NEW RELEASES

    Li'l Abner Vol. 4: 1941-1942

    by Al Capp
    Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Essay by Bruce Canwell.

    High-octane humor and cockeyed characters—it’s the Cappian way! Sit a spell and you’ll meet Available Jones (“Is yo’ available, Available?”), Swami Riva, Big Stanislouse, Joe Btfsplk (the world’s greatest jinx!), Dorothy Lamour (yes, that Dorothy Lamour), Lorna Goon, Orville Wolf, Cherry Blossom, the parents of Gat Garson, Sadie Hawkins V, Dinsmore Jerque, J.P. Fangsby, Tiny Mite, and that hog-wallowin’ bundle of pulchritude, Moonbeam McSwine! They help make 1941 and 1942 fast, funny, and unforgettable!


    Oversized 9.25" x 12.5" hardcover-with-dustjacket, 252 pp., $49.99.
    ISBN: 978-1-61377-123-5.

     

    Steve Canyon Vol 1: 1947-1948

    by Milton Caniff
    Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Essay by Bruce Canwell.

    The horizons are unlimited after World War II when Steve Canyon assembles a flight crew of veterans for his new air-transport business. Action flies high as Canyon and his men befriend Happy Easter, cross swords with the hirsute Herr Splitz, and match wits with Chief Izm. The Caniff women are also on display, as Canyon meets the steely yet sexy "Copper" Calhoun; the beautiful schemer, Delta; that modern-day Mata Hari, Madame Lynx; Dr. Deen Wilderness, who is as capable as she is lovely; plus Captain Shark, Convoy, and the footloose Fancy. The Library of American Comics launches this highly-awaited reprinting by collecting every daily and full-color Sunday from 1947 to 1948 in a single hardcover volume. There's excitement, humor, lovely women, and wonderful art in the exciting Caniff style!

    Oversized 11” x 8.5” full-color hardcover-with-dustjacket, 336 pp, $49.99.

    Blondie Vol. 2: 1933-1935

    by Chic Young
    Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Introduction by Brian Walker.

    This second volume picks up where Blondie: The Courtship and Wedding left off. The story begins with Blondie and Dagwood on their honeymoon and features one hilarious gag after another. But all is not fun and games when the newlyweds arrive home. Dagwood's parents have disinherited him and the optimistic bumbler must go to work.

    In the first three years of the strip, Chic Young experimented with different themes and approaches, but it's the years reprinted in this volume that he establishes the elements that would make Blondie the most popular comic strip in the world. All of the iconic elements and many of the regular characters in the strip are introduced in these pages: Dagwood's boss Mr. Dithers, his neighbor Herb, the dog Daisy...and in 1934, the first of the Bumstead children, Baby Dumpling (who is later given the name Alexander).

    For millions of readers who've loved the Bumsteads over the years, this essential collection tells the complete tale of the couple's early married bliss. Produced with the cooperation of the Chic Young family, the book includes an informative and entertaining introduction by Brian Walker that places Blondie in its historical context.

    This is the very beginning of Blondie and Dagwood's life as we now know it.

    11" x 8.5" full color hardcover-with-dustjacket, 284 pp.,
    $49.99.ISBN: 978-1-61377-102-0.

     

    X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan Volume 3: 1972-1974

    by Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin

    Edited by Scott Dunbier, Designed by Dean Mullaney, Introduction by Carlos Garzon.

    Continuing the first-ever comprehensive collection what is arguably the last of the great adventure strips. Every strip in from April 10, 1972 through November 2, 1974, printed from Al Williamson’s personal proofs in an oversized format that matches IDW’s exquisite Rip Kirby series by Alex Raymond.

    Oversized 11" x 10" hardcover-with-dustjacket, 284 pp.,
    $49.99. ISBN: 978-1-61377-092-4.

    Chuck Jones : The Dream That Never Was

    Edited by Kurtis Findlay and Dean Mullaney. Designed by Lorraine Turner.

    We all harbor a secret wish that we could find a previously unseesn project by one of the greatest figures in animation history.

    Well, wish no more—celebrating the 2012 centennial of Chuck Jones's birth, we unveil Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was.

    The Academy Award-winning director of "Duck Amuck,"  "What's Opera, Doc," "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and other timeless classics, created dozens of cartoon characters throughout his decades-long career: Pepé Le Pew, Marvin the Martian, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote...and Crawford, an accident prone, nine-year-old boy whose daily routine includes surviving his own boyhood.

    Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was follows the twenty-seven year journey it took Jones to bring "Crawford" to the public, from conception to storyboard to newspaper strip. This incredible volume is loaded with never before seen sketches, drawings, storyboards and production notes, and the six-month run of the Crawford newspaper comic strip from 1978. Accompanying the artwork is a biography of Chuck Jones's career in the sixties and seventies and how it influenced the creation of Chuck's only foray into the world of comic strips.

    Produced with the full coöperation of the Chuck Jones family, the book was conceived by Kurtis Findlay, who says, "My first surprise when I started researching the Crawford comic strip was how little people knew about it. My second surprise was the treasure trove of Chuck Jones art we would find. Crawford just kept popping up in places I didn't expect, making the history of this little-known character incredibly rich."

    Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was is a dream come true in that almost all the art is being reproduced from Chuck Jones's originals! It is a gold mine of previously unknown artwork that is a must for all fans of animation and comics.

    Check out the dedicated site/blog devoted to the book, run by Kurtis Findlay: chuckjonescrawford.com

    Oversized 11" x 8.5" hardcover with dustjacket, 288 pp., $49.99. ISBN: 978-1-61377-030-6.

    Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Vol. 1: 1934-1936

    by Alex Raymond
    Writing assist by Don Moore. Edited by Dean Mullaney, Designed by Lorraine Turner. Introduction by Bruce Canwell.

    This gigantic volume collects every Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim from the first strips on January 7, 1934 through May 31, 1936. During Raymond's ten-plus years drawing the strips, Jungle Jim was the topper to Flash, except for a brief period in the first half of 1935 when King Features switched all their Sundays comics to individual tabloid-format pages. Every one of these rare tabloid pages—which encompass the legendary "Tournament of Mongo" sequence when Flash is pitted against gladiators from the far reaches of the planet—are included. Bruce Canwell has also written a fascinating and insightful introductory essay that unearths, for the first time, the story of Don Moore, who was Raymond's uncredited co-writer on the strips. This volume, the first of four, begins the ultimate Flash Gordon/Jungle Jim collection.

    Champagne edition 12" x 16" hardcover, 156 pp., $75.00. ISBN: 978-1-61377-015-3.