Books

MODERN ARF

By Leroy Douresseaux
September 26, 2005 - 16:17

MODERN ARF

Edited by Craig Yoe, MODERN ARF, a new journal devoted to the art of comics and comic art, focuses its attention on “the unholy marriage of Modern Art and the Funnies,” to use the ad copy. The first volume of the new series simply looks at how Modern Art influences comics and how comic books and strip artists have looked to Modern Art for inspiration and source material. For instance, Yoe includes numerous examples of comic art influenced by famed 20th century surrealist Salvador Dalí and comics work by the master himself (childhood cartoons the artist drew for his sister in 1916 and 1917). Modern Arf also opens with an 18-page suite of gag cartoons and illustrations in which the subject or the theme is either fine art itself or about creating fine art.

But for all the nice articles and illustrations, the best thing about this journal is the comics. One short essay discusses the influence of cubism on Jack Kirby and that’s followed by a five-page Kirby short story (from Amazing Tales #1, 1958), “The Fourth Dimension is a Many Splattered Thing!” a cubist/surrealist delight. Nine pages of comix and illustrations accompany an article on Antonio Rubino. There is a four-page Lady Luck (a feature in The Spirit newspaper section in the 1940’s, this episode specifically August 18, 1946) story featuring a Dalí-like artist. We get six pages of Jimmy Hatlo’s The Hatlo Inferno. Fans of Mutts will enjoy the seven pages of Patrick McDonnell’s spot illos.

I don’t know how big the audience for Arf is, but I do know that many comic book fans will love any journal that picks a theme and offers 120-pages of wall-to-wall cartoons, comix, illos, and art placing that theme in context and perspective. It’s an eye opening and eye-popping experience for the comic book and comic strip admirers who are always looking to learn more about the love of their lives. I think the producers meant it that way.

Last Updated: January 17, 2025 - 08:20