Four Color #1186

Dell's Yak Yak: A Pathology of Humor is a wonderfully offbeat 1961 humor anthology with Jack Davis handling every creative role — writing, drawing, inking, and coloring the whole thing. Davis's cover drops us into a dimly lit, grimy gathering spot packed wall-to-wall with a wonderfully grotesque crowd of oddballs, while a grinning, beret-wearing little fellow stands atop a table, finger raised triumphantly, as a speech bubble quotes Robert Burns: "Oh wad some power the giftie gie us to see oursels as others see us!" It's a perfect setup for the self-aware absurdist comedy inside, and Davis's rubbery, expressive caricatures are in full, gleeful form.