Customer Reviews

Humbug (2 Volume Set)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A tip of the hat to Fantagraphics for this sumptuous two volume Humbug package. The complete eleven issues (well, not quite: sixteen pages are missing but I'll get to that shortly) of Kurtzman's third attempt at a humor magazine. By all accounts though, it seemed a bit of a non-starter. It was the wrong size, wrong price, wrong pagination and printed on the wrong paper despite a cracking editorial team. All of this is put right with this reprint which is on a decent bit of stock so the art really sparkles. Incidentally both books have a four page section at the back detailing the problems of reproducing the original art.

Book one has an eight page introduction to the magazine and at the back a thirty-four page interview with Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth. Both features give a lot of background to Kurtzman, the artists and the business decisions surrounding Mad, Trump, Humbug and Help! Everyone seems to agree that with Humbug Kurtzman reached his peak and I would agree with this. There are some seriously funny features in just eleven issues and don't forget the great artists: Jack Davis, Will Elder, Jaffee and Roth. Fans of Jack Davis (especially me) are in for a treat because there's tons of it including some wonderful two panel pages with a `Scenes we'd like to see' kind of feature.

Like Mad and Trump there are some great ad parodies and like the color covers they are printed on a slightly better paper. Another neat idea are the ten pages at the back of book two called Annotations where ads and features are explained to those who weren't around to buy Humbug on the newsstand.

The missing sixteen pages? By issue ten it was clear that the magazine was going nowhere financially so the size, price and pagination were upped for issue eleven, a quick decision it seems because to fill out the pages from the normal thirty-two to forty-eight (not including the covers) sixteen pages of the failed Trump were included. The copyright for these are owned by Playboy and there is a reprint of the two issues to be published so it would sort of spoil things to have them included in this Humbug reprint (and no doubt the copyright fees were the deciding factor).

Kurtzman fans will love these two books (in their handsome slipcase) and it only remains for a reprint of Help! to more or less complete and celebrate an American original funnyman. Don't forget to check out: The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, the definitive coffee table book about the great man.

***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'see customer images' under the cover.

First off, "Humbug" is just plain hilarious - there were times reading "Humbug" when I was laughing so loud, I was afraid the neighbors were going to call the police. Kurtzman is definitely on a high note during this period, and Larry Siegel, who would go on to write for Mad and other humor magazines, puts in some great prose work as well. Al Jaffee and Jack Davis put in career best work - their art is stunning - I just have never seen better from Davis. Jaffee's articles, the writing and the art, are spectacular, inventive, imaginative, scathing in their satire. Arnold Roth was a great discovery for me in this collection, and I immediately picked up "Free Lance," deeply discounted on Amazon. Will Elder's photo realistic ad parody's are incredible, and of course he also contributes his usual brilliantly madcap illustration of Kurztman penned comics.

The material, if anything, was amazingly timely - I was astounded at Kurtzman, Jaffee, Roth and Siegel's ability to find those timeless qualities in the everyday in their satire. True, today's sensationalistic media, game shows, corrupt politicians, intelligence-insulting ads, and chintzy consumer products have different names, but they still have qualities that touch on the universal folly of humankind, and thus we can relate to the humor presented in "Humbug."

The material that is firmly of it's time serves as a history lesson, and in some cases, is a reminder of how far we have come as a nation. The civil rights movement was just getting started, and many of the "Humbug" articles touch on racism. Their (cartoon) version of Olberman's "Worst Person in the World" was called "The Humbug Award," one of which was given to Gov. George Wallace (a racist Governor who tried to stop desegragation), which prompted a firestorm of critical letters in the magazine's letter column, followed by equally angry letters supporting "Humbug" - the civil rights debate strait from ordinary people from the time period.

The collection is annotated by John Benson, a comics historian who has written several books, and edited several EC and Kurtzman fanzines, including "Squa Tront." His notes are fairly complete. There is also an extensive interview with the surviving "Humbug" artists, Al Jaffee and Arnold Drake, all of which helps to put the work into context.

"Humbug," in my opinion, is far more accessible then the old Mad Comics, because the Mad comics were mostly comic book, television and movie satires. I have the two DC Mad Archives, and tho I find many stories outrageouly funny, and the art is suberb, I haven't seen more than half the movies they are parodying. Also, the Mad Comics become very formulaic as you read them, since they have a set, concrete page count and pattern.

In contrast, "Humbug" is a magazine with articles of varying length, which include comic strips (usually parodying a movie or t.v. show), gag panels (by New Yorker artist R.O. Blechman), prose articles, and articles that combine prose and illustration in imaginative ways. There are single and double splash pages, beautifully rendered by Jaffee, Roth or Davis, that parody the onset of spring, a resort town, holiday parades, summer sporting events, sports car racing, etc - the detail in these drawings is stunning, a testament to the labor of love "Humbug" was.

