Edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly, The Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics is perhaps the most seminal historical comics anthology since A Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics, and a powerfully persuasive document arguing for a more linear, storytelling-based tradition of comics. It’s also full of comics by Harvey Kurtzman, Walt Kelly, Jules Feiffer, Carl Barks, Andre LeBlanc, Sheldon Mayer, and more that is so mouth-wateringly gorgeous that you will just sit and stare at it for hours on end. To wit, a few sample pages, provided by Abrams. Click for full sized versions.
A great Summer for graphic novels! Asterios Polyp, Toon Treasury, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow, Studs Terkel’s Working, Parker: The Hunter, Masterpiece Comics…
To come: All new Beanworld, Johnny Cash, SIP Omnibus, Stitches, Logicomix, Jacques Tardi, Rip Kirby, the final Cartoon History volume, Batman Vault, The Years Have Pants, The Book of Genesis… and that’s just from the July/September Previews!
Yippe Kai Yi Ay!
I’m looking forward to this!
How is it a “Preview” when the book was released nearly a month ago?
(We received our copies via Diamond 8/25 — B&T has it listed as 9/1 released)
I donated a copy to my son’s 1st grade classroom, but we haven’t sold a copy otherwise, despite giving it excellent rack placement…
[Hm, and B&T shows a 30-day demand of 34 copies on their 1000+ in stock, not stellar.]
-B
Okay Brian I renamed the post. Will that sell more copies?
I ordered it immediately after reading about it in the Forbidden Planet blog. Looks like it could become one of my favourite books to pick up and just thumb through once in a while. I wish it could magically become a bestseller, there must surely be material for several sequels.
Some reasons for comics fans (who think they’ve seen all this stuff before) to buy this book:
*Andre LeBlanc’s “Intellectual Amos”–possibly the best rendered unknown kid strip ever. Three of these.
*Dave Berg’s loose funny art and screwball story on two Tweedle Dee and Dum comics.
*The incredibly idiosynchratic art of Don Arr. I don’t know why I’ve never heard of this guy but he’s in a class of his own.
*The scariest Tubby story ever.
*The cutest Walt Kelly story ever. (I kid you not.)
*A really good Dick Briefer Frankenstein comic selected by your truly. (I need to self promote as I’m losing my job in four week.s)
Seriously, it’s worth the money. I’m even buying one and I have a free copy already.
Chris, Don Arr was Donald R. Christensen, a frequent Disney comics contributor who was also — if memory serves — a frequent guest at San Diegos and CAPS meetings of the 80s and 90s.
Let’s hope so, Ace, it is an excellent collection of work!
-B
Andre Le Blanc’s daughter here
have some very cool original art from dad…
thank you for being a fan. Pop would be so happy to see Amos getting so much belated attention. He truly was his favorite character :)
V
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