Reading The Funnies

The comic strip is a creation unique to American cultural life, commenting on the way we see and understand ourselves as it has fulfilled its daily-appointed task of amusement and distraction. From essays on popular classics (Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, E.C. Segar's Thimble Theatre, etc.) to the more obscure, Phelps' discriminating eye discerns the sublime qualities of this most American of art forms with wit, candor, and an almost Baroque grace.