Before television, before radio, before motion pictures — before the modern era, kids of all ages sought escape in the “funny pages”. In fact, the comics section of most major newspapers drove sales. It was an advertising bonanza.
In time, the popularity of comics strips waned. Nowadays it’s mostly a lost art form. But while modern comic strips may be on the decline, the classics continue to hold great appeal for many readers.
We live in the Golden Age of comic-strip reprints. For more than a decade, big-name publishers have been releasing deluxe editions of the best comic strips from decades past. Until now, there’s been no central catalog of all these reprints. This website aims to remedy that.
In time, The Comic Strip Library will contain pages about individual strips, characters, and creators. For now, this page serves as a growing list of available comic-strip reprint collections.
Flash Gordon
Science fiction’s most enduring icon Flash Gordon returns in a newly restored edition from Titan Publishing. This series collects his earliest adventures with Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov on the mysterious plent Mongo. There they encounter stranger landscapes, fantastic creatures, otherworldly characters, and the universe’s most diabolical mastermind — Ming the Merciless.
The first three volumes collect the work of Alex Raymond, one of the finest comic-strip artists of all time.
- Volume 01: On the Planet Mongo (07 Jan 1934 to 18 Apr 1937)
- Volume 02: The Tyrant of Mongo (25 Apr 1937 to 12 Jan 1941)
- Volume 03: The Fall of Ming (19 Jan 1941 to 13 Aug 1944)
Following Alex Raymond’s run on Flash Gordon, other creators stepped in to chronicle the adventures of our space-faring hero. Austin Briggs was the first to continue the story past the death of Ming.
- Volume 04: The Storm Queen of Valkir (20 Aug 1944 to 25 Jul 1948)
Here’s the Toonopedia entry for Flash Gordon.
Buck Rogers
From Hermes Press. The Dailies. (Toonopedia entry.)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 01: 1929-1930 (07 Jan 1929 to 15 Nov 1930)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 02: 1930-1932 (17 Nov 1930 to 14 May 1932)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 03: 1932-1934 (16 May 1932 to 20 Jan 1934)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 04: 1934-1935 (22 Jan 1934 to 11 May 1935)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 05: 1935-1936 (13 May 1935 to 04 Dec 1936)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 06: 1936-1938 (05 Dec 1936 to 19 Aug 1938)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 07: 1938-1940 (20 Aug 1938 to 23 Mar 1940)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, Volume 08: 1940-1941 (25 Mar 1940 to 11 Oct 1941)
The Sundays.
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Sundays, Volume 01: 1930-1933
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Sundays, Volume 02: 1933-1937
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Sundays, Volume 03: 1937-1940
Prince Valiant
Hal Foster. Fantagraphics. (Toonopedia entry.)
- Prince Valiant, Volume 01: 1937-1938
- Prince Valiant, Volume 02: 1939-1940
- Prince Valiant, Volume 03: 1941-1942
- Prince Valiant, Volume 04: 1943-1944
- Prince Valiant, Volume 05: 1945-1946
- Prince Valiant, Volume 06: 1947-1948
- Prince Valiant, Volume 07: 1949-1950
- Prince Valiant, Volume 08: 1951-1952
- Prince Valiant, Volume 09: 1953-1954
- Prince Valiant, Volume 10: 1955-1956
- Prince Valiant, Volume 11: 1957-1958
- Prince Valiant, Volume 12: 1959-1960
- Prince Valiant, Volume 13: 1961-1962
Popeye
E.C. Segar. Fantagraphics. (Toonopedia entry.)
- Popeye, Volume 01: I Yam What I Yam (Sep 1928 to Dec 1930)
- Popeye, Volume 02: Well Blow Me Down!
- Popeye, Volume 03: Let’s You and Him Fight!
- Popeye, Volume 04: Plunder Island
- Popeye, Volume 05: Wha’s a Jeep?
- Popeye, Volume 06: Me Li’l Swee’Pea