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Al Capps Complete Shmoo: The Comic Books
First appearing in Al Capp's "Li'l Abner" comic strip in 1948, the oddly shaped (and happily edible) Shmoo became an overnight phenomenon, spawning an unprecedented merchandising frenzy in the late '40s and 50s. As part of the Dark Horse Archives series, ALL Shmoo comic book appearances are being collected for the first time ever in a deluxe hardcover edition! In addition to every issue of Shmoo Comics from 1949 and 1950, rare bonus stories, and Shmoo-centric advertisements from yesteryear, Al Capp's Complete Shmoo: The Comic Books features an introduction and annotations by certified Shmoo-ologist Denis Kitchen. A persistent presence in pop culture, the selfless Shmoo has served humanity for decades - mostly by offering itself as food - but also by entertaining and tickling our funny bones like no other creature can. Treat yourself to these hilarious adventures, featuring Washable Jones, Super Shmoo, Frankenshmoo, Fu Manshmoo and truly a cast of thousands! This archival collection sports a new cover by Peter Poplaski.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
176 pages, Hardcover
First published March 26, 2008
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24 people want to read
About the author
Al Capp
142 books7 followersAlfred Gerald Caplin (1909-1979), better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist. He is best known as the creator, writer and artist of the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner, which run for 43 years from 1934 to 1977.
Capp was born in 1909 in New Haven, Connecticut, of a poor family of East European Jewish heritage. His childhood was scared by a serious accident: after being run over by a trolley car, nine years old Alfred had his left leg partially amputated. This early trauma possibly had an impact on Capp's cynical humour, as later represented in his strips. His father, Otto Philip Caplin, a failed businessman and an amateur cartoonist, is credited for introducing Al and his two brothers to making comics.
After some training in art schools in New England, in 1932 Al Capp moved to New York with the intent of becoming a newspaper cartoonist. The same year he married Catherine Wingate Cameron. In the first couple of years of his career Capp worked as an assistant/ghost artist on Ham Fischer's strip 'Joe Palooka', while preparing to pitch his own comic strips to the newspaper syndicate.
His strip Li'l Abner was launched on Monday, August 13, 1934, in eight American newspapers to immediate success. The comic started as an hillibilly slapstick, then shifted over the year in the direction of satire, black humor and social commentary. The strip run until 1977, written and mostly drawn by Capp.
A lifelong chain smoker, All Capp died in 1979 from emphysema at his home in South Hampton, New Hampshire.
Capp was born in 1909 in New Haven, Connecticut, of a poor family of East European Jewish heritage. His childhood was scared by a serious accident: after being run over by a trolley car, nine years old Alfred had his left leg partially amputated. This early trauma possibly had an impact on Capp's cynical humour, as later represented in his strips. His father, Otto Philip Caplin, a failed businessman and an amateur cartoonist, is credited for introducing Al and his two brothers to making comics.
After some training in art schools in New England, in 1932 Al Capp moved to New York with the intent of becoming a newspaper cartoonist. The same year he married Catherine Wingate Cameron. In the first couple of years of his career Capp worked as an assistant/ghost artist on Ham Fischer's strip 'Joe Palooka', while preparing to pitch his own comic strips to the newspaper syndicate.
His strip Li'l Abner was launched on Monday, August 13, 1934, in eight American newspapers to immediate success. The comic started as an hillibilly slapstick, then shifted over the year in the direction of satire, black humor and social commentary. The strip run until 1977, written and mostly drawn by Capp.
A lifelong chain smoker, All Capp died in 1979 from emphysema at his home in South Hampton, New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2021
The Shmoo was a weird animal from Lil' Abner comics. An animal that spontaneously reproduces, lays eggs, milk, and butter and doesn't mind being eaten. Seeing as how the younger generation has forgotten the parent comic, it would be a decent assumption that the Shmoo has faded from the zeitgeist as well. Strange as it may seem Shmoo mania hit the United States for a time. The animal certainly helped to make its creator, AL Capp, a millionaire.
This collects the complete run of Shmoo comics, 1-5, from 1949 and a Procter and Gamble insert using the characters. The best part of this comic are the old time advertisements for Shmoo gear and the annotations by Dennis Kitchen. This series certainly didn't put its best foot forward, most of the stories are pretty bad even for the children's fare for the time. Plus the mainstay characters from Lil Abner were banned from the comic, so readers had to make do with a second-string entity named Washable Jones, resurrected from the strip early days. Perhaps they should have begun with the Lil Abner strips and moved onto this series second.
This collects the complete run of Shmoo comics, 1-5, from 1949 and a Procter and Gamble insert using the characters. The best part of this comic are the old time advertisements for Shmoo gear and the annotations by Dennis Kitchen. This series certainly didn't put its best foot forward, most of the stories are pretty bad even for the children's fare for the time. Plus the mainstay characters from Lil Abner were banned from the comic, so readers had to make do with a second-string entity named Washable Jones, resurrected from the strip early days. Perhaps they should have begun with the Lil Abner strips and moved onto this series second.
October 22, 2008
Strange and wonderful. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if it were allowed. I'm looking forward to volume 2, which will have Capp penned Shmoo adventures, as opposed to this volume, which was written entirely by his staff.
Be sure to check out the annotations at the end, which are entertaining and informative.
Be sure to check out the annotations at the end, which are entertaining and informative.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews