Comic Arf
The fourth volume in Yoe’s Arf series dedicated to “the unholy marriage of art and comics” is the strongest yet, due in no small part to a major chunk of it being devoted to vintage work by screwball cartoonist Milt Gross. First up is a generous sampling of Gross’ 1920s Draw Your Own Conclusions, in which Gross drew a three-panel setup and left the ending for readers to fill in. His 31 collaborators here include many top contemporary comics artists, from mainstream mainstays Mort Walker and Bil Keane to undergrounders R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman. An assortment of Gross’ other strips follows. More rediscovered treasures on hand include a pre-Pogo Walt Kelly story, Dudley Fisher’s remarkable bird’s-eye-view Sunday newspaper pages, Gardner Rea’s sophisticated magazine cartoons, Argentine girlie cartoonist Guillermo Divito, and another of the hell-themed pieces Yoe fancies, this one by underrated comic-book master Bob Powell and reproduced, like many of the other selections, from the original art. Yoe’s access to such riches appears limitless, so bark and howl for more, comics fans. --Gordon Flagg