Topper (comic strip)
Encyclopedia
A topper in comic strip
parlance is a small secondary strip seen along with a larger Sunday strip
. In the 1920s and 1930s, leading cartoonists were given full pages in the Sunday comics
sections, allowing them to add smaller strips and single-panel cartoons to their page.
Toppers usually were drawn by the same artist as the larger strip. These strips usually were positioned at the top of the page (hence their name), but they sometimes ran beneath the main strip.
Toppers were introduced by King Features Syndicate
during the 1920s, enabling newspaper editors to claim more comic strips without adding more pages. The practice allowed newspapers to drop the topper and place an additional strip or an additional advertisement into the Sunday comics section. They also made it possible to reformat a strip from full-page size to tabloid size.
In 1904, Frederick Opper drew his And Her Name Was Maud, about the kicking mule Maud, into comic strips, books and animation, but on May 23, 1926, Opper positioned And Her Name Was Maud as the topper to his Happy Hooligan, and it ran along with Happy Hooligan until both strips came to a conclusion on October 14, 1932. On May 16, 1926, Harold Knerr
began Dinglehoofer und His Dog Adolph, a topper to The Katzenjammer Kids, which ran until two years after his death. By 1936, to avoid any association with Adolf Hitler, the dog's name was changed to Schnappsy (aka Schnapps). Knerr's strip was reformatted for reprints in Magic Comics in the early 1940s.
Billy DeBeck's topper for Barney Google was Parlor Bedroom and Sink, which evolved into Parlor Bedroom and Sink Starring Bunky and eventually was titled simply Bunky. In the mid-1930s, DeBeck added alongside Bunky a single-panel topper, Knee-Hi-Knoodles, depictions of kids' funny remarks (contributed by readers). Bunky spawned the catchphrase, "Youse is a viper, Fagin." A big fan of Bunky was pulp author Robert E. Howard
, who liked to quote from the strip, as noted by his friend Tevis Clyde Smith:
became a spin-off from The Family Upstairs and Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs appeared over J. R. Williams
' Out Our Way with the Willets
Sunday strip. The Wash Tubbs Sunday strip ran in that format from 1927 until 1933, when Crane launched Captain Easy
as a Sunday page (featuring Wash Tubbs as a secondary character).
Gene Ahern
's topper The Squirrel Cage, which ran above his Room and Board
, is notable because of the repetitive use of the nonsensical question, '"Nov shmoz ka pop?", which was never translated yet became a national catchphrase. As a consequence, The Squirrel Cage is today better remembered than Room and Board, despite its 17-year run.
On at least one occasion, a character exited the topper and dropped down into the main strip. This happened on April 17, 1938 when an absent-minded character in the Rosie's Beau topper realized he was in the wrong place and climbed down into the first panel of Bringing Up Father, arriving in the living room of Maggie and Jiggs. During the 1940s, Snookums ran as the topper above Bringing Up Father. In the final episode of HBO's The Pacific
(2010), Robert Leckie
(James Badge Dale
) is seen reading Snookums.
During its long run, Pete the Tramp
had several topper strips, as detailed by comic strip historian Allan Holtz
:
in the mid-1940s. Holtz notes:
And further:
Some strips continued to supply toppers into the 1960s, and in a few cases even the 1970s. Maw Green in Little Orphan Annie
was the last Sunday strip topper, except for the brief use of the topper parodies
Sawdust and The Invisible Tribe in Dick Tracy
.
Some underground
and alternative
comic artists have used toppers in their work, though not in the context of a Sunday strip. The strip Fat Freddy's Cat
appeared as a topper in the underground comic book
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
. Tony Millionaire
's weekly comic strip Maakies
is perhaps the only contemporary syndicated strip to run a topper (which appears at the bottom of the main strip and lacks a consistent title). Toppers have also been used in some comics by Chris Ware
and Daniel Clowes
to mimic the format of a Sunday comics
page. A variant of the topper, "throwaway" panels containing a "throwaway gag" (inessential to the thrust of the strip) remain common , and allow different formats depending on available space.
