The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics – Preview

f r a n ç o i s e m o u ly is an artist and designer. Together with Art Spiegelman she edited the groundbreaking comics anthology Raw. Mouly is the art editor for the New Yorker, and publisher of TOON Books. She lives in New York City. j o n s c i e s z k a is the National Ambassador for Young PeopleÕ s Literature and the founder of Guys Read (guysread.com), a nonprofit literacy organization. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics Selected and edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly Introduction by Jon Scieszka 352 pages, full color, 9 ¼ × 11 ¼" Hardcover with jacket ISBN: 978-0-8109-5730-5 US $40.00 CAN $49.95 Juvenile Fiction Rights: World English Pub month: September

Compilation copyright © 2009 Art Spiegleman and Françoise Mouly. Individual images used by permission. All rights reserved.

To place an order: Please call your sales representative or Hachette Book Group at 800.759.0190 or fax 800.286.9471 To inquire about publicity: Please call 212.519.1232 or fax 212.366.0809

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramscomicarts.com

Abrams ComicArts is an imprint of

The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics is an unprecedented collection of the greatest comics for children, artfully compiled by two of the best-known creators in publishing and the field of comics—Art Spiegelman and Fran• oise Mouly.

Finally! Classic Children’s Comics collected for kids!

This treasury created for young readers focuses on comic books, not strips, and contains humorous stories that range from a single page to eight or even twenty-two pages, each complete and self-contained. The comics have been culled from the Golden Age of comic books, roughly the 1940s through the early 1960s, and feature the best examples of works by such renowned artists and writers as Carl Barks, John Stanley, Sheldon Mayer, Walt Kelly, Basil Wolverton, and George Carlson, among many, many others.

F e aTU Rin G — Captain Marvel Dennis the Menace The Fox and the Crow Frankenstein Gyro Gearloose Little Archie Little Lulu

The Pie-Face Prince Pogo Powerhouse Pepper Sugar and Spike Supermouse Tubby Uncle Scrooge

Organizing the book into five categories (Ò Hey, Kids!Ó ; Ò Funny AnimalsÓ ; Ò FantasylandÓ ; Ò StorytimeÓ ; and Ò Wacky and WeirdÓ ), Mouly and Spiegelman use their expertise in the area of comics to frame each category with an introductory essay, and provide brief biographies of the artists. The TOON Treasury of Classic ChildrenÕ s Comics is essential reading for kids of all ages.

oVeR 60 sToRies bY— C. C. Beck Dave Berg Bob Bolling Dick Briefer George Carlson Jack Cole Jules Feiffer

Milt Gross Walt Kelly Harvey Kurtzman Sheldon Mayer John Stanley Basil Wolverton . . . and many others!

Photograph by Sarah Shatz

a r t s p i e g e l m a n is an American comics writer, artist, and editor. He is the creator of Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids, and is best known for his Pulitzer PrizeÐ winning memoir, Maus. He lives in New York City.

“Wow. ‘Treasury’ is right. You have just entered the bank, the mint, the Ali Baba cave full of gold, silver, ruby, emerald, and diamond toons.”

—jon scieszka, from his introduction

featuring all kinds of great stories by all kinds of great cartoonists .

selected and edited by

aRT sPieGeLMan & FRanÇoise MoULY introduction by

jon scieszka

1

C l i f f o r d in “ Reading Comics” by j u l e s f e i f f e r

123 6

Introduction

73

by Jon Scieszka 9

Out of the Trash and into a Treasury

A Word (and Some Pictures) for Grown-ups

by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly

Sugar and Spike in “Grown-Up Game” Dennis the Menace in “Double Talk”

131

Little Lulu in “Two Foots Is Feet”

141

by John Stanley and Irving Tripp

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

147

by Sheldon Mayer 25

Sugar and Spike in “Pint-Size Love Story”

by Sheldon Mayer

29

Dennis the Menace in “We Want a Clubhouse!”

