Rea Irvin’s The Smythes is a prestige hardcover from New York Review Comics reprinting a Sunday comic from the 1930s. Although I didn’t finish all the reprinted comic strips, which were much of a similarity, I found the historical information surrounding them fascinating.
Rea Irvin is best known for creating Eustace Tilley, the snob with the butterfly who was on the first cover of The New Yorker and has become the mascot of the magazine. Irvin’s art style, appeal, and accomplishments with this comic strip are explained beautifully in the introduction by R. Kikuo Johnson and Dash Shaw.
The Smythes, husband and wife, are worried about being seen as “sophisticated”, and the humor involves satirizing their social mistakes and ridiculous situations. The art is an early example of ligne claire, and it’s gorgeous, with a wonderful sense of movement.
There’s a lengthy biographical sketch of Irvin at the back of the book by Caitlin McGurk, followed by a sampling of his other art, covers, and cartoons. With all of the excellent historical information and context, as well as the explanation of the appeal and strengths of the strip, this book is a model of how historical collections should be done.
English (US) · 