had acknowledgements and such, but this one just ends. Bam. No nothin'! Given the other problems, I'm thinkin' this ain't right either.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

After page 210, I have one page of author and editor credits plus some acknowledgments.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Welp, missing those too, then! :lol:

:sad:

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

Bronkster, that bites.

I finished Barnaby Volume 4. There is a change of tone halfway through. In the first half, one adventure is when Mr O'Malley goes to the United Nations and triggers outrage on conservative radio. In a typical adventure in the second half, he accidentally catches jewel thieves. The introduction to the book says that author Crockett Johnson knew some of the people who were hauled before the HUAC, and he got a lot more cautious. The strip dropped the political satire and became more child-friendly.

Now I'm reading Pogo Volume 7: Pockets Full of Pie. I'm only reading about two pages a night before I turn out the light, so it will be a while before I finish it.

Re: Classic/retro comic strips thread
 

I finished that a few weeks ago. I still have nothing but the highest praise for the strip and eagerly await the 8th volume which comes out in October.