Showcases some of the greatest cartoons of all time, including characters from Disney, Warner Brothers, Fleischer Studio, Walter Lantz, MGM, and others.

The comic strip has been a staple of American newspapers for nearly a century. It is a creation unique to cultural life and, in addition to entertainment, has commented on the way we see and view ourselves. From its high culture influence on Pop Art to its low culture appeal to children of all ages, the comic strip has had a lasting hold on the imaginations of generations. Noted writer Donald Phelps provides essays on popular classics, such as Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, E.C. Segar's Thimble Theatre (which produced Popeye), and Frank King's Gasoline Alley. His keen eye discerns the sublime qualities of this most American art form with wit and refreshing candor. Reading the Funnies offers an elegant and eloquent look into this fascinating slice of American popular culture.

In the tradition of Schulz and Peanuts, an epic and revelatory biography of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman that explores the turbulent time and place from which he emerged—and the deep secret he explored through his art. The creator of the greatest comic strip in history finally gets his due—in an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about his art, his heritage, and his life on America’s color line. A native of nineteenth-century New Orleans, George Herriman came of age as an illustrator, journalist, and cartoonist in the boomtown of Los Angeles and the wild metropolis of New York. Appearing in the biggest newspapers of the early twentieth century—including those owned by William Randolph Hearst—Herriman’s Krazy Kat cartoons quickly propelled him to fame. Although fitfully popular with readers of the period, his work has been widely credited with elevating cartoons from daily amusements to anarchic art. Herriman used his work to explore the human condition, creating a modernist fantasia that was inspired by the landscapes he discovered in his travels—from chaotic urban life to the Beckett-like desert vistas of the Southwest. Yet underlying his own life—and often emerging from the contours of his very public art—was a very private secret: known as "the Greek" for his swarthy complexion and curly hair, Herriman was actually African American, born to a prominent Creole family that hid its racial identity in the dangerous days of Reconstruction. Drawing on exhaustive original research into Herriman’s family history, interviews with surviving friends and family, and deep analysis of the artist’s work and surviving written records, Michael Tisserand brings this little-understood figure to vivid life, paying homage to a visionary artist who helped shape modern culture.

The home front during World War II was one of blackouts, Victory Gardens, war bonds and scrap drives. It was also a time of social upheaval with women on the assembly line and in the armed forces and African-Americans serving and working in a Jim Crow war effort. See how Superman, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and others helped fight World War II via comic books and strips, single-panel and editorial cartoons, and even ads. Cartoons for Victory showcases wartime work by cartoonists such as Charles Addams (The Addams Family), Harold Gray (Little Orphan Annie), Harvey Kurtzman (Mad magazine), Will Eisner, as well as many other known cartoonists. Over 90% of the cartoons and comics in this book have not been seen since their first publication.

From the most popular routines and the most ingenious physical shtick to the snappiest wisecracks and the most biting satire of the last century, Make 'Em Laugh illuminates who we are as a nation by exploring what makes us laugh, and why. Authors Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor draw on countless sources to chronicle the past century of American comedy and the geniuses who created and performed it-melding biography, American history, and a lotta laughs into an exuberant, important book. Each of the six chapters focuses a different style or archetype of comedy, from the slapstick pratfalls of Buster Keaton and Lucille Ball through the wiseguy put-downs of Groucho Marx and Larry David, to the incendiary bombshells of Mae West and Richard Pryor . And at every turn the significance of these comedians-smashing social boundaries, challenging the definition of good taste, speaking the truth to the powerful-is vividly tangible. Make 'Em Laugh is more than a compendium of American comic genius; it is a window onto the way comedy both reflects the world and changes it-one laugh at a time. Starting from the groundbreaking PBS series, the authors have gone deeper into the works and lives of America's great comic artists, with biographical portraits, archival materials, cultural overviews, and rare photos. Brilliantly illustrated, with insights (and jokes) from comedians, writers and producers, along with film, radio, television, and theater historians, Make 'Em Laugh is an indispensible, definitive book about comedy in America.