Dark Horse Comics: Alley Oop: The Complete Sundays Volume 1, 1934-1936

Writer & Artist V. T. Hamlin

Publication Date: April 30th, 2014

Format: FC, 128 pages; HC, 12” x 16”

Price: $75.00

ISBN-10:1-61655-335-9

ISBN-13:978-1-61655-335-7

Introducing the first in a series that will collect, in chronological order, all the Sunday pages of this popular newspaper strip! Go back in time to the prehistoric kingdom of Moo and follow the fantastic, whimsical—and often cleverly satirical—Stone Age adventures of V. T. Hamlin’s irrepressible caveman, Alley Oop!

This over-sized volume collects every Alley Oop Sunday strip from 1934 through 1936, in full color.

* After over ninety years, Alley Oop is still in publication!
* A beloved and enduring pop culture character!
* Reprinted in full color!

Buy Alley Oop: The Complete Sundays Volume 1, 1934-1936 HC Now @ TFAW.com

 

What can I say? The delivery man hands me this huge package (oo-er! double- entendre time) and I look at the box: "Dark Horse Comics".  Dark Horse Comics??? They've never sent me anything before so I thought "Let's see what rubbish has been sent!"

The other book I'm going through to review so let's concentrate on the one in question here: Alley Oop.

Now, in 1960 the Hollywood Argyles recorded the song "Alley Oop". I kid you not. So, as a wee lad I was aware that there was a caveman called Alley Oop.  I caught a few glimpses of the character in American comic ads and, I think, a US Army newspaper(?) in Germany.  Quality of print was not much but, in those days, it was cheap news-print.  This collection is a bit of an eye-opener for me.

The size is A3 -or for our US and other comic geeks out there: Treasury Size. Wonderfully packaged and I doubt the $75.00 will be much of an obstacle to the completist or comic collector. That's about £44.00 but, as always, look around or bite the bullet and buy.  This is a full three year run of the comic strip!

The quality is fantastic. Clean and sharp and I think it is what today's collector expects. Click the Preview link above.  I, notoriously, don't have much of a funny-bone anymore but this certainly raises a chuckle and it is a piece of Americana/Comics history -a newspaper strip that has lasted over 90 years: an incredible feat in any medium let alone comics.

So you want a treat or ever thought about adding collected newspaper strips to your comics library -here you go.

Quality from cover to cover!