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....
parlance is a small secondary strip seen along with a larger Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
. In the 1920s and 1930s, leading cartoonists were given full pages in the Sunday comics
Sunday comics
Sunday comics is the commonly accepted term for the full-color comic strip section carried in most American newspapers. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies....
sections, allowing them to add smaller strips and single-panel cartoons to their page.
Toppers usually were drawn by the same artist as the larger strip. These strips usually were positioned at the top of the page (hence their name), but they sometimes ran beneath the main strip.
Toppers were introduced by King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
during the 1920s, enabling newspaper editors to claim more comic strips without adding more pages. The practice allowed newspapers to drop the topper and place an additional strip or an additional advertisement into the Sunday comics section. They also made it possible to reformat a strip from full-page size to tabloid size.
In 1904, Frederick Opper drew his And Her Name Was Maud, about the kicking mule Maud, into comic strips, books and animation, but on May 23, 1926, Opper positioned And Her Name Was Maud as the topper to his Happy Hooligan, and it ran along with Happy Hooligan until both strips came to a conclusion on October 14, 1932. On May 16, 1926, Harold Knerr
Harold Knerr
Harold Hering Knerr was an American comic strip creator, who signed his work H. H. Knerr. He was best known as the writer-artist of The Katzenjammer Kids for 35 years....
began Dinglehoofer und His Dog Adolph, a topper to The Katzenjammer Kids, which ran until two years after his death. By 1936, to avoid any association with Adolf Hitler, the dog's name was changed to Schnappsy (aka Schnapps). Knerr's strip was reformatted for reprints in Magic Comics in the early 1940s.
Billy DeBeck's topper for Barney Google was Parlor Bedroom and Sink, which evolved into Parlor Bedroom and Sink Starring Bunky and eventually was titled simply Bunky. In the mid-1930s, DeBeck added alongside Bunky a single-panel topper, Knee-Hi-Knoodles, depictions of kids' funny remarks (contributed by readers). Bunky spawned the catchphrase, "Youse is a viper, Fagin." A big fan of Bunky was pulp author Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
, who liked to quote from the strip, as noted by his friend Tevis Clyde Smith:
- His affection for Bunker Hill - "Youse is a viper, Fagin." Kept up with the strip, and retold it in a charming way. Liked to talk Brooklynese, and once entered a local dry goods store, and asked to see a shoitel.
Spinoffs
Characters in toppers sometimes turned up in the main strip, such as Herby appearing in Smitty, and Kitty Higgins joining the cast of Moon Mullins. In a few cases, the topper introduced characters later developed into a successful Sunday page, as happened when Krazy KatKrazy Kat
Krazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
became a spin-off from The Family Upstairs and Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs appeared over J. R. Williams
J. R. Williams (cartoonist)
James Robert Williams was a cartoonist who signed his work J. R. Williams. He was best known for his long-run daily syndicated panel, Out Our Way. As noted by Coulton Waugh in his 1947 book, The Comics, anecdotal evidence indicated that more Williams' cartoons were clipped and saved than were...
' Out Our Way with the Willets
Out Our Way
Out Our Way was a single-panel cartoon by J. R. Williams which was syndicated for decades after it first appeared in a half-dozen small-market newspapers on March 20, 1922.-Characters and story:...
Sunday strip. The Wash Tubbs Sunday strip ran in that format from 1927 until 1933, when Crane launched Captain Easy
Captain Easy
Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune was an action/adventure comic strip created by Roy Crane that was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association beginning on Sunday, July 30, 1933...
as a Sunday page (featuring Wash Tubbs as a secondary character).
Gene Ahern
Gene Ahern
Eugene Leslie Ahern was a cartoonist best known for his bombastic Major Hoople, a pompous character who appeared in the long-run syndicated gag panel Our Boarding House...
