Genres: Comedy
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Vol 1: January 2021
The long-overdue, definitive career retrospective of an early-20th-century gag cartoonist.
Welcome to the cockeyed menagerie of Thomas Starling Sullivant. From the 1880s to the Roaring Twenties, Sullivant conjured up a whimsical world in pen and ink — riotous gag cartoons featuring anthropomorphic animals of all stripes; perennial American “types” like hobos, hayseeds, and urban hucksters; and familiar characters from ancient myths and biblical tales. Imbued with infectious joy, his drawings have inspired generations of artists and countless Disney films. Fantagraphics is proud to present the most comprehensive collection ever published of Sullivant’s delightfully off-kilter creations, which have not seen the light of day since their initial appearance in pioneering humor magazines over a century ago. Rounded out with aesthetic appreciations by artists Nancy Beiman, Barry Blitt, Steve Brodner, John Cuneo, Ricardo Martínez, Peter de Seve, and Jim Woodring; and scholarly essays by historians R.C. Harvey and Rick Marschall, A Cockeyed Menagerie gives this unheralded cartooning genius his due at last.