Customer Reviews

Rip Kirby Volume 1

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

 

 

We finally get Alex Raymond's masterpiece back in print. Rip Kirby was done by Raymond when he found that his strips were taken over by someone else when he came back from the war, so he opted to create a new one and would for the first time ink with a pen. His pen and ink style on Rip Kirby would be the norm with the realistic strips for many years to come. Astute readers will notice that Raymond would revert to a brush later (drawing in a style similar to Caniff), where he would use bold brush strokes. He would eventually come back to his pen and ink style, which would influence countless other comic strip artists. He would, unfortunately, die in a car accident a couple of years later and Rip Kirby was continued by John Prentice, a capable artist on his own right, but far from Raymond.

This new reprint by IDW seems to be the definite one taken from the "best available proofs" of the strip. Actually, if these are the best proofs IDW had on hand, I wonder where the French, Spanish and Italian versions got their proofs from as they are ten times better than the American proofs. It's a pity that no major restoration was done to the strip as this version by IDW pales by comparison to the European versions. The main problem I see with the IDW books (aside of the average quality of reprinting), is that the strips are reprinted too small and the books are too heavy. Can anyone tell me how to read these books, aside of putting them on top of a table?

All in all, I've got mixed feelings about the book, but this being the only worthwhile version available in English, will have to do.

p.s.: For the collectors out there, try to check the French version published in the 90's (alas only one volume was printed) as the art is so crisp and clean, it makes all other versions pale by comparison.

Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby is a worthy addition to IDW's Library of American Comics series. This series was groundbreaking in a number of respects. It dealt with a number of mature subjects in a refreshingly realistic way. It was also drawn with a brush when most comics were (and still are) pen and ink renderings. Rip Kirby was always a daily strip so this volume has no color at all except in the introductory material.

The artwork is wonderful and well reproduced - as well reproduced as it can be at this stage without major "restoration". Fortunately, very little seems to need anything so drastic. Curiously, there is an abrupt change in style towards the end of Chapter 7 "Bleak Prospects" and the beginning of Chapter 8 "Terror on the Thames" almost as if Raymond was spelled by an assistant while on vacation.

The stories are for the most part solid. The first two chapters are written as classic "whodunits" but that formula does not work particularly well in daily strip format and the remaining stories are straightforward crime dramas.

Characterization is also strong. Kirby and Desmond are likable and interesting while the villains are just great - ruthless and deadly. The only weak point is Kirby's girl friend Honey Dorian. She seems completely bland when compared to her competition, the mesmerizing Pagan Lee.

All in all, highly recommended to comic strip enthusiasts of all ages.

Alex Raymond's RIP KIRBY: The First Modern Detective - Complete Comic Strips 1946-1948 is the first volume in what will prove to be an exceptional collection. This first edition in this collection is magnificent. The book is formatted well and has a nice simple design structure. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who loves great illustration and a great story.

Alex Raymond was one of the finest practitioners of the lost art of newspaper serial storytelling. His illustrations of handsome men, beautiful women and amazing settings are one of the reasons the period between 1935 and 1960 are considered by some as the Golden Age of newspaper serials.

I cannot express how pleased I am that IDG Publications has taken the time and effort to produce his amazing illustrator's work. This book along with Tom Roberts' ALEX RAYMOND: His Life and Art (ISBN: 9781886937789) are a must have for everyone who enjoys experiencing great art from a time when men like Mr. Raymond elevated the art of newspaper serials to high-art.

Get your copy today.

"Rip Kirby" by Alex Raymond is one of the best daily strips ever published. His job, from 1946 to 1956, is amazing, beautiful, very good plots (with the help of Ward Greene and Fred Dickenson) and wonderful characters.
IDW, with extraordinary editions of "Terry and the Pirates" or "Scorchy Smith", has lost a great opportunity for make the best edition of this classic. Where are the pristine syndicate proofs? In my country, Spain, we have a better edition, with all the Raymond's work and the beginnig of Prentice. The definition of the strips is sometimes horrible. Please, WHERE ARE THE BEST POSSIBLE SOURCES? I don't understand. Sorry

This is the best book with Rip Kirby, but it could have been better if the cells hadn't been cut at the bottom. Several millimeters have been cut out at the bottom of each cell. I hope they don't do that in the next books.

