By Parker and Hart
Publisher: Titan
ISBN: 9781848566835
These year-long collections seem to be picking up in popularity following the Peanuts and, more recent, Hagar books, so I expect we're going to see many more as we go into 2012. This particular collection takes us right back to the early appearances of the Kingdom of Id and its varied and giggle some characters, from the stupid knight Rodney to the miniature King to the hapless Wizard of the title (Noel Ford could play him in the movie, methinks).
The strip actually launched in 1964, but the collection begins in '71 when it won the first of its five National Cartoonist Society Best Humour Strip awards. It's not explained why the earlier strips aren't collected – maybe they weren't deemed up to the later standards, or, quite possibly, too many of the early strips couldn't be traced to realise a collection.
There are several introductory (and repetitive, to be fair) pieces that describe how the strip came about, which, by the sounds of it, was a surprisingly easy method that could never, ever be repeated today. They are revealing though, and worthy of your time before you plunge into the meat of the book.
The strips themselves are wonderful. In one Spook, the hairy and permanent prisoner the resides in the dungeons, bellows to the turnkey that he needs to stretch his legs once in a while, only to find himself in the final panel on a rack. Then there's the peasant that visits the Wizard looking for a way to overcome his superstitious beliefs. Take one of these capsules each day, suggests the Wiz. When the peasant asks whats in them he gets the reply, Four-leaf clovers. Brilliant.
Like the Peanuts and Hagar collections, this is well put together and is jam-packed with strips, making it well worth the money. Here's hoping 1972 follows soon.
And if you liked that: If you've not picked up a Hagar collection then do so!
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