May 21, 2014

The Far Side first appeared in newspapers on January 1, 1980 and ran for fifteen years, it’s last appearance being on January 1, 1995. All 23 Far Side compilation books were on The New York Times Best Seller list. The single-panel cartoon was created by Gary Larson who originally worked in a music store. Bored at work, he picked up a pencil and began to...

May 14, 2014

On October 2, 1950, one of, if not the greatest, cartoon cartoon characters of all time was born. Charlie Brown, the blockhead created by Charles M. Schulz made his first appearance in the comic strip Peanuts on that date. Peanuts had, at its peak, a readership of 355 million. The strip included memorable characters like Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Woodstock, Sally,...

Nov 18, 2012

On November 18, 1985, cartoonist Bill Watterson’s comic strip – Calvin and Hobbes – first appeared in syndication. The strip follows the adventures of Calvin, a high-octane six-year-old, and his stuffed (to everyone but Calvin) tiger Hobbes. Calvin Calvin is a highly intelligent boy whose imagination carries him and his ‘pet’ tiger...

Aug 13, 2012

On August 13, 1934 the comic strip Li’l Abner would begin a run of 43 years. The strip was a satire featuring hillbillies living in Dogpatch, Kentucky. It’s confessed fans included Charlie Chaplin, Al Hirschfeld, Harpo Marx, Shel Silverstein, and reportedly Queen Elizabeth. The primary characters of the strip were Li’l Abner Yokum, his wife...

Jun 19, 2012

During the 1970s Jim Davis created a cartoon strip, Gnorm Gnat which was rejected by the syndicates. He had come up with the idea for Gnorm while working as an assistant for the Tumbleweeds comic strip. He would later say ‘I thought bugs were funny, and nobody else did”. He was told by a newspaper editor, “Your art is good, your gags are...