's topper The Squirrel Cage, which ran above his Room and Board
Room and Board (comic strip)
Room and Board was a comic strip by Gene Ahern which was syndicated from 1936 to 1953, following Ahern's memorable Our Boarding House which he drew from 1921 to 1936.-Related strips:...
, is notable because of the repetitive use of the nonsensical question, '"Nov shmoz ka pop?", which was never translated yet became a national catchphrase. As a consequence, The Squirrel Cage is today better remembered than Room and Board, despite its 17-year run.
On at least one occasion, a character exited the topper and dropped down into the main strip. This happened on April 17, 1938 when an absent-minded character in the Rosie's Beau topper realized he was in the wrong place and climbed down into the first panel of Bringing Up Father, arriving in the living room of Maggie and Jiggs. During the 1940s, Snookums ran as the topper above Bringing Up Father. In the final episode of HBO's The Pacific
The Pacific (miniseries)
The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010....
(2010), Robert Leckie
Robert Leckie (author)
Robert Leckie was an American author of popular books on the military history of the United States. As a young man, he served in the Marine Corps with the 1st Marine Division during World War II...
(James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale is an American actor who starred in the AMC drama series Rubicon. He is most famous for his role of Chase Edmunds in the third season of 24 and Robert Leckie in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.-Early years:...
) is seen reading Snookums.
During its long run, Pete the Tramp
Pete the Tramp
Pete the Tramp was a comic strip by Clarence D. Russell which was distributed by King Features Syndicate for more than three decades. Howard Eugene Wilson, in the Harvard Educational Review, described the strip's title character as "a hobo with a gentleman's instincts."Russell studied at the...
had several topper strips, as detailed by comic strip historian Allan Holtz
Allan Holtz
Allan Holtz is a comic strip historian who researches and writes about newspaper comics for his Stripper's Guide, launched in 2005. His research encompasses some 7,000 American comic strips and newspaper panels...
:
- C. D. RussellClarence D. RussellClarence D. Russell was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated comic strip Pete the Tramp.Born in Buffalo, New York, Russell studied at the Chicago Art Institute and began working as a freelance artist...
's wonderful Pete the Tramp went through a trio of topper strips on its Sunday pages. The first, Pete's Pup, was a dog strip, sort of a canine counterpart to the Mutt and Jeff topper, Cicero's Cat. The next was The Topper Twins, my favorite because the name is an in-joke to the industry term "topper". For some reason, Russell alternatively called this strip The Tucker Twins. The last topper was Snorky... It started in 1935 and is believed to have run as late as 1939. Getting an end date on these later toppers can be a Herculean task, because fewer and fewer papers printed the toppers as the decade of the 1930s wore on. In fact, I have no examples of Snorky later than 1937 in my collection; the 1939 date is based on the strip's listing in the Editor & PublisherEditor & PublisherEditor & 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...
yearbooks.
Toppers bottom out
Some toppers consisted of only a single panel, an example being those that accompanied Joe PalookaJoe Palooka
Joe Palooka was an American comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher in 1921. The strip debuted in 1930 and was carried at its peak by 900 newspapers....
in the mid-1940s. Holtz notes:
- It is a popular assumption in newspaper strip fan circles that World War II is what killed the toppers. I'll grant you that it was the coup de grace, but toppers were on the wane well before then. 1935 seems to be the last year when toppers are truly ubiquitous, and thereafter many papers started dropping them in favor of half-page versions of the A-list strips. Toppers become decidedly rare as of about 1940, though many cartoonists kept producing them long thereafter. Some later toppers are so rare as to make one wonder if they ever actually ran in any newspaper—the only evidence I've found of some is on original art.
And further:
- You'll hear historians say that the topper strip was a victim of World War II paper shortages. Don't believe a word of it—it's the ads that killed full-page strips, and that killed the topper. World War II only exacerbated an already bad situation.
