Hoo-Hah! Out Our Way - The Poetry of J. R. Williams

Book excerpt: J. R. Williams has often been called "The Mark Twain of the American Newspaper Cartoon." This volume is first of a series devoted to J. R. Williams' long-running "Out Our Way" panels (1922-1957). It deals with the remarkable poetry contained in his comics, sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, and always authentic. Williams himself left home at an early age and worked as a cavalry man, a cowboy, and machinist. His true-life experiences became the basis for his cartoons, and his panels were among the most clipped ever to appear in newspapers. To this day, "Out Our Way" scrapbooks from the twenties and thirties still regularly show up at estate sales and thrift shops. The editors of Hoo-Hah! have restored Williams' drawings from yellowed clippings to look like they originally appeared when first printed -- large formatted and with clean lines. In the near future, more Hoo-Hah! publications will be printed, devoted to single subjects, or a variety of Classic American humorous stories, comics, and film.