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Baby Blues Specials
BBXX: Baby Blues: Decades 1 & 2
Baby Blues: XX is a hefty, hardcover treasury highlighting 20 years of Baby Blues, one of the most popular comic strips in history. A comprehensive and commemorative edition of all things Baby Blues, creators Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott share personal reflections and never-before-published essays, drawings, and photographs, along with more than 1,000 of the best Baby Blues strips from the last two decades.
Named Best Comic Strip of the Year in 2002, Baby Blues follows young parents Darryl and Wanda MacPherson as they raise children Zoe, Hammie, and Baby Wren. From temper tantrums to toilet training, everyday experiences that all parents agonize over and laugh about serve as fertile comedic ground as Baby Blues: XX takes readers on a relevant and timeless journey through twenty years of Baby Blues. What results is a truthfully fulfilling romp through the daily aspects of family life as well as a carefully nuanced tug at the heartstrings.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published October 26, 2010
7 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Rick Kirkman
109 books67 followersRick Kirkman is a cartoonist and co-creator of the comic strip Baby Blues. He received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award in 1995, and the Reuben Award in 2012 for his work on the strip. He also served as co-executive producer of The WB animated television series of Baby Blues.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 18, 2016
I used to read this since school years. Then, I furthered my study and started working. I had forgotten about it..Baby Blues wasn't there when I delivered my children. Now, mu children are all grown up, I found this collectible at BBW priced at RM25 (USD6). I grabbed only one, despite they carry other BB titles. I started reading it yesterday and finished it today. It left me in stiches. Baby Blues never fail to amuse me when I am single before marriage and became a single mother later on. Reading this provided the much needed amusement and sanity while watching your children grew. Suddenly they are embarking in a new journey, creating new memories, leaving me behind *sob* Why do I feel melacholic all of a sudden? I wish my children stay as my children, forever
December 30, 2012
This definitive collection of the first two decades of "Baby Blues," the parental comic strip based on the lives of characters Darryl and Wanda MacPherson, is sure to inspire laughs. As the MacPhersons' home grows from baby Zoe to include Hammie and later Wren, chaos and laughter abound, and many parents will likely find ways to relate with their own parenting experiences. This large collection includes commentary and amusing annecdotes from creators Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott, with background about the strip. A must-read for "Baby Blues" fans!
June 21, 2013
I was giggling in the library while reading it. You know how difficult it is to giggle quietly?? :)
January 7, 2021
One of my favorite comic strips for its uniqueness, and this is a really nice collection of all the important strips, commentary from the creators (which makes the strips even better), and art samples. How did I not know this existed until recently?!
February 11, 2020
An all-time favorite!
March 26, 2020
Such lovely, funny family comics! Humor and love.
October 26, 2020
Baby Blues is indispensable comic-relief for parents of young children.
This curated collection not only contains favorite panels—which address such important issues as what makes family memories most memorable, and what sounds snails make—, it also includes some highly enjoyable commentary from the creators.
This is my favorite Baby Blues collection, to date.
This curated collection not only contains favorite panels—which address such important issues as what makes family memories most memorable, and what sounds snails make—, it also includes some highly enjoyable commentary from the creators.
This is my favorite Baby Blues collection, to date.
November 2, 2023
I just love this comic for so many reasons. :)
November 30, 2024
So funny!
February 9, 2017
Great book for anyone who enjoys this comic strip. Also a great shower gift for new parents!
June 24, 2016
It's a little unfair to rate a "greatest hits" collection of any kind against the normal volumes. By the very nature of the collection it's going to win out. But even then this summation of the first 20 years of Baby Blues is fantastic. Parents will relate to so many of the scenarios and laugh out loud throughout.
