Gutbrain Records

Tuesday, 15 February 2005

Most days I read a few pages of Winsor McCay: Early Works, then switch to the Fantagraphics reprints of George Herriman's Krazy Kat. The Kats are beautifully designed by Chris Ware (a truly great artist) and contain great notes, supplemental material and other comics by Herriman. I think they're the standard by which other projects of this sort should be measured.

I received in the mail the other day the first volume in an ambitious reprint series that Joe Rainone — owner of more than 20,000 pulps, dime novels, penny dreadfuls, etc. — is publishing himself. The Art & History of American Popular Fiction: Volume 1A contains reproductions of all the artwork — covers and interiors — from the 19th-century Five Cent Wide Awake Library series featuring Frank Reade, Jr., a prototypical adventure hero who will probably remind you of everything from John Carter of Mars to Knight Rider to whatever junk is on TV today. It's fascinating and I'm eager to see the subsequent volumes.

Another interesting small-press book is Private Eyelashes: Radio's Lady Detectives, by Jack French, a former Navy cryptology officer and retired FBI agent. I had no idea there were enough female crimefighters on radio to fill a book, but sure enough, here they are: Helen Holden, Government Girl; Calamity Jane; Meet Miss Sherlock; Susan Bright, Detective and many, many more.

Other recent reprints I've been happy to see include the four volumes of reprints of the Modesty Blaise comic strip (published by Titan Books), Big Fun's reprints of classic American comic strips featuring Scorchy Smith and Captain Easy, and this collection of subversive 1950s comics by Dana Dutch, Romance Without Tears.