{"id":34560,"date":"2025-12-21T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=34560"},"modified":"2025-12-20T17:19:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T17:19:34","slug":"abbie-an-slats-volumes-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/12\/21\/abbie-an-slats-volumes-1-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Abbie an\u2019 Slats volumes 1 & 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\" \"\"
\nBy Raeburn Van Buren<\/strong>, with Al Capp<\/strong>, Elliot Caplin<\/strong> & various (Ken Pierce Inc. 1983
\nISBN: 978-0-912277-14-1 (vol. 1 TPB); 978-0-912277-24-6 (vol. 2 TPB)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: The Literal Good Old Days… 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s practically impossible for us today to understand the power and popularity of the comic strip in America from the Great Depression to the end of the Second World War. With no television, far from universal usage of radio, and movie shows at best a weekly treat for most people, household entertainment was mostly derived from the comic sections of daily and especially Sunday Newspapers. To consider that situation as a parallel to the modern comic scene would be like expecting those generations-distant readers to only read one out of a dozen of the numerous offerings in each and every paper or only on streaming channels.<\/p>\n

Our treasured standard themes of adventure and horror, superheroes and merchandising tie-ins targeting kids would seem laughably limited in comparison to the sheer variety of story and genre available then.<\/p>\n

If we tenuously compare those papers with internet providers today you might glimpse a more accurate flavour of the industry, stars and brands that blossomed at that time locally, regionally, nationally and globally. One entry from that era, created by stars, which began as what we\u2019d probably call a soap opera, evolved into an American Classic to become one of the most fondly remembered comedy strips of all time.<\/p>\n

Abbie an\u2019 Slats<\/strong> was created by Li\u2019l Abner<\/strong> creator Al Capp. He scripted it until 1945, after which he handed it over to his brother Elliot (Caplin) who wrote it until its end in 1971. It began as the story of dead-end kid Aubrey Eustace<\/em> (understandably self-dubbed \u201cSlats<\/em>\u201d), who was sent to live with spinster relative Abbie Scrapple<\/em>, and became in turns a seminal prototype for soap comedy dramas; the pattern for the whole Archie Andrews<\/strong> phenomenon; a heart-warming melodrama, slice-of-life pot-boiler, romance strip, and – with the priceless introduction of drunken reprobate J. Pierpont \u201cBathless\u201d Groggins<\/em> (father of Slat\u2019s one true love Beckie<\/em>) – a timeless comedy classic.<\/p>\n

By 1941, Groggins senior had appropriated the full colour Sunday page for his own comedic fantasist shenanigans in the grand manner of Baron Munchausen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all well and good, but what makes this strip even more special is the art.
\n\"\"
\nRaeburn Van Buren (January 12th<\/sup>, 1891 – December 29th<\/sup> 1987) was a Great War veteran turned highly successful commercial illustrator. He was much in demand by such prestigious publications as The<\/strong> Saturday Evening Post<\/strong>, New Yorker<\/strong>, Esquire<\/strong> and Life<\/strong> as well as purely humour magazines such as Puck<\/strong> and Judge<\/strong>. When Al Capp approached him to draw the proposed strip, Van Buren initially declined, and it took all of the writer\u2019s legendary wiles and perseverance to lure him away from his profitable freelance ways.<\/p>\n

Eventually Van Buren capitulated and the strip debuted on July 6th<\/sup> 1937, with a Sunday page beginning January 15th<\/sup> 1939. At its height Abbie an\u2019 Slats<\/strong> was syndicated in 400 papers, with the last episode was published on January 30th<\/sup> 1971. Van Buren, who was credited with every single page and episode, retired to Great Neck, New York.
\n\"\"
\nOver the decades his spectacularly underplayed scenarios and wonderfully rendered, evocative detail – just enough for clarity, never too much to digest – and his warmly funny, human, loving characters became part of the psyche of a nation far more kind and understanding than today\u2019s, and the fictitious town of Crabtree Corners became a pictorial synonym of small town America.<\/p>\n

Sadly, very little of this wonderful strip has been collected as yet, but the books cited herein are still available if you look hard and so-long overdue for reprinting. Perhaps with the latest wave of strip reprints and burgeoning graphic novel market having burnt its way through all the obvious stuff to reprint, we can only hope some publisher opts for quality over brand names and brings this much neglected gem back to public gaze.
\n\"\"
\n\u00a9 1937-1964 United Features Syndicate. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

In 1905, Superman, Batman, Alfred, and Liberty Belle scribe Donald Clough \u201cDon<\/em>\u201d Cameron<\/strong> was born. Ten years later so was Ben Oda<\/strong>, who probably lettered most of them as well as half of what you\u2019ve read since, if US comics are your thing.<\/p>\n

In 1918 Frank Hampson<\/strong> was born. You don\u2019t need me to tell why that\u2019s commemorated here.<\/p>\n

Heathcliff<\/strong> cartoonist George Gately<\/strong> was born in 1928, and Belgian comics wizard Jean De Mesmaeker<\/strong> AKA Jid\u00e9hem<\/em><\/strong>, popped in in 1935. None of that really makes up for losing pioneering comic book genius Sheldon Mayer<\/strong> in 1991. I think I\u2019ll go re-re-re-read Sugar and Spike Archives volume 1<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Raeburn Van Buren, with Al Capp, Elliot Caplin & various (Ken Pierce Inc. 1983 ISBN: 978-0-912277-14-1 (vol. 1 TPB); 978-0-912277-24-6 (vol. 2 TPB) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: The Literal Good Old Days… 9\/10 It\u2019s practically impossible for us today to understand the power and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Abbie an\u2019 Slats volumes 1 & 2”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[113,78,239,125,127,148,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comedy","category-comic-strip-classics","category-drama","category-humour","category-nostalgia","category-romance","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8Zq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34567,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34560\/revisions\/34567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}