{"id":1443,"date":"2010-07-22T21:31:03","date_gmt":"2010-07-23T02:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/?p=1443"},"modified":"2011-12-08T23:46:22","modified_gmt":"2011-12-09T04:46:22","slug":"the-comics-an-illustrated-history-of-comic-strip-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/22\/the-comics-an-illustrated-history-of-comic-strip-art\/","title":{"rendered":"The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the 2007 Heroes Con, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jerry Robinson<\/a> of Golden Age Batman and Joker fame (among his many other honors and accomplishments). \u00a0This is by far my favorite interview for the Golden Age of Comic Books Podcast. \u00a0I hope I get to see Jerry again in the not too distant future. \u00a0He is a gentleman’s gentleman.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Jerry<\/a>

Jerry Robinson and Bill Jourdain at Heroes Con 2007<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Not only is Jerry a celebrated comic book and comic strip artist, he has devoted much of his professional time as a historian of this great art form. \u00a0While Jerry has compiled several historical works, my favorite is his The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art<\/em> published in hardback in 1974 by Putnam with a softback reprint by Berkley in 1976 (Dark Horse reissued the book with some changes in April 2009 with a cover price of $24.99). \u00a0If you are interested in the history of comic strips (the precursor to comic books) this book is highly recommended.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art (1976)<\/p><\/div>\n

This 256 page book covers comic strips from the late nineteenth century up to the era the book was first published in 1974. \u00a0Robinson explores the origins of dozens of strips, both well known and obscure. \u00a0Of course, any book exploring a visual medium like comics must have art to accompany the text, and Robinson provides a plethora of black and white reprints from all eras and genres. \u00a0The book isn’t limited to black and white reproductions, and between pages 160 and 161, “A Cavalcade of Color” presents 32 full color reprints of some of the great comic strips from all eras. \u00a0Here you’ll find the four color adventures of Hogan’s Alley, The Katzenjammer Kids, Little Nemo, The Gumps, Alley Oop, Buck Rogers, Li’L Abner, Prince Valiant and Peanuts, to name a few.<\/p>\n

The book is divided into eight distinct sections, designed to guide the reader through the development and evolution of the comic strip. \u00a0Here’s the table of contents showing how Robinson has broken this down.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Comics - Table of Contents<\/p><\/div>\n

The table of contents reveals one of my favorite features of this book, the comments by some of the great comic strip creators. \u00a0I don’t think you can find another book with the collected commentary of the likes of Milt Caniff, Lee Falk, Johnny Hart, Charles Schulz, Chic Young, \u00a0Hal Foster, Walt Kelly and others. \u00a0This alone is worth the price of admission!<\/p>\n

Anyone who has an interest in Golden Age comic books should at least take a little time to explore the origins of the comic strips. \u00a0Without the great strips of old, the comic books would never have come into being. \u00a0Jerry’s book is a perfect place to go to explore these origins. \u00a0It’s also a whole lot of fun!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Comics - Back Cover<\/p><\/div>\n