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Book Haul

Like most people, I've always been a fan of Mickey Mouse. He's one of the few cartoon characters that's achieved the same iconic status as Bugs Bunny. I'm most familiar with Mickey's animated exploits, having never read any of the Mickey Mouse comics. When I saw Mickey Mouse: Race to Death Valley, I just knew it would be something I'd want to pick up. 

Despite the title, Race to Death Valley packs numerous Mickey Mouse comic strip stories from the early 1930s. There's also some nifty bonus content including some very kind, lengthy words from Mickey fanatic Warren Spector of Epic Mickey fame. I've only thumbed through it so far, but this is looking like one very impressive book. This book marks the first time Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse strips have ever really been collected. With nearly 300 pages it may take me a while to read through this hardcover. The side of this one actually says "Volume 1." If that's an indication that there's more vintage Mickey Mouse comics to come, I hope Disney and Fantagraphics Books deliver the goods.


Who doesn't love The Far Side? If I had to pick 5 of my favorite newspaper comics, The Far Side would easily be in the top 3. I've actually got a number of Far Side books in my collection, but it's actually been more than 13 years since I've bought any Far Side material. I think the last Far Side book I bought was The Far Side Gallery 3. Barns & Nobles had some good deals on their books and at under 9 bucks each, it really was tough to pass on these.


The PreHistory of The Far Side is interesting not only because it contains commentary from creator Gary Larson on nearly every page, but it also features some of his rejected strips and even some artwork he did as a child. It's also one of the thickest Far Side books I've ever picked up, being very close to 300 pages. Of course, it has nothing on The Complete Far Side books, which are heavy enough to be doorstops. Maybe I'll get around to picking those up someday, but for now, I'm fine with what I've got. I'll probably read through The Far Side Gallery 2 first because it's a bit thinner than PreHistory.

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