Early comic books were far less discerning than comic Book Guy let me believe. While I understand he's a caricature of all thats self righteous in the nerd kingdom, the idea that he sold of early comics being some sort of holy grail stuck with me. Seeing the early strains of the comic book makes for a much more humble beginning.
It makes sense. Taking a familiar, wanted medium that came very sparingly weekly, then reformatting it and distributing it to its audience. It's just smart business. However, it was strange to me how much was reprinted. The format lends itself very well to taking in strips from the papers, but it feels to me as if a new medium warrants a steady flow of new content, even from old work horses. It was also a surprise for me to see multiple, smaller stories in one collection. That sort of compilation is not one I'm familiar with, but the idea is okay with me. The smaller serials were very digestible and felt more akin to cartoons. A connection that is for sure felt both ways.
Of the books I read, I really loved the Donald Duck ones. The simplicity of the frame, the color, the story made for a very solid read that was both light and enjoyable. I can definitely see why it in particular made for such solid inspiration in comics in general.
Another thing I noticed was the heavy advertising. While I'm used to this in comics, It seemed a bit more universal and unspecific. Not like today's advertising that so laser targeted. But I really did like some of the shirts that were in some of the books I read. Unfortunately when I tried calling the number, all I got was an all expenses paid vacation, bummer.
