Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy is one of those anomalies that I just don't understand. The eternal 8-year with an attitude has a cult following. Cartoonists like Fred Hembeck devote literal volumes of his work to the genius of the Nancy strips. Nancy was once the muse of Andy Warhol and star of her own animated feature on Saturday mornings in the 70s. Books have been written to help the uninitiated to navigate how to read Nancy comics. There's even been college level courses devoted to it!
And I just didn't understand why- until now!
This collection of Nancy strips chronicles the first year run of Olivia Jaimes. Not her real name. In fact, Jaimes physical appearance is very much in doubt. But in 2018, Olivia Jaimes became the first woman to ever create Nancy strips. With Jaimes at the helm, Nancy returned to its Ernie Bushmiller roots. But she also brought Nancy into the 21st century!
The Nancy strip didn't even start out as Nancy. The series first debuted as Fritzi Ritz. Fritzi was a young flapper, later an actress. In 1925, Fritzi creator Larry Whittington left the series and was replaced by Bushmiller. It wasn't until 8 years later that Fritzi took on a roommate, her niece, Nancy. By 1938, for unknown reasons, Fritzi became Nancy's legal guardian and the de facto supervising adult to not only Nancy, but her best friend, Sluggo.
It was in 1938 that Nancy earned her own self-titled spin-off. Fritzi continued to star in her own strip until the late 60s. But the popular title was clearly Nancy. Bushmiller won several awards and gained his cult following. Sadly, by 1978, Bushmiller was diagnosed with Parkinson's. A team of artists including Legion of Superheroes' Al Plastino assisted the artist and even ghosted many strips until replacing Bushmiller when he died in 1982.
Jumping back to 2018. Though Ernie Bushmiller's run had become the stuff of legend and Guy Gilchrist (and brother Brad) had a loyal following, less than 100 papers nationwide carried the strip. Editors conducted a lengthy talent search before finally landing on the mysterious Olivia Jaimes. Hopefully new blood could booster some new readership.
The strip was the first such work for Jaimes. The new creator won a fair share of critics and fans with her modernist approach to Nancy. New characters including a teacher and frowny-faced classmate, Esther, were added along with an after-school STEM club in robotics, a peppering of non-sequiturs and the meme-inducing proclamation that 'Sluggo is Lit.' But along with the 21st century changes, Jaimes re-invigorated the classically clean art style of Bushmiller.
Aesthetically, Aunt Mitzi became less of a sex pot and more of a single mom now. Though her face is still from the roaring 20s! But Nancy retained her iconic outfit and spiky hair. Sluggo still dressed like one of the Bowery Boys. But the inks were super clean and the settings returned to simplistic, compared to Gilchrist whose style was more exaggerated. Plus, if you ask me, the Gilchrist strips looked more suited for Betty Boop animation than Ernie Bushmiller newsprint.
The majority of the strips in this collection of Jaimes Nancy was funny if not at least entertaining. There's some Bizarro or Rhymes with Orange level oddities mixed in that I just didn't get. But I can see why Nancy has her fans. When we can't express our angst and frustrations, Nancy is there to tell it like it is. Without fear. Without care. But sadly sometimes without a discernible punchline...
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
Completing this review completes Task #17 (With a One Word Title) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
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