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alexxkayFantagraphics Books is, at long last, giving Crockett Johnson's delightful comic strip "Barnaby" a full reprint. The first volume is out, and anyone who likes to laugh should buy a copy!
It's not 100% perfect, but it's *miles* better than the previous reprint from the 80s, and that one never completed. I exhort y'all to buy this version, at least partially out of selfishness, because I want this reprinting to be successful enough to conclude.
"Barnaby" ran from 1942 to 1952. It tells the adventures of a small boy who wishes for a fairy godmother, and gets something rather different. A short, round man in an overcoat, pink wings, and smoking a cigar appears: J.J. O'Malley, alleged fairy godfather. He does seem to have magic powers, but not much understanding of or control over them. He's basically a con man in the W.C. Fields style, always on the lookout for a free meal or a get-rich-quick scheme. Barnaby's parents never manage to be in the same room as him, so they think he's imaginary, and worry about Barnaby's overactive imagination. (Yes, this strip was a big influence on Calvin & Hobbes.)
In his own day, Barnaby numbered Dorothy Parker and Duke Ellington among his fans. I highly recommend that you join them!
It's not 100% perfect, but it's *miles* better than the previous reprint from the 80s, and that one never completed. I exhort y'all to buy this version, at least partially out of selfishness, because I want this reprinting to be successful enough to conclude.
"Barnaby" ran from 1942 to 1952. It tells the adventures of a small boy who wishes for a fairy godmother, and gets something rather different. A short, round man in an overcoat, pink wings, and smoking a cigar appears: J.J. O'Malley, alleged fairy godfather. He does seem to have magic powers, but not much understanding of or control over them. He's basically a con man in the W.C. Fields style, always on the lookout for a free meal or a get-rich-quick scheme. Barnaby's parents never manage to be in the same room as him, so they think he's imaginary, and worry about Barnaby's overactive imagination. (Yes, this strip was a big influence on Calvin & Hobbes.)
In his own day, Barnaby numbered Dorothy Parker and Duke Ellington among his fans. I highly recommend that you join them!