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Mr. O'Malley, Wizard of Wall Street
Cartoons depict the humorous adventures of Barnaby when his Fairy Godfather enters the world of finance
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
12 people want to read
About the author
Crockett Johnson
111 books147 followersCrockett Johnson was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip Barnaby (1942–1952) and the Harold series of books beginning with Harold and the Purple Crayon. [From Wikipedia.]
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 31, 2019
The first part and some of the concluding material in this review are slightly different versions of parts of an earlier review of mine of another volume in this series.
This book reprints some of the Barnaby comic strips from 1944-1945. There had been earlier Barnaby collections, but this Ballantine/Del Rey Books series from the 1980's was a noble attempt at gathering allï the strips in order. There is currently a new series of large-format hardcover collections from Fantagraphics Books, which is also intended to reprint the entire run of the strip.
Barnaby tells the tale of Barnaby Baxter, a five year old boy living with his parents, John and Ellen. At the very beginning of the strip, Barnaby acquires a fairy godfather, Jackeen J. O'Malley. O'Malley is short (about the same height as Barnaby), rotund, and has pink wings. (We are told that the wings are pink; the strip is black and white.) He smokes a cigar, which doubles as a magic wand. His magic rarely works as planned. None of the adults ever see O'Malley, not because he is invisible, but just because they are never in the same place at the same time.
The sequences included in this volume are:
⚫The collection begins with the conclusion of an episode from the previous volume involving stolen furs. The thieves who "stole" the furs actually did so with the cooperation of the store owner, who intended to bilk the insurance company. The thieves wind up in Barnaby's cellar; Barnaby's father locks them in and turns them over to the police.
⚫Mr. O'Malley decides to produce a radio soap opera that will be an actual opera but he needs financing. He is working on that when he inadvertently convinces financial authorities that he is himself a crafty financier. His non-existent network of companies becomes increasingly powerful; three men, a banker, a stock broker, and an attorney, convince themselves that they work for O'Malley.
⚫Mr. O'Malley's friend Gus, a ghost, is visited by another friend of Gus, the ghost of Jacob Marley. O'Malley, learning that Marley was a businessman, mentions that he could use some help. Marley offers to audit the books of O'Malley's financial empire, which he brings to Gus's house.
⚫In a casual phone conversation, O'Malley brings about the crash of his rumored fortune. Authorities find that all the account books are missing. O'Malley is now regarded as a scoundrel. Through a series of developments, it is thought that J. J. O'Malley, rogue financier, has committed suicide, which ends the episode.
⚫Barnaby's father takes Barnaby and his friend Jane for a walk in the woods. The father takes a nap, Mr. O'Malley comes along and walks off with Barnaby and Jane to visit the house of O'Malley's acquaintance, a witch named Emmy Lou Schwartz; the house is, of course, made of gingerbread. Barnaby's father awakens and thinks Barnaby and Jane are lost in the woods, Barnaby and Jane, in turn, believe that his father is the one who is lost. Barnaby's dog Gorgon plays an important part in this episode.
⚫Barnaby's Aunt Minerva, author of a best-selling cookbook, comes to visit. A party planned to welcome her becomes complicated. Aunt Minerva begins a cooking column in the local newspaper and starts looking for a place to live in that area.
As always in Barnaby, the artwork is impressive. Barnaby was drawn in a simple but extremely effective style of black and white with no shading and little attention to perspective.
The main thing to know about Barnaby is that it is very funny. Even after over seventy years since these comics originally appeared, they are still really amusing. Here is a four-panel discussion between Barnaby and his talking dog Gorgon:
Panel 1
BARNABY: I don't see why you haven't got time to talk to Pop.... You haven't got anything to do.
GORGON: What? I haven't anything to do!
Panel 2
GORGON: Who gets up at all hours of the night to bark at strange noises? Who chases squirrels and sparrows and butterflies and delivery trucks off the property all day? This place would get so cluttered up -
BARNABY: You don't HAVE to -
Panel 3
GORGON: I don't? Who'd do it then? And who'd sniff the trees checking up on the untrustworthy mutts in the neighborhood? Who'd remind you it's supper time? We'd all starve! And who'd howl at the full moon? Who'd scratch my fleas? And -
BARNABY: But -
Panel 4
GORGON: And a lot of other things!...I haven't anything to do!...I work like a DOG!
