The Comic Strips by Bob Gay

The comic strip actually started in magazines in the late 1800s. Spot illustrations began to have captions and then to tell a story, through text and picture, in a single panel. Some of the more adventuresome newspapers tried reprinting these panels and, as reader response was good, newspaper editors began to hire artists to draw original content. Eventually, the single panels became multiple panels and the concept of telling a story in words and pictures began in earnest. Comic strips became big business. Publishing concerns, called syndicates, began to buy the rights to comic strips and then offer them, for a fee, to newspapers. These syndicates also controlled all the rights to the comic strips and characters they owned, and made a bundle licensing the characters out for everything: from toys to movie serials. Newspapers considered their offering of strips to be an asset that would cause people to buy their papers on a regular basis. And, since adults were the people who bought the newspapers, the strips were, by and large, considered to be entertainment for adults. The myth that comic strips were in the papers to entertain kids is just that: a myth.

In the mid-30s, some of the more popular strips were collected into a magazine format and given away as a promotional item. Results were very favorable and other reprint collections of strips were licensed; again, as giveaways. One enterprising gentleman, M.C. Gaines, tried an experiment and put 10 cent stickers on some of these magazines to see if people would be willing to pay for reprints. Surprisingly, not only did people buy Famous Funnies #1, they clamored for more of these "comic books," leading to the comic books that we know today.

The early comic strips pretty much fell into two categories: the gag-a-day strip and the continuity strip. The gag-a-day strip was just what the name implies. It usually had continuing characters who were involved in a humorous situation in each strip, but with no storyline that continued from one episode to the next, except in the vaguest sense. Over time, the characters of gag-a-day strips usually became so fleshed out that a background continuity developed and the reader would know what to expect from any given character. The continuity strip was normally an adventure story of some sort, and told an ongoing story that was broken up into story arcs (to use the current term) that ran for a couple of months at a time. Within these larger arcs however, there were also sub-plots that might run over many arcs, plot elements that set up the next arc, characters from earlier arcs who would reappear, births, deaths, recognition of the seasons of the year and most anything that would keep the reader coming back for more. In the case of some of the long running strips, characters would age at a fairly normal rate, or some of the supporting characters would age while the main character(s) didn't age at all.

When reading these classic strips, the reader of today has to keep a few things in mind to better appreciate what these ancestors of comic books have to offer. From around the time of the Civil War until sometime during World War II, newspapers were much larger than they are today; averaging 24" high by 16" wide (As a comparison, today's LA Times, at least at the time I'm writing this, measures 22 and 3/4" high by 12 and 1/4" wide). Since most strips told their story in 4 panels Monday through Saturday and since these daily strips were run the width of the page with margins, it becomes obvious that many reprint collections offer the strips at a reduced size (later changes brought the strips down to two 4 panel strips per page width, but that is still a good size). The Sunday episodes, which ran in full color, were often printed as a full page and ran 12 panels in the 4 rows of 3 panels each: a size which present a major problem when it comes to reprinting. Because of the large size of the classic strips, the quality of each reprint varies, due to the quality of printing, the source materials that were used, and the size of the book or magazine in which it is reprints appear.

The way the stories are told must also be taken into consideration. Today's comic books run about 22 pages of story and usually end with a cliffhanger of sorts to entice the reader to buy the next issue. The comic strips of the past were not all that different, except that each four panel Monday through Saturday installment, by editorial decree, needed to end in such a way that the reader would want to come back the next day to see what happened. Sunday, however, presented a special problem, since the Sunday paper always had the largest circulation of the week. For those strips that ran a story 7 days a week, the events of the Monday through Saturday episodes needed to be referred to in the Sunday episode and the Sunday episode had to pretty much be readable on its own without the daily episodes (for those who only bought the Sunday paper). Also (if all these other rules weren't enough), the events of Saturday had to be resolved on Monday, as well as Sunday, so readers who didn't buy the Sunday paper wouldn't feel left out. Many comic strips solved the daily/Sunday problem by running one story daily and a different story on Sunday. A select few solved the problem by appearing on Sunday only. Then, there was the real oddity, the comic strips that had one creative team producing the daily adventures and another team that handled the Sundays, each with a separate story.

