Melvin Monster

Book excerpt: John Stanley is celebrated as one of the great children's comics writers for his work on the Little Lulu series. In fact, the Lulu work is a small part of his output, he had drawn and continued to write many other comics — notably his work on the 1960s teen comics from Dell (Thirteen Going on Eighteen, Dunc and Loo, and Kookie) and his monster comedy strip Melvin Monster. The three-volume Melvin Monster collection is pivotal to the John Stanley Library, featuring all nine issues of the oddball monster boy who just wants to be good, go to school, and do as he's told. Designed to fit nicely with our current reprinting of Tove Jansson's Moomin series, these comics are great reading for children or comics history-minded adults. Stanley's reputation as a great storyteller and visual comedian is richly deserved — few golden- or silver-age comics stand the test of time the way these comics do.