I think that is wonderful comic writing. (And convincing too; Gorgon is clearly correct.)
Barnaby was one of the truly great comic strips and this book holds up very well indeed.
This book reprints some of the Barnaby comic strips from 1944-1945. There had been earlier Barnaby collections, but this Ballantine/Del Rey Books series from the 1980's was a noble attempt at gathering allï the strips in order. There is currently a new series of large-format hardcover collections from Fantagraphics Books, which is also intended to reprint the entire run of the strip.
Barnaby tells the tale of Barnaby Baxter, a five year old boy living with his parents, John and Ellen. At the very beginning of the strip, Barnaby acquires a fairy godfather, Jackeen J. O'Malley. O'Malley is short (about the same height as Barnaby), rotund, and has pink wings. (We are told that the wings are pink; the strip is black and white.) He smokes a cigar, which doubles as a magic wand. His magic rarely works as planned. None of the adults ever see O'Malley, not because he is invisible, but just because they are never in the same place at the same time.
The sequences included in this volume are:
⚫The collection begins with the conclusion of an episode from the previous volume involving stolen furs. The thieves who "stole" the furs actually did so with the cooperation of the store owner, who intended to bilk the insurance company. The thieves wind up in Barnaby's cellar; Barnaby's father locks them in and turns them over to the police.
⚫Mr. O'Malley decides to produce a radio soap opera that will be an actual opera but he needs financing. He is working on that when he inadvertently convinces financial authorities that he is himself a crafty financier. His non-existent network of companies becomes increasingly powerful; three men, a banker, a stock broker, and an attorney, convince themselves that they work for O'Malley.
⚫Mr. O'Malley's friend Gus, a ghost, is visited by another friend of Gus, the ghost of Jacob Marley. O'Malley, learning that Marley was a businessman, mentions that he could use some help. Marley offers to audit the books of O'Malley's financial empire, which he brings to Gus's house.
⚫In a casual phone conversation, O'Malley brings about the crash of his rumored fortune. Authorities find that all the account books are missing. O'Malley is now regarded as a scoundrel. Through a series of developments, it is thought that J. J. O'Malley, rogue financier, has committed suicide, which ends the episode.
⚫Barnaby's father takes Barnaby and his friend Jane for a walk in the woods. The father takes a nap, Mr. O'Malley comes along and walks off with Barnaby and Jane to visit the house of O'Malley's acquaintance, a witch named Emmy Lou Schwartz; the house is, of course, made of gingerbread. Barnaby's father awakens and thinks Barnaby and Jane are lost in the woods, Barnaby and Jane, in turn, believe that his father is the one who is lost. Barnaby's dog Gorgon plays an important part in this episode.
⚫Barnaby's Aunt Minerva, author of a best-selling cookbook, comes to visit. A party planned to welcome her becomes complicated. Aunt Minerva begins a cooking column in the local newspaper and starts looking for a place to live in that area.
As always in Barnaby, the artwork is impressive. Barnaby was drawn in a simple but extremely effective style of black and white with no shading and little attention to perspective.
The main thing to know about Barnaby is that it is very funny. Even after over seventy years since these comics originally appeared, they are still really amusing. Here is a four-panel discussion between Barnaby and his talking dog Gorgon:
Panel 1
BARNABY: I don't see why you haven't got time to talk to Pop.... You haven't got anything to do.
GORGON: What? I haven't anything to do!
Panel 2
GORGON: Who gets up at all hours of the night to bark at strange noises? Who chases squirrels and sparrows and butterflies and delivery trucks off the property all day? This place would get so cluttered up -
BARNABY: You don't HAVE to -
Panel 3
GORGON: I don't? Who'd do it then? And who'd sniff the trees checking up on the untrustworthy mutts in the neighborhood? Who'd remind you it's supper time? We'd all starve! And who'd howl at the full moon? Who'd scratch my fleas? And -
BARNABY: But -
Panel 4
GORGON: And a lot of other things!...I haven't anything to do!...I work like a DOG!
I think that is wonderful comic writing. (And convincing too; Gorgon is clearly correct.)
Barnaby was one of the truly great comic strips and this book holds up very well indeed.
Displaying 1 of 1 review