All of these factors are why comic strips have an odd start-and-stop rhythm to their stories: they were meant to be read in daily installments and not in large doses like we read them today. Considering all the editorial dictates and the short, episodic nature of the actual storytelling, it is a wonder that coherent stories were created, much less that they would be remembered this many years later. Yet, the best classic strips have a timeless quality about them since they, like great books, are concerned at their core with the relationships of people and the failings and fortunes of the human animal.
Recommended Reading

Since November, 2007 has been dubbed Classic Comic Strip Month, here is a rundown of some of the classic strips currently available in book form, with notes on what each strip is about.

Dennis the Menace

First appearing in 1951, Dennis, the creation of Hank Ketchum, was a sort of oddity to comic pages. It started as as a single daily panel and, except for the variation where the single daily panel is split in half, has never strayed from its initial format. A Sunday episode, which was the standard 12 panel size, was added in 1952. The strip tells the story of a 5-6 year old who, as the title describes, is a menace, in that his natural curiosity and boyishness usually wreaks havoc over his home and the life of his neighbor, Mr. Wilson. If you've seen the TV show with Jay North, you have a good idea of how the strip reads. The later movie was a bit over the top. Ketchum went into semi-retirement in 1994 and turned the strip over to his assistants (he had already relinquished the Sunday strip in 1982), but continued to oversee production until his death in 2001. The strip is still being produced as of this writing.

Dick Tracy

Forget the Warren Beatty movie, since Dick Tracy, created by Chester Gould, and first appearing in 1931, is NOT a comic exercise in heroes versus weird villains. Rather, the strip is a product of the Depression and Prohibition eras. Criminals are evil. They rob, shoot and torture people. Beatings are common. Death is not pretty and often gruesome. Tracy is fast with his fists and with his gun. Overall, the strip is similar in tone to the Warner Brothers gangster films, or the work of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and other crime writers of the 20s and 30s (with a thread of sentimentality, which removes it from being actual noir in tone). In Tracy's world, criminals are larger than life, but Tracy and his supporting cast, harried, beaten, burned and often shot, always manage to rise to the challenge.

The Tracy strip started as both a daily and Sunday, although the Sundays had a different continuity until mid-1932. The art is a bit crude at the beginning and one of Gould's artistic failings was that he always had trouble drawing faces as seen straight on, which is why Tracy nearly always appears in profile. Gould's Sundays and dailies do not always integrate well, plot points sometimes change as weeks go by and, once in awhile, events even occur off camera. These are minor flaws, however, and fans of crime, detectives, police procedurals and even CSI (the use of forensic evidence was becoming more common during the early years of the strip) are in for a wild and enjoyable read. Tracy is also one of those strips where many of the supporting characters age, while the central figure, Tracy, remains frozen in time. Gould produced Tracy until he retired in 1977 and the strip, although a shadow of its former glory, is still being produced.

Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon is a science fiction strip that was started by writer Don Moore and artist Alex Raymond in 1934. The strip was a Sunday only, until a daily adventure, drawn by Austin Briggs, was added in the early 40s, but the dailies and Sundays told different stories. The adventures of Flash under Raymond, who left the strip in 1944, took place on the planet Mongo, except for a short segment that took place on Earth. In later years, the strip became an interplanetary adventure. The Alex Raymond years are the most reprinted and, while Raymond's art is beautiful to look at, I've always felt that he was more of an illustrator than a storyteller, making the strip interesting, but not great. On the other hand, the strip is miles above the 1980 movie or the television shows. Flash Gordon is still being produced, although it is now Sundays only.

Gasoline Alley

The oldest newspaper strip still in production, Gasoline Alley was first created in 1918 by Frank King: beginning as a single panel cartoon on Sundays, later graduating to a single daily panel and then a full daily and Sunday operation. Unlike most continuity strips, which had an element of fantasy to them, Gasoline Alley was steeped in reality and it was a story about people, their relationships and the topics of the day (Lynn Johnston's For Better or Worse being a current day descendant). Many consider Gasoline Alley to be the first soap opera because it depends on character interaction to carry the story and it was also the first strip in which the characters aged at fairly normal rate (Walt Wallet, who first appeared in 1918, is over 100 in the current continuity). Still produced, the strip is a fascinating look into the lives of people from a much earlier time and the publishers of the current reprint series, Drawn & Quarterly, have been given extensive access to Frank King's personal papers and affects for their introductions.

