Halsted Street: Torment & Drama from the Hog Butcher (1990) by Skip Williamson

This is apparently a collection of strips that ran in a newspaper in Chicago in the 70s?

The strip starts off using a more stark style than Williamson’s usual noodly style, and with more straightforward (and groan-worthy) punch lines.

But it doesn’t take long for Williamson to revert to his usual style of cartooning, and for most of the strips to descend into chaos.

Which I like.

And, of course, towards the end Snappy Sammy Smooth takes the strip over.

The book feels very much like a thing of its time and place: I don’t think you had to live in Chicago in 1976 to enjoy these strips, but it probably helps a lot.

This is the only review of the book I can find:

Sadly, the material hasn’t retained much of its humor, dating itself and necessitating a lengthy intro (riddled with typos) explaining the politics in Chicago at that time. Even with this introduction, the material is barely worth reading.

This is the one hundred and sixteenth post in the Entire Kitchen Sink blog series.