Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book

'Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book'

Kitchen Sink Press, 1988 (This edition)

Written and Illustrated by Harvey Kurtzman


Not too much to say about this one, really. If you don't already know, you should. The art is certainly not anything like what we'd expect to see in a comic book today, but that's because he was re-defining, or defining, what an comic book could be at the time. Originally published in 1959, today it would be classified as 'alternative'. Filled with bitingly sharp wit and humor, and sly looks at the inner workings of the human animal, The Comics Journal placed it at number 26 on their 'Top 100 Comics of the Century' in 2000.

Comics Journal publisher Gary Groth noted that Kurtzman's style "...achieves some sort of Platonic ideal of cartooning. Harvey was a master of composition, tone and visual rhythm, both within the panel and among the panels comprising the page. He was also able to convey fragments of genuine humanity through an impressionistic technique that was fluid and supple.ΓÇ¥