LocalLit book review: Son preserves father’s life’s dream in new book

We are a family that likes cartoons.

Favorites include Peanuts, Tales from the Far Side, Doonesbury and Fox Trot – and books featuring these cartoons would pass from person to person to person at our house until everyone had read them.

I did not know that a nationally syndicated cartoon – Thornsby – had its origins in New Lenox, where its creator Fred McLaren lived at the time, until his son Tom McLaren sent me an email informing me of his publication of “Thornsby by Fred McLaren : The Complete Comic Collection.”

Fred’s son Tom sent an abridged PDF of the book, which included Fred’s back story and the complete collection of these single-panel cartoons.

Here is its Amazon description: “From creator, writer and artist Fred McLaren, ‘Thornsby’ was a topical and humorous single-panel cartoon published in newspapers nationwide during this splashy decade. The hero was a family man who longed for the nostalgic days of his 1940s youth. With his unique and quirky sense of humor, he struggled with the reality of being a middle-aged man in the 1970s. Americans faced a decade of jarring political and socioeconomic changes, including inflation, pollution, shortages, recalls, protests, women’s liberation, and so much more. Thornsby, his devoted wife Blanch, and free spirit son Tune-In (with his flower child girlfriend Vibes) had to find a way to muddle through this strange new world.

“For the first time ever, the complete syndicated run of 768 “Thornsby” cartoons is presented in this book as a tribute to its talented creator across over 450 pages of memories. Never-before-seen promotional and publicity materials are included, as well as other photographs, bonuses, and surprises. The very personal introduction and numerous cartoon anecdotes are written by Fred’s son Tom McLaren. ‘Thornsby’ is a witty and entertaining look back at the 1970s for comic strip historians, retro collectors and fans of good humor.”

I have not read all of the cartoons yet, but I am enjoying them. To me, they’re like “Family Circus” meets “Family Guy” meets “American Dad.” Here’s why I say that.

The cartoons are clean; the one-liners are sharp. Thornsby is completely of the era he missed. His wife Blanch is loving and tolerant of his quirks. And Thornsby and his kids are completely foreign to each other, even though you can tell the entire family loves each other.

Besides most of the cartoons, Tom adds a short explanation to orient the reader into the historical, societal or pop cultural significance of the cartoon’s topic.

But “Thornsby by Fred McLaren : The Complete Comic Collection” is not simply another book of cartoons, albeit entertaining cartoons, with well-drawn personalities.

For example the dentist, Jimmy Soregums, looks as scary as many people imagine him, with the caption: “Now just relax. This will only hurt for about six months.”

You see, readers will get the Fred McLaren backstory. They’ll his career path, his love for art and – finally – the fulfillment of a dream-come-true when Thornsby becomes a syndicated cartoon for three very short years.

The book also includes Thornsby first drafts, final drafts and – in a “Where’s Waldo” – type of fun – seeing where Fred sneaked the animated version of himself into the foregrounds and backgrounds of some of the Thornsby cartoons.

Memorable lines include:

“I don’t know what you’ve got, but here’s a prescription that you can’t read for medicine that may or may not work.” (Thornsby at the doctor’s office).

“It was a good day: no protests, no riots, no pollution, and our new car made it home without falling apart.” (Thornsby recapping his day to Blanch).

“He’s so proud of himself – six weeks without a cigarette.” (Blanch praises Thornsby to a friend while he secretly smokes in the basement).

“I talked him into giving it to the Salvation Army – but they sent it back!” (Blanch on the phone with a friend, Thornsby in the background wearing a an extremely worn sweater).

And my favorite (so far):

“Dial Nostalgia now brings you 1973 and the sounds of an auto plant in full production.”

Ah, those were the days …

Buy “Thornsby by Fred McLaren : The Complete Comic Collection” on Amazon.

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