Some strips continued to supply toppers into the 1960s, and in a few cases even the 1970s. Maw Green in Little Orphan Annie
Little Orphan Annie
Little Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York Daily News...
was the last Sunday strip topper, except for the brief use of the topper parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
Sawdust and The Invisible Tribe in Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
.
Some underground
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
and alternative
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
comic artists have used toppers in their work, though not in the context of a Sunday strip. The strip Fat Freddy's Cat
Fat Freddy's Cat
Fat Freddy's Cat is a fictional orange tomcat nominally belonging to Fat Freddy Freekowtski, one of the Freak Brothers, a trio of hippies who are featured in Gilbert Shelton's underground comix.-History:...
appeared as a topper in the underground comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers are a trio of underground comic strip characters created by the U.S. artist Gilbert Shelton. The Freak Brothers first appeared in The Rag, an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968; and were regularly reprinted in underground papers...
. Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip Maakies and the Sock Monkey series of comics and picture books.-Early life:...
's weekly comic strip Maakies
Maakies
Maakies is a syndicated weekly comic strip by Tony Millionaire. It began publication in February 1994 in the New York Press. It currently runs in many American alternative newsweeklies including The Stranger, LA Weekly and Only...
is perhaps the only contemporary syndicated strip to run a topper (which appears at the bottom of the main strip and lacks a consistent title). Toppers have also been used in some comics by Chris Ware
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson Ware , is an American comic book artist and cartoonist, widely known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he resides in the Chicago area, Illinois...
and Daniel Clowes
Daniel Clowes
Daniel Gillespie Clowes is an American author, screenwriter and cartoonist of alternative comic books....
to mimic the format of a Sunday comics
Sunday comics
Sunday comics is the commonly accepted term for the full-color comic strip section carried in most American newspapers. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies....
page. A variant of the topper, "throwaway" panels containing a "throwaway gag" (inessential to the thrust of the strip) remain common , and allow different formats depending on available space.
Notable toppers
- Alley OopAlley OopAlley Oop is a syndicated comic strip, created in 1932 by American cartoonist V. T. Hamlin, who wrote and drew the popular and influential strip through four decades for Newspaper Enterprise Association...
-- Dinny's Family Album - Barney GoogleBarney Google and Snuffy SmithBarney Google and Snuffy Smith, originally Barney Google, is a long-running American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck . Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a huge international readership, appearing in 900 newspapers in 21 countries...
-- Bughouse Fables, Bunky (originally Parlor Bedroom and Sink), Knee-Hi-Knoodles (single panel) - BlondieBlondie (comic strip)Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930...
-- Colonel Potterby and the Duchess - Boob McNuttBoob McNuttBoob McNutt was a comic strip by Rube Goldberg which ran from 1915 to September 1934. It was syndicated by the McNaught Syndicate from 1922 until the end of its run....
-- Bertha the Siberian Cheesehound (started as a topper but soon became a supporting character with Boob) - Boots and Her BuddiesBoots and Her BuddiesBoots and Her Buddies is an American comic strip by Edgar Everett Martin. Syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, it ran from 1924 to 1969. Some newspapers ran the strip under the shortened title Boots...
-- Babe 'n' Horace - Bringing Up FatherBringing up FatherBringing Up Father was an influential American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus . Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 12, 1913 to May 28, 2000....
-- Snookums, Rosie's Beau - The Bungle Family -- Little Brother, Short Stories
- The Captain and the Kids -- Hawkshaw the DetectiveHawkshaw the DetectiveHawkshaw the Detective was a comic strip character featured in an eponymous cartoon serial by Gus Mager between 1913 and 1922 and again from 1931 to 1952...
(drawn by Gus MagerGus MagerCharles Augustus Mager , better known as Gus Mager, was an American painter, illustrator and cartoonist during the first half of the 20th century...
