This is the first volume in what we hope will be an ongoing series of George McManus's immortal classic newspaper comics series, Bringing Up Father.  It is also a subset of an already ongoing series from NBM, Forever Nuts, dedicated to collecting "classic screwball strips."  Already available in this series are the initial volumes of Mutt 'n' Jeff and Happy Hooligan.  While we have nothing disparaging to say about these two, we feel compelled to point out  that, while the early strips on display in this volume are indeed exemplars of the form, Bringing Up Father is much more than simply a screwball strip.  Together with Chic Young's Blondie, it pioneered the family sitcom that went on to become a staple of radio and then television entertainment that continues to this day (interestingly, The Simpsons now holds the title of the longest running sitcom of all time; perhaps the roots of the sitcom form in comics has somehow contributed to The Simpsons' longevity...).  And not only that, George McManus is the undisputed progenitor of what has come to be known as the clear line school of comics.  While this school came to be codified in France – hence its moniker, ligne claire (of which "clear line" is a translation) – it all begins here with these strips collected here – all dailies from the first two years of the strip, 1913 & 1914.   McManus is more than just the originator of the clear line, he is also its undisputed master.  The strips here are just the beginning:  over the next thirty years he perfected a smooth clear line that continues to set the standard by which all others are measured.  Here's hoping we get a chance to see more of it in print soon!