Dave Strickler
Encyclopedia
Dave Strickler is a reference librarian noted for his compilation of Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index, regarded as a major reference work by researchers and historians of newspaper comic strip
s.
Born in Iowa, Strickler holds degrees from the University of Florida, Georgetown University and Florida State University. Prior to earning a library degree in 1988, Strickler was involved in linguistics, hotel management, entertainment coordination at Walt Disney World
and professional gambling. Since 1988, he has been employed as a reference librarian at the University of Southern California
, a library automation salesman in Provo, Utah
and an abstracter/indexer of nursing journals.
Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index, published by Strickler's Comics Access in 1995, is a comprehensive compilation of American newspaper comic strips. Covering more than 4700 syndicated strips and panels, it is the largest single listing of comic strips ever compiled. The alphabetical list of strips gives dates of syndication, along with names of individuals associated with the strips. A separate section displays an alphabetical list of 3300 artists, writers and creators, providing the titles of strips each worked on with dates of their work. Another section offers a translation of nicknames and pseudonyms.
(with the exception of the WWII years 1943 and 1944). His introduction explains how he began the project in 1992:
's castle in San Simeon, California
, maintains an online searchable index of comic strips in the Los Angeles Times
from 1904 to the present (August, 2011). One can search by title or by artist. Kevin Roderick's influential blog LA Observed described the database in the August 21, 2008 posting "Every comic, ever, in the LAT":
Strickler explained: “The United States has five major national newspapers with long back runs widely available nationwide in microfilm. Three of these newspapers have never carried comics (The New York Times
, The Wall Street Journal
, The Christian Science Monitor
), and one has carried comics only sporadically (The Washington Post
). That leaves the Los Angeles Times as the only newspaper with comics in the United States with a long back run that is widely available.”
In addition, Mr. Strickler maintains a separate but unpublished index of approximately 8100 U.S. comic strips, encompassing the comics from Editor & Publisher
, the Los Angeles Times
and every other source discovered in 20 years of research.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s.
Born in Iowa, Strickler holds degrees from the University of Florida, Georgetown University and Florida State University. Prior to earning a library degree in 1988, Strickler was involved in linguistics, hotel management, entertainment coordination at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
and professional gambling. Since 1988, he has been employed as a reference librarian at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, a library automation salesman in Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
and an abstracter/indexer of nursing journals.
Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index, published by Strickler's Comics Access in 1995, is a comprehensive compilation of American newspaper comic strips. Covering more than 4700 syndicated strips and panels, it is the largest single listing of comic strips ever compiled. The alphabetical list of strips gives dates of syndication, along with names of individuals associated with the strips. A separate section displays an alphabetical list of 3300 artists, writers and creators, providing the titles of strips each worked on with dates of their work. Another section offers a translation of nicknames and pseudonyms.
Compilation and indexing
Strickler's main source of information was the Syndicate Directory published by Editor & PublisherEditor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher is a monthly magazine covering the North American newspaper industry. It is based in New York City. E&P calls itself "America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry" and describes itself on its website as "the authoritative journal covering all aspects of the North...
(with the exception of the WWII years 1943 and 1944). His introduction explains how he began the project in 1992:
- Joe BtfsplkJoe BtfsplkJoe Btfsplk was a character in the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner by cartoonist Al Capp . He's well-meaning, but is the world's worst jinx, bringing disastrous misfortune to everyone around him. A small, dark rain cloud perpetually hovers over his head to symbolize his bad luck...
is to blame for this whole thing. Joe was the dismal source of woe and depression who slunk through Li'l AbnerLi'l AbnerLi'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
s DogpatchDogpatchDogpatch was the fictional setting of cartoonist Al Capp's classic comic strip, Li'l Abner .In Capp's own words, Dogpatch was "an average stone-age community nestled in a bleak valley, between two cheap and uninteresting hills somewhere." The inhabitants were mostly lazy hillbillies, who usually...
, spreading misery in every direction. I was a novice reference librarian at the University of Southern California (USC) in 1992, and pretty cocky about my research abilities when a lady called, wanting to know how to spell Joe's last name. No problem, I thought. Joe's spelling took several hours to track down, however, and in the course of that long, dusty (eventually successful) hunt I realized that no substantive index of comic strips and characters existed, either at USC or anywhere else. USC's library held two well-known encyclopedias on comics but nothing like the exhaustive indexes available in other areas of the humanities. Properly intimidated at the time by the publish-or-perish world of the untenured faculty librarian, I thought that such an index, a compilation of all comic strips ever published in the United States, and their major characters (to assist the next librarian who needed to spell Btfsplk) might make an interesting and academically acceptable publication, not to mention that it would chink up a gap in the reference literature. I was, however, pragmatical enough to realize that a work of this comprehensivity would pretty much take the rest of my life. That project continues on even as we speak, with USC and tenure concerns long forgotten, and is beyond the scope of this work. Give me a few more years.
Online comic strip database
Strickler, who lives and works near William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
's castle in San Simeon, California
San Simeon, California
San Simeon is a census-designated place on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California. Its position along State Route 1 is approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, each of those cities being roughly 230 mi away...
, maintains an online searchable index of comic strips in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
from 1904 to the present (August, 2011). One can search by title or by artist. Kevin Roderick's influential blog LA Observed described the database in the August 21, 2008 posting "Every comic, ever, in the LAT":
- Dave Strickler, a former USC research librarian, has painstakingly compiled an online database listing the run years and some details of every comic strip to appear in the Los Angeles Times from August 21, 1904 Buster BrownBuster BrownBuster Brown was a comic strip character created in 1902 by Richard Felton Outcault who was known for his association with the Brown Shoe Company. This mischievous young boy was loosely based on a boy near Outcault's home in Flushing, New York...
) to the current era. It stands, he says, as the closest thing to a guide to full runs of comics in U.S. newspapers. He's now working on a database of comic strip characters.
Strickler explained: “The United States has five major national newspapers with long back runs widely available nationwide in microfilm. Three of these newspapers have never carried comics (The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
), and one has carried comics only sporadically (The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
). That leaves the Los Angeles Times as the only newspaper with comics in the United States with a long back run that is widely available.”
In addition, Mr. Strickler maintains a separate but unpublished index of approximately 8100 U.S. comic strips, encompassing the comics from Editor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher is a monthly magazine covering the North American newspaper industry. It is based in New York City. E&P calls itself "America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry" and describes itself on its website as "the authoritative journal covering all aspects of the North...
, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and every other source discovered in 20 years of research.