, begun in 1931) - ConnieConnie (Comic Strip)Connie was an American adventure comic strip created by the cartoonist Frank Godwin, who introduced a book illustration style to the comics page. The strip ran from 1927 to 1944 for the Ledger Syndicate...
-- The Wet Blanket - Count Screwloose, Dave's DelicatessenMilt GrossMilt Gross , was an American comic strip and comic book writer, illustrator and animator. He wrote his comics in a Yiddish-inflected English. He originated the non-sequitur "Banana Oil!" as a phrase deflating pomposity and posing. His character Count Screwloose's admonition, "Iggy, keep an eye on...
-- Banana Oil, Babbling Brooks, Otto and Blotto - Dick TracyDick TracyDick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
-- Crimestopper's Textbook - Ella CindersElla CindersElla Cinders was a syndicated comic strip created by writer Bill Conselman and artist Charles Plumb. Distributed by United Feature Syndicate, the daily version was launched June 1, 1925, and a Sunday page followed two years later...
-- Chris Crusty - Felix the CatFelix the CatFelix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history...
-- Laura - The Family UpstairsGeorge HerrimanGeorge Joseph Herriman was an American cartoonist, best known for his classic comic strip Krazy Kat.-Early life:...
-- Krazy KatKrazy KatKrazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
(bottom, first Krazy Kat appearance) - The Fabulous Furry Freak BrothersFabulous Furry Freak BrothersThe Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers are a trio of underground comic strip characters created by the U.S. artist Gilbert Shelton. The Freak Brothers first appeared in The Rag, an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas, beginning in May 1968; and were regularly reprinted in underground papers...
-- Fat Freddy's CatFat Freddy's CatFat Freddy's Cat is a fictional orange tomcat nominally belonging to Fat Freddy Freekowtski, one of the Freak Brothers, a trio of hippies who are featured in Gilbert Shelton's underground comix.-History:...
(bottom, underground imitation of vintage strip format) - Felix the CatFelix the CatFelix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history...
-- Laura - Flash GordonFlash GordonFlash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
-- Jungle JimJungle JimJungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began in 1934 as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle Jim...
(sometimes published as separate strip) - Freckles and His FriendsFreckles and His FriendsFreckles and his Friends was a popular American comic strip set in the peaceful small town of Shadyside where young Freckles McGoosey and his friends live...
-- Hector - Gasoline AlleyGasoline AlleyGasoline Alley is a comic strip created by Frank King and currently distributed by Tribune Media Services. First published November 24, 1918, it is the second longest running comic strip in the US and has received critical accolades for its influential innovations...
-- That Phoney Nickel (bottom) - The GumpsThe GumpsThe Gumps, a popular comic strip about a middle-class family, was created by Sidney Smith in 1917, launching a 42-year run in newspapers from February 12, 1917 until October 17, 1959....
-- Cousin Juniper - Happy HooliganHappy HooliganHappy Hooligan was a popular and influential early American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper.Happy Hooligan, the first major comic strip by already celebrated cartoonist Opper, debuted with a Sunday strip on March 11, 1900 in the William Randolph Hearst newspapers, and was one of the first...
-- And Her Name Was Maud - Harold TeenHarold TeenHarold Teen was a popular, long-running comic strip written and drawn by Carl Ed . Publisher Joseph Medill Patterson may have suggested, and certainly approved, the strip's concept, loosely based on Booth Tarkington's successful novel Seventeen. Asked in the late 1930s why he had started the strip,...
-- Josie - Hollywood Johnnie -- Movie Struck
- Joe PalookaJoe PalookaJoe Palooka was an American comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher in 1921. The strip debuted in 1930 and was carried at its peak by 900 newspapers....
-- Wartime Anecdotes, Miss Jones, etc. - The Katzenjammer Kids -- Dinglehoofer und His Dog (1926-1951)
- 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...
