LI'L ABNER Dailies 6 Volumes Set 1, 2 & 4-7

Volume 1, 2 & 4-7. On Monday, August 13, 1934, eight newspapers commenced printing an obscure comic strip by an equally obscure cartoonist about a family of poor hillbillies living in Kentucky. Before the cartoonist retired with his creation 43 later, Al Capp's Li'l Abner had become internationally famous, syndicated in over 900 newspapers worldwide and avidly followed by millions. Over the years, Capp and Li'L Abner were twin centers of both outrage and delight. Capp's trenchant outlook and sharp wit found voice in his comic strip and he seldom lacked an opinion about any facet of the national scene. John Steinbeck called him the greatest satirist since Laurence Sterne and recommended that he be considered for a Nobel Prize in literature. Others recommended that Capp be boiled in oil. Through all of it, Capp remained true to his personal vision of what Li'l Abner should be, and in the process, made it the greatest comic strip of all time. Volume 1: This is the first volume of a projected 54 volume set which will reprint, for the first time, the complete daily and Sunday run of Li'l Abner. This book reprints the 1934 and 1935 daily strips and includes an introduction by Catherine Capp, the artist's widow and first assistant on the strip; an article by Capp, tracing the early years of Li'l Abner and its characters; and an article recounting Capp's early life and career. Volume 2: This book reprints the 1936 daily strips and includes a three-way introduction by Milton Caniff, Al Capp and R.C. Harvey, and an article giving the historical context  of the strip in 1936. Books in the series are published on a quarterly basis and each contain complete, self-contained adventures. LI'L ABNER 1937: The First Sadie Hawkins Day In 1937, Al Capp introduced Sadie Hawkins Day in his Li'l Abner daily strip. It didn't take long for America to take it to heart. By 1939 the tradition of an annual day in which women pursued men had become a staple of undergraduate life, and Capp was forced to include it in the strip every year, with the understanding that he alone named the precise day. In this volume, you can read the origin of Sadie Hawkins Day and enjoy a year's worth of other great adventures with Abner, Daisy Mae, Mammy, Pappy, and the other citizens of Dogpatch, U.S.A. Volume 4: "1938!" By Al Capp. Abner meets his match as he runs into the Strange Gal at the second Sadie Hawkins Day. Also, meet Old Man Mose, Daisy Mae's repellent relatives, and the nefarious Scraggs. This fourth volume reprints the 1938 daily strips and includes an introduction by artist Al Williamson. Also included is an article that puts the strip into the historical context of 1938. Volume 5: "1939!" By Al Capp. Abner on death row? Also in this volume the introduction of Lonesome Polecat and the wonder potion, Kickapoo Joy Juice. This fifth volume reprints the 1939 daily strips and includes an introduction by Julie Capp Cairol. Also included is an article that puts the strip into the historical context of 1939. Volume 6: "1940!" This book contains a complete set of the 1940 daily strips. The first Hollywood adaptation of Li'l Abner was made in 1940. Newspaper columnist Michael Price and the late film historian George Turner provide a fascinating history of this largely forgotten movie on pages 4-15. The back cover features the very rare Li'l Abner movie poster and another lobby card in full color. Pages 16-174 are the black and white daily Li'l Abner Sunday strips in chronological order and in their entirety. A second introduction by editor Dave Schreiner provides a political and historical context for the strip itself in 1940. Volume 7: "1941"! Reprints the 1941 daily strips with an introduction by Charles Chaplin and an article about Chaplin by Al Capp. In the 7th volume out of  a 27 volume set, you'll meet Moonbeam McSwine, lovely daughter of Moonshine McSwine. Her favorite people are pigs. She's incredibly lazy. And in 1941, her father plotted to get her married to Abner Yokum, the Flying Avenger, radio superhero to millions, who looks suspiciously like said Abner Yokum, Big Stanislouse, a brutal gangster, and Bet-a-Million Bashby, a frustrated gambler- and then there is Dorothy Lamour, Barbara Stanwyck, and the niece of Sadie Hawkins, five times removed. Out of Print. Condition: Very Fine for 4-7. Fine for Volumes 1 & 2.  Bumped corners.