Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Craig Yoe says, "Hey Kids, Komics!"

BOOK REVIEW: The Golden Collection of Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics by Craig Yoe; published by Yoe Books! and IDW Publishing, 2010 (304 pages). Available @ Super I.T.C.H.

I received Craig Yoe’s The Golden Collection of Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics (henceforth known as KKKKK) in the mail a couple of days ago. I've been pouring over it since and find it the most beautifully done comics retrospective book I have seen since forever. Paper stock choice, graphic design and layout, reproduction quality; and selection of artists - all rate a first class wow. With comic book anthologies so much can go wrong - and none of it goes wrong here. Specifics? Oh, all right.

First, this little doozy’s bound for the ages (both timeless and well made). All us comic book lovers have had it happen: you buy a nice anthology of your favorite artist, title, or genre; open it up a couple times and wham – that unmistakable sound of a split binding knifes into your heart. Soon, you know, pages will begin dropping out. No worries here. Pages open nicely (lays flat) and are snug and tight - designed for years of reading.

Let's take a little peek at the contents. Here's a story by George Carlson. All scans on this post come right out of the book:

Quality of reproduction (sooo important) is very high throughout. Paper choice is crucial and is a pretty tricky business where funny books are concerned. Publishers really seem to prefer the slick, hard paper – imagining (I imagine) the shiny paper gives the work the slick sheen of real, permanent art and high quality (and can thus summon a price commensurate with same). Trouble is, if the paper’s too slick and hard, colors (oh, those all important four-color colors!) can become over saturated - even blobby and wet looking - thus losing the look and feel of comics. Not here. Nope. Mr. Yoe has chosen a heavy paper, very white, which has a perfect, very slight texture so that all reproduced work has a crisp, matte finish. In other words, everything looks exactly like the great comics we purchased back before illusions of grandeur thickened the fun.

Now, to the heart of it - the selection of comics and artists. Two things can (and have) happened with comic book anthologies: The artist selection is so esoteric and “original” that you end up wondering (and not caring) who the artists are; or, on the other hand, you’ve seen the work selected about one-bazillion times in various formats. In a nutshell, I found Craig’s selection to be the perfect blend of extremes. All the giants (Barks, Kelly, Walker, Hubbard, etc.), master classers (Messmer, Bradbury, Hultgren, Stanley, Gordon, etc.), brilliant inspirations (Carlson, Gross, Cole, Kurtzman, etc.); and other assorted big names are well represented here by work not often seen. Also presented are kid comic stories from artists best known for their big boy work – guys like Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, and Frank Frazetta (the story included here from the late Frazetta is a particular joy and doesn’t contain a single hint of stooping-to-conquer).

And there are, gratefully, some artists that are new to me. Of them, I am really going to have to hunt down some of the work of Louis Ferstadt. The included stories of “Phil Flop, Detective” bare the curse of dizzying genius. Another discovery (for me) was Mel Casson, whose “Stanley the Space Man” exudes funny charm. Have a look for yourself:

And, what the heck, let's toss in a Phil Flop one-pager by Louis Ferstadt for good measure!

OK, I’ve said my piece. Now it’s time for some good ol’ fashioned comic book yapping. Favorite parts? Man, I’m glad you asked. My favorite comic book artists ever are Jack Bradbury, Milt Stein, and Howie Post so their inclusion here is very gratifying (and story choices for each is stuff I haven't seen before - something un-Harvey from Post). I also loved the Jim Tyer story, “The Great Voice.” Tyer’s cartooning will be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with his energetic animation for Terrytoons! My biggest thrill, however, was the included pages of Dr. Seuss’ work on the Hejji comic strip. “Did you know Dr. Seuss drew this comic strip for the newspapers?!?” asks Yoe in a caption introducing the first page (of 12); knowing full well he is unveiling a glittering gem. The good doctor - Theodor Seuss Geisel - was the first cartoonist I loved (still love) and to find some new cartoons from him is a real treat.

Mr. Yoe certainly has been ripping it up! Earlier this very same year we have seen from Yoe Books! The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story, AND Dan DeCarlo’s Jetta (a personal favorite after the title under discussion). Wow, does Yoe love comics - loves them so much he always does them up right. Every comic book lover owes Craig Yoe, Yoe Books!, and IDW Publishing a pat on the back!

Even better than a pat on the back would be the purchase of some of Craig's books! I certainly have! To purchase KKKKK and other great titles from Yoe Books!, please visit Super I.T.C.H.!

25 comments:

  1. great, another book i have to have and can't afford- poverty sucks! anyway, thanx for the review, this was news to me, and Louis Ferstadt is truly a discovery of insane proportions!...

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  2. Prof.: This is a good one, no lie! There's a whole slew of Ferstadt therein. He was off the chain!

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  3. Great review, Mykal. I just picked up The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon) from my local library. It was up for an Eisner this year. Have you seen it? Haven't had time to sink my teeth into it yet, but the Gerald McBoing Boing story you posted a while back caught my eye as having made the cut. Don't know if there's any overlap in selections between this and the Yoe book.

    Adam

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  4. Adam: I do have that TOON Treasury, and think it mighty fine. There is no overlap between Spiegelman's book and Yoe's - both are excellent. The library for kids' comics is pretty slim and those two books are at the head of the class. In fact, I will be adding a sidebar soon for recommended reading, and both books are going to be in it. Thanks for the comments.

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  5. I picked up the Toon Treasury a little while ago and have been enjoying it intensely. This one sounds like it may be even better.

