Our Gang Vol. 2 (Walt Kelly's Our Gang) (v. 2) [Paperback]

Walt Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 2007 | Series: Walt Kelly's Our Gang (Book 2)

Of the handful of comics' bona fide geniuses, few could match the versatility of Walt Kelly.

Trained as an animator at Walt Disney Studios (he worked on cartoon shorts and Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo), Kelly left during a labor dispute in 1941. He immediately began a new career in the burgeoning field of comic books, contributing heavily to various Disney titles and single-handedly producing its classic fantasy books, Fairy Tale Parade, Mother Goose, and Santa Claus Funnies. Along with fellow Disney alumnus Carl Barks, Kelly is now considered one of the two classic "funny animal" artists from the golden age of comics. Surprisingly, Kelly's longest-running continuing series was based on actual people—the "real-life" characters of MGM's durable short-film series, Our Gang (a.k.a. "The Little Rascals"). Spirited and engaging, Kelly's Our Gang harks back to the days before television, when kids spent most of their time playing outdoors, limited only by each other's imagination and ingenuity. Kelly created dozens of Our Gang stories by the end of its 59-issue run in 1949, the year he quit comic books to switch careers a final time—as syndicated artist/writer on the immortal newspaper strip, Pogo. This is the second in a series of books reprinting Walt Kelly's Our Gang stories. Cover by Jeff Smith (Bone). 96 pages of color comics

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

By 1944, when the stories in the second volume of vintage Our Gang comic-book adaptations were originally published, MGM had discontinued the comedy shorts, freeing Kelly to deviate from the films. So these stories range from high adventure—the kids take an old pirate ship to an island and discover a Japanese listening post—to the sort of absurdist humor Kelly would exploit more adeptly in his great strip, Pogo. These delightful tales' considerable charm arises from Kelly's adroit cartooning and from the vision of ideal small-town American childhood they express. Nowadays, of course, the casual racism in the depictions of the black child Buckwheat and the Japanese soldiers dilutes the ambient sweetness. Flagg, Gordon
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Ironically, while Our Gang films were [by the 1940s] slick and mannered, in Kelly's comics they regained much of their earlier, unaffected charm. (Booklist )

Our Gang is excellent. You need no knowledge of the films to follow the action, and each issue was self-contained, so you can read it in chunks.... An essay at the beginning of the book puts the stories into the context of their times, very important for any comic book from that era.... Definitely worth a read if you are a fan of old comics that don't involve superheroes. (Laura Gjovaag )

That this series was written and drawn by the great Walt Kelly is icing on the cake for comics fans. Walt Kelly was to the Our Gang comic books what Hal Roach had been to the movie series: creator and godfather. (Leonard Maltin )

A sweet, idiosyncratic collection of comics, suitable for nostalgic adults and adventurous kids alike... An exuberant and transportive collection. (Publishers Weekly )

Kelly was a master storyteller. (The Washington Post )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (June 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560978503
• ISBN-13: 978-1560978503
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,376,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compilation of the strip as it appeared in 1994 and 1945., July 8, 2007

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Gang Vol. 2 (Walt Kelly's Our Gang) (v. 2) (Paperback)

The late cartoonist and political satirist Walt Kelly was best known and remembered for his 'Pogo' newspaper comic strip. What is not so well known is that from beginning in October of 1942 he wrote and drew another comic strip called 'Our Gang' which is now in the process of being rescued from an undeserved obscurity by Fantagraphics Books. The second and latest volume (which includes a new and informative introduction by Steve Thompson) is a compilation of the strip as it appeared in 1994 and 1945. The kids once again find themselves on a movie set as invited guests, but events transpire to launch them into another series of colorful adventures -- this time aboard a sailing ship, a Japanese held island, and a submarine. After this thrilling adventure comes another one closer to home for the kids where they must deal with saboteurs and spies. Reflecting a war-time America, this superb, full-color reproduction is impressively meticulous and a 'must read' for all Walt Kelly fans. Visit the Fantagraphics Books website to see all the currently available volumes of this outstanding and highly recommended series, as well as the many other professionally reproduced 'yesteryear' comics and graphic novels they have available for readers and collectors.