by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole 38

Clifford in “Crossing the Street”

by Jules Feiffer

39

61

86

87

95

99

by Milt Stein 199

The Tweedle Twins in “The Horrible Groark”

by Dave Berg

205

Little Lulu cover

by John Stanley

206

Droopy in “Snow Day”

by Dan Gordon

207

“Hickory and Dickory Help the Easter Bunny”

Tubby in “The Guest in the Ghost Hotel”

by John Stanley

Chapter 3

Nutsy Squirrel in “Flying Squirrel” Pogo in “Never Give a Diving Board an Even Break”

by Walt Kelly

109

115

162

217

The Tweedle Twins in “Topsy Turvy”

by Dave Berg

The Three Mouseketeers in “Mouseketeering”

163

121

Intellectual Amos in “Cleaning Day”

122

The Fox and the Crow in “Finding Treasure”

167

by Jim Davis

“The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzelburg”

220

175

Fairy Tale Parade cover

221

“Map of the Fairy Tale Lands”

by Walt Kelly

Egbert the Elephant in “The Hunters”

by Dan Noonan

by Walt Kelly 176

Pogo in “BAM!”

by Walt Kelly

by George Carlson

by Jim Davis

The Fox and the Crow in “Short Stories “

“Alix in Folly-Land”

by Tom McNamara

by Sheldon Mayer

Egghead Doodle in “Quiet in the Library”

Chapter 4

“The Moon in the Lake”

by Walt Kelly

Anthony the Rogue in “Night Life”

by Dan Gordon

Scribbly in “Cartooning”

by Andre LeBlanc

Jigger in “Country Living”

Supermouse in “Daze of Yore”

by Woody Gelman and Irving Dressler

by Harvey Kurtzman 69

193

Uncle Wiggily in “Gone Fishing” Rover in “Sheep Attack”

“A Trip to Saturn”

by George Carlson

by John Stanley

by Walt Kelly

by Sheldon Mayer 68

Uncle Wiggily in “Garden Surprise”

154

by Walt Kelly

Little Lulu in “Five Little Babies”

by John Stanley and Irving Tripp

192

by Dan Noonan

Little Archie in “It’s Friendship”

by Bob Bolling

45

149

“Tom Thumb Is Lost!”

by George Carlson

Animal Comics cover

by Dan Noonan and Walt Kelly

Clifford in “Reading Comics” Sugar and Spike in “First Meeting”

191

by Walt Kelly

by Jules Feiffer 19

Intellectual Amos in “Ostrich Escape”

by Andre LeBlanc

148 18

Donald Duck in “Hypno-Gun”

“Prince Robin and the Dwarfs”

by Walt Kelly

by Carl Barks

by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole 79

177

by Jim Davis

by Sheldon Mayer 75

The Fox and the Crow in “Chiseling Methods”

229

Billy and Bonny Bee in “Facing the Dragonfly”

by Frank Thompson

. . . and more!

123 6

Introduction

73

by Jon Scieszka 9

Out of the Trash and into a Treasury

A Word (and Some Pictures) for Grown-ups

by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly

Sugar and Spike in “Grown-Up Game” Dennis the Menace in “Double Talk”

131

Little Lulu in “Two Foots Is Feet”

141

by John Stanley and Irving Tripp

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

147

by Sheldon Mayer 25

Sugar and Spike in “Pint-Size Love Story”

by Sheldon Mayer

29

Dennis the Menace in “We Want a Clubhouse!”

by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole 38

Clifford in “Crossing the Street”

by Jules Feiffer

39

61

86

87

95

99

by Milt Stein 199

The Tweedle Twins in “The Horrible Groark”

by Dave Berg

205

Little Lulu cover

by John Stanley

206

Droopy in “Snow Day”

by Dan Gordon

207

“Hickory and Dickory Help the Easter Bunny”

