[MarkWarner]

Last week's Dr Fu Manchu book was REALLY GREAT, but for some reason a few of the reading group appear to have gone AWOL. An acronym which neatly brings us on to this week's book.

It is a suggestion from one of our loyal troop, and is new territory for us. It's the earliest we have gone so far. A collection of World War I cartoons drawn by P. L. Crosby. I had a flick through and they look funny and VERY interesting!! The book can be found here: https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=29046.

It's a free for all about how you tackle this. Cover to cover, or choose some to concentrate on.

[betaraybdw]

as a veteran myself there was definitely a connection for me to the writer and the material.  Though I'd have to say that a similar cartoon collection, if made in recent times, would contain a more jaded flavor of humor.

2 pieces caught my attention, the 1st has an obvious humor to it. and anyone who has spent any time in the service schlepping around heavy packs/duffle bags can empathize with our soldier here.

the 2nd piece is crushingly sad and "hit home" in a personal way, making me think of lost comrades. Even in peacetime military service can be very dangerous and not everyone makes it. Ironically, I lost more squadron-mates in peacetime training incidents than I did in war. 

[Morgus]

This is really well done, especially considering it's essentially a private printing for a specific group and probably done as a work of love for the guys involved. I'm also amazed how little things change in war cartoons from WWI, to WWII, to Viet Nam to the Gulf Conflicts...you are always reminded how young everybody was...the clash of cultures, getting home safe (or not), and the personalities...

People could do worse then reprinting this and handing it out to kids to show them what WWI was like from the viewpoint of the guys stuck in the trenches fighting it and trying to make laughs for themselves.

Funny and sad and corny all at the same time...and the girls were drawn pretty well...

[SuperScrounge]

Oh, that was funny.

Interesting to see that McClure Syndicate tag indicating that this was distributed to newspapers. (Makes one wonder if he drew some cartoons that weren't intended for publication?)

[crashryan]

Fascinating early work by a cartoonist who became a rich man, a household name, but died broke in a mental hospital. After returning from the War Percy Crosby would create the phenomenally popular newspaper strip Skippy. He built Skippy into an empire during the 1920s and 1930s, but the challenges of alcoholism and mental illness brought him down. He was committed to a mental institution in the late 1940s and died there in 1964. Find the whole story in Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Crosby).

Crosby joined the Reserves in 1917 and served in France with the American Expeditionary Force. While in the Army he produced a panel for the McClure Syndicate, That Rookie from the Thirteenth Squad. The panel was collected into two books. Today's reading is the second of those volumes. I don't know how well the books sold, but Harper & Brothers was a major publisher so they must have had some traction.

Crosby would have been in his early 20s when he drew these panels. His breezy art style is already well-established. You can see the knack for drawing young people that made Skippy so successful.

Most of what I've read about World War I describes how dirty, bloody, and barbarous trench warfare was. These jokes don't give that impression. Most are rather gentle, with the startling exception of the "Missing" cartoon Kracalactaka pointed out. Of course the cartoons were aimed at the home front and Crosby wouldn't have made them too dark. Still it's interesting to compare them to Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe from World War Two. Mauldin's jokes are still family-friendly but their settings are muddy, unshaven, and war-weary.

Hard to believe that The War to End All Wars was fought a century ago.

[narfstar]

I could not make it very far. I just don't find these funny or even interesting. I am sure there are a few that I would like but just so many that I don't. I found one I liked on Pg 20 Pvt Clancy finds that the rolling sea brings back quaint memories of his Sat night strolls.

[Old Ink]

Interestingly, I happen to be in the middle of re-reading Up Front by Bill Mauldin. In it, he writes of the difficulty/folly of making war funny and how his cartoons are simply showing the irony of reality for the dogfaces. Maybe because of being immersed in this, I have a hard time liking this week's offering. Too silly and far from real. Go pick up a copy of Up Front if you can to enjoy truly classic war cartoons. You won't regret it.

[betaraybdw]

Interestingly, I happen to be in the middle of re-reading Up Front by Bill Mauldin. In it, he writes of the difficulty/folly of making war funny and how his cartoons are simply showing the irony of reality for the dogfaces. Maybe because of being immersed in this, I have a hard time liking this week's offering. Too silly and far from real. Go pick up a copy of Up Front if you can to enjoy truly classic war cartoons. You won't regret it.

I don't get how PL Crosby's cartoons are any less "real" than Maudlin's. Both are based on what the cartoonist witnessed in war. They just had different styles and they were a generation apart from each other. A lot happened between 1918 & WWII ( the great depression comes to mind for starters ) so the perspectives  and life experiences of each artist were different. Also I feel that, being a product of his time, Crosby's cartoons were lighter in an effort to shield his audience from the true horror that is war, but they still ring true. I don't see how Up Front is more "truly classic" than Between Shots. Since "classic" is a value usually attributed to age, by definition WWI would be more "classic" than WWII.

I'll go so far as to say this, unless you have served in the military or experienced war you can't make a true assessment about how accurate these cartoons are. It is truly a "you had to be there" kind of experience. 

[narfstar]

I served in the Army from 1974-1978 just missing Vietnam. I know what Army life was like but no real idea about war because I did not experience it first hand. I was with those returning from Vietnam that had. Most at the time put on a bravado. I suspect they would respond differently now.

[SuperScrounge]

I think another difference between Crosby & Mauldin was that Crosby was doing these cartoons for newspapers back home (the general public), whereas Mauldin was doing his cartoons first for the 45th Division's own newspaper (the guys he knew), then Stars & Stripes (army guys in general), and finally IIRC some US newspapers chose to publish some of his cartoons (the general public).

It's kind of the difference between telling a joke to friends and telling a joke to a large audience. A person knows what their friends might think of a joke, but would probably hold back the jokes that might offend or upset people when dealing with a larger group.

Also it seems like Crosby's group was sent in for a term of service, then released, whereas Mauldin's group was put in, then their terms of service were extended keeping them in the field for a much longer period of time. Which can also explain the 'lighter mood' of Crosby's cartoons to Mauldin's.

[Morgus]

gnarly cool stuff about the artist, crashryan...Old Ink, that quote from Mauldin got me thinking: how would you guys rate CATCH 22?? I'm wondering if the reason the book works is because it makes fun of the system above anything else.

[MarkWarner]

I very much enjoyed this week's read. The cartoons range from humourous to tragic. Beneath are 4 which I think represent it best. I notice that Kracalactaka also mentions "The letter".  Although Narfstar did not enjoy the book, he mentioned a great panel that I almost picked with walking in a rolling sea bringing back memories of drunk Saturday nights.

I have read about Percy Crosby and his sad demise, so it was nice to see some of his (albeit early) work.

Verdict: Very well crafted making it an unequivocal hit!

[narfstar]

I do not get the humor is Sad Sack either. I find Mark's choices all blah except the third one. It was poignant.