-- Washable Jones, Small Fry (aka Small Change), Advice fo' Chillun - Little Annie RooneyLittle Annie RooneyLittle Annie Rooney was a comic strip about a young orphaned girl who traveled about with her dog, Zero. King Features Syndicate launched the strip on January 10, 1927, not long after it was apparent that the Chicago Tribune Syndicate had scored a huge hit with Little Orphan Annie.Although the King...
-- Ming Foo - Little JimmyLittle JimmyLittle Jimmy, originally titled Jimmy, was a newspaper comic strip created by Jimmy Swinnerton. With a publication history from February 14, 1904 to 1958, it was one of the first continuing features and one of the longest running....
-- Mr. JackMr. JackMr. Jack was a "funny animal" comic strip by Jimmy Swinnerton which ran in William Randolph Hearst newspapers from about 1903 until 1935....
(1926-35) - Little JoeLittle Joe (comic strip)Little Joe was a Western comic strip, created in the early 1930s by Ed Leffingwell and later continued by his brother, Robert Leffingwell. Distributed by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, this Sunday strip had a long run spanning four decades...
-- Ze Gen'ral - Little Orphan AnnieLittle Orphan AnnieLittle Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York Daily News...
-- Maw Green (bottom, last Sunday comics topper) - Mickey Finn -- Nippie: He's Often Wrong!
- Mickey MouseMickey MouseMickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
-- Silly SymphonySilly SymphoniesSilly Symphonies is a series of animated short subjects, 75 in total, produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939, while the studio was still located at Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles...
(1932-1942) - Moon MullinsMoon MullinsMoon Mullins, created by cartoonist Frank Willard , was a popular American comic strip which had a long run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of diverse lowbrow characters who...
-- Kitty Higgins - Mutt and Jeff -- Cicero's Cat
- Our Boarding HouseOur Boarding HouseOur Boarding House was a long-running, American gag-panel comic strip created by Gene Ahern in 1921 and syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association. Set in a boarding house run by the sensible Mrs...
-- The Nut Bros: Ches and Wal - Out Our Way with the WilletsOut Our WayOut Our Way was a single-panel cartoon by J. R. Williams which was syndicated for decades after it first appeared in a half-dozen small-market newspapers on March 20, 1922.-Characters and story:...
-- Wash TubbsWash TubbsWash Tubbs was a comic strip created by Roy Crane that ran from April 14, 1924 to January 10, 1988.Initially titled Washington Tubbs II, it originally was a gag-a-day strip which focused on the mundane misadventures of the title character, a bespectacled bumbler who ran a store. However, Crane soon... - Pete the TrampPete the TrampPete the Tramp was a comic strip by Clarence D. Russell which was distributed by King Features Syndicate for more than three decades. Howard Eugene Wilson, in the Harvard Educational Review, described the strip's title character as "a hobo with a gentleman's instincts."Russell studied at the...
-- Pete's Pup, The Topper Twins (aka The Tucker Twins), Snorky - Polly and Her PalsPolly and Her PalsPolly and Her Pals is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Cliff Sterrett, which ran from 1912 until 1958. It is regarded as one of the most graphically innovative strips of the 20th century...
-- Dot and Dash (originally Damon and Pythias), Belles and Wedding Bells (originally Sweethearts and Wives) - Prince ValiantPrince ValiantPrince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
-- The Medieval Castle (short run) - Red RyderRed RyderRed Ryder was a popular long-running Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman. Beginning Sunday, November 6, 1938, Red Ryder was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, expanding over the following decade to 750 newspapers, translations into ten languages and...
-- Little Beaver - Reg'lar FellersReg'lar FellersReg'lar Fellers was a long-run newspaper comic strip adapted into a feature film, a radio series on NBC and an animated cartoon. Created by Gene Byrnes , the comic strip offered a humorous look at a gang of suburban children...
-- Daisybelle, Zoolie - Room and BoardRoom and Board (comic strip)Room and Board was a comic strip by Gene Ahern which was syndicated from 1936 to 1953, following Ahern's memorable Our Boarding House which he drew from 1921 to 1936.-Related strips:...
