All we
have to say is, "It's about time!" Well, that's not all,
really. First off we'd like to thank the folks at Dark Horse
Comics for dedicating their resources to this important project.
John Stanley's Little Lulu is one of the great runs in the
history of comics: 145 consecutive issues (plus a handful of giant-size
specials) of simple yet elegant,
straightforward yet disarming stories about Lulu and Tubby (whose own series is now being collected, as well!),
their pals
and their parents. Like Carl Barks, his contemporary at Dell
Comics (Lulu's original publisher) John Stanley -- with the
indispensable assistance of inker/finisher Irving Tripp -- had that
rare ability to produce work capable of simultaneously engrossing the
sensibility of a child and charming that of an adult.
Each volume in the series presents an average of six complete issues of
Marge's Little Lulu (the full title, as the character
of Little Lulu was created by Marjorie "Marge" Henderson Buell in 1935
for The Saturday Evening Post;
despite the fact that she had nothing to do with the comic book series,
it nevertheless kept her name), originally published by Dell
Comics. The actual number of issues per volume varies with the
page count of the originals, but every volume is between 180 and 240
pages long, with an average of over 200.
Dark Horse has done a fine job here: the reproduction is
uniformly
excellent and all volumes are printed in crisp, clear black & white
on a decent quality, flat, bright
white, 6"
x 9" stock. John Stanley's Little
Lulu, while
long enjoying the ardent support of a core group of readers, is still
under appreciated given its quality. If you are
unfamiliar with John Stanley's work, do yourself a favor and spend at
least a few
minutes with one of these volumes, then you can judge for
yourself. It may not be your cup of tea, but if it is, you'll
have a
lot to look forward to. In addition, these volumes offer an ideal
way to introduce younger readers -- as well as readers of any age, for
that
matter -- to the joys of comics.
For those who have been following this
series, it is worth noting that the first five volumes were not issued
in the same chronological order as the original issues they contain --
the issues within each volume are, of course, printed in chronological
order, so it's simply a matter of rearranging the volumes on your
shelf to put the series in its proper order.
Here are all
twenty-nine
volumes, pictured in their proper order:
GIANT-SIZE
Little Lulu #1 (OUT OF STOCK -
CHECK BACK) contains the
entirety of:
9) Lucky Lulu:
collects Little Lulu 33 - 37
