Customer Reviews

Top Dog: Marmaduke at 50

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

 

 

This collection is A WONDERFUL RETROSPECTIVE on the past fifty years of more than 18,000 newpaper appearances by Marmaduke. Brad Anderson created the beloved character of MARMADUKE when he was in high school, and this collection provides a perspective on the gradual evolution of not only Brad's style, but also Marmaduke's character as well as the changing nature of newspaper cartoons. The book opens with an interesting foreword by Jim Davis and a wonderful cartoon which he penned of Garfield and Marmaduke together. After a brief introduction, the book is divided into six sections organized by decade; each section is prefaced by a brief comment from Brad Anderson.

The sections are The 1950's: Marmaduke Takes Off; The 1960's: A Dog's Life; The 1970's: A Dog for All Seasons; The 1980's: Dog Gone Funny; The 1990's: The Greatest of Danes, and finally 2000 and Beyond: The Modern Times of Marmaduke. As Marmaduke devotees would expect, most of the cartoons are simple single panel black and white incidents which capture the essence of what made the strip so enduring, the constant humor of the situations which seemed to make Marmaduke a real dog who reminded his fans of how human animals can seem. There is also an interesting brief interview with the cartoonist at the conclusion of the book.

What differentiates this collection from the over two dozen previous collections (including an early one which turned me into a lifelong fan while still a high school student in the late 1950's), is that it spans the entire period of Marmaduke's existence, beginning even before he had gradually morphed from a generic huge mutt into the lovable Great Dane that he is today. Usually I can easily pick out a few personal favorites from a collection such as this, but I have tried to do so several times and always come up with a list encompassing at least half the cartoons in this collection. Sometimes the text is the key, but often it is Marmaduke's body language or facial expression that evokes my enjoyment of the scene before me.

In summary, there are some cartoons to smile at, some to enjoy life with Marmaduke, and some that will cause you to roar with laughter whether you are seeing them for the first time or the umpteenth time. In fact, one of the nice surprises was the memories this book occasionally evoked of long forgotten encounters with some of these cartoons. If you have been a fan for as long as I have, this will provide a nice stroll down memory lane. If you are a recent fan, you'll have the joy of discovering some long hidden gems. And this book should be kept in a place where you and your guests can frequently leaf through it for the smiles that it will occasion; it is not a book to be quickly read and then consigned to a bookshelf where in all likelihood it will be forgotten, My only caveat is that my five star review assumes that you will buy this book at a significant discount from its full cover price, which is exorbitant. As a Marmaduke fan, dog lover and long time cartoon aficionado, I am truly thankful that I was fortunate enough to discover this collection during my browsing for some light reading material. I strongly recommend it, and believe that you too will be captivated by the charm of Marmaduke's personality.

Tucker Andersen

This 160 page hardbound book is a celebration of 50 years of cartoon art about a Great Dane that is called Marmaduke. Since 1954 this monster-of-a-mutt has been a star in the comics section of better newspapers worldwide. Along with Snoopy and Fred Basset, this giant pooch is one of the most popular comic dogs on the planet.

From the very first meeting of Marmaduke and his owner Phil Winslow in a downtown pet store in 1954, it is quite simple to see just who is in charge here. As funny as the antics of Marmaduke may seem, he is acting like any real dog that I have encountered in my everyday life. This dipsey-drooler sleeps on the couch, lays on the horn of the car while his owner is under the hood, is smitten with the girl poodle down the street and is the best friend of every (they are tiny!) kid in town.

By briefly scanning this great dogs history from the 1950's into this brand new century, it seems he has mellowed with age. The looks that appear on Maraduke's big mugg in his early days are often more than a bit menacing. Today (and 22,340,684 pounds of dog kibble later) our hero has pretty much become a lot more pleasant and forgiving of the humans that he has to put up with.

The Production of this book isn't that worthy of a classic dog that is over 50 years of age. "Marmaduke at 50" should have a more deluxe (mostly larger) volume to be honored within. The daily strips look fine, and most (but, not all) are large enough. But, the small section of Sunday pages that can be found here, are way too small to really enjoy Brad Anderson's great visuals in the manner that they need to be presented. And very few of the Sunday strips are featured here in color, as they need to be seen.

This book is brief on essay and is almost completly cartoon glory. "Top Dog" is a fair book, but we the fans of Marmaduke are demanding bigger and better reprints of our very favorite giant dog that thinks he's human. This is a good book that deserves to be GREAT!

Three Stars!

I have enjoyed Marmaduke cartoons for almost 30 years. His antics such as his taking up the sofa, being the life of the party and going to the neighborhood school, made my family and I laugh. Indeed when we had a huge collie dog, we could not resist comparing his antics to Marmaduke's.

I'm glad that Anderson celebrated the 50th anniversary of Marmaduke's debut with this book. It notes how Marmaduke has changed over the decades--from one about a huge dog to one where the dog is a member of the family with some human traits.

I had one big problem with this book--not enough cartoons. I wanted to see more of them! I did not think of collecting the previous books with Marmaduke cartoons, and I wish I had. There are just not enough enough of them--especially the Sunday ones. Otherwise this collection is fantastic. Four stars.

