Customer Reviews

Our Gang Vol. 3 (Walt Kelly's Our Gang) (v. 3)

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By 1944, the MGM assembly line had all but killed-off one of the most successful comedy franchises of all time. Our Gang (a.k.a. "the Little Rascals") had been created and nurtured by Hal Roach into an American institution. MGM acquired the series name and stars, but no understanding of how the series worked. But Walt Kelly, assigned to the comic book spinoff at Western Publishing, knew that the series, in its prime, had never talked down to kids nor exploited cloying cutenss. As he progressed with his series and the MGM version petered-out, Kelly "rotated" new members into the gang and rechristened others as he retooled the Gang for comic book adventures.

This third volume in Fantagraphics reprint series picks up in 1945, when Kelly's transformation of the Gang is nearly complete. Kelly continued to streamline character design till the figures were distinctly his. Stories became more fanciful and less dependent on wartime topics and concerns. By abandoning practically all pretense of fidelity to the movie series, Kelly created his own Our Gang. Ironically, this Gang was more in keeping with the original spirit of the Hal Roach series than the MGM continuation had ever been.

The eight stories in this volume range from clumsy to near classic. They're presented in their original order and colors, so you can see their progression as yesterday's readers saw it. The humor may not be in the same league as "Pogo," but the storytelling and characterizations have the earmarks of a master. This volume is an entertaining record of his growth as an artist.

Anyone who purchased Volumes 1 & 2 will know what to expect, for this one is more of the same. Some of the Gang members from the first volume have now been replaced by new characters, and some of the racial stereotypes are being eliminated. The stories are aimed at children, and there is little there for the adult reader. However, fans of the Little Rascals may be interested in this series as a collectable item, as well as fans of Walt Kelly (whose artwork is primitive here, compared to what he would create later).