After noting how bad the "Blondie" strip was in the first collection, I held my nose and approached this book as a comic historian rather than a fan. And the first year does live down to my expectations, as the happy (and clueless) newlyweds return from their honeymoon expecting that Dagwood's rich parents will reconsider their vow to disinherit their son and take them in. Instead, much of this first year has the parents trying to get Dagwood to obtain a quickie divorce and come back to the family fold, sans Blondie. But Dagwood is resolute in his love for Blondie -- only time in the strip he ever shows any backbone. She even lands a job for him. As the couple gradually settle into married life, we see a gradual humanization of the strip as many of the familiar elements appear: a thankless office job with Mr. Dithers, the dog Daisy, (almost) steamrolling the hapless mailman in a mad dash to work, the Woodleys next door... but it isn't until the arrival of a baby boy (later named Alexander Hamilton Bumstead) that the strip comes into its own, and there are actually some panels of considerable charm and humor that remind me somewhat of "Gasoline Alley". A considerable improvement of what began as a thoroughly objectionable strip. ( )