Not only does this volume reprint the first two years of the strip in which King’s friendly and nostalgic imagination took shape but each book in the series features an eighty-page color introduction by Jeet Heer of Canada’s National Post. Each introduction will also feature never-before-seen archival photos and ephemera from the personal collection of King’s granddaughter. Walt & Skeezix is not just a collection of a classic comic strip—it is the story of a great American cartoonist. Few cartoon strips have this kind of longevity and quality; Gasoline Alley has been with us since 1919 and is a gentle mirror held up to ordinary American life in the early twentieth century. It started as a mild satire on the post-WWI “craze” for cars, but it wasn’t long before it developed into a quirky family story attracting an audience of more than thirty million readers in four hundred–plus newspapers. Gasoline Alley, an affectionate portrait of modern living, is remembered for being the first strip to set itself in contemporary American history. The characters of Gasoline Alley grow up, go to war, and have grandchildren. The strip always reflects the kind, sweet pace of life.

    In 2002, Fantagraphics embarked on a publishing plan to reintroduce the greatest strip of the first-half of the 20th Century (the Peanuts of its era) to a public that has largely never seen it: this volume is the fourth in a long-term plan to chronologically reprint strips from the prime of Herriman's career, most of which have not seen print since originally running in newspapers 75 years ago. Each volume is edited by the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum's Bill Blackbeard, the world's foremost authority on early 20th Century American comic strips, and designed by Jimmy Corrigan author Chris Ware, who may well go down as the best cartoonist of the 21st Century. Krazy & Ignatz 1931-1932 is a hot-baked brickbat of a volume, a dance with nearly two full years of the Sunday Krazy Kat (Herriman did not use color until 1935), snug between multiple pages of Herriman extras, including an extensive essay by series editor Bill Blackbeard on pre-Kat Herriman work (with reproductions from rare "Baron Mooch" and "Gooseberry Sprig" strips, and a rarely-seen 1923 full-page drawing of the Kat done for Circulation magazine), and, best of all, a 30-page sequence of over two straight months' worth of 1931 dailies! Plus a new "Debaffler" page decoding Krazy arcana, and a stunning layout front and back and throughout by the inimitable Chris Ware! Krazy Kat is a love story, focusing on the relationships of its three main characters. Krazy Kat adored Ignatz Mouse. Ignatz Mouse just tolerated Krazy Kat, except for recurrent onsets of targeting tumescence, which found expression in the fast delivery of bricks to Krazy's cranium. Offisa Pup loved Krazy and sought to protect "her" (Herriman always maintained that Krazy was gender-less) by throwing Ignatz in jail. Each of the characters was ignorant of the others' true motivations, and this simple structure allowed Herriman to build entire worlds of meaning into the actions, building thematic depth and sweeping his readers up by the looping verbal rhythms of Krazy & Co.'s unique dialogue.

    Its subtle ironies and playful allusions never won a broad following, but the adventures of 5-year-old Barnaby Baxter and his fairy godfather Jackeen J. O'Malley was and is a critical favorite.Fantagraphics will introduce the wonders of Barnaby to a new generation of children and parents alike. Co-edited by Johnson biographer Philip Nel (Dr. Seuss: American Icon) and Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds, with art direction by graphic novelist Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), this five-volume Barnaby series will collect the entirety of the original newspaper strips from 1942-1952. The first volume will collect all the strips from 1942 and 1943.Barnaby revolved around a precocious five-year-old named Barnaby Baxter and his fairly godfather Jackeen J. O'Malley. Yet O'Malley, a cigar-chomping, bumbling con-artist and fast-talker, was not your typical protector. His grasp of magic was usually specious at best, limited to occasional flashes, often aided and abetted by his fellow members in The Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men’s Chowder & Marching Society.Barnaby's deft balance of fantasy, political commentary, sophisticated wit, and elegantly spare images expanded our sense of what comic strips can do. With subtlety and economy, Barnaby proved that comics need not condescend to readers. Its small but influential readership took that message to heart.

