Bibliograph

The art of the funnies, an aesthetic history, Robert C. Harvey

Type

Label

The art of the funnies, an aesthetic history, Robert C. Harvey

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-247) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The art of the funnies

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

29564130

Responsibility statement

Robert C. Harvey

Series statement

Studies in popular culture

Sub title

an aesthetic history

Summary

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

Table Of Contents

Ch. 1. The Aesthetics of the Comics: A Preamble through History and Form -- Ch. 2. Somnambulist of a Vanished Dream: Winsor McCay's Exploration of the Medium's Potential -- Ch. 3. Establishing the Daily Comic Strip: The Thematic Choruses of Bud Fisher and George McManus -- Ch. 4. Continuity and Syndication: The Popularity and Proliferation of Comic Strips -- Ch. 5. A Flourish of Trumpets: Roy Crane and the Adventure Strip -- Ch. 6. The Captain and the Comics: How a Noncartoonist Shaped the Medium -- Ch. 7. Exoticism Made Real: The Advent of Illustrators -- Ch. 8. Redefining the Art: Milton Caniff and Terry and the Dragon Lady -- Ch. 9. What This Country Needed Was a Good Segar: Popeye and the Great Depression -- Ch. 10. Peddlers and Poets: The Lyric Clowns Who Captivated the Intelligentsia -- Ch. 11. Of Infinite Jest: The Dawn of the Modern Comic Strip -- Meanwhile ... : An Ending to Begin With

Classification

Creator