Ever-Changing Comic Strips
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July saw a few changes in a few comics, including the abandonment of a long-standing (long-sitting?) tradition in a long-running strip.
Jimmy Johnson is celebrating 40 years of Arlo and Janis.
Today he notes that, other than the very early Arlo, that character’s appearance has changed the least.
Which can’t be said for Marvin by Tom Armstrong and the kid’s hairstyle.
Tom, in the past, has stated that he revisualizes Marvin on occasion to keep his drawing hand from getting bored with the same old same old. But July saw three changes in the one month, a frequency unusual even for Tom. (As far as I know none of the strips were reruns – can someone back me up on that?)
On the subject of reruns – Mutts.
As has been noted here Patrick McDonnell has been deleting the copyright years on his Mutts strip this year to disguise the fact that they are reruns. I applaud this tactic as better than concealing the reruns by changing the copyright date to the current year as most King Features strips do.
But he does put in a new copyright date when he effects a minor change in the strip (for legal reasons?).
I would forward the notion that Patrick has decided to muffle Crabby’s foul mouth but the upcoming weekend Mutts has strips featuring the uncensored Crabby. So why this temporary suppression of Crabby’s first amendment rights?
I’ll take the opportunity to reveal that Patrick did completely bypass one of the Mutts strips in the sequence:
Like Tom Armstrong Stephen Webster admitted to needing a change once in a while, though the style he chose for last Sunday’s The Saga Of Brann Bjornson probably won’t be seen again as he admitted in the strip.
Now for the biggest change of all. Hold on to your hats!
For as long as I can remember Blondie and Dagwood have sat in their living room in two chairs with Blondie’s back to Dagwood. Comics Kingdom’s archives only go back to 1970 – here’s a scene from that year:
And from a week ago:
But then two days later:
A one-off? An upstairs den? – they are after all in their bed clothes. But today we have Blondie and Cookie on that same couch. First a new title panel. Now a new sitting arrangement. What’s next? New hairstyles??!!
A late add from 75 years ago:
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