IDW Publishing; $49.95

Beginning with the work of the acclaimed artist Alex Raymond and transitioning following his death to the efforts of the impeccable John Prentice, The Library of American Comics’ Rip Kirby collections have been nothing less than a “how to” course for anyone interested in storytelling with intriguing, human, non-superhero characters. That’s been true since the first volume, and it’s no less true now.

Rip Kirby and Prentice won the National Cartoonists Society award for “Best Story Strip Cartoonist” in 1967, and readers can judge for themselves the accuracy of that award as this volume – the ninth in the series – includes more than 800 strips from July 10, 1967 to April 25, 1970.

–J.C. Vaughn