Nancy Loves Sluggo: Complete Dailies, 1949-1951

A kind of timeless joy comes from perusing this compilation featuring Bushmiller%E2%80%99s scrappy little scamp and her screwball sidekicks. The iconic strip seems to harken back to halcyon days, a time when zaniness could thrive without guilty afterthoughts. Bushmiller%E2%80%99s plucky little rascals don%E2%80%99t even approach politics with a 10-foot pole, and even Sluggo, poor urchin that he is, would rather be finding novel ways to throw a curve ball than contemplating social injustice. A reference to the Cold War during a snowball fight might be the most telling reminder that Bushmiller wasn%E2%80%99t crafting his famous strip in a vacuum, and that he knew the stakes were pretty high. Today it%E2%80%99s much the same: Mrs. Van Snoot, Mr. Sputter and his greased-up curlicues, and the ageless Aunt Fritzi exist in their own world. Equally timeless is Bushmiller%E2%80%99s use of form, space, and volumes to achieve a powerful, pared-down graphic aesthetic, one that still influences contemporary comic artists. (Dec.)