Presenting the Best of Tumbleweeds: An, Uh, Unusual Saga of the Old West

by Tom K. Ryan

Selections from the Tumbleweeds comic strip take a humorous look at the Wild West, from the cowboys and the Indians to the lawmen and the bad guys, the townspeople, and the cavalry

Genres: Comic Strips, Comics

140 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1994

About the author

Tom K. Ryan (1926 – 2019) was an American cartoonist.

Reviews

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not fully appreciate this strip when I read it in the paper years ago. Now I consider Ryan to be one of the most acutely funny cartoonists of his era. The sheer absurdity of his characters, the parody of every western theme from Cowboy, to Native American, to Calvary and western town residents is so funny.

I realize that today Native Americans are sacred cows that may not be poked fun at, but you'd have to have a very large pole up your rear not to enjoy every single character in this strip. None of it is malicious and all of it is humorous.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of the venerable Tumbleweeds collects strips from late in the series run, presumably from the early 1990s. While lacking some of the punch of Ryan's earlier strips, this oversized paperback provides some good chuckles. We see more of the Poohawk tribe's antics such as Lotsa Luck, the Chief, Bucolic Buffalo, Screaming Flea and Limpid Lizard engaging in funny shenanigans. Plus there are pies in the face courtesy of the awful cook Greasy and an upset Hildegard Hamhocker. Put this together with the escapades of Tumbleweeds, the Sheriff, Deputy Knuckles and all the rest - you get a recipe for a superb comic strip lampooning the Old West!

This is worth reading.