Frank Johnson, Secret Pioneer of American Comics: Wally’s Gang Early Years (1928–1949) and the Bowser Boys (1946–1950)

This eccentric archival collection introduces outsider artist Johnson (1912–1979), a shipping clerk who secretly produced more than 2,000 pages of original cartoons in composition books dating back as far as 1928. The first of two planned volumes focuses on “Wally’s Gang,” an extended series chronicling the hijinks and misadventures of a bachelors’ social club. With its large ensemble cast, the series extracts jocular punchlines from girl troubles and harebrained schemes, such as cleaning up alley cats to gift to ladyfriends. It takes zanier turns, too, entangling the gang with bank robbers, a sham kidnapping, and a circus performer born with two heads. Scanned from Johnson’s composition books, the comics appear on lined, yellowed paper—occasionally mended with tape—but surpass mere hobbyist sketches. Though unpolished and rendered in pencil, these are fully realized strips, with detailed backgrounds, meticulous shading, and cartooning that bears a loose resemblance to Blondie or the work of Crockett Johnson. Also included is “The Bowser Boys,” a series drawn in ink in the late 1940s. Following a cohort of derelict alcoholics, its mixture of slapstick humor and pathos draws a hypothetical line from Steinbeck to the underground comics scene that would emerge decades later. Classic comics aficionados won’t want to miss this gem. (Dec.)