-- The Squirrel Cage - SkippySkippy (comic strip)Skippy was an American comic strip written and drawn by Percy Crosby that was published from 1923 to 1945. A highly popular, acclaimed and influential feature about rambunctious fifth-grader Skippy Skinner, his friends and his enemies, it was adapted into movies, a novel and a radio show. It was...
-- Always Belittlin - SmittySmitty (comic strip)Smitty was a popular newspaper comic strip created in the early 1920s by Walter Berndt. Syndicated nationally by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, it ran from November 29, 1922 to 1973 and brought Berndt a Reuben Award in 1969....
-- Herby - Smokey StoverSmokey StoverSmokey Stover is an American comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Bill Holman, from 1935 until he retired in 1973. Distributed through the Chicago Tribune, it features the wacky misadventures of the titular fireman, and had the longest run of any comic strip in the "screwball comics"...
-- Spooky - SupermanSuperman (comic strip)Superman was a daily newspaper comic strip which began on January 16, 1939, and a separate Sunday strip was added on November 5, 1939. These strips ran continuously until May 1966. In 1941, the McClure Syndicate had placed the strip in hundreds of newspapers...
-- Lois Lane Girl Reporter. - Sweeney & SonAl PosenAlvah Posen was an American cartoonist on several comic strips, but he is best known for his strip Sweeney & Son and as co-producer of the now-lost Marx Brothers film, Humor Risk ....
-- Jinglet - Texas Slim and Dirty DaltonFerd JohnsonFerdinand Johnson , aka Ferd Johnson, was an American cartoonist, best known for his 68-year stint on the Moon Mullins comic strip....
-- Buzzy - They'll Do It Every TimeThey'll Do It Every TimeThey'll Do It Every Time was a single-panel newspaper comic strip, created by Jimmy Hatlo, which had a long run over eight decades. It first appeared on February 5, 1929 and continued until February 2, 2008. The title of the strip became a popular catchphrase, still used today by many people who...
-- Little IodineLittle IodineLittle Iodine was a popular Sunday comic strip, created by Jimmy Hatlo, which was syndicated by King Features and had a long run from 1943 until 1985...
(spinoff, 1943-1985), Hatlo's Inferno (1953-1958) - Thimble Theater -- Sappo (originally The 5:15), Popeye's Cartoon Club
- Tillie the ToilerTillie the ToilerTillie the Toiler was a newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russ Westover who initially worked on his concept of a flapper character in a strip he titled Rose of the Office...
-- Van Swaggers and Aunt Min - Tim Tyler's LuckTim Tyler's LuckTim Tyler's Luck was an adventure comic strip created by Lyman Young, elder brother of Blondie creator Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip ran from August 13, 1928 until August 1996....
-- Curley Harper - Toots and CasperToots and CasperToots and Casper was a long-run family comic strip by Jimmy Murphy, distributed to newspapers for 37 years by King Features Syndicate, resulting in many merchandising tie-ins, including books, dolls, paper dolls, pins, bisque nodders and comic books....
-- It's Poppa Who Pays! - Winnie WinkleWinnie WinkleWinnie Winkle was an American comic strip which appeared over a 76-year span . Created by Martin Branner, who wrote the strip for over 40 years, Winnie Winkle was one of the first comic strips about working women. It was titled Winnie Winkle the Breadwinner until 1943...
-- Looie
Further reading
- Robinson, Jerry, The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art (1974) G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Horn, Maurice, The World Encyclopedia of Comics (1976) Chelsea House, (1982) AvonAvon (publishers)Avon Publications was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. As of 2010, it is an imprint of HarperCollins, publishing primarily romance novels.-History:...
- Blackbeard, Bill, ed. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics (1977) Smithsonian Inst. PressSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
/Harry Abrams