• Introduction . . . 7

1. The Comics--What Can They Give Us? . . . 9
• Pictures as communication -- the Bayeux tapestry -- Hogarth -- the comic strip, its form, its conventions, its style -- who reads them -- the strips as a mirror of our times, as entertainment, as a from of narrative art -- the vision of Rudolpe Topffer -- use of the imagination
• Picture Section . . . 19
2. Britain--the Comic Cuts Tradition . . . 45
• Ally Sloper's Half-Holiday, the first true modern comic -- the Harmsworth revolution -- Weary Willie and Tired Tim -- the comics' golden age -- Tiger Tim -- visual style of Film Fun -- the Dundee invasion -- fadeout for the old comics, birth of the new -- American takeover -- incentive for improvement
• Comic Section . . . 53
3. The American Revolution -- in Comics . . . 93
• On with the Yellow Kid -- the press war -- the first true strips -- George McManus -- Krazy Kat, greatest strip of all -- birth of New York's Daily News -- Dagwood and Blondie -- Captain Patterson's influence -- Milton Caniff -- Walt Kelly -- essential American-ness of strips -- vital function
• Comic Section . . . 111
4. Whatever Happened to the Comic Book? . . .163
• So long of the mark -- Famous Funnies -- Action Comics -- Superman, first of the superheroes -- Batman's beginnings -- golden age for the comic book -- Wonder Woman -- the denunciators -- the industry defends itself -- the Marvel revival -- the amazing Stan Lee -- the great Will Eisner
• Comic Section . . . 173
5. 'You Mean they have Newspaper Strips in Britain?' . . . 199
• American disbelief -- late arrival of strips in British newspapers -- the pioneering Daily Mirror -- Jane -- Andy Capp -- few American strips in Britain -- Flook, developed into satire -- serious competition from the Daily Express -- Bristow, cumulative hilarity -- a future for the funnies
• Comic Section . . . 209
6. Comics and the Cultural Overflow . . . 231
• Development of the strips -- strips into movies -- movies influenced by strips -- Pop Art and what it owes to comics -- strips on the stage -- strips in strange media -- Playboy and Private Eye -- perilous future for American strip -- what will happen to the British press -- always a place for comics
• Picture Section . . . 249

• Acknowledgements . . . 268
• Illustration Acknowledgements . . . 269
• Index . . . 270

Review by Gene Kannenberg, Jr.:

 Strips occupy a priviledged position here; comic books in Britain garner relatively scant attention, while US books receive a bit more, though certainly not approaching any real depth: illustrations in the "Comic Section" for US books jump from Famous Funnies #1 directly to post-Kirby Fantastic Four pages. In part this oversight can be attributed to the book's original publication date (1967), but also to Perry and Alrdidge's obvious attraction to the strip.

Perry's 1989 Introduction describes the work as "a period piece"--and the book does reflect a late-60s aesthetic sensibility. It also provides a wealth of comic strip samples.