Heretofore only available in reprints of dubious quality, Alex Raymond's "Rip Kirby" has at last been afforded the proper reprinting it so richly deserves. The obvious motivator for picking up this and all subsequent volumes is Raymond's masterful artwork, but the storytelling is equally solid and engaging. Having completed a stint in the Marines during the closing days of World War II, Raymond looked to infuse his plotlines with a hefty dose of realism, and some of his plotlines reflect post-war concerns such as the risks of bacteriological weapons.
Navigating the labyrinth cases is the strip's protagonist: Remington "Rip" Kirby, amateur sleuth, scientist, casual pianist and golfer. With the able assistance of his manservant and sidekick, a reformed English safecracker named Desmond, Kirby matches wits with criminals in New York, Hollywood, Hawaii and London. Although Kirby's adversaries such as the Mangler and Lady Lilliput may lack the dramatic flair of "Dick Tracy's" rogues gallery, their often casual sadism makes them equally sinister.
The ladies competing for Rip's affections also provide layers of interest to the story. Blonde model Honey Dorian enjoys a chaste romance with Kirby, but frequently finds the dark-haired gangster's moll-turned-starlet Pagan Lee to be a source of competition for Rip's attention.
With "Rip Kirby" IDW's streak of producing fantastic reproductions of newspaper comics continues unabated. Their work sets the standard against all other publishers in terms of supplementary materials and quality of workmanship. Every volume they produce sends out a tangible sense of respect and love for the source material that other publishing companies generally lack. I may never get out of credit card debt as my bookshelves continue to sag under the weight of multiple IDW series, but the lasting pleasure they provide makes the investment well worth it.

This is definitely the Golden Age of reprints! A glance at this book will affirm it.

This book is wonderfully made, leather(atleast looks like it) bound!, *very large* book, printed on non-glossy heavy paper, brings out the fantastic black ink work, of which, Alex Raymond is a master.

The book begins with few articles introducing Alex, and his work, pictures of him, a few flyers that promoted the strip when first published, along with some pictures, where you can see Alex Raymond with the beautiful models who were the secret behind his stunningly realistic looking figures. A traditional figure artist of perfection, in line with Hal Foster, Burne Hogarth, Sy Barry and the gang, he is undoubtedly at his best in Rip Kirby.

This is part of a series (atleast there is a Volume two in the works)

This volume 1 contains 8 complete stories from 1946-48.

1. The Chip Faraday Murder
2. The Hicks Formula
3. Enter: The mangler
4. Fatal Forgeries
5. Past Imperfect
6. The Dolls House
7. Bleak prospects
8. Terror on the Thames

Those who love Alex raymond's art work will simply love it, each frame is a comic book artist's study. Composition, Figure drawing, Light and shade, drama, suspense, angles, inking..all is found between the covers of this lovely collection.

Those who love Golden age realistic detective, adventure comics will ofcourse love this. This can also serve as an introduction to the Golden age to any young reader, to be awestuck on the efforts of the artists that went into these amazing stories.

I was 8 years old when Rip Kirby first appeared on the pages of the daily newspaper to which our family subscribed. I was in love with Honey Dorian before I knew what love was. I was impressed with Rip Kirby and his faithful butler Desmond. While less loathsome than Dick Tracy's bad guys I nonetheless felt the apprehension of seeing the Mangler arise out of the waters of San Francisco Bay in his successful escape out of Alcatraz. Those days are long past. More than sixty years have elapsed. I have jocularly told my wife that I hoped heaven could be a time of reading all the old newspapers, comics, sports pages, from that time. Now, with the reprinting of old comics, such as this volume of Rip Kirby from 1946-48, it would seem that a bit of heaven has come to earth.
This book is heavy. I find it tiring to hold while sitting in an arm chair. It's better to have a reading stand, or sit at a table while perusing its pages. I am amazed at how only small snippets and images remained with me; as I said, Rip, Desmond, Honey, Pagan Lee (aka Madelon) the menacing Mangler are all there. What I had forgotten however are all of the stories. It's amazing how selective memory is. So it was as reading the strip all over again. I find the quality of reproduction to be excellent. The advantage of the book is that one doesn't have to read the story four panel by four panel over the days which extend into weeks and months. That of course, has its negative side. I finished this book far too quickly. It looks as if I'll have to order Volume II before too long or at least drop hints to my wife or children that it would be a nice gift. What a terrific idea and I hope that sales will be brisk so that all of the comics I read so avidly and then forgot will once again appear on the pages of books that can be purchased,kept, and savored over and over again.

I am delighted to see this book in print. The quality is excellent and I highly recommend it.

Alex Raymond has had a big influence on comics, not only in the USA and England but also in France: Albert Uderzo and Paul Gillon to name but a few. This book is a pleasure to read: the stories (though not all of them are extremely good), the characterization, the dialogues and, of course, the drawings. Though not hard-boiled, Rip Kirby remains an unusual detective in that he has the qualifications to be a professor in universities. He has good looks, no apparent income problems, a nice flat, an awesome fiancée (of sorts) and a more than reliable butler. However, some of the cases he works on involve a noir setting and there, his punch and knack with a revolver come handy. Of course, there was no Internet or cell phones at the end of the 1940s and some cases could probably now be resolved more quickly. I have not read the French edition of the Rip Kirby strips that another customer mentions, but I have to side with the complaints concerning some of the strips that appear here to be not as good as the others. I doubt that it is the result of Raymond rushing to keep the deadline or the poor work of an inker. The sources used are only from the US. Perhaps IDW could try and find sources abroad and paste the original English texts on them?