MARKLEY’S FEVERED BRAIN: A strip A DAY will keep YOU ENTERTAINED

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Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

Recently, as in the last few weeks, a number of excellent newspaper strip collections have been published. These variety from Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon to Jose Luis Salina’s Cisco youngster to Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage. I have long stated there is a world of excellent stories in the pages of newspapers from years gone by that a lot of of us have no concept exist. luckily a number of publishers have taken up the task of reprinting a number of these traditional strips, as well as I am going to look at five recent releases. Of course, you must inspect www.westfieldcomics.com for availability of these titles as a few of them are brand new. As excellent as these five books are, as well as as much as I commend these publishers for taking the time as well as effort to get these strips in print, they are however a extremely little portion of the comic strips that are out there, not to mention the strips that have been lost to time. Also, considering that a lot of of these strips are not about superheroes, the audience they charm to is extremely limited, so I motivate you to try one of these books if you are trying to find something different than the current large crossover or the newest re-launch gimmick.

Flash Gordon as well as Jungle Jim Vol. 1

First off I would like to go over the very first volume of IDW’s collection of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon as well as Jungle Jim. Alex Raymond is one of my preferred illustrators as well as Flash Gordon is one of his finest liked works, although Rip Kirby is my favorite. This new collection from IDW is a significant large book in full color collecting the Flash Gordon Sunday strips from 1934-1936. It is interesting to enjoy Raymond establish as an artist as well as draftsman as these strips go on. The early Sundays are a bit rigid as well as you can see Raymond progress from his work on the everyday trick agent X (later X-9, see additionally down in this article) to his later work where his style evolves into a lovely rich style that rivals Hal Foster. I believe this is because of the area he was provided on a Sunday only strip as well as the time it enabled him to have to create it versus a everyday strip. These Sunday strips were double the fun in that the primary section of the strip was science fiction experience with Flash Gordon however the top third of the strip was an continuous Jungle Jim strip likewise by Raymond. This is the very first time that the Flash Gordon strip has been reprinted with the Jungle Jim strips intact. The Jungle Jim strips have been reprinted in the past by Pacific Comics Club as well as street Enterprises, however this is the very first time they are reprinted the method they were intended. Flash Gordon has likewise been collected in the past by kitchen area Sink Press, Checker press as well as others, however this is by far the most lovely collection as well as the reproduction is the very best I have seen of this material. There is likewise a great deal of historical material about the strip as well as Alex Raymond. The book is a bit pricey, however it is worth every penny.

Cisco youngster Vol. 1

Next is the very first volume of the total collection of Jose Luis Salina’s Cisco youngster (or at least that is the plan.) This very first volume collects strips from 1951-1953 as well as are beautifully brought back in wonderful black as well as white by traditional Comics Press. There is nearly three year’s worth of everyday strips by Salina collected here. It is a excellent book in that is shows an American audience what a amazing artist Salina was, however he has never gotten a excellent offer of fan attention. maybe it’s since he is from Argentina that American fans have overlooked him, or perhaps it’s since Cisco is not as widely known as a few of the other characters. There are eight total stories right here all written by Rod Reed. when once again there is a great deal of historical info about the strip, the O Henry story that the character is named after, as well as the history of Cisco. (There is extremely bit connection between the O Henry story as well as the Cisco youngster comic strip as well as the extremely prominent TV show of the exact same name in the 1950s.) just like the huge Ben collection that traditional Comics press released earlier this year, this is a lovely collection of a seldom seen – outside of a few reprints by street Enterprises – newspaper strips with quick passed western stories with genuinely lovely art. As a special reward there is an introduction by Sergio Aragones.

Pogo Vol. 1: with The Wild Blue Wonder

Fantagraphics Books, who publishes a few of the very best collections in the world (see their prince Valiant collections), have released the very first volume of what is organized to bea 12 volume set reprinting the total Walt Kelly’s Pogo. To be honest, I have never been a significant fan of Pogo, even though I liked Kelly’s Our Gang comics (also being collected by as well as offered from Fantagraphics), however I have to state reading this very first volume has altered my mind. good friends have told me for many years exactly how excellent Pogo is as well as they told me that if I checked out the strips in sequence I would see the appeal of Kelly’s storytelling. Jeff (Bone) Smith has been one of the most vocal supports of Pogo, as well as so to Jeff, I apologize, you are right, this is a excellent strip. This very first volume has a few of the most lovely reproduction of a newspaper strip you will ever see as well as there is so much background info about Kelly as well as Pogo it is nearly like taking a college class on Walt Kelly. reading the strips in sequence (and this is the very first time they have been reprinted in buy without skipping around) is so much much better than the trade collections that were performed in the 60s as well as 70s. As a bonus, the Sunday strips are all in color. If you are like me, as well as were not a huge Pogo fan, provide this very first volume a try as well as I believe you will discover that this is a amazing strip.

X-9: trick agent Corrigan Vol. 3

IDW likewise just recently released the third volume of six collecting the total Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson X-9: trick agent Corrigan. Yes, this is the exact same trick agent X that Alex Raymond produced back in the 1930s except these strips are from 1972-1974. There are over 800 beautifully drawn strips by Al Williamson, who mixed realism with a lovely style that grew out of the Roy Krenkel/Alex Raymond institution of art. This book is worth choosing up if only for Al Williamson’s art, however Archie Goodwin’s storytelling is a few of the very best you will ever read. Goodwin has a style of storytelling that few others have ever achieved. Within these volumes Goodwin is able to tell stories that include an outer area adventure; street gangs in the inner city; an evil Oriental warlord who looks a great deal like Fu Manchu; to the jungles of South America as well as the Aztecs. together Goodwin as well as Williamson were a excursion de force of storytelling that harkens back to the traditional days of the experience strip.

Mary Perkins On stage Vol. 9

Finally we have Mary Perkins On stage volume 9. I include this title since it is the ninth volume in this collection of Leonard Starr’s traditional strip. traditional Comics press has so far has been able to gather every strip considering that the beginning. While a lot of people reject Mary Perkins as a soap opera as well as it seldom gets much, if any, interest it is really a beautifully drawn human drama that is both gripping as well as suspenseful. It is not an experience strip in the sense of Buz Sawyer or Steve Canyon, however it is an adventure, a human experience as well as the art is as great as anything Williamson or Raymond ever did, which is high praise indeed. traditional Comics press has pledegd to publish the total run of Leonard Starr’s work on this strip over 15 volumes, as well as they are over half the method there. If you have never seen Mary Perkins, do yourself a favor as well as pick up a volume just to be surprised by the lovely art as well as production.

This wraps up this blog. This is a golden age of newspaper strip reprints as well as the five books I have spotlighted right here are just the idea of the iceberg. personally I discover it to be so much fun to sit down with one of these books as well as spend hours in one more world, be it on the far flung world of Mongo with Flash Gordon or the dirty wild west of the Cisco youngster or streets of the huge city with Mary Perkins, it is so much a lot more engrossing than lots of of the monthly comics that come out every week. As always, these are my thoughts only, as well as do not show the opinions of the workers or the company, Westfield Comics. any type of thoughts, complaints, agreements or disagreements can be sent toMFBWAY@AOL.COM.

Thank you.