Today we celebrate one of the true classic of the comics medium, V.T. Hamlin's
Alley Oop, created in 1934. Oop was a caveman, who early on had adventures in the prehistoric land of Moo, often having run-ins with King Guzzle and pursuing the love of beautiful Princess Oola.
Then, in 1939, the strip took a dramatic turn when Oop and Oola were magically (well, actually, scientifically) transplanted to the present by virtue of a time machine constructed by J. Oscar Boom. From that point forward, Oop's adventures took him around the world and throughout history.
It's a great concept, and I'm pretty sure the strip continues today (though Hamlin long ago passed it on to other hands). It never appeared in the Buffalo papers of my youth, but I've enjoyed reading a few collections that have appeared over the years. It's a worthy throwback to the great adventure strips of the thirties, adding a humorous touch to the kind of heavier melodrama of
Terry & the Pirates or
Flash Gordon.
Today we celebrate one of the true classic of the comics medium, V.T. Hamlin's Alley Oop, created in 1934. Oop was a caveman, who early on had adventures in the prehistoric land of Moo, often having run-ins with King Guzzle and pursuing the love of beautiful Princess Oola.
Then, in 1939, the strip took a dramatic turn when Oop and Oola were magically (well, actually, scientifically) transplanted to the present by virtue of a time machine constructed by J. Oscar Boom. From that point forward, Oop's adventures took him around the world and throughout history.
It's a great concept, and I'm pretty sure the strip continues today (though Hamlin long ago passed it on to other hands). It never appeared in the Buffalo papers of my youth, but I've enjoyed reading a few collections that have appeared over the years. It's a worthy throwback to the great adventure strips of the thirties, adding a humorous touch to the kind of heavier melodrama of Terry & the Pirates or Flash Gordon.
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