nipper

We have a new favourite book around here.

It's one that I picked up on a whim while at the library. The comics/ graphic arts section is right next to the quilting/ knitting/ handwork section, and this huge red shiny book kind of jumped out at me. And my favourite thing about libraries is that you can take anything you want. You are not spending money so you never have to justify your choices. You never have to say "am I really going to read this?" or "should I wait for the paperback?" nope. If it looks interesting, my motto is, just go ahead and take it home. 
Plus, this monster of a book was put out by Drawn and Quarterly, and I've enjoyed their work in the past. I must admit, I'd never heard of Doug Wright before. But I am now a huge fan. Its funny to see his work for the first time and yet have this feeling of recognition because it has obviously laid the groundwork for so much of what came after it. Before Calvin and Hobbs, before Bart Simpson, before Stewie, there was a little round headed mischief maker named Nipper. And boy, does that kid get into some trouble.
The Little Dude loves the cartoons. Just loves them. He's sit pouring over the book for, well, at least 15 or 20 minutes at a time (that's a long time for a three year old) and the first few days we had it, it kept him happy and occupied for the entire hour of his quiet time. He also loves to have them 'read' to him, and his most common request these days is "tell me a Nipper story". He loves the trouble that Nipper gets into, and he loves how angry or shocked the mom and dad get. Its very funny. And I must say, I like them too.
Of course, I especially relate to the mom, and I can just feel her panic in the one above here, as she frantically dries her hands and races to see what damage Nipper is doing to the living room with his hockey stick. This made both L.D. and I laugh in particular, because he does this too, but with a big yellow yard stick which he loves to run and get when he can't reach a toy under the couch.  (sorry about the picture quality by the way, the book's format is too big for my scanner, so I took these with my camera on a fairly grey day with an impatient little boy at my elbow who was eager to flip the pages. Which explains the blurring)    I also love how Dough Wright was such a good, honest observer of the parent child relationship. He's not afraid to show the parents being angry with their children's behavior, instead of just being bemused. Trust me, it is very annoying to try and keep a boisterous little boy at the table, and it sucks to have to throw away perfectly good food when no one will eat it. 

And the dynamic between little brother and big brother here is so perfectly rendered. 

There are also a lot of great period details in these strips. For example, Hubs wants to make one of these nice little table/highchairs. 

And note the Cowichan sweater on Dad. Probably knit by Mom from a Mary Maxim pattern. 

I love all the textures and details on the clothing. Doug Wright only did a coloured strip for Christmas, the rest were mostly red white and black.  This is one of my favourites, because it is not so much a joke with a punchline as it is a meditation on the differing priorities of childhood. 

This is another favourite of the Little Dude's of course, since it features all those nice trucks and digger toys. And we're having this exact problem right now, where L.D. spends all his time playing with the Baby's new toys. 

I can relate to this. 

And this one made us laugh and laugh at Valentine's Day. Though I go out of my way to stress what a 'mistake' Nipper made in cutting up his Mama's curtains and how no one should ever, ever do this in real life. ahem.

There are a few strips that I skip when I'm reading to him. There are a lot of little kids beating on other little kids, stuff like that. They were written in the fifties after all. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say there are probably fewer cartoons written nowadays about the inherent humour to be found in beating your kid with a belt. Also, there are a lot of strips that feature b.b. guns quite prominently (which I don't plan in buying for my kid too soon) and also, the generally questionable practices of dressing up as an Indian. Though of course, this strip kills me. The contrast of the look on the mom's face in the first panel and the last panel. Perfect.  Doug Wright did not only draw the Nipper strip, but also did a lot of commercial illustration and magazine covers. 

I absolutely adore all the hats in this picture. 

 I'm so pleased that it jumped off the shelf at me, and that I've spent hours pouring over something this enjoyable with my kid. It sure beats the crap out of Franklin. Anyhow, if you want to know more about Doug Wright, (he's a Montrealer dontcha know) you should get this book.

If we ever return it to the library that is. Maybe you should just buy your own copy.