The Complete Rip
Kirby is the first
comprehensive archival collection of Alex Raymond's post-war,
post-modern classic. Created by Raymond in 1946, it was a fresh
approach to the crime genre, an about-face from the prevailing
hard-boiled style of detective fiction. Rip Kirby was smart and
sophisticated, but still a man's man. He often applied scientific
methods to his crime-solving techniques, but was still involved in
plenty of action-Kirby was an All-American athlete and decorated
war hero. The supporting cast featured Desmond, Rip's valet and
assistant, and plenty of breathtaking women, particularly Rip's
girlfriend, Honey Dorian, and the raven-haired and aptly-named
Pagan Lee. Highly conscious of the fashions of the day, Raymond
also brought post-war and early-'50s chic to the comics page. When
Raymond tragically died in a car accident in 1956, John Prentice
began drawing the strip and continued it for the next forty-three
years.
Rip Kirby Vol. 1: 1946-1948
by Alex
Raymond,
Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Essay by Brian Walker
Introduction by Tom Roberts.
2010 HARVEY AWARD NOMINEE!!!
"A treasure not
to be missed." —Scoop
The first volume of Alex Raymond's modernist
classic reproduces, from syndicate proof sheets, every strip from
the beginning, March 4, 1946, through December 4, 1948. Co-written
with Ward Greene, the stories sometimes address then-contemporary
issues, including trafficking in black market babies and the
attempt to limit the proliferation of atomic and biological
weapons. But the real star is Raymond's lush and incomparable
brushwork.
Oversized 11" x 10"
hardcover-with-dustjacket, 320 pp., $49.99.
ISBN: 978-1-60010-484-8.
Rip Kirby Vol. 2: 1948-1951
by Alex
Raymond,
Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Essay by Brian Walker
Introduction by Howard Chaykin.
The second volume of Alex Raymond's modernist
classic reproduces, from syndicate proof sheets, every strip from
December 6, 1948 through September 22, 1951.
Oversized 11" x 10"
hardcover-with-dustjacket, 320 pp., $49.99.
ISBN: 978-1-60010-582-1.
Rip Kirby Vol. 3: 1951-1954
by Alex
Raymond
Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Essay by Brian
Walker.
The third volume of Alex Raymond's modernist
classic reproduces every strip from September 24, 1951 through
April 17, 1954. Raymond hits his post-War stride with lush and
incomparable brushwork that made every other comics artist take
notice. Co-written with Ward Greene and Fred Dickenson.
Oversized 11" x 10"
hardcover-with-dustjacket, 304 pp., $49.99.
ISBN: 978-1-60010-785-6.
Rip Kirby Vol. 4: 1954-1956
by Alex
Raymond
Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Essay by Brian
Walker.
The fourth and final volume of Alex Raymond's
modernist classic reproduces every strip from April 19, 1954
through September 29, 1956. The forty-six-year-old Raymond's tragic
death in the prime of his life caught the syndicate in mid-story.
This book also contains the conclusion to Raymond's ultimate story,
drawn by John Prentice, from October 1 throuigh October 20,
1956.
Oversized 11" x 10"
hardcover-with-dustjacket, 280 pp., $49.99.
ISBN: 978-1-60010-989-8.
Rip Kirby Vol. 5: 1956-1959
by John Prentice and
Fred Dickenson
Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Essay by Brian
Walker.
The fifth volume of Rip
Kirby features the incredible art of John Prentice, who
picked up the pen and ink duties after Alex Raymond's death and
continued drawing the strip for decades. Prentice received three
Reuben Awards for the series, in 1966, 1967, and 1986. Fred
Dickenson, who had been writing the strip with Raymond, keeps the
continuity going for Prentice's exquisite art. The strips are
reproduced from the original King Features Syndicate proofs,
insuring that every daily will look even better than when they were
first published in newspapers over fifty years ago. Containing more
than 800 comics, every one from October 22, 1956 to June 6,
1959.
Oversized 11" x 10"
hardcover-with-dustjacket, 296 pp.,
$49.99.
Alex Raymond (1909-1956) is regarded, with Milton Caniff and Hal Foster, as one of the three giants of newspaper adventure strip artists. Raymond apprenticed with Chic Young on Blondie, and Lymon Young on Tim Tyler's Luck. The year 1934 was a major turning point in his career: he illustrated X-9, a new detective comic strip written by Dashiell Hammett, and then created Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim. Rip Kirby, created in 1946, signaled a grand departure, both thematically and artistically, from the science fiction classic. He promulgated a new art style—one of cinematic photo-realism—that influenced such artists as Stan Drake, Leonard Starr, Al Williamson, and Neal Adams.
John Prentice was born in Whitney, Texas in 1920. In 1939 he joined the Navy, survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, served on two destroyers in eight combat campaigns, and was honorably discharged in 1945. After the war he enrolled in the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and then moved to New York, where he eventually became a successful freelancer, illustrating paperback book covers, comic books for the Joe Simon/Jack Kirby studio, DC Comics, and others, as well as being a regular contributor to major magazines before taking over Rip Kirby.
"The key appeal of
Rip Kirby is, of course, the storytelling and art.
Raymond's handling of character nuance in particular is
first-rate.... IDW Publishing and editor Dean Mullaney deserve an
enormous amount of credit for bringing this material back into
print. And on such a gargantuan scale! This slab of a book contains
well over 800 daily strips, and if one enjoys the
dramatic-continuity newspaper comics of the Forties and Fifties,
it's an absolute feast. Before now, one largely had to take on
faith the view that Raymond's dramatic storytelling skills were
almost on the level of his illustrative prowess. The evidence is at
last back with us, and it doesn't disappoint."
-Pol Culture