Hot off the press and straight out of the boxes here at Copacetic, it's a massive volume (presumably only the first, given the "Vol. 1" in the title) presenting a nice chunk of the over 2300 pages of comics continuity by a guy (almost) none of us ever heard of before who drew comics in his spare time... for fifty years! (1928-1978)  Frank Johnson's work first emerged out of total obscurity in the pages of The Ganzfeld, over twenty years ago, but has been languishing in relative obscurity since then... until now! This volume collects 600 pages of Johnson's work, organized in complete blocks of continuity, all scanned directly from the originals, which were primarily drawn in pencil and in sketchbooks, making for a nice, up close and personal reading experience.

Fantagraphics this to say:

"When Frank Johnson, an itinerant musician and shipping clerk, died in 1979, he left behind a startling discovery: more than 2,300 notebook pages of comics and 131 unbound drawings, among them a massive, continuous story line beginning in the earliest surviving notebook dated 1928 — before the existence of comic books! — and following the exploits of his own cast of characters across 50 years until Johnson passed away. In the course of this lifelong project, Johnson invented in private many of the conventions and tropes that define comics storytelling, effectively enacting an alternative secret history of the comics medium.

This collection is the first ever publication of Johnson’s work and includes: Wally’s Gang, his 50-year magnum opus chronicling the humorous, cliff-hanging adventures of a group of bachelor friends; The Bowser Boys, a seamy, darkly slapstick depiction of bohemian street life that could be considered the first underground comic series; and Juke Boys, absurd, self-reflexive graphic experimentation.

Curator and historian Chris Byrne and fine artist and graphic novelist Keith Mayerson have brought this astounding work into the light of day and provide historical background and analysis."

–––––––––––––––

Take a deep dive into this book with the Comics Kayfabe team, HERE.