The Funnies is an American publication of the late 1920s that was a seminal precursor of comic books.
In 1929, George T. Delacorte Jr.'s Dell Publishing, founded eight years earlier, published The Funnies, described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert".[1] (This is not to be confused with Dell's later same-name comic book, which began publication in 1936.) Comics historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color, newsprint periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than a true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands".[2]
The magazine ran 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. The cover price rose from 10¢ to 30¢ with issue #3. This was reduced to a nickel from issue #22 to the end.
The Funnies helped lay the groundwork for two subsequent publications in 1933: Eastern Color Printing's similar proto-comic book, the eight-page newsprint tabloid Funnies on Parade, and the Eastern Color / Dell collaboration Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics,[3] considered by historians the first true American comic book.[4]
Footnotes
- ^ U.S. Library of Congress, "American Treasures of the Library of Congress" exhibition
- ^ Goulart, Ron. Comic Book Encyclopedia (Harper Entertainment, New York, 2004) ISBN 0-06-053816-3
- ^ Grand Comics Database: Famous Famous - Carnival of Comics
- ^ Goulart, p.144, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing".
References
- All in Color for a Dime by Dick Lupoff & Don Thompson ISBN 0-87341-498-5
- The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide by Robert Overstreet — Edition #35 ISBN 0-375-72107-X
- The Steranko History of Comics, Vol. 1 & 2, by James Steranko — Vol. 1 ISBN 0-517-50188-0
- CBW Comic History: The Early Years...1896 to 1937, Part II
- The ComicBooks.com: The History of Comic Books (dead link)
- Dell Comics at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- The Funnies (1936 series) at the Grand Comic-Book Database
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