Before authoring one of the most beloved children's book series of all time - Harold and the Purple Crayon - cartoonist Crockett Johnson created the comic strip Barnaby (1942 to 1952). Its subtle ironies and playful allusions following the adventures of five-year-old Barnaby Baxter and his fairy godfather Jackeen J. O'Malley was a critical favourite. Barnaby's deft balance of fantasy, political commentary, sophisticated wit and elegantly spare images expanded the sense of what comic strips can do.