    

    All that stands between the Titans and the Winotaur is a new Dungeon Master, a rival gaming group, and their own insecurities.The world's mightiest adventurers just rolled initiative on their First Encounter! A terrible beast is plaguing the City of Haverford. Citizens are going missing nightly, the garrison is lost, and help is out of reach. Can the Table Titans put aside their pride to save the fictional town of Haverford-and in the process, their friendships?Table Titans Volume 1: First Encounters collects the first year of the hit online comic from Eisner and Harvey Award winning cartoonist, Scott Kurtz. It is a spin-off of Kurtz's other webcomic, PvP. It chronicles their adventures of playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). D&D publisher, Wizards of the Coast, have partnered with Kurtz so that Table Titans can feature official D&D products.

    The Sunday pages will be reproduced in their original color, alongside the daily black-and-white strips. Volume One contains more than 800 consecutive strips, from the series' beginning in October 1934 through the end of 1936.

    Zarkov can prevent doomsday. Taking Flash Gordon and Dale Arden captive, he takes off in a rocket to deflect the hurtling planet and save the world. The mad Zarkov, Flash and Dale survive a crash landing on Mongo, only to be captured by the diabolical Ming the Merciless. And the true adventure begins.

    Reprints issues #19-24 (24 stories) of the classic horror comic book series Tales From the Crypt, originally published in 1953 and 1954, and the inspiration for the hit movie and HBO series.

    Travel back to the wacky Fifties in this comic compilation of the best of MAD's early years! From the Cold War and Richard Nixon (the first time around) to Howdy Doody and Mickey Mouse, this one's got it all...and then some!

    The official history and commemoration of Pogo's first decade...all wrapped up with a running commentary by Walt Kelly.

    Also includes a collection of interviews, recipes and a short story by Ray. 187 pages.[http://www.achewood.com]

    Volume 1 volume reprints the first six complete issues (24 stories) of the comic book Two-Fisted Tales, originally published in 1950 and 1951.

    Written and edited by Archie Goodwin, with artwork by such industry notables as Gene Colan, Frank Frazetta, John Severin, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Russ Heath, Reed Crandall, and Wally Wood, it featured war stories in both contemporary and period settings, unified by a humanistic theme of the personal costs of war, rather than by traditional men's adventure motifs. As one letter-writer in the third issue put it, “Do you seriously expect to make money with a war magazine that publishes nothing but anti-war stories?”While most stories took place during World War II, they ranged in settings from the 18th century to the present-day. Some dealt with historical figures, such as Revolutionary War general Benedict Arnold and his pre-traitorous victory at the battle of Saratoga, while “Foragers” focused on a fictional soldier in General William T. Sherman’s devastating March to the Sea during the American Civil War. “Holding Action,” set on the last day of the Korean War, ended with a gung-ho young soldier, unwilling to quit, being escorted over his protests into a medical vehicle.What proved to be the most controversial were stories set during the then-contemporary Vietnam War, particularly the classic short “Landscape,” which follows the thoughts of a Vietnamese peasant rice-farmer devoid of ideology, who nonetheless pays the ultimate price simply for living where he does. While writer Goodwin evenhandedly portrays the North Vietnamese Army’s brutal summary executions of village officials, and a well-meaning U.S. Army fatally bludgeoning its way through the village in a counterattack, the story caused key distributors to stop selling the title.Fantagraphics is proud to present a deluxe, hardcover edition, magnificently printed and bound, of these stories, superbly reproduced from the original printer's film negatives.Nominated for a 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award: (Best Archival Collection/Project: Comic Books).

    1" cover the more adult subjects of bad love, bad perms, being single, Prince, and miserable break-ups--resulting in one of the most oft-quoted Barry sayings: Love is an exploding cigar which we all willingly smoke.

    The first volume of this multi-year project will include the five sample strips that Gould used to sell his groundbreaking strip, as well as nearly 500 comic strips encompassing the series' beginning, from October 1931-May 1933. Among these strips are the first appearance of many long-time Dick Tracy characters, such as Tess Truehart, Junior and Chief Brandon. This special first volume features an overview and introduction from Consulting Editor and writer Max Allan Collins, as well as a never-before-published interview between Collins and creator Chester Gould. Each volume will feature book design from award-winning designer/artist Ashley Wood. -The Library of American Comics is the world's #1 publisher of classic newspaper comic strips, with 14 Eisner Award nominations and three wins for best book. LOAC has become "the gold standard for archival comic strip reprints... The research and articles provide insight and context, and most importantly the glorious reproduction of the material has preserved these strips for those who knew them and offers a new gateway to adventure for those discovering them for the first time." - Scoop