June 10, 2006
ARF MUSEUM
Last year I raved about Craig Yoe's Modern Arf, but I just got a copy of Yoe's follow up, Arf Museum, and it's even better. Is it a book? Is it a perodical? Whatever it is, it's a series of publications (from Fantagraphics) that seem at first glance like a surreal stream of consciousness direct from Yoe's brain - but upon closer inspection, it's clear this is cleverly compiled and meticulously researched, with rare art from the masters of the form; a highly entertaining volume you'll peruse over and over again. Any book that can artistically connect Picasso, Cliff Starrett, Rube Goldberg, Chester Gould and Curt Swan has got my vote. In this volume, Yoe presents examples of cartoonists and their relation to 20th Century modern art. He also examines the girly gag cartoons of Reamer Keller, cartoonists and tattoos, comic strip giant apes, Charles Bennett's evolutionary cartoons of the 1800s, unpublished paintings of The Yellow Kid by Outcault, and much much more.
If you know who Keller, Bennett and Outcault are you need to get this book now. If you don't know who they are - you really need to order this book immediately. Buy it here.