This book looks at the humor that artists and editors believed would have appeal in four different countries. Ian Gordon explains how similar humor played out in comic strips across different cultures and humor styles. By examining Skippy and Ginger Meggs, the book shows a good deal of similarities between American and Australian humor while establishing some distinct differences. In examining the French translation of Perry Winkle, the book explores questions of language and culture. By shifting focus to a later period and looking at the American and British comics entitled Dennis the Menace, two very different comics bearing the same name, Kid Comic Strips details both differences in culture and traditions and the importance of the type of reader imagined by the artist.
"Kid Comic Strips provides a snapshot of the history of comics, as well as helps today's readers contextualize the growth of Comics Studies from nascent discipline into one of the fastest growing fields in the Humanities. ... The book makes an important contribution to the field of study by providing unique historical contextualization of the lesser-explored world of kid comics. No doubt, readers will revisit Kid Comic Strips time and time again." (Cathy Ryan, Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature, Vol. 42 (1), 2017)