Tubby in “The Guest in the Ghost Hotel”

by John Stanley

Chapter 3

Nutsy Squirrel in “Flying Squirrel” Pogo in “Never Give a Diving Board an Even Break”

by Walt Kelly

109

115

162

217

The Tweedle Twins in “Topsy Turvy”

by Dave Berg

The Three Mouseketeers in “Mouseketeering”

163

121

Intellectual Amos in “Cleaning Day”

122

The Fox and the Crow in “Finding Treasure”

167

by Jim Davis

“The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzelburg”

220

175

Fairy Tale Parade cover

221

“Map of the Fairy Tale Lands”

by Walt Kelly

Egbert the Elephant in “The Hunters”

by Dan Noonan

by Walt Kelly 176

Pogo in “BAM!”

by Walt Kelly

by George Carlson

by Jim Davis

The Fox and the Crow in “Short Stories “

“Alix in Folly-Land”

by Tom McNamara

by Sheldon Mayer

Egghead Doodle in “Quiet in the Library”

Chapter 4

“The Moon in the Lake”

by Walt Kelly

Anthony the Rogue in “Night Life”

by Dan Gordon

Scribbly in “Cartooning”

by Andre LeBlanc

Jigger in “Country Living”

Supermouse in “Daze of Yore”

by Woody Gelman and Irving Dressler

by Harvey Kurtzman 69

193

Uncle Wiggily in “Gone Fishing” Rover in “Sheep Attack”

“A Trip to Saturn”

by George Carlson

by John Stanley

by Walt Kelly

by Sheldon Mayer 68

Uncle Wiggily in “Garden Surprise”

154

by Walt Kelly

Little Lulu in “Five Little Babies”

by John Stanley and Irving Tripp

192

by Dan Noonan

Little Archie in “It’s Friendship”

by Bob Bolling

45

149

“Tom Thumb Is Lost!”

by George Carlson

Animal Comics cover

by Dan Noonan and Walt Kelly

Clifford in “Reading Comics” Sugar and Spike in “First Meeting”

191

by Walt Kelly

by Jules Feiffer 19

Intellectual Amos in “Ostrich Escape”

by Andre LeBlanc

148 18

Donald Duck in “Hypno-Gun”

“Prince Robin and the Dwarfs”

by Walt Kelly

by Carl Barks

by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole 79

177

by Jim Davis

by Sheldon Mayer 75

The Fox and the Crow in “Chiseling Methods”

229

Billy and Bonny Bee in “Facing the Dragonfly”

by Frank Thompson

. . . and more!

4

5

Jon Scieszka Wow. “Treasury” is right. You have just entered the bank, the mint, the Ali Baba cave full of gold, silver, ruby, emerald, and diamond toons.

So now you don’t have to moan about your mom throwing away your best comics anymore, because Uncle Art Spiegelman and Aunt Françoise Mouly have brought you a present. They have sifted through thousands of comic book stories and tales, and bundled together a gift of some of the best, weirdest, funniest, and most surreal.

This is not a collection of super hero comics. This is not a collection of sci-fi, western, or army comics. (Maybe later? When we’re a little older? If we are good?) This is a collection of comic comics. The kind that just seemed to be around everywhere way back when. The kind you could pick up for ten cents, and get a few laughs but also stumble on some surprising tales.

I found plenty of my old, half-remembered comic pals in the Treasury: Little Lulu getting the last laugh as usual. Dennis the Menace from back when he really had some menace to him. Pogo. Uncle Wiggily. Fox and Crow. And Betty and Veronica in one of their earliest love/jealousy duels.

But I also found some new pals—Intellectual Amos? Nutsy Squirrel? How did I miss these guys? A squirrel who thinks he is an airplane, but is then convinced by a professor of logic . . . that he is a motorboat? That’s my kind of squirrel.

This TOON Treasury covers a great range of comic subjects and styles. The chapter headings explain a lot—from “Hey, Kids!” to “Funny Animals” to “Fantasyland” to “Storytime” to “Weird and Wacky.”