Krazy Kat

Krazy Kat was the creation of George Herriman, who began the writing and drawing of the daily strip in 1913, with a Sunday page added in 1918 (although it was in black and white and appeared in the art and drama section). Set in a surrealist version of Arizona, Kokonino Kounty to be exact, the main story of the strip concerns the love triangle between Krazy Kat, who is in love with Ignatz the Mouse, Offisa Pup, who is in love with Krazy, and Ignatz, who spurns Krazy's love by pelting the gender ambiguous feline with bricks, which Krazy takes to be a sign of affection. Many have pointed out the abusrdist view of life portrayed in the strip, but it was never overly popular and most readers seem to either hate it or love it with no gray area in-between. When Herriman died in 1944, the strip was turned over to another artist, as was common practice for newspaper syndicates. The owner of the syndicate, William Randolph Hearst, questioned why the strip had changed and, when informed that Herriman had passed away, ordered the strip cancelled, making it the first strip to die with its creator.

Little Nemo in Slumberland

Created by Winsor McCay in 1905, Little Nemo was a Sunday only strip that told the dreams of Nemo, a child, as he attempted to reach Slumberland where he had been summoned by King Morpheus to be a companion to the Princess. There was some continuity between strips and each episode ended with Nemo being awakened from his dream by his concerned parents or his falling out of bed. While the story was quite loose, McCay designed each Sunday page as a unit; often depending on a central image to lay out the page with the individual panels worked in around the edges. The resulting art is astounding and very appealing while the story of Nemo, at times, seems to take a back seat to the art. Nemo ended in 1913 with a brief revival from 1924-27, although McCay's son, attempted to revive the strip in the 30s and 40s with little success.

Peanuts

Probably the best example of a gag-a-day strip that created its own world, Peanuts was the creation of Charles Schulz, who wrote and drew the strip from 1950 until illness in 1999 forced him to retire. The characters Schulz created have become icons in our society. The fantasy life of Snoopy is as well known as the philosophy of Linus. Lucy is always crabby and Schroeder has no time for anything but Beethoven. And, of course, the perennial loser, Charlie Brown, not only gets our sympathy, but also becomes someone with whom we can identify. Even today, the strip still reads well and it remains one of the few newspaper strips to gain universal acclaim. Charles Schulz died in his sleep on February 12, 2000, the night before his final Peanuts Sunday was published.

Popeye

Again, I urge you to forget the movie and give this comedy/adventure a try. Created by E.C. (Elsie Crisler)Segar, Popeye was originally introduced in 1929 as a part of the cast of characters who inhabited the Thimble Theater strip, which was begun in 1919. Eventually, the hard edged sailor took over the strip and became the central focus with his adventures that took him through a fantasy world of Segar's devising. Along with Olive Oyl, his main squeeze, Swee'Pea, a foundling adopted by Popeye and Wimpy, the world's most famous beggar, Popeye battled the Sea Hag, Alice the Goon, Toar and his best known antagonist (due to the Fleischer cartoons) Bluto, who later became Brutus at the behest of Disney. Disney sued and won on the grounds that kids might become confused because Bluto sounded so much like the name of Mickey's dog, Pluto (yeah, they are so much alike as to cause problems) and Bluto was forced to become Brutus. Great fun and the Sunday strip (the name was finally changed to Popeye in the 70s) is still being published, while the dailies reprint material done after Segar's death in 1938.

Steve Canyon

Steve Canyon was the creation of Milton Caniff and was begun in 1947 out of Caniff's desire to own his own strip, and all merchandising rights, outright. Canyon, as introduced by Caniff, was freelance pilot whose company, Horizons Unlimited, specialized in dangerous, global spanning adventures. Appearing as both dailies and Sundays, the Canyon strip always had strong military ties and also tended to dip into the Cold War on more than one occasion. As with other strips, the world around him changed, but Steve Canyon remained the same age. I always found the title character to be a bit too stiff for my tastes, but Caniff's storytelling pace and art were always top-notch, except for the final year or two of the strip when Caniff's assistant was doing most all the drawing. Caniff died in 1988 and the last adventure was completed by his assistant, Rick Rockwell, before the strip was discontinued.

