20th Century Comic Strips

Gasoline Alley. At least looking into how the strip aged its characters through its progression which is rather unheard of, even in most strips with an overreaching plot.

Ditch Non Sequiter, it's worthless, and research The Far Side instead. Why it's not on here is baffling to me. Doonesbury and Pogo definitely need a mention as well, moreso than Rip Kirby and the Superman strip.

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>>87856586

>Gasoline Alley. At least looking into how the strip aged its characters through its progression which is rather unheard of, even in most strips with an overreaching plot.

This plus it fits in with the "moved the medium forward" part since it influenced Chris Ware.

>>87854635
Do a term paper on the deconstructionist dada of Heathcliff.

>>87854635
Terry & The Pirates
Li'l Abner
Little Orphan Annie
Prince Valiant
Pogo
Far Side
Mary Perkins, On Stage
drop Non Sequitur and Superman and you have a pretty well-rounded list of great comics that covers a broad range of styles.

>>87857636
cont., these are in addition to the ones you've already listed, btw.

>>87854635
How do you judge a newspaper-based comic strip as "moving the medium forward"?

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I forgot to list Pogo but that's definitely one I'll look into.

This is also for a writing credit, so I'll be producing one strip every other day for the semester. The first quad will be a story-driven narrative around a familiar cast, the second will be political cartoons (don't know where to even start looking for major figures in that field).

I guess I narrowed it too much by saying "moving the medium forward." I'm looking for a lot of things in these comics, like the dissolving print industry and its toll on strips. I'm looking for art vs. commerce (hence why I would even include Garfield, the little shit).

These are good strips guys, this is valuable advice

Also, pic related, just drew this.

I included Rip Kirby because I loved the illustration style and wanted to learn from it, I'll reconsider it.

The only reason I'm looking into Pearls Before Swine is because it was one of the most recent strips picked up for syndication. Is there a better one? I've little knowledge of current syndication.

Also, what the hell is this Heathcliff stuff? It's incomprehensible

>>87857781
Don't think it's a particularly great political cartoon, but I like the art here.

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>>87857964
No one knows for sure.

>>87858438
What in the hell... XD it's oddly charming though, isn't it?

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>>87858461
Yes, yes it is.

>>87854635
Pearls Before Swine began in 2001. That's not the 20th century.

>>87857915
Rip Kirby is awesome, I definitely recommend it. Alex Raymond is one of the greatest comic artists of all time, bar none. Even if you don't cover it for your project (it isn't necessarily of any historical importance aside from being Raymond's last work before he died, and arguably his best) you should just read it for fun.

E.C. Segar - Popeye
Cliff Sterrett - Polly and Her Pals
Crockett Johnson - Barnaby
Roy Crane - Captain Easy, Buz Sawyer, Wash Tubbs
Hank Ketcham - Dennis the Menace
Will Eisner - The Spirit
Jules Feiffer - Sick Sick Sick/Fables/Feiffer (same strip)
George McManus - Bringing Up Father
Ernie Bushmiller - Nancy
Bill Griffith - Zippy the Pinhead
Garry Trudeau - Doonesbury
Berkeley Breathed - Bloom County
The Kinder-Kids' Lyonel Feininger
Lynda Barry - Ernie Pook's Comeek
Matt Groening - Life in Hell
Ben Katchor - Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer
Lyonel Feininger - The Kin-der-Kids
Terry and the Pirates was already mentioned but he did Steve Canyon too
The Katzenjammer Kids was also a notable strip but it debuted before Little Nemo.

>>87858582
I know, but it was easier to just refer to the last century. I'm starting with Winsor McCay too, who started Nemo in 1905. I think Pearls could be a solid end point for the survey. I'm not going to end with Lola, that's for sure (shudder).

As odd as it sounds, could "Cathy" be on the list?

I thought the cartoonist was the first syndicated woman in the industry at the time

or was that Lynn Johnston

>>87858438
Anyone got that EVA edit?

That shit was just too much.

I have a rough thesis I'd like to hear you guys' thoughts on. I'm getting the sense that you can separate 3 main sections in comics history: Pre-War, the Schultz era, and Post-Print (I say post-print because I believe Watterson marks the beginning of this, before the digital age was in full swing).

Pre-War comics were larger, detailed, and focused a lot more on art. Story-driven strips were more common. Strips in this age were Little Nemo, Krazy Kat, Dick Tracy, Superman, etc.

Schultz Era-- I know Schultz was groundbreaking but to be honest I'm not very familiar with him. My sense is that this age saw a rise in gag comics, simpler design, focus on common experience, and the "classic strip." Peanuts, Orphan Annie, Pogo...

The Post-Print age is marked by a dissolving print industry, the tension between art and commerce, downsizing comics pages, and tensions between artists and syndicates. Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, and a slew of modern writers have commented on this.

What do you guys think? I know a lot doesn't quite fit in like Prince Valiant (good suggestion btw), but those are the trends I'm sensing. Is it worth playing with this thesis?

>>87858893
yes, but for the record:

it's *Schulz

>>87858919
Boy is my face red :/ I've been spelling it wrong my entire life

That's a decent list OP. The only others I would add are Cathy and bloom county.

>>87858893
>Schultz Era-- I know Schultz was groundbreaking but to be honest I'm not very familiar with him. My sense is that this age saw a rise in gag comics, simpler design, focus on common experience, and the "classic strip." Peanuts, Orphan Annie, Pogo...

Annie started in the 1920's.

I think that around or after Peanuts, comic strips started getting more streamlined and simplified (partly because newspapers were reducing the comics pages).

>>87858986
I really want to try to squeeze Bloom County in. Berkeley Breathed is just an interesting guy to read about. I've heard he had a pretty close correspondence with Watterson. I would KILL to read their letters.

>>87859020
That's a better way to put it, thanks. This is really coming together now guys, thank you

>>87854635
Popeye.

Any suggestions for books or interviews I can use?

>>87859066
>>87858727
Why Popeye?

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Also, can someone please explain how Universal Uclick, the syndicate that printed Calvin and Hobbes, picked fucking LOLA for syndication? Every Sunday I see that shit artwork, crap jokes, and half-assed attempt to appeal to young and old audiences

>>87854635
Kalle och Hobbe

>>87858833
Ehhhhhh.

Maybe? Cathy is one of the more modern strips that eventually turned into a zombie strip of interchangeable gags; I remember reading one of the older collections and that incliuded a freaking storyline about her being sexually harassed by her boss and punching him in the face in a panic. They...somehow worked this out so she never quit her job or sued the shit out of her employers (probably to keep the status quo?) but early Cathy focused on the whole Working Woman angle back when it was a sign of the changing times and by the time it because more of the status quo itself the strip lost its edge.