Let me heartily recommend the Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, assembled by Art Spielgelman and Francoise Mouly (and a team of experts that included Mike Barrier, Frank Young, Kim Deitch, and Jeff Smith). This is an excellent sampler of all the masters of the funny animal and people books of the Golden Age of comics. Carl Barks, John Stanley, and Walt Kelly all get nice coverage, as do Sheldon Mayer, Jim Davis, Basil Wolverton (some obscenely early stuff by him!), Milt Gross, and Harvey Kurtzman. While this does the job of allowing one to decide which artists and series he or she would like to pursue further, I fear that its intention of introducing these stories to today’s children is going to probably fail miserably. Animation and comic books are similar, because to an extent, both, as artforms, are dead. Unlike with animation however, which they can see anywhere for free, kids now go for years without actually buying or reading a comic book. The likelihood of them picking up one that isn’t a meandering written and drawn superhero/’serious’ comic (aimed at the most unimaginative of readers) is pretty low. So it’s unlikely that the under 10 crowd will even glance at this amazing tome.
Now, with that typical blunt truthfulness out of the way, I only have two caveats with this book… 1) I’d have chosen a better story than “Bee Bumbles” (WDC&S 158, November 1953), an average story from Barks’s best period. (Perhaps one of the more sublime entries with Gladstone Gander or Gyro Gearloose, such as that classic “Terrible Secret” story from WDC&S 140.) The other two that they chose, however, were fine. 2) The Fox and Crow story they chose was a weak one. There were many, many better examples to choose from, particularly that insane crossover story from Real Screen Comics #100. For shame!
I’d have also included one of the better Li’l Bad Wolf stories by either Carl Buettner or Gil Turner. (And for that matter, at least one of Owen Fitzgerald’s Bob Hope or Martin & Lewis stories.) While a lot of these delve into meandering repetition (ala Famous Studios at its worst), these two really developed the cast into fun and interesting characters. This one written and drawn by Buettner, from WDC&S 57 (June 1945), is one of my favorites. It shows what a disgusting and greedy hick Zeke is at his best, forcing his naive son to do his bidding of torturing the local critters, because he’s too lazy to do so himself. No (non-Billy Wilder) Fred MacMurray this dad be, says I. I also love how morbid the harvesting of the squabbit is. Does Li’l Bad Wolf bring it home dead? Or are we to assume it is being roasted and eaten alive? And why does Buettner draw Practical Pig scowling in every panel? So many unanswered questions these ancient funnybooks pose.
Unfortunatly, you’re probably correct about the overall impact that this book will have on the young reader. These kinds of books always do get in the hands of some kids that appreciate them. I was a big fan of the Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics, which I discovered right around the time that I started buying Gladstone’s Disney books. A lot of the stories in that book, which I checked out multiple times from the library, got lodged in my brain. A few are still there.
“The likelihood of them picking up one that isn’t a meandering written and drawn superhero/’serious’ comic (aimed at the most unimaginative of readers)”
Super hero comics used to be fun with their absolute peaks the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s. The were melodramas that were over the top and not trying to be more then what they were. Today it’s all just so straight faced, grim, and brooding they get tired mighty fast. Take today’s Batman for example, every other panel he just beats the shit out of someone, and I mean ANYONE, and constantly bitches and moans about something reminding him of his dead parents.
Anyway getting back to this, great resource I would say but I think it’s up to us to educate the youngsters. They aren’t going to willingly explore classic comics while they are being pumped with Jonas Brothers and Piixar.
How can animation and comics be dead? If you know where to look, you can find great cartoons and great comics everywhere! What about Pixar? What about comics by guys like Greg Rucka, or Grant Morrison, or comics that aren’t about superheroes, like “Blankets” or “Young Liars”? What about “Spongebob Squarepants” at its best?
Pixar and SpongeBob… The sad part is that probably IS the best animation has to offer at this point. Thank you for reaffirming that it’s dead.
“While this does the job of allowing one to decide which artists and series he or she would like to pursue further, I fear that its intention of introducing these stories to today’s children is going to probably fail miserably.”
Thad, I disagree. About ten years back, Spiegelman and Mouly did a similar project called Little Lit (http://www.amazon.com/Little-Lit-Folklore-Fairy-Funnies/dp/0060286245/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252457191&sr=8-2), and whenever I go to the public library, I usually see some kid reading it (and probably not even knowing how old they are!).
I’d be very happy if I was wrong!
I must admit I loved Morrison’s Arkham Asylum, it’s very much not a super hero comic book. Also Tim Sale can knock out some great stories. However on the whole, super hero comics today suck and still pale in comparison to the hey day of Fitzgerald and Barks. Same goes for animation but absolutely none of the great stuff is in the main stream. Pixar is only great TODAY. They are only great quality IN THIS DAY IN AGE. They would have been on par with Terrytoons 60 years ago.
Also Bruce Timm’s Batman series and comics from 1992 to 1995, before he decided he wanted to suck.
“Unlike with animation however, which they can see anywhere for free, kids now go for years without actually buying or reading a comic book.”
This is really an American problem—and it has everything to do with both availability and the dominance of superheroes in the medium. Imagine self-declared arbiters of taste announcing that the only real movies are Westerns, and the rest of the media buying it.
Now for the $64 question: Practical Pig’s scowl in Buettner seems to come directly from later animation model sheets, where Practical looks perpetually stern and moralistic. Evidently Buettner took the prominence of those expressions to indicate that Practical should look that way *all* the time, even when cheerful.
That’s it for Practical. I wore myself out commenting on Li’l Eight Ball over at Mike’s.
Whaddaya mean, that Fox & Crow story is “weak?” Listen, bub, I selected that one! I think it’s a memorable story, and good for a stand-alone since it offers a great set-up of the F&C relationship. Add to that the self-awareness angle–what’s not to like?
It even has one of the best “blowing one’s top” visuals in all of comix! C’mon, pal, loosen up a little!
Frank, most of my freshman and sophomore years of high school were devoted to reading Fox and Crow stories of the 40s and early-to-mid 50s, and sorry, that one has always just struck me as a weaker entry in their best period. They redid this idea of Faunt having an encyclopedia of crow disguises a lot better in Real Screen 51, in which Crawford has a self-aware moment, saying, “I git sick in th’ stomach when I think of how much dough is tied up in dese disguises!” (or something to that extent)
There’s actually a way better blowing top gag in I think Real Screen 85 or 86, which I found a scan from here. Peace out, dear vagabond!
Cool story. It didn’t really make me laugh, but the drawings are nice and pleasing to the eye. Nice storytelling, getting all of the necessary plot and info into the story. I love how The Big Bad Wolf doesn’t care what kind of animal he eats. His son could have brought home a skunk and he would have been fine.
Eric, there really is a story in 1949 where “roast skunk smothered in poison ivy” is referred to as one of Zeke’s favorite dishes apart from pigs.
Well…. I have no witty reply to that. Wow.
I’m just gonna hope “smothered” doesn’t refer to the manner of death.
Yeah, no doubt this won’t find an audience with kids. I don’t think that it’s that kids today don’t like comics, i just think it’ll be a self-discovery.
Hell, the first funnybooks I ever bought with my own money were Madballs and Muppet Babies! It was later that I discovered Carl Barks.