Little babies discuss the adult world. Brave dogs save defenseless sheep. Prince Robin sets off with the magic dwarfs to fight the big-nosed Ogre. Tubby meets Death himself in the Ghost House. We shrink to the size of ants and take an action tour of the life of an anthill.

Then things get weird.

I always loved that about comics. That they could, and usually did, take a turn for the weird that wasn’t anywhere to be found in school textbooks.

Why is there a guy in an old fashioned, long-legged, striped bathing suit who can take his head off of his shoulders? Why not? And why is his name Burp the Twerp?

Because what else would it be?

Two talking frogs in straw boaters? Sure. Named Flip and Flop? Of course.

Frankenstein playing a tuba?

Captain Marvel enters a world where surrealism is the norm?

Heck, yeah. That’s what comics can do.

My favorite stories in this TOON Treasury are, kind of unexpectedly, the Scrooge McDuck comics. I had almost forgotten about Scrooge, buried him under a preference for the hipper/weirder competition, wrote him off as a sappy Disney character.

But the second I saw that duck with glasses and spats, shoveling his piles of money, I was eight years old again and right back in his world.

Scrooge McDuck. He’s the guy who is always diving in his storehouse vault of money. He makes money. He saves money. He loves his money so much he swims around in it. He is the richest and cheapest duck in the world. What a great character.

You know what his motivation is, and will always be. And you know he will always have trouble with his nephew Donald, and with Donald’s nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Their adventure to the Land of Tralla La to escape the pressures of money is priceless. It’s basically an illustration of the philosophy underpinning every and any monetary system.

And it’s brought to you by a duck in a top hat and cane, wearing spectacles and spats, and (true to his more famous nephew Donald’s style) no pants.

That is funny, with style.

This TOON Treasury is also history. You can see the beginnings of what is now called the Graphic Novel, the Wordless Book, Visual Narrative. You can see early illustrated meta-fiction, with characters talking about themselves, and to you, the Reader. You get Gerald McBoing Boing as a comic, and proto–Harvey Kurtzman MAD before there was MAD. A little secret extra value for you.

But the most essential gem in this Treasury is its great fun. Because isn’t that the essence of comics? The reason we read comics?

No one I knew ever picked up Archie or Lulu or Dennis the Menace because it was Required Reading. We read comics because we wanted to see what was going to happen. We wanted to take that unexpected turn.

So dive in. Get reacquainted with some old comic friends. Get introduced to some new comic friends. Find your Scrooge McDuck. Swim around in this vault of toon treasures. Enjoy yourself.

And once you’ve had your fun, evolve. Learn to share. Pass the treasures on to the original audience these comics were made for—kids.

Thank you, Uncle Art and Aunt Françoise. You are the best. And our most favorite.

Yes, we will be (mostly) good. Come back anytime. We love when you stop by with your comics. j o n s c i e sz k a

National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Brooklyn, NY March 2009

Jon Scieszka is the author of several bestselling children’s titles, including The Stinky Cheese Man, which won a Caldecott Honor medal, and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. He is also the founder of Guys Read (guysread.com), a nonprofit literacy organization. In January 2008 Scieszka was appointed by the Librarian of Congress as the first ever National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

i nt rod ucti on by j on scei s zka

int rod uct ion by j on s cei s zka

introduction by

4

5

Jon Scieszka Wow. “Treasury” is right. You have just entered the bank, the mint, the Ali Baba cave full of gold, silver, ruby, emerald, and diamond toons.

So now you don’t have to moan about your mom throwing away your best comics anymore, because Uncle Art Spiegelman and Aunt Françoise Mouly have brought you a present. They have sifted through thousands of comic book stories and tales, and bundled together a gift of some of the best, weirdest, funniest, and most surreal.

