Many fans and insiders alike have never heard of Bill Hume, Bailin' Wire Bill, Abe Martin, AWOL Wally, the Texas History Movies, or the Weatherbird at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And many insiders do not know why we call comic books "comics" even though lots of them are not at all funny. Robert C. Harvey, cartoonist and a veteran comics critic, author of several histories of comics and biographies of cartoonists, tells forgotten... more...

This work examines the comic strip throughout its history for the elements that make cartoons one of the most appealing of the popular arts. The comic strip was created by rival newspapers as a device in their circulation battles. It quickly established itself as not only an effective device, but also as an institution that soon spread to newspapers world-wide. This historical study unfolds the history of the funnies and reveals the subtle art of how... more...