John Stanley: Giving Life To Little Lulu

Product Description

This is a biography of one of the most influential “girl power” comic book writer/artists (Little Lulu, Nancy) of the mid-20th century. This is a deluxe, full-color, coffee table book biography; the first of one of America’s greatest storytellers. It’s filled with beautifully reproduced artwork from the comic books
Little Lulu
, and his creations
Melvin Monster and
Thirteen
(Going on Eighteen); rare drawings and cartoons; and never-before-seen photographs. Bill Schelly tells Stanley’s life story through interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues: his childhood in Harlem and the Bronx, life with his strict Irish Catholic mother, his education at Parsons, his first job as an animator at Max Fleischer Studios, and his years working as a commercial artist, before finding his true métier in comic books during World War II (while battling clinical depression and alcoholism). Prose with illustrations.

Review

“Copious full-color reproductions of covers and pages from Stanley’s comics career, augmented by Schelly’s incisive text, show just why Lulu’s protofeminist escapades are held in such high regard.”
―
Booklist

“What a thrill it was to discover this beautifully designed, richly illustrated biography of Stanley… I hope someday my children will read this book, too, with as much pleasure as I did.”
―
Publishers Weekly

“The book is wonderful. Schelly did his homework and it shows. It’s an all encompassing look at the life of one of the greats.”
―
Forces of Geek

“Classic comics history and expert cartoon research. What more can I say? Yow! Buy it now.”
―
Cartoon Research

About the Author

Bill Schelly is an Eisner-nominated comic-book and film historian; he lives in Seattle.

John Stanley was an American comics artist, born in 1914. He is most well known for his
Little Lulu comic books, as well as his work on series such as
Nancy,
Melvin Monster, and many others. He passed away in 1993.