HOO-HAH! MAURICE KETTEN – America’s Forgotten Genius, ed. by Ron Evry and Bruce Simon

Maurice Ketten (nee Prosper Fiorino) was an essentially forgotten New York cartoonist of the turn of the 20th Century. In this excellent collection, editors Ron Evry and Bruce Simon seek to rekindle his legacy by restoring and reprinting many dozens of his artistically beautiful and historically fascinating strips, gags, and drawings, featuring such recurring themes as “The Subway,” “The New York Girl,” “500 Buttons,” and more. The book also includes an illustrated essay by Simon on “The Funnies as Seen by Their Fans” (vintage amateur fan-art), including work by Mildreth A. Greeling, John E. Holt, Ernie McGee, and more; a selection of JR Williams “Out Our Way” strips (“The Gang on a Raft” and “Off to the North Pole.”); a look at the political controversies of Harold Gray’s Little Orphan Annie; PLUS: a COMPLETE reprinting of Lucy and Sophie Say Goodbye, one of the most fascinating mysteries of classic comics scholarship. And you know what — there’s even more! All the Hoo-Hah books deserve a place on the shelf of any serious fan or scholar of the Great American Comic Strip. Highly, highly, recommended! 180 full-sized pages, color covers, black and white interiors. (Hoo-Hah Publications)

$18.00