Traces the development of the comic strip since its birth at the turn of the century. The reproductions of vintage strips are strikingly pristine, due to the use of original artwork rather than published versions in the production of the volume. The author, a seasoned writer and scholar of the subject is good at historical and aesthetic discussion, less so at discussing the sociological context of various strips. Two other experts in the field, Brian Walker and Richard V. West, contribute a foreword and afterword. An attractive and enjoyable volume. 9x12

Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip

Arts & Photography

Harvey, Robert C.

Walker, Brian

West, Richard V.

Frye Art Museum

History & Criticism

Univ of Washington Pr

The Art of the Funnies: An Aesthetic History (Studies in Popular Culture)

Exploration of the comic strip for elements that make the funnies one of the most appealing of the popular arts

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI

The comic strip was created by rival newspapers of the Hearst and the Pulitzer organizations as a device for increasing circulation. In the United States it quickly became an institution that soon spread worldwide as a favorite form of popular culture. What made the comic strip so enduring? This fascinating study by one of the few comics critics to develop sound critical principles by which to evaluate the comics as works of art and literature unfolds the history of the funnies and reveals the subtle art of how the comic strip blends words and pictures to make its impact. Together, these create meaning that neither conveys by itself. The Art of The Funnies offers a critical vocabulary for the appreciation of the newspaper comic strip as an art form and shows that full awareness of the artistry comes from considering both the verbal and the visual elements of the medium. The techniques of creating a comic strip - breaking down the narrative, composition of the panel, planning the layout - have remained constant since comic strips were originated. Since 1900 with Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland key cartoonists have relied on the union of words and pictures to give the funnies their continuing appeal. This art has persisted in such milestone achievements as Bud Fisher's Mutt and Jeff, George McManus's Bringing Up Father, Sidney Smith's The Gumps, Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy, Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie, Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, Zack Mosley's Smilin' Jack, Harold Foster's Tarzan, Alex Raymond's Secret Agent X-9, Jungle Jim, and Flash Gordon, Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates, E. C. Segar's Popeye, George Herriman's Krazy Kat, and Walt Kelly's Pogo. In more recent times with Mort Walker's Beetle Bailey, Charles Schulz's Peanuts. Johnny Hart's B.C., T.K. Ryan's Tumbleweeds, Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury, and Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, the artform has evolved with new developments, yet the aesthetics of the funnies remain basic. The Art of The Funnies unearths new information and weighs the influence of syndication upon the medium. Though the funnies go in ever new directions, perceiving the interdependency of words and pictures, as this book shows, remains the key to understanding the art.

Traces the history of comic books, discusses the economics of the field and the changing relationship between the words and the pictures, and profiles leading artists

The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History (Studies in Popular Culture)

Univ Pr of Mississippi

A history of the comic book, in which a noted cartoonist demonstrates the aesthetics and power of the medium

A Gallery of Rogues: Cartoonists' Self-Caricatures

Individual Artists

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library

The comic strip Gordo was published in U.S. newspapers for forty-four years (1941-1985). For almost all of this run its creator Gus Arriola was the most visible American of Mexican descent working as a syndicated cartoonist. At its peak Gordo appeared in 270 newspapers and was the more widely circulated and longer-running of only two American comic strips set in Mexico. 
Gordo recounted the humorous adventures and amorous preoccupations of a portly Mexican bean farmer, whose name, Gordo, means "fat." Among the supporting cast were his perspicacious nephew, the menagerie of their farm animals, and citizens of their village. Originally, the characters played to the stereotypes of Mexicans as portrayed by Hollywood and in popular culture. 
When Arriola realized that in the U.S. his comic strip was the only mass-circulation medium that portrayed Mexicans, he began taking pains to reflect accurately the traditions south of the border. Gordo was transformed forthwith, and its chubby hero became, more by accident than by plan, an ambassador for Mexico and its culture. 
Converting his protagonist to a tour guide in the 1960s, Arriola was able to regale American readers with many aspects of Mexican folklore, history, and art in an entertaining but informative fashion, winning awards and accolades for his efforts. Because animals and insects in the strip were among its stellar attractions, Arriola was creatively positioned to stump for ecological concerns. He was one of the earliest in popular culture to do so. 
Profusely illustrated with runs of the strip from various periods, the book traces Arriola's artistic evolution and celebrates the cartoonist as a supremely inventive stylist whose artwork always displays design qualities unusual for a comic strip. His stunning Sunday fiestas of color and design are exemplified with eight pages of full-color reproductions. 
This is the first book focused exclusively on Gus Arriola and the first that extensively examines the Mexican milieu as portrayed in American comics.
 The comic strip Gordo was published in U.S. newspapers for forty-four years (1941-1985). For almost all of this run its creator Gus Arriola was the most visible American of Mexican descent working as a syndicated cartoonist. At its peak Gordo appeared in 270 newspapers and was the more widely circulated and longer-running of only two American comic strips set in Mexico. 
Gordo recounted the humorous adventures and amorous preoccupations of a portly Mexican bean farmer, whose name, Gordo, means "fat." Among the supporting cast were his perspicacious nephew, the menagerie of their farm animals, and citizens of their village. Originally, the characters played to the stereotypes of Mexicans as portrayed by Hollywood and in popular culture. 
When Arriola realized that in the U.S. his comic strip was the only mass-circulation medium that portrayed Mexicans, he began taking pains to reflect accurately the traditions south of the border. Gordo was transformed forthwith, and its chubby hero became, more by accident than by plan, an ambassador for Mexico and its culture. 
Converting his protagonist to a tour guide in the 1960s, Arriola was able to regale American readers with many aspects of Mexican folklore, history, and art in an entertaining but informative fashion, winning awards and accolades for his efforts. Because animals and insects in the strip were among its stellar attractions, Arriola was creatively positioned to stump for ecological concerns. He was one of the earliest in popular culture to do so. 
Profusely illustrated with runs of the strip from various periods, the book traces Arriola's artistic evolution and celebrates the cartoonist as a supremely inventive stylist whose artwork always displays design qualities unusual for a comic strip. His stunning Sunday fiestas of color and design are exemplified with eight pages of full-color reproductions. 
This is the first book focused exclusively on Gus Arriola and the first that extensively examines the Mexican milieu as portrayed in American comics.