This is not a collection of super hero comics. This is not a collection of sci-fi, western, or army comics. (Maybe later? When we’re a little older? If we are good?) This is a collection of comic comics. The kind that just seemed to be around everywhere way back when. The kind you could pick up for ten cents, and get a few laughs but also stumble on some surprising tales.

I found plenty of my old, half-remembered comic pals in the Treasury: Little Lulu getting the last laugh as usual. Dennis the Menace from back when he really had some menace to him. Pogo. Uncle Wiggily. Fox and Crow. And Betty and Veronica in one of their earliest love/jealousy duels.

But I also found some new pals—Intellectual Amos? Nutsy Squirrel? How did I miss these guys? A squirrel who thinks he is an airplane, but is then convinced by a professor of logic . . . that he is a motorboat? That’s my kind of squirrel.

This TOON Treasury covers a great range of comic subjects and styles. The chapter headings explain a lot—from “Hey, Kids!” to “Funny Animals” to “Fantasyland” to “Storytime” to “Weird and Wacky.”

Little babies discuss the adult world. Brave dogs save defenseless sheep. Prince Robin sets off with the magic dwarfs to fight the big-nosed Ogre. Tubby meets Death himself in the Ghost House. We shrink to the size of ants and take an action tour of the life of an anthill.

Then things get weird.

I always loved that about comics. That they could, and usually did, take a turn for the weird that wasn’t anywhere to be found in school textbooks.

Why is there a guy in an old fashioned, long-legged, striped bathing suit who can take his head off of his shoulders? Why not? And why is his name Burp the Twerp?

Because what else would it be?

Two talking frogs in straw boaters? Sure. Named Flip and Flop? Of course.

Frankenstein playing a tuba?

Captain Marvel enters a world where surrealism is the norm?

Heck, yeah. That’s what comics can do.

My favorite stories in this TOON Treasury are, kind of unexpectedly, the Scrooge McDuck comics. I had almost forgotten about Scrooge, buried him under a preference for the hipper/weirder competition, wrote him off as a sappy Disney character.

But the second I saw that duck with glasses and spats, shoveling his piles of money, I was eight years old again and right back in his world.

Scrooge McDuck. He’s the guy who is always diving in his storehouse vault of money. He makes money. He saves money. He loves his money so much he swims around in it. He is the richest and cheapest duck in the world. What a great character.

You know what his motivation is, and will always be. And you know he will always have trouble with his nephew Donald, and with Donald’s nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Their adventure to the Land of Tralla La to escape the pressures of money is priceless. It’s basically an illustration of the philosophy underpinning every and any monetary system.

And it’s brought to you by a duck in a top hat and cane, wearing spectacles and spats, and (true to his more famous nephew Donald’s style) no pants.

That is funny, with style.

This TOON Treasury is also history. You can see the beginnings of what is now called the Graphic Novel, the Wordless Book, Visual Narrative. You can see early illustrated meta-fiction, with characters talking about themselves, and to you, the Reader. You get Gerald McBoing Boing as a comic, and proto–Harvey Kurtzman MAD before there was MAD. A little secret extra value for you.

But the most essential gem in this Treasury is its great fun. Because isn’t that the essence of comics? The reason we read comics?

No one I knew ever picked up Archie or Lulu or Dennis the Menace because it was Required Reading. We read comics because we wanted to see what was going to happen. We wanted to take that unexpected turn.

So dive in. Get reacquainted with some old comic friends. Get introduced to some new comic friends. Find your Scrooge McDuck. Swim around in this vault of toon treasures. Enjoy yourself.

And once you’ve had your fun, evolve. Learn to share. Pass the treasures on to the original audience these comics were made for—kids.

Thank you, Uncle Art and Aunt Françoise. You are the best. And our most favorite.

