As I get older, the more interested I am in comic strips instead of comic books. They’re more entertaining. There are fewer to collect. They’re less dominated by fanboy culture.
I’ve begun to collect comic strips at the perfect time. We’ve entered a golden age of comic strip reprints — there’s an embarrassment of riches. In fact, there are so many books coming out right now, that I’ve made the time to create a checklist. To the best of my knowledge, these are the in-print reprint projects, as well as some ancillary material.
The idea for this came from a discussion in the Marvel Masterworks forum. This research is merely the groundwork for what I hope will eventually be a subsection at Vintage Pop. I know this isn’t of interest to most people, but I want to get this posted someplace so that I have it as reference.
First, I’ll list all of the books that are scheduled to come out in the next few months. Then I’ll list books by strip name. I’ve placed a happy star 
next to particular favorites. (Happy stars reflect my personal taste, which probably is the opposite of yours.)
Upcoming Releases
Walt and Skeezix, book three (1925-1926) by Frank King (26 Jun 2007)
The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff by Bud Fisher (11 July 2007)
The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art by Jerry Robinson (08 August 2007)
Krazy & Ignatz: The Kat Who Walked in Beauty by George Herriman (15 Aug 2007) — daily strips
Sundays with Walt and Skeezix by Frank King, edited by Peter Maresca (15 August 2007)
The Complete Terry and the Pirates, volume one: 1934-1936 by Milt Caniff (25 Sep 2007)
The Complete Peanuts 1965-1966 by Charles Schulz (15 October 2007)
Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips, volume one: “Into the Wild Blue Yonder” by Walt Kelly (19 Oct 2007)
The Complete Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, volume three by Chester Gould (25 Oct 2007)
Popeye, volume two: “Well Blow Me Down” by E.C. Segar (19 Nov 2007)
Growingold with B.C.: A Celebration of Johnny Hart by Johnny Hart (25 November 2007)
Krazy and Ignatz 1941-1942: “A Ragout of Raspberries” by George Herriman (19 December 2007)
Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace 1957-1958 by Hank Ketcham (19 December 2007)
The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 by Charles Schulz (19 May 2008)
Little Nemo: So Many Splendid Sundays, volume two by Winsor McCay, edited by Peter Maresca (Summer 2008)
The Complete Peanuts 1969-1970 by Charles Schulz (19 October 2008)
Dennis the Menace
Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace 1951-1952 by Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace 1953-1954 by Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace 1955-1956 by Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace 1957-1958 by Hank Ketcham (19 December 2007)
Dick Tracy
The Complete Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, volume one: 1931-1933 by Chester Gould
The Complete Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, volume two: 1933-1935 by Chester Gould
The Complete Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, volume three: 1935-1936 by Chester Gould (25 Oct 2007)
DVD: Dick Tracy movie serial (1937)
Flash Gordon
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, volume one (1934-1935) by Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, volume two (1935-1936) by Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, volume three (1936-1938) by Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, volume four (1938-1940) by Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, volume five (1940-1941) by Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, volume six (1941-1943) by Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, volume seven (1943-1945) by Alex Raymond
Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, volume one (1948-1953) by Mac Raboy
Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, volume two (1953-1958) by Mac Raboy
Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, volume three (1958-1962) by Mac Raboy
Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, volume four (1962-1967) by Mac Raboy
Gasoline Alley
Walt and Skeezix, book one (1921-1922) by Frank King
Walt and Skeezix, book two (1923-1924) by Frank King
Walt and Skeezix, book three (1925-1926) by Frank King (26 Jun 2007)
Sundays with Walt and Skeezix by Frank King, edited by Peter Maresca (15 August 2007)
Krazy Kat
Krazy & Ignatz: The Kat Who Walked in Beauty by George Herriman (15 Aug 2007) — daily strips
Krazy & Ignatz 1925-1926: “There is a Heppy Land Furfur A-Waay” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1927-1928: “Love Letters in Ancient Brick” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1929-1930: “A Mice, a Brick, a Lovely Night” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1931-1932: “A Kat Alilt with Song” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1933-1934: “Necromancy by the Blue Bean Bush” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1935-1936: “A Wild Warmth of Chromatic Gravy” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1937-1938: “Shifting Sands Dusts its Cheeks in Powdered Beauty” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1939-1940: “A Brick Stuffed with Moom-Bins” by George Herriman
Krazy & Ignatz 1941-1942: “A Ragout of Raspberries” by George Herriman (19 Dec 2007)
Little Nemo
Little Nemo 1905-1914 by Winsor McCay
Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays by Winsor McCay, edited by Peter Maresca — the gold standard for comic strip reprints
Little Nemo: So Many Splendid Sundays, volume two by Winsor McCay, edited by Peter Maresca (Summer 2008)
Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend by Winsor McCay
DVD: Winsor McCay – The Master Edition (1911) — a compilation of McCay’s animated pieces, including “Gertie the Dinosaur”
Winsor McCay: His Life and Art by John Canemaker
Mary Perkins On Stage
Mary Perkins On Stage, volume one by Leonard Starr
Mary Perkins On Stage, volume two by Leonard Starr
Mutt & Jeff
The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff by Bud Fisher (11 July 2007)
Peanuts
The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952 by Charles Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1953-1954 by Charles Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1955-1956 by Charles Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1957-1958 by Charles Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1959-1960 by Charles Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962 by Charles Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1963-1964 by Charles Schulz
The Complete Peanuts 1965-1966 by Charles Schulz (15 October 2007)
The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 by Charles Schulz (19 May 2008)
The Complete Peanuts 1969-1970 by Charles Schulz (19 October 2008)
Pogo
Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips, volume one: “Into the Wild Blue Yonder” by Walt Kelly (19 Oct 2007)
Popeye
Popeye, volume one: “I Yam What I Yam” by E.C. Segar
Popeye, volume two: “Well Blow Me Down” by E.C. Segar (19 Nov 2007)
Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History by Fred M. Grandinetti
Steve Canyon
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1947 by Milt Caniff
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1948 by Milt Caniff
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1949 by Milt Caniff
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1950 by Milt Caniff
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1951 by Milt Caniff
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1952 by Milt Caniff
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1953 by Milt Caniff
Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon 1954 by Milt Caniff
Terry and the Pirates
The Complete Terry and the Pirates, volume one: 1934-1936 by Milt Caniff (25 Sep 2007)
Modern Classics and Other Oddities
Growingold with B.C.: A Celebration of Johnny Hart by Johnny Hart (25 November 2007)
The Best of Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
The Complete Far Side 1980-1994 by Gary Larson
The Best of Hi and Lois by Mort Walker
Hi and Lois: Sunday Best by Mort Walker
Oh Skin-Nay! The Days of Real Sport by Wilbur Nesbit and Calre Briggs
Anthologies and Reference
100 Years of Comic Strips edited by Bill Blackbeard
The Adventurous Decade: Comic Strips in the Thirties by Ron Goulart
America’s Great Comic-Strip Artists: From the Yellow Kid to Peanuts by Richard Marschall
Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries 1900-1969 by Dan Nadel
Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip
The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art by Jerry Robinson (08 August 2007)
The Comics: Before 1945 by Brian Walker
The Comics: Since 1945 by Brian Walker
Great Comics Syndicated by the NY Daily News and Chicago Tribune by Herb Galewitz
Masters of American Comics
Reading the Funnies: Looking at Great Cartoonists Throughout the First Half of the 20th Century by Donald Phelps
The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics edited by Bill Blackbeard
The World on Sunday: Graphic Art in Joseph Pulitzer’s Newspaper (1898-1911) by Nicholson Baker
Periodicals
Comics Revue reprints 64 pages of classic comics every month
Big Fun reprints classic American newspaper strips in a deluxe format (but on an irregular schedule)
Publishers, etc.
Checker Book Publishing Group
Classic Comics Press
Drawn and Quarterly
Fantagraphics Books
IDW Publishing
Ken Pierce Books
Pacific Comics Club
SPEC Productions
Sunday Press Books
Weblogs and web sites
Don Markstein’s Toonopedia
Last of the Spinner Rack Junkies
Vintage Pop will feature a lot of comic strip material when I launch it. Some of that material can be still be found at Four Color Comics
I could actually prolong this by adding movie serials to the list, and by adding Little Lulu. (Lulu was not a comic strip, but contains similar elements.)
Krazy Kat is da bomb.
JD—I’m glad that Aaron & I found your blog. We’re in Japan now…will be here for the next two years. Send me an e-mail, I somehow misplaced your’s in the move. Reach me at: [email protected]. Miss you and Kris—let’s keep in touch!
JD—I’m glad that Aaron & I found your blog. We’re in Japan now…will be here for the next two years. Send me an e-mail, I somehow misplaced your’s in the move. Reach me at: [email protected]. Miss you and Kris—let’s keep in touch!
Hey – thanks so much for this! I’ve been collecting strip reprint books since the 1980s & it’s nice to see so many things listed in one spot. At some point it would be great to create a list of all such books, in-print or out-of-print, like all the great Nostalgia Press and Kitchen Sink stuff – although I guess that would be a pretty massive project. Anyway, rest assured there are others with interests very close to yours!