The Early Years of MUTT & JEFF (Forever Nuts: Classic Screwball Strips) [Hardcover]

Bud Fisher (Author), Jeffrey Lindenblatt (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Forever Nuts: Classic Screwball Strips | Publication Date: July 11, 2007

Here s a rediscovery of a true oddball classic maybe only outdone by the antic high living of its own creator.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Mutt and Jeff was the first successful daily comic strip; before it, the funnies were Sunday features. It debuted in 1907, however, as A. Mutt, limning the follies of lanky racetrack gambler Augustus Mutt. Diminutive sidekick Jeff appeared the following year to form a partnership that lasted until the strip's overdue demise in 1983. Mutt and Jeff was the first strip to essay weeks-long story lines, such as a trip to Mexico to join Pancho Villa's revolution. Compared to better-remembered strips of the era, Mutt and Jeff was crudely drawn, yet it captured the nation's fancy. Despite its significance in comics history, Mutt and Jeff is scantly regarded today. By the mid-1920s, Fisher handed creative duties over to ghosts to free up time for the playboy lifestyle that the strip's sizable revenues allowed him. Unlike such more prestigious classic strips as Gasoline Alley and Dick Tracy, Mutt and Jeff doesn't warrant comprehensive reprinting. This selection of episodes from 1909–13 represents it quite sufficiently. Flagg, Gordon

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: NBM Publishing; Reprint edition (July 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561635022
• ISBN-13: 978-1561635023
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 11.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,247,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CLASSICS FROM A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, September 1, 2007

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Early Years of MUTT & JEFF (Forever Nuts: Classic Screwball Strips) (Hardcover)

Along with Little Nemo in Slumberland and Krazy Kat, Mutt & Jeff was one of the great comics strips of the early 20th century. Created by Bud Fisher, this was also one of the longest running comic strips ever, beginning in 1907 and ending 75 years later in 1982. The strip actually outlived its creator Fisher by nearly 30 years. Mutt & Jeff wasn't the first daily strip although it was the first to really become successful on a mass scale. Fisher was a smart man...smart enough to copyright the characters which made him a very wealthy man. Not only did Mutt & Jeff appear in daily newspaper strips, but later in comic books, and animated shorts as well. Again, Fisher was clever, as he set-up his own production company to make the animated shorts.

NBM has just released this collection called The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff, reprinting strips from 1909 - 1913. Mutt (the tall one) and Jeff (the short one) might remind readers of, oh say the Honeymooner's Ralph and Ed Norton who always seem to be scheming to make money, get something to eat, or sneaking out on their wives. Like many strips from the early 20th century they are very dialog heavy. There's a lot to read and you'll need a good pair of eyes because it suffers from the same problem that Little Nemo and other early strips had...small print!

That aside, Mutt & Jeff is really a blast to read. Obviously the material is quite dated...it has been about a hundred years...but there is a lively wackiness to them that still makes them funny today and transcends the decades. Mutt is usually the one trying to get Jeff to be the unwitting guinea pig to his schemes. In one strip he tries to get Jeff to marry a woman who will give him $1200 per year (that would be an example of dated material!) but when Jeff finds out the widow has been married four times...and her husbands all died mysteriously, he hightails it out of sight!

These strips were very sequential and plotlines would often be played out over several days or even weeks. In one stretch, the pair are serving as sailors aboard a ship and scheme to go to a big political convention in Chicago when they are on leave so they can pretend to be politicians. The strip was never static either. Mutt and Jeff did their share of world traveling to places such as Scotland, France and Turkey. They are talked into going to Turkey when they hear that every man has his own harem there.

The book is very well done and includes a wonderful introduction by comics historian Allen Holtz. A great bit of nostalgic fun!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars editing, August 1, 2007

By 

lrnt (france) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Early Years of MUTT & JEFF (Forever Nuts: Classic Screwball Strips) (Hardcover)

(Very) nice format, good printing, overall very good production. so, why the 2 stars only? Unlike most recent reprints, this one had to be edited. The publishers's blurb informs you that this is one of the greatest comic-strips ever ("a gem of a rediscovery") and still, they had to edit it and leave aside tons of material. Why not leave the choice to the reader as to what was good or dated or whatever?
Hopefully they'll get rid of that editing policy for whatever is supposed to be released next in this "CLASSIC SCREWBALL STRIPS" collection.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a sight not to see, August 5, 2007

By 

A. Grossman (Florence, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Early Years of MUTT & JEFF (Forever Nuts: Classic Screwball Strips) (Hardcover)

Mutt and Jeff is a great comic strip but as with all early 20th century strips it takes a while forit to reach its stride. The best of M and J is not here.

Worse, the strips are not printed dark enough and are much too small. The originals were much larger. These are almost imnpossible to read.

Wait until later strips are published in a larger size or switch to a fantastic early strip, Gasoline Alley.