Yes, we will be (mostly) good. Come back anytime. We love when you stop by with your comics. j o n s c i e sz k a

National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Brooklyn, NY March 2009

Jon Scieszka is the author of several bestselling children’s titles, including The Stinky Cheese Man, which won a Caldecott Honor medal, and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. He is also the founder of Guys Read (guysread.com), a nonprofit literacy organization. In January 2008 Scieszka was appointed by the Librarian of Congress as the first ever National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

i nt rod ucti on by j on scei s zka

int rod uct ion by j on s cei s zka

introduction by

6

7

P OG O in “ BAM!” by WALT KELLY

SU PERM OUSE in “ Daze of Yore” by MILT S TEIN

6

7

P OG O in “ BAM!” by WALT KELLY

SU PERM OUSE in “ Daze of Yore” by MILT S TEIN

“Hey Look! Optical Illusions” by ha rv e y kurt z man

8

f r a n ç o i s e m o u ly is an artist and designer. Together with Art Spiegelman she edited the groundbreaking comics anthology Raw. Mouly is the art editor for the New Yorker, and publisher of TOON Books. She lives in New York City. j o n s c i e s z k a is the National Ambassador for Young PeopleÕ s Literature and the founder of Guys Read (guysread.com), a nonprofit literacy organization. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics Selected and edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly Introduction by Jon Scieszka 352 pages, full color, 9 ¼ × 11 ¼" Hardcover with jacket ISBN: 978-0-8109-5730-5 US $40.00 CAN $49.95 Juvenile Fiction Rights: World English Pub month: September

Compilation copyright © 2009 Art Spiegleman and Françoise Mouly. Individual images used by permission. All rights reserved.

To place an order: Please call your sales representative or Hachette Book Group at 800.759.0190 or fax 800.286.9471 To inquire about publicity: Please call 212.519.1232 or fax 212.366.0809

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 www.abramscomicarts.com

Abrams ComicArts is an imprint of

The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics is an unprecedented collection of the greatest comics for children, artfully compiled by two of the best-known creators in publishing and the field of comics—Art Spiegelman and Fran• oise Mouly.

Finally! Classic Children’s Comics collected for kids!

This treasury created for young readers focuses on comic books, not strips, and contains humorous stories that range from a single page to eight or even twenty-two pages, each complete and self-contained. The comics have been culled from the Golden Age of comic books, roughly the 1940s through the early 1960s, and feature the best examples of works by such renowned artists and writers as Carl Barks, John Stanley, Sheldon Mayer, Walt Kelly, Basil Wolverton, and George Carlson, among many, many others.

F e aTU Rin G — Captain Marvel Dennis the Menace The Fox and the Crow Frankenstein Gyro Gearloose Little Archie Little Lulu

The Pie-Face Prince Pogo Powerhouse Pepper Sugar and Spike Supermouse Tubby Uncle Scrooge

Organizing the book into five categories (Ò Hey, Kids!Ó ; Ò Funny AnimalsÓ ; Ò FantasylandÓ ; Ò StorytimeÓ ; and Ò Wacky and WeirdÓ ), Mouly and Spiegelman use their expertise in the area of comics to frame each category with an introductory essay, and provide brief biographies of the artists. The TOON Treasury of Classic ChildrenÕ s Comics is essential reading for kids of all ages.

oVeR 60 sToRies bY— C. C. Beck Dave Berg Bob Bolling Dick Briefer George Carlson Jack Cole Jules Feiffer

Milt Gross Walt Kelly Harvey Kurtzman Sheldon Mayer John Stanley Basil Wolverton . . . and many others!

Photograph by Sarah Shatz

a r t s p i e g e l m a n is an American comics writer, artist, and editor. He is the creator of Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids, and is best known for his Pulitzer PrizeÐ winning memoir, Maus. He lives in New York City.

“Wow. ‘Treasury’ is right. You have just entered the bank, the mint, the Ali Baba cave full of gold, silver, ruby, emerald, and diamond toons.”

—jon scieszka, from his introduction

featuring all kinds of great stories by all kinds of great cartoonists .

selected and edited by

aRT sPieGeLMan & FRanÇoise MoULY introduction by

jon scieszka