by Craig Yoe

[It has come to our attention that we don't link to the I.T.C.H. blog enough, especially when they post lots of awesome Milt Gross art, as above. Site proprietor Craig Yoe recently published Complete Milt Gross Comic Book and Lify Story from IDW and generously offered to explain more about why Milt Gross matters.]

10. Gross was a pioneer of the graphic novel with the hilarious adventure-filled, groundbreaking publication of his wordless picture novel “He Done Her Wrong” in 1930. Fans of the book included Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

9. At the turn of the century, Gross was one of the first comic strippers in New York City, in the beginning of newspaper comics. He worked alongside George “Krazy Kat” Herriman, Bud “Mutt and Jeff” Fisher, Cliff “Polly and Her Pals” Sterrett, George “Bringing Up Father” McManus, Fred “Happy Hooligan” Opper. (It’s said that Gross later suggested to his best friend, Ernie Bushmiller, to focus on Aunt Fritzi’s niece, Nancy, but we won’t get into that!)

8. Gross was a pioneer of the autobiographical comics with the hilariously surreal “Why There’s No Comic in This Space Today” feature, starring the artist and his family. The comic ran in the New York Daily Mirror in the 1930s. Gross also did one-page, wordless comic strip reviews of John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath,” Raymond Chandler’s “The Big Sleep,” and William Faulkner’s “The Wild Palms.”

7. Milt was one of the first cartoonist in the fledging animation industry. Starting around 1917, Gross worked for the famed (John) Bray Studios on adaptions of his own cartoons and on Mutt and Jeff. Years later, the artist worked for MGM as a director and then for Disney, personally recruited by Walt.

6. Gross wrote many best selling novels like “Nize Baby,” where he invented a particular type of comedic Yiddish. In his novels and comics, the artist coined popular phrases like “banana oil,” “dunt esk!,” “booby hatch,” “Iggy keep an eye on me!,” and “then the fun began!”

5. Gross was one of the first beloved Jewish “humorist.” In addition to drawing, Milt was a highly in demand public speaker, beloved by his Jewish brethren in addition to the public at large.

4. Milt Gross was the only cartoonist to have his own self-titled comic book, “Milt Gross Funnies” (unless I count Walt Disney, who didn’t draw a line in his “Walt Disney Comics and Stories,” and I don’t!)

3. Milt crossed over into Hollywood when Charlie Chaplin, a great admirer of Gross’ (and virtually a look-a-like twin) personally requested Milt to provide ideas for his films. A king of all media, Milt Gross also wrote songs, designed toys, had a radio show based on his characters, produced a kid’s TV show…

2. Milt crossed over into Fine Art. His acclaimed paintings were bought by Hollywood elite at his hit, one-man shows in Los Angeles.

1. Forget all the above BANANA OIL! The reason Milt Gross’ work is important is he wrote and drew FUNNY. His work has been called “hilarious,” “zany,” “wacky,” “wild,” and “frenetic.” R. Crumb says, “I love all his work-what a goofball!” Patrick McDonnell says, “He frees you up!” Jules Feiffer says, “Still great!” Sergio Aragones says, “I love his cartoons!” And Matt Groening puts it succinctly, “Dig!”

I myself love the nutty-crazy-incredibly-modern FUNNY comics of Milt Gross. That’s why I just edited and designed “The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story” with a Fold-INtroduction by Al Jaffee and a foreword by Herb Gross, Milt’s son. Was it a laugh-riot, fun-filled labor of love putting this 354 page full color book together for IDW/Yoe Books? DUN’T ESK!

“Vice” magazine called Craig Yoe, “The Indiana Jones of Comics Historians!” “Publishers Weekly” calls Craig’s work “brilliant” and Yoe a “madman visionary,” saying he’s “ruining America’s youth!” Yoe’s book “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster” was profiled on Fox News, NPR’s Fresh Air, The New York Times, and Hustler magazine. Yoe edits the group blog of The International Team of Comics Historians at http://theITCHblog.com.