{"product_id":"smythes","title":"Smythes","description":"\u003cb\u003eA CLASSIC 1930s COMIC STRIP: \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e’s first art editor satirizes the petit bourgeoisie in these stylishly eccentric cartoons with echoes of Cheever and Wodehouse.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRea Irvin was \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e’s first art editor and creator of the magazine’s iconic mascot, the butterfly enthusiast Eustace Tilly. In 1930, he ventured into new territory with the comic strip \u003ci\u003eThe Smythes\u003c\/i\u003e. The Smythes—comprised of John, Margie, and their two forgettable children, Willie and Maudie—are a niceish suburban family, restless in their social stature, and eager to climb a sometimes wobbly social ladder (a ladder made even wobblier by the Great Depression). Irvin’s distinct, graceful line renders the Smythes in all their glory and hilarity as they navigate ill-fated dinner parties with pompous socialites, fend off robbers dressed as Santa, and get chased out of restaurants by cleaver-wielding chefs. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith flavors of the upper-crust humor of Wodehouse and the suburban surrealism of Cheever, \u003ci\u003eThe Smythes\u003c\/i\u003e drolly captures the joys, heartbreaks, and humiliations of being in a family. Handpicked by acclaimed cartoonists R. Kikuo Johnson and Dash Shaw—who also penned the introduction together—this new selection of \u003ci\u003eSmythes \u003c\/i\u003estrips also includes an afterword by comics historian Caitlin McGurk that sheds new light on Irvin’s work and life. An unsung masterpiece of cartooning, \u003ci\u003eThe Smythes\u003c\/i\u003e is finally available to a new generation of readers ready to marvel at the full reach of Irvin’s artistic abilities.","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57398233465214,"sku":"NW9781681379548","price":24.65,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781681379548.jpg?v=1778618218","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/smythes","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}