"Humbug" is some of the funniest material I have ever read, right up there with the best of Charles Schultz, R. Crumb, Roberta Gregory, Bill Watterson, Roz Chast, and, of course, anything Kurtzman, Roth or Jaffee ever did in their careers. This is a must-have collection for humor comic/magazine fans.

I type these words with heavy heart for a number of reasons.

One, I'm a Kurtzmaniac; have been ever since I devoured my first Ballantine sideways-paperback of MAD comic reprints as a mere nipper in the early 60s. Bill Gaines parsimoniously withheld Kurtzman's name in all of those books, but once exposed to his unique linguistic lunacy, it became imprinted on my psyche, and it wasn't long before I ferreted out the identity of this particular comics genius. Like many of you, I subsequently made up for lost time when Russ Cochran finally loosed the entire Kurtzman-at-EC canon on the world - in hard covers, yet! - which only increased, exponentially, my high opinion of him.

Two, I hold Fantagraphics in similar high regard; though I have limited patience for their contemporary comics projects, I consider their reprints of classic work (from NEMO to Crumb to Pogo, and all points between) to be nothing less than a public service, keeping worthwhile comics alive in an age when the world is drowning in superhero flotsam like never before.

So believe me, it PAINS me to weigh in on these long-awaited HUMBUG volumes with a lukewarm three stars out of five. (Actually, Fanta is off the hook entirely - the books are physically splendid, produced with love and care and done to their usual high standard.) The problem, I'm afraid, is with HUMBUG itself. It reads, and feels, awfully tired - as though everyone involved had tilled these particular fields before (as they had, of course); sadly, there's a deflated, defeated feel to a lot of the satire. The artwork is more often than not terrific, but the scripting tends to wheeze when it should percolate, and even take flight. Kurtzman had gone from being EC's fair-haired boy to experiencing a few brief moments as American humor's Next Big Thing before becoming subsumed in a calamitous series of miscalculations, setbacks and just plain bad luck: maybe that's the problem with HUMBUG. It reads, today, as it might have seemed even back then - the work of a man determined to make the third time the charm, trying to regulate his spontaneity with an on/off switch, and all the while under the looming shadow of a hammer he resolutely expected to fall at any moment.

I don't blame Harvey, however. Let's face it, MAD was a kind of miracle; its wit, innovation and manic energy the product of a type of creative synergy that only comes once in a lifetime, when even the talents producing it must've been as taken aback by its seismic impact as the readership. That kind of lightning can only be bottled once - and by chance, not design. The HUMBUG crew should be applauded for trying with all their might, but it would be false to pretend that what resulted was anything more than a yeoman effort, however worthy the attempt.

Should you buy it? Not for me to say. The economy, as if you hadn't noticed, is in tatters at the moment, and frankly it's very hard just now to justify purchasing these pricey hardcover comics reprints that seem to be everywhere at once allofasudden. I'd love to own them all, but more often than not these days I'm gnashing my teeth in frustration and walking away, hands thrust in pockets and muttering under my breath. You might want to save your shekels for a worthier candidate....but if you, like me, know you'll kick yourself forever for passing up a chance to wallow in even second-tier Kurtzman & Elder, then go ahead and click 'purchase'. Just don't expect "Mickey Rodent" or "Black and Blue Hawks!"....or even "The Dave Garrowunway Show".

This is a great collection. The artwork is stunning. THe jokes are very dated and for me (at 47) there were few "laughs". These books do not read over and over like the classic MAD books.
However this flaw is the only one.
THe book's production values are beautiful.
And the art, Jack Davis, Will Elder, and so on, is beautiful. Al Jaffee also submits some gorgeous work.
I would consider this a book for artists looking for the visiual treat and or a slice of art history in a time capsule.
Jack Davis and Will Elder's artwork in these books is exceptional. For this alone this is a 5 star book for people that LOVE these guys art.

I waited a long time for this and now that it's here it was well worth it. The first thing I have to say is what an absolutely beautiful production job they did with this set. It gives me great pleasure to read again and again. Kurtzman, et al are my heroes in the world of comics and it does my heart good to see such a stunning homage to their work.

Cartooning was my outlet in high school and Mad magazine was my tutor. I eagerly bought the 2 issues of Trump and several issues of Humbug. Most of those comics are long gone, so the Humbug update is a jewel. The quality of printing, the careful editing and clear explanation of the history and contents make this a wonderful bedside companion for remembering and enjoying the quirky sense of humor and the stunning illustrations of Jack Davis. The humor is amazingly timeless so even readers without a history like mine will be captivated.

