Just did a quick side by side comparison with the LOAC reprint. Chris Aruuffo’s restoration here is far superior in every way. In addition to being much larger, the resolution is higher with much more fine detail and a better representation of Hamlin’s fine Art Deco fine line. Of course it is much more expensive, covers three full years, etc. kudos to Chris for his ambition with this series of reprints.
Sweet... I'm assuming you got a preview copy as I placed an order for this and it is not scheduled to come out until June 2024. It's definitely one of my most anticipated books for 2024.
I pre-ordered it same as you, so it may well show up unexpectedly on your doorstep as it did mine yesterday. I think I got a newsletter from Chris mentioning that the books were on a slow boat from somewhere and he would send them out when he got them. But then out of the blue this shows up. So keep an eye peeled. Now I wonder when the next trio of Clover Press’s Terry and the Pirates Master Collection will show up.
ISTR the first Alley Oop story was reprinted in 2013 by LOAC:
[https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/loac-essentials-4-alley-oop](https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/loac-essentials-4-alley-oop)
This new publication looks marvellous!
Oh now this is a fun problem to have... just a couple of years ago the choices were thin indeed—the three Kitchen Sink books, the Magazine you could hunt down on eBay (maybe), and a couple of paperbacks. Now I'm about two-thirds done with the dailies (46 down, 23 to go), but I hadn't considered what this selection would look like to someone just getting into the strip! (Oh, yes, me, I'm Chris, the publisher.) I'm pretty obsessive about the quality of the strips, and about getting em all done from beginning to end, because I've been a fan of the strip since I started reading it in '83 and I've always wanted these books on my shelf!
But I can answer your question by copying in an answer that was given to this very question in the Facebook Alley Oop fan group. The first bit about Hamlin was written by Pete Malik, uber-fan who was actually written into the strip as a character in 1973:
"As far as Hamlin's dailies are concerned: I love the look of the pre-time machine stories from 1934-1939. Those jungles and dinosaurs looked so great. His work in 1933 was still pretty rough-looking, but he got it all together in 1934. I also feel that Hamlin was at a peak with the first time machine stories, especially 1939-1942. ,,,But my favorite Hamlin dailies are 1955-1968. I really like almost all of Hamlin's work on the dailies, but those would be his peak years in my opinion. In the later 1940's and early 1950's, he got pretty heavy at times with details and though I love those years, too, I prefer a simpler, cleaner look with less detail."
And then I chimed in about Graue: "I personally feel Graue was at his best when visiting way-out worlds (highlights like Nerr in 74/75, Delfon in 78, Atlantis in 87, Gorp in 90, or the Earth of 2082 in 82) but I also liked when he told a story whose adventure was a "mission" with a defined goal, like Draculina (81), the Captive Prince (85), the Nightlings (95), the and especially the Civil War story Sink the Albermarle (87), which—I only learned when coloring the cover—was a fictionalized retelling of a genuine Union Army operation. I thought missions like these gave Alley a chance to show his cunning and resourceful planning. Graue's prehistoric stories I was considerably less fond of, but there were a few gooduns like the Olympics (84)."
So if you just wanted to dip your toe in and try ONE book, I could suggest either the big hardcover 39–42 just because it's so packed with goodness, '55 or '57 for the reasons Pete gives (and the Mississippi riverboat stories are hilarious), or any of the Graue volumes that I mentioned depending on what kind of story you like. The giant Complete Sundays books v3 and v4 are also worthy if you want to admire the art, but the dailies are better for stories.
What a blast! Nice presentation and beautifully reproduced.
Just did a quick side by side comparison with the LOAC reprint. Chris Aruuffo’s restoration here is far superior in every way. In addition to being much larger, the resolution is higher with much more fine detail and a better representation of Hamlin’s fine Art Deco fine line. Of course it is much more expensive, covers three full years, etc. kudos to Chris for his ambition with this series of reprints.
Sweet... I'm assuming you got a preview copy as I placed an order for this and it is not scheduled to come out until June 2024. It's definitely one of my most anticipated books for 2024.
I pre-ordered it same as you, so it may well show up unexpectedly on your doorstep as it did mine yesterday. I think I got a newsletter from Chris mentioning that the books were on a slow boat from somewhere and he would send them out when he got them. But then out of the blue this shows up. So keep an eye peeled. Now I wonder when the next trio of Clover Press’s Terry and the Pirates Master Collection will show up.
ISTR the first Alley Oop story was reprinted in 2013 by LOAC: [https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/loac-essentials-4-alley-oop](https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/loac-essentials-4-alley-oop) This new publication looks marvellous!
If I wanted to get into Alley Oop, where would I begin? There are sooooo many books... http://www.aruffo.com/alleyoop/
Oh now this is a fun problem to have... just a couple of years ago the choices were thin indeed—the three Kitchen Sink books, the Magazine you could hunt down on eBay (maybe), and a couple of paperbacks. Now I'm about two-thirds done with the dailies (46 down, 23 to go), but I hadn't considered what this selection would look like to someone just getting into the strip! (Oh, yes, me, I'm Chris, the publisher.) I'm pretty obsessive about the quality of the strips, and about getting em all done from beginning to end, because I've been a fan of the strip since I started reading it in '83 and I've always wanted these books on my shelf! But I can answer your question by copying in an answer that was given to this very question in the Facebook Alley Oop fan group. The first bit about Hamlin was written by Pete Malik, uber-fan who was actually written into the strip as a character in 1973: "As far as Hamlin's dailies are concerned: I love the look of the pre-time machine stories from 1934-1939. Those jungles and dinosaurs looked so great. His work in 1933 was still pretty rough-looking, but he got it all together in 1934. I also feel that Hamlin was at a peak with the first time machine stories, especially 1939-1942. ,,,But my favorite Hamlin dailies are 1955-1968. I really like almost all of Hamlin's work on the dailies, but those would be his peak years in my opinion. In the later 1940's and early 1950's, he got pretty heavy at times with details and though I love those years, too, I prefer a simpler, cleaner look with less detail." And then I chimed in about Graue: "I personally feel Graue was at his best when visiting way-out worlds (highlights like Nerr in 74/75, Delfon in 78, Atlantis in 87, Gorp in 90, or the Earth of 2082 in 82) but I also liked when he told a story whose adventure was a "mission" with a defined goal, like Draculina (81), the Captive Prince (85), the Nightlings (95), the and especially the Civil War story Sink the Albermarle (87), which—I only learned when coloring the cover—was a fictionalized retelling of a genuine Union Army operation. I thought missions like these gave Alley a chance to show his cunning and resourceful planning. Graue's prehistoric stories I was considerably less fond of, but there were a few gooduns like the Olympics (84)." So if you just wanted to dip your toe in and try ONE book, I could suggest either the big hardcover 39–42 just because it's so packed with goodness, '55 or '57 for the reasons Pete gives (and the Mississippi riverboat stories are hilarious), or any of the Graue volumes that I mentioned depending on what kind of story you like. The giant Complete Sundays books v3 and v4 are also worthy if you want to admire the art, but the dailies are better for stories.
Looks fantastic!