Kings of the Pages

Taking on the formidable coffee-table-book topic of the golden age of American newspaper comic strips, filmmaker Robert Lemieux uses a minimalist approach—examining three representative strips to symbolize the many that dominated the “color supplement” funny pages and affected popular culture. The choices are: the gag domestic sitcom Blondie (Blondie and Dagwood have an intricate backstory, barely recalled these days), the cop serial Dick Tracy (despite its caricatures, creator Chester Gould's strip was a milestone in the depiction of violence and death in comics), and the pioneering space adventure Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (Flash Gordon fans might feel snubbed, but Buck's strip arrived in 1929, five years before Flash's). Rationing during WWII meant a downsizing of the comics supplements, ending this great era. Oddly, no mention is made of how newspaper color pages evolved into what would become comic books. Combining illustrative examples with comments from interviewees including graphic novelist Mark Wheatley, publisher Daniel Herman, and author-artist Denis Kitchen, this is an interesting look at the heyday of classic comics featured in the Sunday newspaper. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)