"Who's Your Daddy?"
The Complete LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE
by Harold Gray begins with the first storyline
.
San Diego, CA (June 27, 2007)- When Oliver Warbucks first sees a strange little mop-headed girl in his mansion, he exclaims: "What th — Say - whose kid are you?"
"I'm nobody's kid, Mr. Warbucks," she sheepishly replies. "I'm just an orphan Mrs. Warbucks took on trial."
So begins one of the most endearing, enduring relationships in the history of American comic strips—the relationship between Little Orphan Annie and "Daddy" Warbucks.
This sequence, which hasn't seen print since its initial 1924 newspaper appearance, is among the many treasures to be found in "Will Tomorrow Ever Come?"—the first volume
in The Complete Little Orphan Annie, by Harold Gray, to be published by IDW in February 2008.
The Complete Little Orphan Annie is the second series to be released under IDW's The Library of American Comics imprint, edited and designed by Dean Mullaney.
"With Dick Tracy, Terry & the Pirates and Little Orphan Annie, IDW has the crown jewels of the world famous New York News-Chicago Tribune comics section, making the California-based company a major player in what has become a new golden age of comic strip reprints," reports ICv2.
Volume One will contain more than 1,000 daily comics in nine complete stories, from the very first strip in August 1924 through October 1927.
In the pages of "Will Tomorrow Ever Come?" readers will discover how Annie escapes the orphanage and is ultimately adopted by "Daddy;" how she finds that loveable mutt Sandy and rescues him from being tortured; how she meets the Silos, who become recurring characters throughout the series; how she joins the circus and first encounters Pee Wee the elephant; and how, broke and alone, she hits the road on a succession of dangerous yet spiritually uplifting adventures. "These early stories establish Annie's spunky character," says Mullaney. "It's through the incredible trials and tribulations of these first three years that Annie emerges as the kid with a heart of gold and a quick left hook."
"Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie is one of the great American comic strips," adds comics historian Jeet Heer, who is writing an extensive Harold Gray biographical essay that will run continuously through the series. "With Dickensian imagination and gusto, Gray put his spunky orphan through a world of trouble. We should all be glad to see Annie again in her truest incarnation." The text will be illustrated with rare photographs and background material.
"One of the exciting aspects of preparing this series," says editor Mullaney, "is that we have the full co-operation of the Harold Gray archives at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University. Gray was unusual among cartoonists in that he saved virtually every piece of original Little Orphan Annie artwork, as well as syndicate proofs and clipped strips. This provides us with an unprecedented source of original material from which to print."
Since its premiere in August 1924, Little Orphan Annie has become a cultural icon—in both her red-headed, blank-eyed appearance, and as the embodiment of American individuality and self-reliance. The serious tone running throughout "Will Tomorrow Ever Come?" will broaden and enrich the character for those readers who know Little Orphan Annie only from the Broadway musical and subsequent film treatments.
Harold Gray was born in 1894 in Kankee, Illinois, and began his cartooning career as an assistant to Sydney Smith, creator of the famously successful strip, The Gumps. Gray wrote and illustrated Little Orphan Annie from 1924 until his death in 1968.
ABOUT IDW PUBLISHING
IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients. Among their best-selling titles are Hasbro's THE TRANSFORMERS; Fox's ANGEL, Konami's METAL GEAR SOLID, and FALLEN ANGEL. IDW's 30 DAYS OF NIGHT film is in development and will be released by Sony Pictures in October 2007. IDW has films in development at Dimension Films and Paramount Pictures, as well.
More News...