Terry and the Pirates

I have long considered the Milton Caniff years of Terry, 1934-1946, to be the best adventure newspaper strip ever produced. The story starts when a young boy, Terry Lee, and his adult companion/guardian Pat Ryan arrive in China to locate a mine owned by Terry's grandfather. By 1946, when Caniff left the strip to begin work on Steve Canyon, Terry had grown up and was preparing to enter the military. In between, you have a marvelous set of adventures that involve pirates (hence the title), fistfights, smugglers, the various conflicts in Indo-China, WWII. There is also a wonderful supporting cast that not only includes some unfortunate racial stereotypes, but some of the baddest women to appear in comics outside of the pages of Eisner's The Spirit. Aside from his artistic strengths and superior storytelling skills, Caniff was also one of the few newspaper strip creators to successfully solve the problem of daily and Sunday continuity. Although the early days of the strip told one story on Sunday and another daily, once they became part of the same storyline, Caniff was able to make a seamless whole of the continuity and the dailies neatly dovetail in the Sundays and vice versa (in fact, it is possible to read many Terry continuities through either the Sundays or dailies without losing the story). Of all the current reprints, this is probably the most satisfying of them all.

Yellow Kid

The Yellow Kid is notable as one of the earliest panel cartoons and also has the distinction of being the first comic strip character to appear in color. The creation of Richard Outcault, the Kid, with his bald head, big ears and bright yellow nightshirt, first appeared as a recognizable character in full page cartoons Outcault was producing for the New York World between 1895-96 under the title of Hogan's Alley. As time went on, the Kid began to have his dialogue printed on his shirt and the Yellow Kid was born. The full page cartoons dealt mainly with life in the tenements of New York and poked fun at the rich: topical for the time, but although the art is pleasing, they don't read well today, simply because many of the references are dated. Although never a continuity strip (one might almost equate it to an editorial cartoon), Hogan's Alley, which later became The Yellow Kid, proved that a comic strip, or at least comic drawing, could increase circulation and that a comic character could also be successfully merchandised. By the early 1900s, all newspapers began to carry comic strips on a regular basis.

And, just because:
The Spirit

Although not a comic strip per se, The Spirit section was an odd hybrid, in that it was a weekly comic book sold to newspapers to include in their Sunday papers, but was not a part of the regular Sunday comic section. The brainchild of Will Eisner, The Spirit first appeared on June of 1940 and continued on a weekly basis until it ceased publication in October of 1952; along the way shedding half its size (the first sections were 16 pages in length) and featuring art by not only Eisner, but also Lou Fine, Jack Cole, Bob Powell and even Wally Wood. What made the Spirit comic unique is that on the surface it was about a crimefighter. As the story goes, Criminologist Denny Colt was left for dead by Dr. Cobra. He recovered, but faked his own death so he could fight crime from outside the law as The Spirit. Only Commissioner Dolan knows of this, but you sure can't tell it in many instances (and we won't even discuss the most outrageous element of the series, which is that Dolan's daughter, Ellen, was engaged to Denny Colt, but doesn't know him when she meets the Spirit???). Yet, for all its noir trappings, there was really no formula to the stories. Some were character studies, others straight out action. You may find a story played strictly for laughs, while others live up to the initial premise and are gritty crime stories that rank up with the best of them. Add to this the tremendous storytelling abilities of Eisner and his staff, mix in a nifty supporting cast which featured some of the strongest women villains to appear in any comics (one of them even based on Lauren Bacall) and you have some of the best comics that have ever been produced, regardless of the theme of any particular story. And, just to tie this into Classic Comics Month, The Spirit appeared as a daily comic strip from October 1941 to March 1944, a sequence that I hope DC will reprint somewhere down the line.
Also

If want to give comic strips a try, but don't see a title of interest on the shelf, ask Mike about what books are available. Most all the books listed here can be ordered.

And, if a whole book of one character seems a bit much, you might consider asking Mike about adding Comics Revue to your pull list, since each monthly issue gives you a fine selection of comic strip reprints. As of this writing, these include:
Tarzan by Russ Manning
Steve Canyon by Milton Caniff
Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell
Krazy Kat by George Herriman
Alley Oop by V.T. Hamlim
Gasoline Alley by Dick Moores
The Phantom by Lee Falk
Flash Gordon by Dan Barry
Buz Sawyer by Roy Crane
Sunday Casey Ruggles by Warren Tufts