The Ultimate Droodles Compendium, by Roger Price

You may or may not know what a Droodle is, or who Roger Price is, but I can almost guarantee you've seen Droodles, the creation of Roger Price.  In The Ultimate Droodles Compendium, "the absurdly complete collection of al the classic zany creations of Roger Price," Fritz Holznagel has collected Price's Droodles, Price's commentaries, and some additional background and historical material. 

So, first of all, what is a Droodle?  "Droodles are small sill drawings in a square box that 'you don't understand until you ask, and the it's too late to wish you hadn't.'"  They were most popular in the 1950s, in the funny papers but also in commercial ads.  But they lasted long enough in popular culture that I remember seeing them in my childhood a couple decades later. 

Frank Zappa made a lasting contribution to the popularity of Droodles by naming an album after a Droodle and featuring it on the cover: "Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch."  This exemplifies the clever simplicity of Price's Droodles. 

This book brings Droodles back to public attention, and provides context for  Price's career.  Granted, I don't know that a huge Droodles fan base was clamoring for this book, but it makes the point that Price was a key figure in American comedy in the middle of the century, not just for his funny drawings, but for his other contributions as well. 




Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!