Polly and Her Pals: Complete Sunday Comics 1913-1927

by Cliff Sterrett

Other authorsCliff Sterrett (Artist)
Hardcover, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

PN6727.S693

Publication

IDW Publishing (2010), 176 pages

Description

Pollydebuted in 1912 as one of the first "pretty girl" strips, but it was in 1925 that Cliff Sterrett's magnificent Sunday pages entered their peak period, as he developed a style with distinctive surreal perspectives, abstract backgrounds, and bold, vibrant use of color. Art Spiegelman says, "Polly and Her Pals is a glorious composition...a happy pop synthesis of Art Deco, Futurism, Surrealism, Dada, and Pure Cartoon." This landmark book reproduces every one of Cliff Sterrett's dynamic full-color Sunday pages from 1925 to 1927, many printed directly from original syndicate proofs. The pages also include Sterrett's topper strips, Damon and Pythias and Dot and Dash. In our extensive research into the strip, we have unearthed a tremendous amount of new information that will alter the generally accepted view of Cliff Sterrett's life. Among these discoveries is that Sterrett had taken a sabbatical from the strip for more than half a year in 1925. Our initial plan-to gather the complete Sterrett Sundays from 1925 through 1927-remains in effect- every Sunday drawn by him in 1925 is included. Because this sabbatical seems to have had a profound effect on Sterrett's work, we have expanded our scope to include more of his earlier strips. In order to appreciate the strip's evolution, we present over 25 additional Sundays, representative samples from each of the years 1913 through 1924, including the very first one. MULTIPLE EISNER AWARD NOMINEE!!!… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member burnit99
Finally, a collection of Cliff Sterrett's marvelous Sunday comic strip pages that does justice to the artwork by virtue of a huge format (16 1/4" high, not much smaller that the original newspaper pages). "Polly and Her Pals" was one of the most inventive and hilarious comic strips ever, and
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probably would fall into my top five. This book covers the years from its beginnings in 1913 to 1927, with an emphasis on Sterrett's greatest period, the mid-late 1920's. There are also a smattering of ghosted strips when Sterrett took a sabbatical, for historical comparison. I love the practically Dali-esque surreal artwork of the later 1920's, which was probably inspired by (and holds up well to) George Herriman's marvelous "Krazy Kat" Sunday layouts. There is some informative and interesting biographical info to start. All in all, this is a very well-produced compilation of the gorgeous and hilarious Sunday strips of one of my favorite comic strips. My only quibble would be that Sterrett is worthy of the same completeness afforded other less-worthy strip republications in recent years. And even that comment feels like ungrateful nit-picking, so ecstatic I am over this long-deserved tribute.
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Language

Physical description

176 p.; 16.1 x 0.9 inches
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