Terr'ble Thompson

by Gene Deitch

In 1955, Gene Deitch embarked on a daily comic strip for King Features Syndicate that he hoped would become his life's work. One of the most unusual strips of the decade, Terr'ble Thompson was about a very odd little boy who had his "Werld Hedd Quarters" in a tree house and was regarded far and wide as "the bravest, fiercest, most-best hero of all-time." This book collects the entirety of Deitch's short-lived inspiration for Tom Terrific , and a new generation will discover what could have been one of the great comic strips of all-time had it continued. The strip is drawn in a simple, modernist style that served as an antidote to the ubiquitous Disney look that had spread into all facets of popular culture. Terr'ble Thompson was a visual and verbal feast of fun that blended time and space, with Terr'ble going on adventures with great historic figures like Columbus, George Washington, and Davy Crockett. This collection features annotations for the entire run of the strip by Deitch himself, as well as introductory essays by Deitch, his son Kim, and historian Dan Nadel ( The Ganzfeld ). The book collects both the dailies and Sundays, with many of the latter newly re-colored by Deitch.

Genres: Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 2007

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Kim Deitch, and since I found out that his dad Gene, a major animator, had a short-lived comic strip in the 50s, I've been meaning to check it out. Finally took it out of the library, and I can see where Kim gets it. The strip is very fast and fun, about a young boy (7 1/2!) named Thaddeus "Terr'ble" Thompson, who is the Hero of History. George Washington, Christopher Columbus and Cleopatra are among the historical figures who come to his treehouse for assistance with problems, all of which are eventually traced to the villain Mean Morgan. There's a great sense of childish logic to the plots, very lively and animated artwork (one of the better drawn humor strips I've seen) and lots of silly twists. Really great fun.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gene Deitch is the ultimate illustrator from the 50's - in fact one can smell the Moderne right off the page. Terr'ble Thompson is a little boy who can time travel and therefore meet a lot of famous people from history. It doesn't sound that hot, but again it's the drawings themselves as well as Deitch's surreal jazzy humor that makes this a slightly weird comic strip.