It's fun to see the strip evolve over the two decades. While Darryl and Wanda don't really age, the kids grow up slowly but surely and new children get added. Actual character progression like that is an absolute rarity in the world of newspaper comic strips. While having characters get stuck in time works for many comics (e.g. Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes) to maintain their focus and core ideas, Baby Blues inherently needed to advance. As the creator notes say, you can only do so many jokes of a colicky baby and sleep deprivation. Having three kids are such varied ages allows for a multitude of gags and interactions.
The creators hand-picked the strips to include. There's short commentary on a large number of the strips which is one of the most welcome additions to a repeat collection like this. It would have been great to have commentary on every strip but that would have likely grown cumbersome (both for reader and authors). There's also some pages dedicated to the creative process, including the history of how they came up with the strip, failed previous strips, and the details of how they collaborate to create the strip. Those sections are fine but not nearly as interesting or insightful as those included in something like The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book.
The only downside is now that I've read this book, when I go back and read all the individual collections I'm going to get a lot of repeats. C'est la vie.
It's fun to see the strip evolve over the two decades. While Darryl and Wanda don't really age, the kids grow up slowly but surely and new children get added. Actual character progression like that is an absolute rarity in the world of newspaper comic strips. While having characters get stuck in time works for many comics (e.g. Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes) to maintain their focus and core ideas, Baby Blues inherently needed to advance. As the creator notes say, you can only do so many jokes of a colicky baby and sleep deprivation. Having three kids are such varied ages allows for a multitude of gags and interactions.
The creators hand-picked the strips to include. There's short commentary on a large number of the strips which is one of the most welcome additions to a repeat collection like this. It would have been great to have commentary on every strip but that would have likely grown cumbersome (both for reader and authors). There's also some pages dedicated to the creative process, including the history of how they came up with the strip, failed previous strips, and the details of how they collaborate to create the strip. Those sections are fine but not nearly as interesting or insightful as those included in something like The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book.
The only downside is now that I've read this book, when I go back and read all the individual collections I'm going to get a lot of repeats. C'est la vie.
March 11, 2014
Baby Blues is my most favorite comic. To be able to laugh at the absurdity and most maddening moments of child-rearing and family life has saved my sanity more than once. I was extremely lucky to have won a personalized copy (with a sketch of Zoe) of this compilation directly from Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott - from a FB contest in which I had to decipher 7 phrases (chicken scratches actually) written on the telephone booth in a Pearls Before Swine panel involving Zoe and Hammie. I treasure this copy. To read how the strip has developed over the years is entertaining as well. Every new parent should be given a Baby Blues book before leaving the hospital - even though they may never get around to reading it until years later. In fact - I think I will start giving it as a baby shower gift from now on. Sure diapers and tiny clothes are useful - but humor/laughter is the best gift of all and is what gets us through the parenting years.
February 22, 2015
The definitive collection of Baby Blues strips.
You get to read from first pregnancy to toddler years and enjoy every minute of it.
What I find brilliant about this strip is that even someone like me, who’s never really had much to do with babies or kids, can see the funny in the situations that Darryl and Wanda have to face.
It’s like a study of the human condition ^_^
You get to read from first pregnancy to toddler years and enjoy every minute of it.
What I find brilliant about this strip is that even someone like me, who’s never really had much to do with babies or kids, can see the funny in the situations that Darryl and Wanda have to face.
It’s like a study of the human condition ^_^
September 17, 2013
This was so fun and interesting to read: I always enjoy reading about creative process behind comics and notes about individual strips. Since this covers so many years of Baby Blues, it was fun to "watch" once again how their family grows and Zoe goes from diapers to schools.
January 14, 2015
BBXX:Baby Blues: Decades 1 & 2 by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2012) (741.5973). This is a great big collection of their funniest stuff written and drawn in collaboration with each other. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 1/12/15.
June 14, 2016
Kirkman and Scott provide insight into parenting and cartooning in this retrospective volume.
June 21, 2016
I have read this many times. Baby Blues is my all time favorite comic. It makes me laugh every time!
May 1, 2015
good comic strip collection.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews