Suspended Animation Classic #396 Originally published July 21, 1996 (#29) (Dates are approximate) R. F. Outcault’s The Yellow Kid; Space Usagi; Usagi Yojimbo By Dr. Jon Suter Scholars recognized long ago that comics are accurate records of their times, depicting not only the clothing styles, attitudes, and vocabulary of their era, but also social concerns. This was true from the beginning when Richard F. Outcault created “Hogan’s Alley” (later known as “The Yellow Kid”) for the “New York World” newspaper. In 1895, America was only beginning to recognize its urban problems. More people probably learned about the conditions in the slums through the comics than would ever have read or heard the words of reformers like Jacob Riis, author of “How the Other Half Lives”. Outcault’s strip depicted the violence and poverty facing the children of slums, but like Charles Dickens, he found the humor lurking beneath the horror. Until now, anyone wishing to see a complete collection of Outcault’s work had to go to the San Francisco Academy of Comics Art. To celebrate the 1995 centennial of comics, Kitchen Sink Press published a major anthology: “R. F. Outcault’s The Yellow Kid” (hardback, $55, paperback $39.95). This is a cornerstone of any collection of historically important comic strips. In addition to 121 marvelously reproduced color illustrations, there are 146 pages of valuable history. This reader was surprised to learn that the term “yellow journalism” did not spring from the rise of the new yellow dye for the Kid’s nightshirt. Another revelation was Kid made “guest appearances” in Outcault’s other major strip, “Buster Brown”. The child of the slums and the child of wealth make a strange combination. This book has to be seen to be appreciated. Buy a copy before it goes out-of-print or urge your library to acquire a copy. Kitchen Sink Press has published many valuable retrospective collections, e.g. “Steve Canyon” and “Li’l Abner” comic strips. These are essential to any collection, but are also fun to read. MINIVIEW: “Space Usagi” and “Usagi Yojimbo” [Dark Horse]. Inventive and entertaining, these “funny animal” adventures of a Japanese rabbit warrior are a delight. Recommended. MV

Don't know why Little Nemo is carrying a candle, maybe there is a power blackout. The Yellow kid thinks it's funny. The Yellow Kid emerged as the lead character in Hogan's Alley, drawn by Richard F. Outcault, which became one of the first Sunday supplement comic strips in an American newspaper, although its graphical layout had already been thoroughly established in political and other, purely-for-entertainment cartoons. The Yellow Kid was a bald, snaggle-toothed boy who wore a yellow nightshirt and hung around in a ghetto alley filled with equally odd characters, mostly other children. With a goofy grin, the Kid habitually spoke in a ragged, peculiar ghetto argot printed on his shirt, a device meant to lampoon advertising billboards Little Nemo is the main fictional character in a series of weekly comic strips by Winsor McCay (1871-1934) that appeared in the New York Herald and William Randolph Hearst's New York American newspapers from October 15, 1905 – April 23, 1911 and April 30, 1911 – July 26, 1914; respectively. The strip was first called Little Nemo in Slumberland and then In the Land of Wonderful Dreams when it changed papers. A brief revival of the original title occurred from 1924-27.