Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies and Color Sundays, Vol. 4: 1941–1942

And that, folks, is the halfway mark of this tome, as Ol' Man 1941 gives way to Baby 1942...It's non-stop action -- non-stop laughs too! -- as Al Capp puts his creations through the wringer. Abner is drained of his blood, painted bronze and sold as a statue, and (just about) ducks marriage on several occasions. Pappy is a universal punching bag. Salomey almost gets barbecued more than once. All three Yokums are briefly enslaved by Marryin' Sam...And all that is nothing compared to the final grisly fate met by the great sportsman pig-breeder J. P. Fangsby. Not to mention the unfortunate Sir Cecil Cesspool. ("Cesspools are DEEP!! Cesspools have a certain AIR about them!")'Dick Tracy' catches flak for violence but Al Capp had every bit as twisted an imagination as Lester Gooch!So, why do so many people continue to adore this strip over three-quarters of a century after its debut?First, you have to admire the sheer fecundity of Capp's imagination. Characters continue to pour forth -- Available Jones (and all his extended family), Joe Btfsplk (who literally wanders in during the course of the long saga of Salomey and Boar Scarloff), Moonbeam McSwine -- all without forgetting the likes of Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat, or Bessie Bopshire.Second, the strip is eminently readable because Capp was a satirist in the classic vein of a Mark Twain. Comics are a medium, not a genre. Milton Caniff, probably the only other man who created casts of characters on the scale of Al Capp, wrote a classic bildungsroman (a fancy German term for a coming-of-age novel) in ' The Complete Terry and the Pirates, Vol. 1: 1934-1936 ' and then followed it up with a picaresque work (a slightly less fancy Spanish term for a likeable rogue who has a series of adventures) in ' Steve Canyon Volume 1: 1947-1948 '.Capp and Caniff were both great cartoonists but having said that this all they had in common. Like Mark Twain, and entirely unlike Caniff's more earnest heroes, there is a subversive edge to Capp.This book covers work from the beginning of the 1940s. Yet Capp was able to carry off a hint at homosexuality. When Grubbins asks Mammy which couple in Dogpatch "love each other most madly", the percipient Pansy unhesitatingly points at Lonesome Polecat and Hairy Joe. (Unless I'm reading the December 20, 1942 Sunday all wrong?)But nothing beats the way in which Capp overthrows gender stereotypes. Mammy is both smarter *and* stronger than her husband. And the only person to make a real success in the world outside Dogpatch is Bessie Bopshire. In Capp's world the men are idle and ignorant, or they are crooks. How subversive was that in the context of 1941 and 1942?(Apart from Li'l Abner himself, the only decent male in Dogpatch seems to be Jedge Goodpants, who appears for all of *one* panel! Even Pappy Yokum is not above trying to cheat the good folks of Creepie Hollow when he gets the chance.)Nothing and no-one was beyond the reach of Capp's satirical pen and brush. He skewers the empty hypocrisy of Hollywood stars sending out photographs autographed 'Sincerely yours' when neither word is true. He takes Romeo and Juliet to task. Only Margaret Mitchell, author of 'Gone With The Wind', proved a match for Capp. (And had he read his own strip, Capp should have known women are stronger and smarter!)One of the classic sequences is that of the Flying Avenger, obviously intended as a spoof of the latest comics sensation, Superman, when Li'l Abner's powers are boosted by the Hindu mystic Swami Riva.I can't prove it but there was a sequel to this tale; in 'Superman' 61, the Last Son of Krypton has his first encounter with kryptonite. The man who fells him is a supposed Hindu mystic, with a sliver of kryptonite in his turban. The name of the crook? Swami Riva.Carrying on the comics theme, Bruce Canwell's excellent introduction compares Moonbeam to Marvel Comics's Incredible Hulk. Was the comparison inspired by the Sunday strips that ran from December 15, 1940 through January 19, 1941?The production values are excellent. The dailies are nice and crisp, the Sundays are beautifully colored. And the last page assures fans that there will be a Volume Five to follow, with Fearless Fosdick eagle-eyed on its cover. Can't wait!

This is a super-cool collection of Li'L Abner comics! I plan to get all these volumes eventually. They are big solid books, and this one came with a ribbon attached as a book mark, which I think is cool! You might think reading a year's worth of Li'l Abner comics would meet your requirements for Li'l Abner readin', but no, it left me wanting more! A beautiful book!

I bought this book mainly for the nostalgia factor but it has caught my eye for entertainment also.I had forgotten just how involved some of these strips could be. A series that runs on for days toweeks and always with an entertaining subject. This is something for my kids and grandkids.

Another in the continuing series of old Abner strips and just as much fun as the previous books. I grew up reading about Abner and all the other denizens of Dogpatch and I heartily enjoy re-reading these.

Continuing the sage of the young man from the hills, All Capp tells a good story.

My grandkids Neve heard of Dogpatch until this--now they love it, want more!

Lil Abner is hard to top when it comes to humor.

Enjoyed the book.

to say I love the volume would be going over the top,however,Lil-Abner was one of my favourite comics,when I was a boy,I read the volume,for nostalgia, but the real reason for purchasing it,was to try and get my Great Children to read it,instead of the muck they get with these so called Superheroes,which contain violence. It is having an effect,my Great Granddaughter has a pet Guinea Pig,which she has named Abner,and wants another which she will name,Schmoo ,she is only 8 years old.I have already purchased Volumes 1 & 2,from Amazon,and will purchase volume 5,for Christmas.

molto buono, ma bisogna saper bene inglese e slang americano e non tanto pratico da sfogliare..ci vorrebe un leggio da chiesa!