My thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advance copy of this book that looks at the history of comic strips, and how the ideas of their creators were translated to the page, and to their numerous fans.

My father grew up reading the funnies in the paper and he passed that love to my brother and myself. We used to spend most of our weekends in the Bronx visiting our grandparents and my father would always stop and get the early editions of the Sunday paper when he could. The Daily News had the coolest pullout full color strips that have been lost to time, remembered by speciality publishers and well nerds like myself. The smell, the unique color of the strips. I loved them so. There have been numerous books on newspaper comic strips, from paperback collections to prestige hardcovers and immense reference books, many of which I have. Few however get into the part that is most important, how did those strips make it onto the paper. Not magic as one thought, but with a lot of work, a lot of mechanical know-how and science. And for all that my childhood thanks those who did this. For after reading this book, I know how hard it was. How Comics Are Made: A Visual History from the Drawing Board to the Printed Page by Glenn Fleishman is a look at the work, the technical skills needed to translate what a cartoonist drew on his board, into papers all over the country.

This is not a history of comic strips, more a how the sausage is made book about how sequential art, photographs and more were printed in newspapers. The book begins in the past, with a showing of a work of Chinese art that looks like a comic strip as printed on silk. From there we move forward to just before the 20th century and the story of the Yellow Kid, the first real comic strip, and one that caused a minor war between rival publishers. The book goes into how the mechanics of the strip were printed, as well as how this changed newspapers. The addition of photos, and colors and more are shown. As well as popular strip the book looks at how the printing process changed, that syndicates could be started, syndicates that could market the same strips all over the country. The book is lavishly illustrated with examples from the time, classic strips and more.

A very good study of a subject that up to know I had taken for granted. I knew there were strips in newspapers, and in collections, but not the amount of time and effort it takes to make them available. One really follows the history of newspapers, from a trusted source that was read by millions, to the sad decline that has happened to much of media, some self-inflicted, some brought on by social media and their many failed promises. The book is well-written and and clear to follow. There are some things that might need a second reading or two, but as many of us find changing the clocks difficult to do when the seasons changes, this is understandable. I book I really enjoyed and one that should be on many shelves for people who love comic strips and their rich history.

This brought me a lot of unexpected joy. This is a history of newspaper comics framed by the mechanical processes that allowed for them to grow into a phenomenon, how printing them worked and was integrated into the papers becomes a de facto history of newspaper printing from the late 19th century to today.

It delves incredibly deep, how the methods for printing, the limitations of those processes, and the success and eventual decline of newspaper comics all shaped the medium, and influenced how we perceive comics and cartooning.

This book tells the story of comics, starting in the 1890s with The Yellow Kid and continuing until now. It is divided into 5 timeframes reflecting technological developments, including reproductions of the comics mentioned.
It was an interesting and informative read. The included images clarified the concepts discussed in the book, and it was fascinating to learn what comic artist themself had to say.
Thank you, Andrews McMeel Publishing, for providing me with this book to review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.