Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays

Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays
Publication information
PublisherThe Library of American Comics
Scheduleinconsistent
FormatHardcover
GenreAdventure
Political satire
Social satire
Humour
Publication dateApril 2010
Main character(s)Li'l Abner Yokum
Daisy Mae Scragg (later Yokum)
Mammy Yokum (Pansy Hunks)
Pappy Yokum (Lucifer Ornamental Yokum)
Honest Abe Yokum
Tiny Yokum
Salomey
Creative team
Written byAl Capp
Artist(s)Al Capp
Editor(s)Dean Mullaney

Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays, also known as The Complete Li'l Abner, is a series collecting the American comic strip Li'l Abner written and drawn by Al Capp, originally distributed by the syndicate United Feature Syndicate and later by Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, in total during 43 years before the strip ended. The strip debuted in August 1934 and at its peak, it had an estimated readership of over 60 million people regularly. The collection is published by The Library of American Comics.[1]

Background

On January 26, 2010, The Library of American Comics announced that their next reprint series would be a collection of Al Capp's Li'l Abner, the first volume of the series' was planned to be released in April the same year. This would be the comic strip's first reprint since Denis Kitchen and his Kitchen Sink Press' effort to publish the comic strip as a whole during the 1990s, this without a completion after the company going under.[2]

However, LoAC's venture also ended with an incomplete run, as publication of further volumes ceased in 2017.

Dark Horse has later reprinted the years of the strip when Frank Frazetta assisted Capp on the strip.[3]

Format

The hardcover volumes of the series' measure 9.25 x 12.5 inches, (235 mm × 318 mm), have 270 pages per book on average and come with a dust jacket. They contain the chronological daily strips in black-and-white and for the first time since the original newspaper publication the Sunday pages are reproduced in full color.[1][4] The daily strips have a separate plot from the Sunday strips.[5] Each volume contains approximately 700 strips.[6] The books are designed and edited by Dean Mullaney, feature biographical essays written by Bruce Canwell and introductions by Denis Kitchen. The collection also include the proto-Abner comic strip, Big Leviticus, which Al Capp created one year prior to Li'l Abner's launch, this while he ghosted both writing and drawing on the other comic strip Joe Palooka for Ham Fisher.[2][7]

Recognition

  • 2011 - The series was nominated for the Harvey Award in the category, "Best Domestic Reprint Project".[8]

Volumes

Volumes
Volume Release date Title Period Page count ISBN
1 2010-04-20 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 1” 1934–1936 288 978-1-60010-611-8
2 2010-11-30 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 2” 1937–1938 272 978-1-60010-745-0
3 2011-06-21 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 3” 1939–1940 272 978-1-60010-937-9
4 2012-02-07 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 4” 1941–1942 272 978-1-61377-123-5
5 2013-01-29 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 5” 1943–1944 272 978-1-61377-514-1
6 2013-12-24 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 6” 1945–1946 272 978-1-61377-819-7
7 2014-12-23 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 7” 1947–1948 272 978-1-63140-156-5
8 2016-05-10 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 8” 1949–1950 272 978-1-63140-594-5
9 2017-12-19 “Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies & Color Sundays - Vol. 9” 1951–1952 256 978-1-68405-057-4

References

  1. ^ a b "First Lil Abner Complete Definitive Edition available now". Comiclist. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  2. ^ a b "IDW to publish L'il Abner". Comic Book Resources. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  3. ^ "Westfield Comics Blog » For Your Consideration: Li'l Abner Vol. 1". Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  4. ^ Dooley, Michael (2013-03-04). "Li'l Abner's Al Capp: A Monstrous Creature, a Masterful Cartoonist". Print Magazine. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  5. ^ "Book Review: Li'l Abner: The Complete Dailies and Color Sundays, Volume 8: 1949-1950 by Al Capp". Cinema Sentries. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  6. ^ "Book Review: Al Capp's Li'l Abner, Volume Nine: Complete Sundays and Dailies 1951-1952". Cinema Sentries. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  7. ^ "Li'l Abner Vol. 9: Complete Sundays and Dailies - 1951-1952". Comic Book Resources. 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  8. ^ "Nominees announced for 2011 Harvey Awards". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2019-08-21.