"Cartoonist and historian Brian Walker's comprehensive survey - illustrated with rare original art - is the most authoritative history of American newspaper comics currently in print. It documents the fascinating origins of the comics and, decade by decade, the major trends in the funnies business. In-depth biographies of twenty-one of the most important creators of the era are featured, as well as samples of many other artists' work. The Comics Before 1945 joins the author's The Comics Since 1945 to form a classic survey of American popular culture by one of the greatest authorities in the field."--BOOK JACKET.