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What Others Are Saying

About The Art of the Funnies--


"This is an entertaining, informative volume by one of our most insightful
critics. I recommend it highly, both for your own collection
and that of your local library."
Tony Isabella
The Comics Buyer's Guide

"The Art of the Funnies is an important work in comic history . . .
probably the best comic strip history currently available. Whereas other
writers seem to engage in conjecture and flights of fancy, Harvey
footnotes the sources for his opinions and explains his logic."
Ian Gordon
INKS: Cartoon and Comic Art Studies

"The two most important questions about a book of this sort are: Is it fun
to read? And--Is it liberally illustrated with
comic strips? The answers: Yes."
Warren Clements
The Globe and Mail

"The Art of the Funnies is an enjoyable way to gain a whole new
perspective on a venerable and popular `throwaway' entertainment
medium which perhaps deserves more recognition
and respect as a true and unique art form."
Jim Gibson
Abilene Reporter-News

"Only a cartoonist with good storytelling skills, capable of doing
historical and critical analysis, could write this book. And so, R. C.
Harvey did . . . . This book itself is a milestone, deserving to be read
carefully by fans, cited regularly by scholars, and experienced
professionally by both veteran and aspiring cartoonists."
Witty World

"A fascinating study of the history of comic strips"
Bud Plant Comic Art

"A serious history and critique of a curiously robust medium by an
unabashed fan whose interest lies in teasing out
the elements that make comic strips"
Book News, Inc.

"Without a doubt, this is a definitive work about comics that ranks with
the best books covering the field."
Ed McGeean
CAPS

"Harvey's preamble chapter so thoroughly, yet succinctly, articulates
what critical analysis is that it deserves to be used as a supplement to
the jargon-heavy textbooks on this research technique."
John Lent
Humanities

"While McCloud's interest in theory [in Understanding Comics] is
admirable, the real engine of art is individual genius.
This is the aspect of the comics explored by Harvey in The Art of the
Funnies
, a collection of lively essays on the development of newspaper
comics and the artistry of their creators."
Steve Szilagyi
The Plain Dealer

"Harvey's stories of the artists and readings of the strips is continually
interesting and illuminating."
Studies in Popular Culture

"Highly recommended for both academic and public libraries."
Janice Zlendich, Library Journal

"Provocative and valuable . . . A book which comics scholars and
enthusiasts ought to read, annotate, and discuss, The Art of the Funnies
is not simply useful, but compelling, due in part to the vigor and
precision of Harvey's writing."
Charles Hatfield
The Comics Journal

Get yours today!
What Others Are Saying
About The Art of the Comic Book--


"Harvey's The Art of the Comic Book is one of the most insightful
and thought-provoking studies of the form
ever published. . . . A must-read. . . ."
Tony Isabella
The Comics Buyer's Guide

""In this definitive study, this renowned Comics Journal writer traces
the evolution of the comic book as a potent
form of narrative art. He takes it from its beginnings in the 1930s
through the most contemporary of productions in the 1990s. Harvey is
an accomplished writer and critic, and here he offers
a new and fascinating perspective on comic art, as told by
an artist and appreciator."
Bud Plant

"Harvey engages in close, critical readings of the art
itself, focusing on the development of the vocabulary
of panel, layout, story, and style. Highly recommended."
Adam Maxmanian
The Library Journal

"The Art of the Comic Book offers much to think about, and it's hard to
argue with a book so generous--a book which by virtue of its formal
analyses lone belongs on every comic scholar's bookshelf. . . .
Harvey's latest opus offers a remarkable fund of examples and readings
from which scholars can draw over and over in the future."
Charles Hatfield
The Comics Journal


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