Accidental Ambassador Gordo: The Comic Strip Art of Gus Arriola

Comics & Graphic Novels

Arriola, Gus

How To Create Comics & Manga

The comic strip Gordo was published in U.S. newspapers for forty-four years (1941-1985). For almost all of this run its creator Gus Arriola was the most visible American of Mexican descent working as a syndicated cartoonist. At its peak Gordo appeared in 270 newspapers and was the more widely circulated and longer-running of only two American comic strips set in Mexico.
Gordo recounted the humorous adventures and amorous preoccupations of a portly Mexican bean farmer, whose name, Gordo, means "fat." Among the supporting cast were his perspicacious nephew, the menagerie of their farm animals, and citizens of their village. Originally, the characters played to the stereotypes of Mexicans as portrayed by Hollywood and in popular culture.
When Arriola realized that in the U.S. his comic strip was the only mass-circulation medium that portrayed Mexicans, he began taking pains to reflect accurately the traditions south of the border. Gordo was transformed forthwith, and its chubby hero became, more by accident than by plan, an ambassador for Mexico and its culture.
Converting his protagonist to a tour guide in the 1960s, Arriola was able to regale American readers with many aspects of Mexican folklore, history, and art in an entertaining but informative fashion, winning awards and accolades for his efforts. Because animals and insects in the strip were among its stellar attractions, Arriola was creatively positioned to stump for ecological concerns. He was one of the earliest in popular culture to do so.
Profusely illustrated with runs of the strip from various periods, the book traces Arriola's artistic evolution and celebrates the cartoonist as a supremely inventive stylist whose artwork always displays design qualities unusual for a comic strip. His stunning Sunday fiestas of color and design are exemplified with eight pages of full-color reproductions.
This is the first book focused exclusively on Gus Arriola and the first that extensively examines the Mexican milieu as portrayed in American comics.

Many fans and insiders alike have never heard of Bill Hume, Bailin' Wire Bill, Abe Martin, AWOL Wally, the Texas History Movies, or the Weatherbird at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And many insiders do not know why we call comic books "comics" even though lots of them are not at all funny.Robert C. Harvey, cartoonist and a veteran comics critic, author of several histories of comics and biographies of cartoonists, tells forgotten stories of a dozen now obscure but once famous cartoonists and their creations. He also includes accounts of the cartooning careers of a groundbreaking African American and a woman who broke into an industry once dominated by white men.Many of the better known stories in some of the book's fourteen chapters are wrapped around fugitive scraps of information that are almost unknown. Which of Bill Mauldin's famous duo is Willie? Which is Joe? What was the big secret about E. Simms Campbell? Who was Funnyman? And why? And some of the pictures are rare, too. Hugh Hefner's cartoons, Kin Hubbard's illustrations for Short Furrows, Betty Swords' pictures for the Male Chauvinist Pig Calendar of 1974, the Far East pin-up cartoon character Babysan, illustrations for Popo and Fifina, and Red Ryder's last bow.

Insider Histories of Cartooning: Rediscovering Forgotten Famous Comics and Their Creators

Comic Strips

Many fans and insiders alike have never heard of Bill Hume, Bailin' Wire Bill, Abe Martin, AWOL Wally, the Texas History Movies, or the Weatherbird at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And many insiders do not know why we call comic books “comics” even though lots of them are not at all funny. Robert C. Harvey, cartoonist and a veteran comics critic, author of several histories of comics and biographies of cartoonists, tells forgotten stories of a dozen now obscure but once famous cartoonists and their creations. He also includes accounts of the cartooning careers of a groundbreaking African American and a woman who broke into an industry once dominated by white men. Many of the better-known stories in some of the book's fourteen chapters are wrapped around fugitive scraps of information that are almost unknown. Which of Bill Mauldin's famous duo is Willie? Which is Joe? What was the big secret about E. Simms Campbell? Who was Funnyman? And why? And some of the pictures are rare, too. Hugh Hefner's cartoons, Kin Hubbard's illustrations for Short Furrows, Betty Swords’s pictures for the Male Chauvinist Pig Calendar of 1974, the Far East pin-up cartoon character Babysan, illustrations for Popo and Fifina, and Red Ryder's last bow.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Harvey, Robert C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Harvey, Robert C.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Harvey, Robert C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip

The Art of the Funnies: An Aesthetic History (Studies in Popular Culture)

The Art of the Funnies: An Aesthetic History (Studies in Popular Culture)

The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History (Studies in Popular Culture)

The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History (Studies in Popular Culture)

A Gallery of Rogues: Cartoonists' Self-Caricatures

Accidental Ambassador Gordo: The Comic Strip Art of Gus Arriola

Accidental Ambassador Gordo: The Comic Strip Art of Gus Arriola

Insider Histories of Cartooning: Rediscovering Forgotten Famous Comics and Their Creators

Insider Histories of Cartooning: Rediscovering Forgotten Famous Comics and Their Creators