We are big Little Lulu fans around my house. I read the comic anthologies to my kids all the time. Even though the stories are 50 years old, they're fun and fresh and the characters — Lulu, Tubby, and Alvin — behave like real kids.
(Dark Horse has published the complete run of John Stanley's Little Lulu series as reasonably priced paperback anthologies. Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4, Vol 5, Vol 6, Vol 7, Vol 8, Vol 9, Vol 10, Vol 11, Vol 12, Vol 13, Vol 14, Vol 15, Vol 16, Vol 17, Vol 18)
The main writer of Little Lulu was John Stanley. He also wrote a number of other comics, but I've seen just a few, because they're hard to come by. Drawn & Quarterly has corrected that problem by launching the John Stanley Library. The first book in the series is Melvin Monster, Volume One. I can hardly wait.
The classic children's comic strip in a handsome new archival series, designed by Seth
John Stanley is celebrated as one of the great children's comics writers for his work on the Little Lulu series. In fact, the Lulu work is a small part of his output; he drew and continued to write many other comics–notably his work on the 1960s teen comics from Dell (Thirteen, Dunc and Loo, and Kookie) and his monster comedy strip, Melvin Monster.
Drawn & Quarterly is planning to launch an extensive reprinting of much of Stanley's work in discrete volumes. The first in this series is the two-volume Melvin Monster collection featuring all ten issues about the oddball monster boy who just wants to be good, go to school, and do as he's told. Designed to fit nicely with Drawn & Quarterly's reprinting of Tove Jansson's Moomin series, these comics are great reading for all ages. Stanley's reputation as a great storyteller and visual comedian is richly deserved -– few golden- or silver-age comics stand the test of time the way these comics do.