    Great review, Mykal, and thanks for bringing this book to our attention.

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  6. David: If you loved the TOON Treasury (which I did), guaranteed you will love KKKKK. They compliment each other perfectly.

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  7. Too cool~! Your timing with the Big Blog of Kids' Comics is perfect to herald the arrival of this and future retrospective Kid Comic Books~!

    I agree with Grewbeard about Louis Ferstadt. How could anyone not wish to see more ?!

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  8. wah! I'm currently unemployed and need this too! Looks amazing, but then again I love all of Craig's books.

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  9. Lysdexicuss: Ferstadt is amazing. I've been hunting his stuff, but it's hard to find. Make that impossible. In fact, unless I miss my guess, Craig has gathered all that is available (one issue of All Great Comics from 1944) in this great book: 5 pages of "Phil Flop, Detective" and one page of a character called "Mazy." With regard to finding that issue of All Great Comics - which I think was an issue from Fox Syndicate reprinting newspaper comic strips - forget it. I can't find it, and the imagined price terrifies me anyway. Thanks for the legwork, Craig!

    Karswell: Unemployed? Damn, brother! I agree - all of Yoe Books! have that "I gotta have it" touch.

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  10. You're welcome, Mykal, glad you like the book and I'm very grateful for this great review. it's probably not too much of a surprise but i LOVE your blog and the important work you are doing, Mykal, ! can't wait to hear what your readers think of Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics!

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  11. i'm jealous of your expensive book!

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  12. KW: Dude, you can get it for under $23.00 bucks. Please! It's a bargain! Check the links!

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  13. thanks mykal... 23 bucks for over 300 pages, a thick hard cover book with gold foil and gold ink and spot varnish and a red ribbon book mark! doubles as a doorstop, priceless! ;)

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  14. I'm awaiting my own copy myself.
    I couldn't think a better place for a comment of KKKKK like this blog. This cool and keen description of the book is a sign of why it's always a pleasure to drop by here: Your infectious voice, my friend!
    If Craig Yoe's reputation is not enough to purchase it, your words might persuade the most reluctant reader.

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  15. Gabriel: Thanks, my friend. There is not question that you will love this book as I do. Once you get it, let me know how you love it! Wait 'till you see the Stein! . . .and the Tyer, and the Suess, and the Bradbury, and the . . .

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  16. You've convinced me to shell out some bucks for this volume.

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  17. Chuck: please let me know your thoughts once you get it. I am sure you will love it!

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  18. i've been collecting kids' comics for, well, since i was a kid--50 years. these are my favorite stories apart from material that i think people had readily seen or have a lot of already. the best csrtoonists with some of their best stories IMHO. and lotd of unknown greats. i do hope your readers like this book, mykal, and help spread the word. my publisher told me yesterday that if it sells good he wants me to do more...fingers crossed. thanks, mykal, for all your help and encouragement.

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  19. Craig: My pleasure. Man, am I hoping it sells well. I really want to see a Vol. II!

    I plan to do a sidebar permanent feature very soon for this blog; a "Big Blog Bookshelf" of recommended reading and KKKKKK is going No. 1 on the list.

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  20. oh, that's be so cooool, mykal--thanks! i'm glad you liked the ferstadt--and that page you picked to show is is one of the "milder" ones! as i told you off of here, i wasn't going to put him in, but did only at the last second before we went to press.

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  21. Craig: I am so glad you did. His pages look like pretty candy to me.

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  22. Is this the same Louis Ferstadt?

    http://lambiek.net/artists/f/ferstadt_lou.htm


    Louis Goodman Ferstadt was a comic book artist, writer and editor. Born in Ukraine, he moved to the US before the Soviets rose to power. Ferstadt worked in advertising in the 1920s and went into comic book art in the 1930s. He worked through studios like Demby, Eisner/Iger and Funnies Inc. From 1942 to 1945, he had his own shop, the Ferstadt Studio, which employed among others Harvey Kurtzman. Ferstadt has done art on titles by Quality Comics ('Plastic Man', 'The Human Bomb'), Fox ('The Bouncer'), Timely/Atlas ('Red Raven', 'The Vision', 'Whizzer'), National/DC ('Flash', 'Green Lantern') and Harvey ('The Black Cat', 'Captain Freedom').

    I looked at some of the superhero work and it was not like the page you showed us Mykal!

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  23. Maximilian: There is a short bio/annotation included in Craig's book. Yep, same guy.

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  24. This book looks amazing, Mykal - thanks for offering us a sneak peek. I've long been associated with the Archie Americana Series of Archie Comics reprints as the compilation editor of that series, and I'm happy to say that Craig Yoe and his team are hard at work on additional collections of vintage material originally published by Archie. So there are even more delights to come!

    I also had an opportunity to look at the Spiegelman book today that a friend showed me and some other friends at our "Sons of the Desert" Laurel & Hardy meeting. You are right - the Yoe and Spiegelman books go to the head of the class.

    I'd be remiss however if I didn't also laud you, Mykal for your continued efforts to introduce the world to these wonderful stories. I used to have more time to seek out and purchase copies of Supermouse, Coo-Coo, Funny Animals and the like but my schedule has been so crazy that it's become much more convenient to check in on what you're posting... and it is much appreciated, too! :) Keep up the great work!

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  25. Paul: Thanks a lot for the kind words, and I'll for sure be watching out for the book of vintage Archie Comics material. That sounds great!

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