Review of "The Family Circus Treasury," by Bil Keane

Review of

The Family Circus Treasury, by Bil Keane ISBN 0836207351


Five out of five stars

 The highest of family comic strips

 The Family Circus has long been the power strip for the nuclear family of two parents, four young children and three pets. The artist Bil Keane openly states that what appears in this strip is often just a slightly modified rendition of what has taken place in his life with his children and pets.

 The theme of the daily strip is generally confined to a single image, although there are a few with two or more related images. They revolve around the simple events in the lives of parents and children, from getting them off to school to family vacations to visits back and forth with grandparents. The father in this case is the only one working outside the home, generally speaking the mother can be considered the traditional, albeit now somewhat archaic homemaker. When the father is shown doing housework he is often depicted as being of marginal competence.

 Wholesome in the old sense is the best word to describe this strip. While it is good, it is unfortunate that it is in so many ways outdated.