Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books
- ISBN-10
- 0520960025
- ISBN-13
- 9780520960022
- Category
- Humor
- Pages
- 432
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2014-11-27
- Publisher
- Univ of California Press
- Author
- Michael Barrier
Description
Funnybooks is the story of the most popular American comic books of the 1940s and 1950s, those published under the Dell label. For a time, "Dell Comics Are Good Comics" was more than a slogan—it was a simple statement of fact. Many of the stories written and drawn by people like Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge), John Stanley (Little Lulu), and Walt Kelly (Pogo) repay reading and rereading by educated adults even today, decades after they were published as disposable entertainment for children. Such triumphs were improbable, to say the least, because midcentury comics were so widely dismissed as trash by angry parents, indignant librarians, and even many of the people who published them. It was all but miraculous that a few great cartoonists were able to look past that nearly universal scorn and grasp the artistic potential of their medium. With clarity and enthusiasm, Barrier explains what made the best stories in the Dell comic books so special. He deftly turns a complex and detailed history into an expressive narrative sure to appeal to an audience beyond scholars and historians.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2014-11-27
- 407 pages
- Paperback
- Univ of California Press
Similar books
-
Chuckle, Giggle, Snort!: Quips Collected By Karen Money Williams
By Karen Money WilliamsJustin Timberlake When I die, bury me on the golf course so that my husband will visit. Give me golf clubs, fresh air, and a beautiful partner, ...
-
The Entourage Handbook: The Definitive Guide for Building Your Own Social Posse with Special Tips on Handling "Followers" and "Hangers-On"
By Lou Harry, Todd TobiasWhy should Hollywood stars be the only ones who have an entourage?
-
A Jackass on the Rebound: A Jake Timberlake Adventure
By Jake TimberlakeWith just a cold beer in his hand and a goofy grin on his face, recently-dumped Jake Timberlake is a lovable loser trying to move on with his life one misadventure at a time.
-
The Law of the Office: The A-Z of 9-5 Culture
By Karen FarringtonThe A-Z of 9-5 Culture Karen Farrington. The Law of the OFFICE KAREN FARRINGTON The A - Z of 9-5 Culture ROBSON First published in Great Britain in 2006 by Robson Books.
-
Rich Hall's Vanishing America
By Rich HallChronicles an offbeat cross-country odyssey through the backroads and byways of the United States, immortalizing the people, places, and cultural artifacts vanishing from the nation's landscape
-
Common or Garden Cows
By Karen Humpage... Monkhams) Chapter 3: Traffic Quotes: Sue Nelson, Claire Rumble, Dr Julian Litten, Pat Cutler, Christine Brassey, Peter Lawrence Photos: Irene and John Buchan, E7NowandThen, Graham Frankel Inspiration: Julian Litten (Encounter at the ...
-
Different Minds: A Celebration of the End of Our Species
By Karen LaMantiaHis invention enabled him to sell a writing tool to almost everyone in the USA. Archie made a tiny profit on each pen but he sold a lot of pens, even in 1892. From those humble beginnings, the Van Cleefs branch out until they own a ...
-
I Don't Need to Have Children, I Date Them: 23 Child Psychology Techniques to Use on Boys of All Ages
By Karen SalmansohnBoth think the Three Stooges are hilarious. And both love to be told, You are sooooo big! But this is reason to celebrate, not fret, because knowing this gives you the inside advantage.
-
Mr. Right When You Need Him
By Karen SalmansohnKaren Salmansohn, author of the bestselling How to Make Your Man Behave in 21 Days or Less by Using the Secrets of Professional Dog Trainers and I Don't Need to Have Children, I Date Them, has created Mr. Right When You Need Him for those ...
-
Burn Your Anger: Write It, Rip It, Torch It!
By Karen SalmansohnFill in your ire and set it on fire!