The Search for Smilin Ed

The Search for Smilin Ed

• Used Book in Good Condition

<p><strong>A long-gone children€s show host propels Kim Deitch into another pop-culture investigation!</strong></p> Originally created in 1997 and 1998 for the underground anthology <em>Zero Zero</em>, <em>The Search for Smilin€ Ed!</em> is the latest of Kim Deitch€s graphic novels to showcase his obsessive burrowing into the nooks and crannies of vintage American popular culture.<br /> <br /> Where <em>Boulevard of Broken Dreams</em> focused on the earliest days of the animation industry, <em>Alias the Cat</em> delved into the history of comic strips, and €œMolly O€Dare€ (collected in <em>Shadowland</em>) concerned vintage movie serials, <em>The search for Smilin€ Ed!</em> explores the wacky world of children€s TV shows.<br /> <br /> Launched on his latest investigation by a remark from his brother about a shared childhood favorite (€œY€know, I heard that when Smilin€ Ed died... his body was <em><strong>never</strong></em> found!€), Deitch begins to uncover some truly amazing things about the kiddie-show host and his malevolent sidekick, Froggy the Gremlin. Meanwhile, Deitch€s muse and nemesis Waldo the Cat abandons Deitch to hang out with some demon buddies, and soon both Waldo and Deitch are closing in on the mysteries of Smilin€ Ed and Froggy.<br /> <br /> Ranging across the entire twentieth century, replete with flashbacks, stories within stories, and guest appearances from other Deitch regulars, <em>The Search for Smilin€ Ed!</em> is a narrative whirligig that shows Deitch at his wildest and woolliest. For those whose heads have started to spin at the complexity of €œDeitch world,€ Deitch scholar Bill Kartalopoulos offers a lengthy essay on the ins and outs of this ever-evolving, ever-expanding world where fantasy, reality, and satire combine, clash, and are sometimes downright indistinguishable.<br /> <br /> Bonus! Deitch has also created a brand new story starring Waldo in his twenty-first century post-<em>Alias The Cat</em> state of domestic bliss, stumbling across an army of (French-) talking beavers. Of course, there€s a story behind that... 144 b&w illustrations