Every month, this history column publishes an article on a particular year from comic history. Last year was 2021, so I covered 1941, 1951, 1961, and so on in that fashion up to 2011. Now that we’re in 2022, the cycle resets itself and we’re starting with events from… well, it’s not just one year this time. It’s “years prior to 1932 that also end in a 2.” Enjoy!
In 1837, Swedish artist Rudolphe Töpffer published “The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck,” a series of what he called ‘picture stories.’ Each story was told through sequential images and narrative captions, much like a modern children’s picture book. It was extremely popular and translated into multiple languages as it was reprinted across Europe in the following years, including an English version for Britain in 1841.
On September 14, 1842, that English version was bootlegged to America by the periodical “Brother John Extra.” The reprint was included as a 8.5”x11” bonus supplement running for 40 two-sided pages with a cardboard cover. Featuring 6-12 panels per page, “Oldbuck” is the earliest known comic book-like thing printed in North America. Whether it should be labeled as a comic book, graphic novel, protocomic, or something else depends on your definition and perspective.
“Obadiah Oldbuck” was just as popular in America as it was in Europe, and inspired George Cruikshank to create the similarly-formatted “Bachelor’s Own Book” in 1847.
Following the debut of “Hogan’s Alley” in 1894, comics proliferated through American newspapers. It was widely known that many subscribers bought the newspaper for the comics first and the news second. There were even wars between publishers to secure exclusive talent. Comic strips were a hot commodity.
In 1902, the “New York Journal” published five full color reprints of its most popular strips, including The Katzenjammer Kids and Happy Hooligan. Advertised as “the best comic-books that have ever been published,” the hardcover collections retailed for fifty cents. These were neither innovative nor revolutionary, as they were following the style established by other strip reprints in the previous five years. They served as a way to monetize a strip beyond its only daily appearance.
In 1912, syndication came to comic strips. Until this advent, newspapers were running only strips by their local staff cartoonists. In a single year, the major national newspapers began offering their content to smaller ones – for a fee. The four big players were the International News Service, King Features, Chicago Tribune, and United Features. The audience for comic strips exploded practically overnight, making it possible for popular strips to gain international followings, like George McManus’ “Bringing Up Father” strip that debuted in 1913.
Also in 1912, the “New York Evening Journal” introduced the comics page. That is, a page of the newspaper devoted solely to comic strips, as opposed to strips scattered throughout the newspaper and sharing page space with regular articles and ads.
In January 1922, George McManus’ Embee Publishing partnered with the King Features syndicate to produce “Comic Monthly,” which is another installment of the is-it-or-is-it-not variety. As the title suggests, it was a monthly periodical of comic strip reprints. To modern eyes, it would look very much like a regular comic book: a paper cover over 24 black and white, 8.5”x9” pages. For ten cents, each issue reprinted a year’s worth of Sunday strips for a single comic.
However, “Comic Monthly” is often described as a protocomic rather than the first modern comic book. That could be because of the length, which was remarkably thin compared to the 96-page standard that came along a decade later. It could be because of the dimensions, which are noticeably smaller than the later standard. Near as I can tell, though, it’s relegated to prototype status simply because it was not a trendsetting success.
Embee published only 12 issues of “Comic Monthly,” ending the series in December 1922 without ever trying a second title. It inspired no imitators.
