Creative Team

    Skip to product information
    1 of 1

    The Smythes

    The Smythes

    A CLASSIC 1930s COMIC STRIP: The New Yorker’s first art editor satirizes the petit bourgeoisie in these stylishly eccentric cartoons with echoes of Cheever and Wodehouse.Rea Irvin was The New Yorker’s first art editor and creator of the magazine’s iconic mascot, the butterfly enthusiast Eustace Tilley. In 1930, he ventured into new territory with the comic strip The Smythes. The Smythes—comprised of John, Margie, and their two forgettable children, Willie and Maudie—are a niceish suburban family, restless in their social stature, and eager to climb a sometimes wobbly social ladder. Irvin’s distinct, graceful line renders the Smythes in all their glory and hilarity as they navigate ill-fated dinner parties with pompous socialites, fend off robbers dressed as Santa, and get chased out of restaurants by cleaver-wielding chefs.The Smythes drolly captures the joys, heartbreaks, and humiliations of being in a family. Handpicked by acclaimed cartoonists R. Kikuo Johnson and Dash Shaw—who also penned the introduction together—this new selection of Smythes strips also includes an enlightening afterword by comics historian Caitlin McGurk. An unsung masterpiece of cartooning, The Smythes is finally available to a new generation of readers ready to marvel at the full reach of Irvin’s artistic abilities.

    Publisher: New York Review Books

    Release Date:

    Regular price $39.95 USD
    Regular price Sale price $39.95 USD
    Sale Check in Store
    Shipping calculated at checkout.

    How We Ship

    How We Ship

    Unless otherwise noted, all comics sold on the website come with a bag and board.

    All books are shipped in thick cardboard mailers or flats to reduce the risk of damage while shipping. We will NEVER send your book in a floppy shipping envelope that doesn't have protective qualities. 

    Orders are shipped 1-2 days after your order is placed.

    Shipping rates are calculated by the weight of the items and will calculate in your cart at checkout with several options to choose from for shipping.

    Conditions of These Items

    We cannot guarantee your new comic book or collectible will not have some slight imperfections.

    Minor damages, like light corner dings or light spine dings may be present.  

    We do strive to try and spot all seriously damaged items before they are made available to you for purchase online, but we are human and we do deal with 100s of books everyday, so we have the potential to miss some things on our inspection.

    If you feel like we missed a glaringly bad damage in your order, or your entire order was damaged by the mail, please contact us and we'll take it on a case-by-case basis to resolve you issue. 

    Can I Pickup in Store?

    We do offer a Free Local Pickup option for those that live near our stores.

    Our online inventory is located in Nashville, but all of our website inventory is separate from what's in store and kept off-site from the actual store. 

    You will receive a 'Ready For Pickup' notification, either by email or text (depending on your contact settings) when your item is on site and ready to pick up.

    Items are typically ready for pickup next day for Nashville.

    Currently this option is only available for Nashville. Clarksville will be coming soon!

    What Does "Check In Store" Mean

    If you see a white label over the cover image, or the add to cart button has been grayed out and the words "Check In Store" appearing in either of those area, then that mean this item is only available in our inventory at the store, and it is not currently available to order online. 

    This means, baring any inventory mishaps, you can find this item by visiting our Nashville store. 

    Currently we do not have a similar inventory tracker for our Clarksville store. 

    View full details

    Details