Exploring the comic strip for elements that make the funnies one of the most appealing of the popular arts. 

What made the comic strip so enduring? This fascinating study by one of the few critics to develop sound critical principles by which to evaluate the comics as works of art and literature unfolds the history of the funnies and reveals the subtle art of how the comic strip blends words and pictures to make its impact.

Since the beginnings of the finnies at the end of the last century finny papers and cartoons have been an institution worldwide. This book opens many secrets to the cartoonist's appealing art and makes us understand the magic.