Book Review: Nancy Wears Hats by Ernie Bushmiller

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. Nancy first appeared in 1933 as the niece of Fritzi Ritz, a titular character of her own comic strip which Bushmiller took over from creator Larry Whittington in 1925. In 1949, Bushmiller told the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Nancy was “just as an incidental character and I planned to keep her for about a week and then dump her…But the little dickens was soon stealing the show.”

During the 2010s, Fantagraphics released three volumes of Nancy dailies, which present strips from the years 1942 through 1951. Nancy Wears Hats is the first volume in a new series of dailies from Fantagraphics, It presents strips from 1949–1950, which previously appeared in Nancy Loves Sluggo. Hats doesn’t have an introduction or foreword to explain why they are beginning the series with duplicative years, but those who missed out those now out-of-print books will appreciate having this new opportunity in this new paperback.

The book opens with a January 1st strip. In it, Bushmiller goes for a meta joke where he directly addresses the reader about the admitted laziness of his work due to being “out awfully late,” as if he somehow draws and submits the work each morning. He plays with the medium four months later when in a need to get fresh air, Nancy cuts the panel border open with scissors. Another four months go by, and Nancy and Sluggo look off model, as if someone is bootlegging them to sell a product, but Sluggo explains Bushmiller “busted his glasses.”

Like many children in comic strips, Nancy is advanced for an eight-year-old. She’s strong-willed, frequently defying adults to do what she wants. (What kid reading these wouldn’t eat that up?) For example, when Aunt Fritzi won’t let her have a cracker in fear of spoiling her dinner, Nancy asks if she “can…have the crumbs in the box?” When Fritzi relents, Nancy takes a mallet and smashes the box.

Sluggo is frequently featured without Nancy. He’s a well-meaning, mischievous kid. One day, he’ll try to hitchhike into a drive-in movie. Another day he’ll show is street smarts by using a ceiling fan to get a pound of baloney when the butcher’s slicer is out if order. But they certainly work well together.

There’s no continuity between the strips, yet there are times when Bushmiller will mine areas for material over days, such as when Sluggo gets a job (although an eight-year-old working in a bank is a bit odd) or when Nancy’s crush, child actor Buster Binks, comes to town.

Thankfully for readers, Bushmiller didn’t have to deal with busted glasses often as his artwork is wonderful. The characters are consistently well rendered; their expressive faces and body gestures make clear their moods. Some days there’s no word balloons as the jokes are clear without them. He uses just enough background detail to set the location, so some panels may have a little shading if anything at all.

While completists would likely prefer a Nancy series to start at the beginning of its run, Nancy Wears Hats is a great entry point into this classic comic strip thanks to the high quality of humor, characterization, and artwork. Am eager to see what the next volume brings.