Winsor McCay, His Life and Art

If you don't know McCay's work, check out "Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend" and "Little Nemo in Slumberland" (not the movie). His art was visually compelling and psychologically savvy. Nemo was the more elaborate, with plenty of grand vistas and architectural wonders while Rarebit was visually spare, but more adult in content. All his work has a marvelously surreal sense about it, heightened by the detailed realism of his style - characters exit the confines of the strip or discuss the cartoonist's failings with the reader, landscapes and characters metamorphose into new configurations in ways that are perhaps best described as psychedelic. This book presents a biography of this strange and gentle man as well as a generous sampling of his better work, including more obscure feaures and his stunning editorial cartoons (more sweeping panoramas and vast architectural wonders). Also recommended is the Fantagraphics volume "Daydreams and Nightmares" which offers up another good cross-section of his work (except Nemo, which is collected elsewhere). A true American original, it's a shame more people don't know and appreciate his work.

It amazes me how little information and awareness there is of Windsor McCay and his work now when he was so well known during his lifetime. While thanks to the DVD collection of animation and the recently self-published (and now sold out) large scale book of Little Nemo strips, Little Nemo in Slumberland - So Many Splendid Sundays, more people are discovering him. All contemporary cartoonist are greatly indebted to him. John Canemaker has thankfully republished and updated the only biography of McCay. Throughout the book there are rare photographs, posters and excellent reproductions of his Sunday comics pages. Canemaker does an excellent job of setting the context under which McCay traveled through his life and created his art. While the book does an excellent job of illuminating McCay's surroundings and events in his life it is unfortunately is not able to cast much light on the man himself. For whatever reasons Canemaker cannot or will not go out on a limb to discuss interior motives and thoughts of McCay. l finished the book knowing a lot about McCay's work but very little about what made him tick. With access to personal letters and other items of the estate I was hoping for more. Why did he allow Hurst to relegate him to an editorial cartoonist and give up his strips? How did he feel about it? If fleshing out the character of McCay is the book's weak point, it's strength is the discussion of McCay's work. Canemaker pulls on his impressive knowledge of not only McCay's work but the history of comics and animation to provide some truly insightful commentary. His sometimes panel-by-panel discussion of some of McCay's more striking work was a pleasure to read and at times like taking a course on comic appreciation. If you're looking for a riveting character biography, look elsewhere. But if your looking to find out more about Windsor McCay's contributions to comics and animation this volume is an excellent resourse.

A debt of gratitude is owed to John Cannemaker for his comprehensive book on Winsor McCay, and his many artistic endeavors. McCay, whose vivid perception has inspired artists and animators for decades, is captured in this exhaustive study. A rich range of his art complements many personal photos of McCay and his family, most notably perhaps, his son Robert, who was the inspiration for Little Nemo.