John Stanley was the cartooning genius who gave Little Lulu a life in comics that made her one of the best-loved characters of all time. His work in Marge’s Little Lulu from 1945 to 1959 ensured Lulu immortality as an iconic, protofeminist figure in American popular culture. John Stanley: Giving Life to Little Lulu is both a deluxe, full-color coffee table book filled with beautifully reproduced artwork from Little Lulu and his own comic book creations, such as Melvin Monster and Thirteen (Going on Eighteen) and rare drawings and cartoons, as well as never-before-seen photographs as well as a biographical portrait of the artist. Bill Schelly’s accompanying biography tells Stanley’s life story for the first time, through interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues: his childhood in Harlem and the Bronx, his life with his strict Irish Catholic mother, his education at Parsons, his first job as an animator at Max Fleischer Studios (Popeye, Betty Boop, Superman), and his years working as a commercial artist, before finding his true métier in comic books during World War II. It goes behind the scenes as he created the Little Lulu comic book while dealing with the twin demons of clinical depression and alcoholism. Despite these struggles, John Stanley was one of America’s greatest storytellers, and he is amply celebrated in this handsome volume.
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