Bill Hume:  Babysan
                                             (1953 - Kasuga Boeki)  

     Welcome to the humorous side of the Allied Forces' occupation of the island nation of Japan and indeed the book is subtitled A Private Look At The Japanese Occupation.  Babysan is a young attractive & materialistic Japanese girl who has embraced the new 'cottage industry' of opportunistically cozying-up to any willing personnel of the subjugating American military (those with excess cash, that is).  This digest-sized book delivers 60 full-page cartoons by Bill Hume, each with facing page containing commentary (written by John Annarino) about the socio-economic situation being depicted, as Babysan juggles, entertains & educates her many new boyfriends.  A simmering sexuality lies just below the surface of most of the encounters we are shown, though Hume draws all in a broad clean-line style that doesn't linger on the less-than-wholesome-goings-on that must be happening behind-the-scenes.  Note that this was the first of a handful of collections featuring our fetching gamine.

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