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Our Gang #1
Our Gang, Vol. 1
The Little Rascals as written and drawn by Pogo's Walt Kelly!
96 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2006
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About the author
Walt Kelly
394 books53 followersAmerican animator and cartoonist best known for the classic funny animal comic strip, Pogo. He won the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award in 1951 for Cartoonist of the Year, and their Silver T-Square Award in 1972, given to persons having "demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or the profession."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 18, 2014
I realize that Walt Kelly comics are considered classics and that he has other series of note. While I enjoy contemporary comics, I only heard of Kelly recently while reading Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture: What the World's Wildest Trade Show Can Tell Us About the Future of Entertainment. Seeing the cover of Our Gang on display at the library, I decided to give it a read. I should have noticed the cover was in too contemporary of a style to be an example of the artwork within! The back cover shows Kelly's version of the cast of characters. The shocking difference is the depiction of Buckwheat, the African-American child in the "gang." The most positive comment I can make about the book is that it is a primary source depicting racism and propaganda in early American comics. It could be included in a study of WWII popular culture that promoted wartime contributions such as rationing and buying war bonds. It could also be read in a comparative study of the depiction of African-Americans in popular culture prior to the Civil Rights movement. However, I could not place this book in my classroom library as a simple source of entertainment.
While the integrated group of playmates might have been edgy for its time (so says the introduction in the book), the visual rendering of Buckwheat as well as his speech patterns are both racist stereotypes while another family’s maid is given even worse treatment. The introduction to the book insinuates that, as the Our Gang series progressed, Kelly altered Buckwheat to look less like a stereotype, changed his name, and gave him cunning and success beyond some of the other members….but I haven’t read those issues, nor do I wish to, so I cannot speak for the rest of the series. Above all, the book as it stands is not one I would ever give to children for free reading unless it was within a historical context with additional sources of information for comparison.
Though the capers of the children are now nostalgic overall, they do rely on comedic violence and malicious schemes as the main plot development. The final issue with a madman threatening to murder them was particularly disturbing. I did not grow up watching the Little Rascals which is the Our Gang cast by a different name. I did, however, enjoy the adventures of Dennis the Menace or Leave it to Beaver which also show “good old fashioned” mischief in the Hollywood version of the US’s past. Still, I couldn’t enjoy the escapades of Our Gang due to the offensive content.
While the integrated group of playmates might have been edgy for its time (so says the introduction in the book), the visual rendering of Buckwheat as well as his speech patterns are both racist stereotypes while another family’s maid is given even worse treatment. The introduction to the book insinuates that, as the Our Gang series progressed, Kelly altered Buckwheat to look less like a stereotype, changed his name, and gave him cunning and success beyond some of the other members….but I haven’t read those issues, nor do I wish to, so I cannot speak for the rest of the series. Above all, the book as it stands is not one I would ever give to children for free reading unless it was within a historical context with additional sources of information for comparison.
Though the capers of the children are now nostalgic overall, they do rely on comedic violence and malicious schemes as the main plot development. The final issue with a madman threatening to murder them was particularly disturbing. I did not grow up watching the Little Rascals which is the Our Gang cast by a different name. I did, however, enjoy the adventures of Dennis the Menace or Leave it to Beaver which also show “good old fashioned” mischief in the Hollywood version of the US’s past. Still, I couldn’t enjoy the escapades of Our Gang due to the offensive content.
May 13, 2013
== Our Gang/Little Rascals' delightful romps ==
Our Gang was a series of short comedy films produced in the Hal Roach studios by Pathé and MGM from the mid 20s to the mid 40s, later syndicated for television (then titled The Little Rascals) in the mid 50s. In 1994 a feature film was released by Universal Studios. In the first cartoon version, in 1942, Walt Kelly used the film characters/actors from the 40s as his look-alike role models.
The members of the gang were inventive and mischievous poor kids growing up in everyday America. They created their own fun in an environment where they were—unlike today—given free reign to do hilarious pranks, enjoy risky adventures and practice do-good ventures. The five members of the gang were of mixed gender and race, which was progressive for the first half of the 20th century. Buckwheat (Bucky), the black boy, was accepted and on equal terms with the others. Racial stereotyping was at a minimum and amounted mostly to two areas: the appearance and the vocabulary. Kelly drew him with normal facial features but gave him the distinctive fat lip treatment. Bucky used words like ‘dis here,’ ‘ol,’ ‘halp,’ ‘looky,’ ‘winder,’(window) ‘we gets,’ and dropped the ‘g’ in ‘ing.’ But, significantly, he comes across as having intelligence fully on par with the white kids.
This was the time racial integration was gaining traction and the Bucky character and Our Gang dynamics served in some way to gather its momentum. This first book in a series of four reprints the first eight of Kelly’s Our Gang stories from 1942 and 43 of ten to fourteen pages each in color. There are nine pages of historical background and introduction. The stories are delightfully told and rendered, to be enjoyed by all ages.
Our Gang was a series of short comedy films produced in the Hal Roach studios by Pathé and MGM from the mid 20s to the mid 40s, later syndicated for television (then titled The Little Rascals) in the mid 50s. In 1994 a feature film was released by Universal Studios. In the first cartoon version, in 1942, Walt Kelly used the film characters/actors from the 40s as his look-alike role models.
The members of the gang were inventive and mischievous poor kids growing up in everyday America. They created their own fun in an environment where they were—unlike today—given free reign to do hilarious pranks, enjoy risky adventures and practice do-good ventures. The five members of the gang were of mixed gender and race, which was progressive for the first half of the 20th century. Buckwheat (Bucky), the black boy, was accepted and on equal terms with the others. Racial stereotyping was at a minimum and amounted mostly to two areas: the appearance and the vocabulary. Kelly drew him with normal facial features but gave him the distinctive fat lip treatment. Bucky used words like ‘dis here,’ ‘ol,’ ‘halp,’ ‘looky,’ ‘winder,’(window) ‘we gets,’ and dropped the ‘g’ in ‘ing.’ But, significantly, he comes across as having intelligence fully on par with the white kids.
This was the time racial integration was gaining traction and the Bucky character and Our Gang dynamics served in some way to gather its momentum. This first book in a series of four reprints the first eight of Kelly’s Our Gang stories from 1942 and 43 of ten to fourteen pages each in color. There are nine pages of historical background and introduction. The stories are delightfully told and rendered, to be enjoyed by all ages.
August 1, 2010
I picked this up because I love Walt Kelly. However, this is Walt Kelly during his Disney period, where he closely toed the line. The artwork is not as sure as in his Pogo years. The stories are clever, but standard for the 1940's, although they do hearken back to a time when kids ran free.
The introduction by Leonard Maltkin was fascinating, as he detailed the history of the Hal Roach shorts, as well as the history of the comic strip. Well, fascinating to a student of popular culture, I suppose.
Recommended Listening while reading: The Beau Hunks Play the Original Little Rascals Music: 50 Roy Shield Themes from the Hal Roach Talkies http://www.amazon.com/Hunks-Original-...
The introduction by Leonard Maltkin was fascinating, as he detailed the history of the Hal Roach shorts, as well as the history of the comic strip. Well, fascinating to a student of popular culture, I suppose.
Recommended Listening while reading: The Beau Hunks Play the Original Little Rascals Music: 50 Roy Shield Themes from the Hal Roach Talkies http://www.amazon.com/Hunks-Original-...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews