This is one of the more serious books you are going to find about "The Great American Comic Strip." Judith O'Sullivan brings an academic perspective (she is art historian) without getting caught down in conceptual verbiage. When I realized how deep she was getting with her analysis of George McManus's "Bringing Up Father" (a.k.a. Maggie & Jiggs), I laughed out loud because it was so delightful.

"The Great American Comic Strip: One Hundred Years of Cartoon Art" is divided into ten chapters: (1) The Comics, Medium and Message provides a fundamental overview of the place of comic strips in our social history; (2) Winsor McCay, American Master, focuses on the creator of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" and "Gertie the Bashful Dinosaur"; (3) George Herriman and His Black Kat, Krazy takes a look at the first beloved feline of the funny pages; (4) Children's Voyages, Domestic Struggles: The Kid and Family Strips only scratches the surface on domestic strips, focusing on "Bringing Up Father" and "Blondie"; (5) Law and Disorder: "Little Orphan Annie," "Dick Tracy," and "Li'l Abner" looks at some of the most famous and influential strips in history; (6) High Adventure: From Tarzan to Terry, dealings with the fighting heroes and superheroes; (7) The Anti-hero: Alienation and Social Commentary in the Worlds of "Pogo," "The Spirit," "Feiffer," "Doonesbury," and "Bloom County" deals with some of my personal favorites; (8) Notes from the Underground tells of the work of R. Crumb and his compatriots; (9) Enter the Women traces both the portrayal of women from "Tillie the Toiler" to "The Heart of Juliet Jones" as well as strips by women artists such as "For Better or for Worse" and "Cathy"; (10) New Directions--Mouse to "Maus" finishes with the cutting edge comic strips of today.

The back of the book includes a "Who's Who in the Comics" with 200 biographical entries from Nicholas Afonsky to Bill Zeigler. There are 17 color and 120 black & white illustrations that cover virtually every memorable comic strip from "The Yellow Kid" to "Doonesbury." This book can certainly serve as an introduction to the history of the comic strip in America, but its true value is for those who already know the basics and are ready to take there understanding and appreciation of this art form to the next level.