The Yellow Kid (1995) by R. F. Outcault

This is an oversized, heavy book that reprints all of the Yellow Kid appearances (or so it says). It seems very thorough.

We get 150 pages of essays first.

I did not read the essays, so I wonder whether any of them answer the question I’ve always had about Outcault: Yes, some people think that he created the first comic strip… but is it any good?

Because any time I’ve tried to read it, I found it to be pretty dreary, even as 1890 comics go.

But he’s a pretty good cartoonist, I guess.

Even if the book is oversized, it’s still too small to make pages like this pleasant reading.

And… is it any good? I’d say… nope.

But I’m a Philistine, so what do I know.

R C Harvey writes in The Comics Journal #189, page 135:

In short, the book is a signal contribu-
tion to our appreciation of the history of
cartooning — a centennial monument
worth adding to your shelf Of absolutely
essential books on the medium. +

So there.

This is the one hundred and eighty-seventh post in the Entire Kitchen Sink blog series.