When I was just eight years old, my grandfather would sit me down on his one good knee and tell me all about the lovable misadventures of the Great Dane we all know and love, as the 'duke. He'd tell me all about how when he'd come home after a long day at work, just to rest on his favorite couch, he'd find Marmaduke lying in his favorite spot. Plus, several variations on this structure. He'd come in after mowing the lawn and there was Marmaduke, lying on the couch. What a rascal! He'd come in after sexing up Grandma, and still, there was Marmaduke.

"He thinks he's people!" they'd say, laughing about the yard. "Look at him in that silly hat!"

And when my grandfather would tell me these stories, I'd laugh and laugh until the milk came out of my nose. If I wasn't drinking milk, then it wouldn't come out of my nose, but if I was, it would. But it wasn't exclusive to just milk. If, for example, I was drinking coffee with milk, then both the coffee and the milk would come out of my nose. But I should be clear. Even if there was no milk in the beverage I was drinking, that beverage would still come out of my nose. However, most of the time I was drinking milk.

One day, after laughing so much that the milk came out of my nose because I was drinking milk at the time, I went into the kitchen to grab a napkin and some more milk. My grandfather kept the napkins up on the top napkin shelf, so I had to grab a step ladder from the ladder room. But, I never could have suspected that the room labels, which Grandpa used to label rooms, had been switched. By mistake, I had ended up in the bathroom.

Anyway, ten years later, I was looking through the newspaper, when I read something I couldn't believe.

"Marmaduke?" I exclaimed, "In the form of a comic strip?"

I threw the milk I had been drinking and was now coming out of my nose, to the ground, whipped out my penis, and began peeing on everyone in the starbucks. Even the baristas! I couldn't believe what I was doing, but more importantly, what I had read. Hours later, when Grandfather came to bail me out of prison, I couldn't even look him in the eye. I was so disappointed in myself, that the milk from my shirt, went back into my nose.

"We're going to fight this!" I told him. "They're stealing your stories, probably making a fortune."

"No," He finally said, "It wasn't them who stole from me."

"but.."

"You have to understand," Grandpa tried to explain. "You just loved Marmaduke so much. I didn't have the heart to tell you he wasn't real."

I was so angry. It was like the childhood I had enjoyed so much while drinking it down, was now violently being spewed from my nose. Except this time, it wasn't laughter that caused it, it was pain.

The following day, My grandfather died. I never had the chance to tell him how I really felt about Marmaduke, how when I'd come home after a long day of work, wanting only to rest on my favorite couch, I'd hope that a huge brown dog was there waiting for me, watching me, and ready to hump my leg at a moment's notice. Instead, all I'd find was my stupid wife and kids and their dumb faces. Stupid.

In summation, if you've ever owned or dreamed of owning a dog or your grandfather's dead, than this is the book for you.

Everyone's favorite Great Dane is captured through the decades in this "best-of" volume. Having had two Great Danes, I have always found the Marmaduke cartoons capture the best of these elegant dogs who want to sit on your lap, lie in your bed, eat from your table, and be your best friend. The comic panel has been around half-a-century and is in over twenty countries for a reason: it is wonderful.

When I was in my twenties I owned a German Shepard big enough and strong enough to pull me around. While he was gentle, he was also powerful enough to chew the strips off my car, which he did more than once. Therefore, the giant Marmaduke depicted in the strip will always remind me of Pepper. If you have ever owned a powerful, yet very gentle dog, this strip will pull at your heart. The facial expressions Anderson has Marmaduke demonstrate also remind me of how Pepper used to look at me when he wanted a dog treat.

This book was better than I expected. The book is jam-packed with Marmaduke comics and is colorful and fun to look at.

Great for old and new Marmaduke fans.

does anyone remember when marmaduke guest-starred in an episode of Benson? it was one of that series' best shows. hopefully it comes out on dvd. this book is also good, but nearly as good as that benson episode.

Marmaduke has never made me laugh, or even smile. I think the only people who find this kind of humor funny are either very, very simple-minded or very, very old.

"Marmaduke" is a comic strip for idiots. None of the so-called "jokes" are funny, and every single one is like, "Oh, Marmaduke acts like a person!" Now, I've had a dog in my life, so it isn't like if you've raised a dog you automatically find this nonsense funny. It's just idiotic.

If you're thinking about buying this book, consider the following scenario:

A panel displays a large dog lounging on a couch, apparently asleep. A little girl looks on. The caption, spoken by the little girl, reads, "Marmaduke sleeps on the couch, like a person." (The last sentence may or may not be punctuated with an exclamation point.)

Did you laugh at that description? Does the mere sight of a large dog on a couch warm your heart, or induce you to jubilant tears? If so, purchase this book. It's full of things simpleminded folk like yourself enjoy.

Seriously, you guys, this is lame. I cannot begin to describe the lack of wit here. It's as unsubtle as a kick to the jaw, except not as funny. The only reason to buy this is as an ironic gag gift. You know, ha-ha-ha, imagine someone who would enjoy this.

Type "Marmaduke" into Google and read some of the comics. Decide yourself. Maybe then you'll munderstand...

The horror...the horror.