The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff: Forever Nuts

Along with Little Nemo in Slumberland and Krazy Kat, Mutt & Jeff was one of the great comics strips of the early 20th century. Created by Bud Fisher, this was also one of the longest running comic strips ever, beginning in 1907 and ending 75 years later in 1982. The strip actually outlived its creator Fisher by nearly 30 years. Mutt & Jeff wasn't the first daily strip although it was the first to really become successful on a mass scale. Fisher was a smart man...smart enough to copyright the characters which made him a very wealthy man. Not only did Mutt & Jeff appear in daily newspaper strips, but later in comic books, and animated shorts as well. Again, Fisher was clever, as he set-up his own production company to make the animated shorts. NBM has just released this collection called The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff, reprinting strips from 1909 - 1913. Mutt (the tall one) and Jeff (the short one) might remind readers of, oh say the Honeymooner's Ralph and Ed Norton who always seem to be scheming to make money, get something to eat, or sneaking out on their wives. Like many strips from the early 20th century they are very dialog heavy. There's a lot to read and you'll need a good pair of eyes because it suffers from the same problem that Little Nemo and other early strips had...small print! That aside, Mutt & Jeff is really a blast to read. Obviously the material is quite dated...it has been about a hundred years...but there is a lively wackiness to them that still makes them funny today and transcends the decades. Mutt is usually the one trying to get Jeff to be the unwitting guinea pig to his schemes. In one strip he tries to get Jeff to marry a woman who will give him $1200 per year (that would be an example of dated material!) but when Jeff finds out the widow has been married four times...and her husbands all died mysteriously, he hightails it out of sight! These strips were very sequential and plotlines would often be played out over several days or even weeks. In one stretch, the pair are serving as sailors aboard a ship and scheme to go to a big political convention in Chicago when they are on leave so they can pretend to be politicians. The strip was never static either. Mutt and Jeff did their share of world traveling to places such as Scotland, France and Turkey. They are talked into going to Turkey when they hear that every man has his own harem there. The book is very well done and includes a wonderful introduction by comics historian Allen Holtz. A great bit of nostalgic fun! REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

Thisbook goes beyond a group of strip reprints although these are ample. What is interesting is the history of the strip and the information about Fisher. Well worth buying if you are a fan.