A sumptuous first volume in the planned reprinting of the complete "Little Orphan Annie", and quite a nice job they do. This begins from the first strip, with Annie having quite a trying time in the "Home", where she has been as long as she can remember. Eventually she is adopted by Mrs. Warbucks, a vain newly rich social climber who wants to show off her charitable nature. She does not take to Annie, but her husband, Oliver Warbucks, does right away. Here begins a perennial pattern, with Warbucks making long trips to see to his business, believing he is leaving Annie well-protected. Something always goes wrong, though, leaving Annie and Sandy broke and on the road. They eventually are taken in by poor but goodly people, whose own lives always turn for the better after making Annie a part of their lives. "LOA" is a guilty pleasure; Gray was repetitive in his themes and his artwork was stiff and amateurish. Somehow, though, it all works, perhaps because Gray really did believe the homespun and simple philosophy that guided his main characters. At any rate, "Little Orphan Annie" is one of my favorite strips. Of particular note in its pathos is the storyline where Annie is paralyzed after a fall from the trapeze, and its resolution. Mawkish, but genuinely moving. Another interesting note is the change in Mrs. Warbuck's personality after leaving Oliver and becoming a pauper herself. After reconciling with Oliver, they go on a cruise, the yacht sinks, and Oliver shows up months later, apparently the sole survivor. But Mrs. Warbucks is not mentioned again for a very long time, and not in this volume. ( )

Love it. Annie is great, and this one is more complete (and earlier) than any other book of her strips I've read. I liked the biographical sketches at the beginning - a little bit about who and what Harold Gray was, but the focus stayed on Annie. My one complaint is that the editors said that later Gray started including the Sundays in the continuity, and when he does they'll start including them (in later volumes); they included a few Sundays in this one, but not all of the continuity ones. There are a couple points where Annie goes through a major change in one day on a Sunday, and the next day finds her in a new position...she _says_ what happened, but that's not the same as seeing it. Definitely looking out for the next books in the series. They're enormous, heavy hardbacks, and expensive (I mostly buy paperbacks!) - but for this it's worth it.
Upon yet another reread - Lovely as always. Still wish they had the rest of the continuity Sundays. And I really wish this existed as an ebook - it's a huge and heavy object, ( )

5th of 6 tiny books in a set