Hogans Alley #18

"Hogan's Alley features a long interview with Patrick McDonnell, creator of the phenomenally popular Mutts comic strip. McDonnell discusses the creative opportunities - and challenges - involved in adapting a comic strip to other media, including a big-budget theatrical movie! To celebrate our 20th issue, we identify the Silver Age's 20 key comic books. We present a wide-ranging interview with John Dirks, the son of Rudolph Dirks, one of the comic strip's founding fathers and the creator of the Katzenjammer Kids. We look back at Mickey Mouse's early years and some of the storylines and incidents that seem unimaginable today (like Mickey's repeated failed attempts at suicide). We also chronicle the history of the 1978 animated TV broadcast of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and all the creative hurdles the animators surmounted to bring Middle Earth to the small screen."