Enigma of Al Capp - Softcover

Theroux, Alexander

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1560973404 ISBN 13: 9781560973409

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books, 2001

Synopsis

The creator of Li'l Abner goes under the microscope in this handsome monograph.

The National Book Award-nominated author of Darconville's Cat and Three Wogs delivers this slender-yet-rich monograph on the controversial life of cartoonist Al Capp, creator of Li'l Abner. "The left eventually broke his heart," wrote John Updike of Capp. A genuine American mythmaker and celebrated funnyman, Capp used his strip for years to expose greed, corruption and social injustice, while bringing belly laughs and dramatic suspense to the lives of millions of people every day.

Theroux, however, dives head-first into the often glossed-over side of Capp, delivering a keen (but not without compassion) analysis of Capp's degeneration into a bitter, disillusioned, conservative extremist, who began using his strip in later years to attack the very causes he once championed. This is a rich and compelling investigation into the psyche of a paradoxical American icon, who at the height of his fame was one of America's highest-paid and most well-known entertainers, gracing the cover of Time and other magazines, and franchising Li'l Abner into film, theater, radio, merchandising and more. Illustrated throughout with examples of Capp's cartoons.

About this title

About the Author:

Alexander Theroux is an award-winning novelist, poet, and teacher whose prose works include Laura Warholic or, The Sexual Intellectual, Estonia, and the two artist monographs The Strange Case of Edward Gorey and The Enigma of Al Capp. His novel Darconville’s Cat was chosen by Anthony Burgess as one of the 99 greatest post-war novels. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and children.

Review:

Theroux's analysis is at its finest when he explores Capp's inability to negotiate in his own life. -- Josh Glenn, Hermenaut

About this edition

• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1560973404
• ISBN 13: 9781560973409
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64