Milt Gross (1895–1953)

Extremely quirky cult classic of comedy. The book is actually an anthology of Gross' work for the Sunday New York World in the mid-1920s, and the columns follow a general formula; first, an interchange between two neighbours, then, usually, a tenant disciplining his wayward little boy Isadore, and finally, a fractured fairy tale (years before Bullwinkle) rendered by a mother to her little child. All, it should be noted, rendered in a bizarre and wonderful "Yinglish" dialect, and accompanied by a wealth of Gross drawings. Obviously, this style of humour is greatly dated, but many persons I know in the animation community consider this book (which was a major best-seller in its day) as a touchstone for their craft.… (mehr)

I was attracted to He Done Her Wrong: the great American novel (with no words) because it is an early example of a wordless graphic novel (1930 - only the second one published in the USA) and described as something akin to a slapstick silent film. This is very true, and a lot of the scenes were very funny. I really enjoy books that tell stories in an unusual way, which is why I'm so drawn to wordless novels. I'm also a big fan of silent film, though I never do watch as many as I'd like - though I subscribe to TCM, I share the tv with my parents, and I'm rarely around or able to pick the station when silent films are airing. So, really, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't like He Done Her Wrong.

Unfortunately, I think I may be deficient in the visual shorthand used in comics in the 1920s, because I was pretty confused by many scenes. I wasn't entirely certain what the caricatures or set pieces were referring to, so the humor or just plain meaning was sometimes lost on me. For example, I couldn't figure out what the heck the Villain was doing with a coin-operated box that ended up making him destitute. Was it a machine for a train pass? for cigarettes? A slots-type gambling thing? It was plain that he was irritated by it and spending his entire fortune trying to get it to work, which was somewhat amusing, but the real humor was lost on me. It turns out, from the afterward, that it was a gum machine. Now it's hilarious!

But even with my ignorance of some of the visual gags, there was plenty to laugh at - from the way the Hero is completely out of his element in the Big City to the heartrending tale that the Heroine acts out in an effort to get a job, which is repeated step by step up the ladder to the very top of the company in great detail - only for that job to be washing the floors. So much effort and drama for such a thing! Dozens of pages in the build up, only for such pathos!

I would like to become more familiar with cartoons from this period, because I do enjoy them, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't have used a different book as my major introduction. He Done Her Wrong was enjoyable and all, but just a bit too confusing for 21st century me to be a really strong read.… (mehr)