Little Orphan Annie, Vol. 5, 1935

Seattle: Fantagraphics, 2002. 1st. Softcover. Very Good/None. Softcover, 160 pages. Daddy Warbucks, Annie, and Sandy ("Arf!") hit their hardest times yet in the fifth volume of Fantagraphics' complete reprinting of Harold Gray's classic comic strip of optimism, honesty against all odds, and self-reliance. The action kicks off with an unshaven Warbucks leading Annie from town to town looking for jobs that never turn up. Through a twist of fate, however, Warbucks becomes reunited with his old friend Harry Morgan, a millionaire whose life he'd saved long ago, and through Morgan Annie meets a new, if at first frightening, friend: Punjab, a super-strong mystic whom Annie can summon at a moment's notice with a blow on a dragon whistle. Together, they face industrial espionage when the evil financier J. Gordon Slugg hires an army of thugs to assassinate Warbucks and his crew. Fate is never predictable, however, and just when things seem to be working out, Annie gets separated from Warbucks, Punjab and the rest, and falls into the hands of the manipulators, cheats, and crooks of Hollywood on her own when a crooked agent promises her motion-picture stardom. Little Orphan Annie Volume 5: 1935 includes a whole year's worth of comics artistry and enjoyment from the golden age of adventure serials, introduced by comics historian R.C. Harvey, who gives the strips historical context, making these strips as immediate and exciting today as they were for the readers of 1935. Record # 362585