Nancy For All Seasons, which collects comic strips from the years 1951–1952, is the second installment in the Fantagraphics Nancy paperback series, following Nancy Wears Hats. As stated in my review of that previous book, “Ernie Bushmiller wrote and drew Nancy, a comic strip about the humorous antics of the titular eight-year-old and her friend Sluggo, from 1938 until his death in 1982.”
Buy Nancy for All SeasonsNancy is a clever troublemaker, and along with Sluggo, they come across more advanced depending on what’s needed in the strip. Much like the Our Gang shorts, there are adults around as authority figures, but the plots are mostly driven by the children and how they see the world or at least on Bushmiller thinks they would.
Nancy and Sluggo share a mutual romantic interest in one another, as much as children their age can, although not always at the same time, based on the joke of that day’s strip. They are never too serious about being together. Each has a wandering eye, yet they get jealous when the other shows an interest in someone else.
Nancy lives with her aunt Fritzi Ritz, who used to be a titular character of her own comic strip that Bushmiller took over in 1925 from its creator Larry Whittington before making Nancy his main focus. It’s not clear what Fritzi does to support them, but she provides a good life in a comfortable home that never finds Nancy wanting for necessities.
On the other hand, Sluggo’s life is rough. His house (seen on Aug. 31, 1951) is filled with broken furniture and broken plasters on the walls. His bed (seen on Nov. 5, 1951) is covered in hay like a barn animal would sleep upon. Thinking back on this book and the previous one, I don’t remember there being any mention of his parents and they don’t appear. He does have a dog, so he’s not totally alone at home.
In addition to strips where Nancy or Sluggo are either causing the humor or being the butt of the joke, such as when the boys’ swimming team asks Nancy to join them only to see if the creek still has a muddy bottom (Aug. 23, 1951), Bushmiller plays with the medium. On Jan. 20, 1951, as snow is falling, Nancy calls Sluggo “the laziest man in the world,” but Sluggo breaks the fourth wall and says it’s “the guy who draws this.” The readers can see why because the snowfall increases with each panel, showing only snowflakes and Sluggo’s word balloon in top third of the final panel. Bushmiller makes an appearance in silhouette on Jan. 1, 1952. Given the day off by Nancy, she offers to “finish the strip,” even though her artistic skills aren’t comparable. On Xmas Day 1952, he offers a playful holiday greeting that has to be read in a mirror.
Speaking of “artistic skills,” Bushmiller continues to impress. His characters are very expressive, fully revealing their emotions before one reads their word balloons. Objects and locations are also well detailed. His line work is fine and creates a sense of movement for actions.
Nancy For All Seasons is jam packed with laughs as it conveys a child’s life from a simpler time. Highly recommended.
