Li'l Abner at his Best..

Been a little while since recent input into The Rack but am back this time with a weekend Newtown Market find that I'm greatly looking forward to reading..

The Best of Li'l Abner - Al Capp - Holt, Rinehart and Winston/New York - 1978

For an $8 purchase I may finally realise one of my longtime desires - to read a goodly amount of Li'l Abner by Al Capp..
Maybe it was growing up in Hobart, Tasmania (closer to Dogpatch than you think..) that I missed reading this as a newspaper strip in any local paper, unlike folk in big city Sydney, I've discovered, got the chance to. I also didn't know that the strip ran well into the late 60's.
It always looked like a quirky satire of ol' US of A and I always suspected that it was downright surreal whenever I encountered any reference to the Shmoos, but never realised how out there the strip was until recoiling from a quick flick thru this on the way home.. I started to salivate..
Beautiful line work from Mr Capp - surely the embellisher of the sexiest females in comicdom..

This sure beats Archie..

The edition also packs a fistful of colour pages that continue the gloryness.

..ya gotta luv the Shmoos..

Also discovered that Mr Capp had had a leg severed at the hip at age 9 by a trolley car and was well known for his wooden leg antics..

Here's to you, Al..