Mabel Normand and Her Funny Friends

    (Fantagraphics)
™ and © Fantagraphics Books, Inc.

There’s a good chance that few people today have heard of Mabel Normand. But she was one of the foremost silent-film comediennes, her fame enough to generate a number of one-page strips that ran in a weekly British comic paper in 1921. The creator of these strips is unknown, or at least unrevealed, as is how these lost treasures came to be found again.

No matter. Although the actress and the feature based on her are unknown to many today, the material proves to be an entertaining and fascinating window to the past, much like old Our Gang comedies or Fleischer Superman cartoons. Young ’uns may equate this 80-plus-year-old material with cave drawings, but those who can appreciate the innocent charm of a long-gone era will find this captivating. For such an early work, the material is incredibly drawn and remarkably preserved.

Kudos to the publisher for rescuing this all-ages, Platinum-era work from potentially total obscurity. Fans of Golden Age comics and strips, silent films, and old stuff in general will want to put on their bifocals and have a look.

— Jim Johnson
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