When I was a kid, I wanted to be a cartoonist. In fact, I
was convinced it was inevitable. I started creating my own characters (a Smokey
Stover type garage mechanic named Garly Gratcher, for example)by age 9. I
copied tables and lamps and cars and trees from newspaper strips, knowing full
well I'd need them for backgrounds in my strips.
Twenty years later, I actually submitted a comic strip when
King Features was looking for new talent. They passed. Eventually, yet another
decade on, the samples I wrote and drew of that strip--BESS SELLERS--were
printed in a Waldenbooks newsletter...until the company tried to claim
copyright on them.
My point is that I have always admired and coveted the world
of the cartoonist. Now we have a book about cartoonists and their comics. In
fact, it's COMICS ABOUT CARTOONISTS.
Author Crag Yoe has stated repeatedly that COMICS ABOUT
CARTOONISTS is his favorite amongst all the wonderful historical collections
he's assembled in recent years. There was much discussion about what to call
the book but in the end the simplest answer was the best. Every story in this
volume is just what it says, a strip with a cartoonist as a character. There's
a surprising amount of strips that fit that criteria--enough to fill at least
another volume or two! But these are some of the best and best known.
After Yoe's usual informed and informative introduction, we
get to the goods. And good they are. Just some of the artists whose stories,
strips, covers and panels appear are:
Jack Kirby
Joe Simon
B. Kliban
Rube Goldberg
Zim
H.T. Webster
Klaus Nordling
Winsor McCay
Steve Ditko
Will Eisner
Jay Disbrow
Sheldon Mayer
Al Capp
E.C. Segar
Harvey Kurtzman
Milt Gross
Norman Maurer
Wayne Boring
Ogden Whitney
Wally Wood
and, as they say, many more!
It's a fun and eclectic collection all the way through and
it's highly recommended if you ARE a cartoonist or ever wanted to BE a
cartoonist, you get yourself a copy right away!
If, however, you'd care to try your luck first, BOOKSTEVE'S
LIBRARY is giving away a FREE copy of Craig Yoe's COMICS ABOUT CARTOONISTS!
That's right! Once again thanks to Craig and the good folks at IDW, we have a
copy to be won!
Here's what you have to do. Send us a list of your Top 5
all-time favorite cartoonists (and why they are, if you'd like). That's it.
Contest ends a week from tomorrow on Saturday, January 19th. The winner will be
chosen, as always, via a random drawing from all eligible entries sent to
booksteve@aol.com . No purchase necessary.
Officially entered. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.
ReplyDelete--J/Metro