Not exactly what I expected, but I'm not disappointed. It had all the rich satiric cartooning with 'eyeball kicks" that the original Mad comic had. Several different artists than in original Mad, Arnold Roth and Al Jafee, which gave a new look to the collection. The interviews with these artists gave a fascinating look behind the covers. My only mild annoyance is that there is more prose than I like in a comic;this is a minor point, though.

Now bring on the complete HELP!

When I learned that Harvey Kurtzman's late 50's, short lived humor magazine: "Humbug" was being published I was as excited as a body could be! Then when I learned it was to be priced at $60 for the two volumes I slunk into a mini-depression. However, Amazon saved the day when they priced it at nearly 50% off it's cover price...and for two massive tomes! Ee-gads I was born again! I purchased the two splendid volumes and have been using them for inspiration in my creative illustration work ever since. What more can one say? For the irreligious this is as close to a divine miracle as one can get! I only hope that Fantagraphics will be re-printing his defunct co-print with Playboy (the even shorter lived) Trump and then a compendium of ALL his "Help" publications...that is the only thing that could bring this boy as close to nirvana without resurrecting poor Harvey from the dead and having a 'pow-wow' session with him! Having been born long after all of these publications it would be the proverbial 'icing on the cake'...or at least I can hope and dream for that day? As for now, I am fully and completely content with these two illustrious and enormous volumes of "Humbug"...as I expected to only ever hear or be told about them from those who lived and bought them back in the day...so, thanks Fantagraphics and thanks Amazon for providing this young graphic designer/illustrator with enough fodder to make him happy for as long as is possible! Cheers...congrats!

I would have given this five stars, but I fault Fantagraphics for doing some artsy-fartsy production on the various "Humbug" cover reproductions by also reproducing the various tears, wrinkles and missing pieces from the covers to make them look old. While the book goes on and on about how meticulously they rescanned and recreated missing artwork (for which this is worth a 5), they fall far short with these travesties posing as covers. It's like intentionally putting in scratches on a digitally remastered film. If I want a crappy copy of "Humbug", I certainly can pick one up at a show or on Ebay.

As far as material goes, this is very good, but not excellent Kurtzman material as other reviewers have said. Best is the parody of "Around the World in 80 Days" which is possibly why it is touted on the slipcase, but the other stuff doesn't hold up as strongly, despite great artwork.

BTW, I am currently at work about the history of "Cracked" magazine and although this book doesn't state it, Jaffee, Elder and Davis all bailed out to "Cracked" for a short time before eventually returning to "Mad" (in Jaffee and Davis' case) and "Playboy" (in Elder's case).

As for Kurtzman, I have always considered "Trump", "Help!" and especially "Mad" to be far superior to this. Overall, it looks good, but it leaves you kind of limp. Fantagraphic's lousy issue cover reproductions kind of imply this as well.

It's worth buying the deluxe limited edition for the original autographs of Jaffee, Davis and Roth.

Harvey Kurtzman was a genius writer, editor and artist of serious material (see key issues of Two Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat that are gripping and pertinent today). The word "genius" gets thrown around a lot. In Harvey's case it applies in spades. Most of his fame is, understandably, as a humorist, the creator of "Hey Look," "MAD." "Trump" and, after "Humbug," there was "Help" for several years.

"Humbug," a circulation failure for various reasons, but not because of the brilliant content, was as good as any of them and is in some ways better. Just take a look. The reasons for it's birth and eventual demise have been covered before and are detailed here by John Benson and Gary Groth in this lovingly produced two volume slip cased hard cover set. It includes new covers by(and interviews with) Arnold Roth and Al Jaffee.

Kurtzman's name is not as well known as it should be. He changed humor and the way we look at the world for the better with his irreverent, thoughtful satirical writing and artwork. No subject in politics, entertainment, world affairs, literature,advertising or everyday life escaped Kurtzman and their "Humor in a jugular vein" in the early MAD, and the many "MAD" imitations that followed. Then underground comics in the 60's and '70's created by MAD readers now grown. TV's Laugh In, Woody Allen, The National Lampoon and so many movies, books and just the way all of us think and look at things. The movie version of "M*A*S*H" comes to mind.

Many names in humor are household words. The name Harvey Kurtzman is not, but his influence in humor and the way we look at things continues.

In these two beautiful volumes, you can read all there is to know about "Humbug's" background and the people who worked on it. More important, every word, picture and caption of this fine but unsung humor/satire publication is there to enjoy.