Customer Reviews

Gesundheit, Dummy!

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3 star:		(1)
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Gesundheit Dummy is a long overdue collection of Baloo's cartoons. Rex May (Baloo) is one of the best known magazine cartoonists in America -- his cartoons have been published practically everywhere.

I love his expressive drawing style, his hilarious characters, and his captions, which are simply the very best. Rex May's work is legendary!

This very funny book has a place of honor on my bookshelf. Any fan of great single panel cartoons will love Gesundheit, Dummy!

The name Baloo meant a lot to us old Bob and Ray fans who fondly remember the unique sports broadcasts of Wally Baloo (aka Bob Elliott). This Baloo is the pen name of Rex May, Numero Uno among the nation's gagwriters and a significant and much published cartoonist. There are over 100 very funny cartoons such as the heavenly golfer who sliced into Purgatory -- two to a page -- in this very affordable compilation aptly subtitled The Best of Baloo.

Rex May [d.b.a. Baloo] is for cartooning what Fred Astaire was for dancing: the textbook example of "making it look easy", with the emphasis on "look". Anyone who tries to write such seemingly bare-bone yet devastating gags, to "scribble" down characters who are actually solidly built and expressive, to flesh out a background with a select few lines, as Baloo does to perfection time and again... will realize that what he does is not easy at all. Snap this up and luxuriate in the artistry of an undisputed master of the gag panel.

This is a terrific book featuring some of Baloo's greatest work. I recommend this book for anyone who loves a good laugh and also for the aspiring cartoonist looking to learn by studying some great examples. I'm in awe of his ability to say SO MUCH within the context of a simple black and white cartoon.

I love Baloo cartoons, and I see them frequently in different places. So, I was really looking forward to having a collection of them. Unfortunately, this book only has two cartoons per page, and only on pages 7-62. This means there are less than 120 cartoons in this book. I read through the book while waiting for a family member to finish primping before going out. I have no idea how many Baloo cartoons are in existence, but it must be far more than are published here. This book is not even close to a definitive collection. I hope the artist produces something more comprehensive in the future.