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| Blondie | |
|---|---|
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| Author(s) | Chic Young Dean Young & John Marshall |
| Current status / schedule | Current |
| Launch date | September 8, 1930 |
| Syndicate(s) | King Features Syndicate |
| Genre(s) | Humor |
Blondie is an American comic strip created by Murat Bernard "Chic" Young and syndicated by King Features Syndicate. It has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the comic strip led to a long-run Blondie film series (1938-1950) and a popular Blondie radio program (1939-1950).
Chic Young drew Blondie until his death in 1973, when the control of the strip passed to his son Dean Young. Dean Young has collaborated with a number of artists on the strip, including Jim Raymond, Mike Gersher, Stan Drake, Denis Lebrun and most recently, John Marshall. Through these changes, Blondie has remained popular, appearing in more than 2300 newspapers in 55 countries and translated into 35 languages, as of 2005[update]. Blondie celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2005. Since 2006, Blondie has been available via email through King Features' DailyINK service.
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Characters and story
Originally, Blondie focused on the adventures of Blondie Boopadoop, a carefree flapper girl who spent her days in dance halls. The name "Boopadoop" derives from the flapper catchphrase popularized by Helen Kane in the 1928 song "I Wanna Be Loved by You" (with its tag line, "boop-boop-a-doop") and which was referenced for the flapper cartoon character named Betty Boop, who first appeared in 1930 and was seen in her own King Features comic strip, drawn by Bud Counihan from 1934 to 1937.
On February 17, 1933, after much fanfare and build-up, Miss Boopadoop married her boyfriend Dagwood Bumstead, the son of a wealthy industrialist. Unfortunately for the Bumsteads, Dagwood was disowned by his upper-crust family for marrying beneath his class. Ever since, he has been slaving away at the office of the J. C. Dithers Construction Company under the direction of tyrannical boss Julius Caesar Dithers, who frequently threatens to fire Dagwood from his workplace when (as frequently happens) Dagwood either botches or does not finish his work, sleeps on the job, comes into work late, or pesters Dithers for a raise or promotion. Dithers frequently responds by punching or kicking Dagwood theatrically and ordering him back to work.
Blondie and Dagwood live next door to Herb and Tootsie Woodley. The Bumstead family has grown, with the addition of a son named Alexander (originally "Baby Dumpling") in 1934, a daughter named Cookie in 1941 (both permanently frozen in their late teens as of 2008), and a dog, Daisy. Alexander and Cookie have grown into teenagers who uncannily resemble their parents. Other regular characters include the mailman Mr. Beasley, and Elmo Tuttle, a pesky neighborhood kid who often asks Dagwood to play. Cora Dithers is the domineering wife of Julius Dithers. Lou is the owner of Lou's Diner where Dagwood frequently eats during his lunch break.
“Dagwood Bumstead and family, including Daisy and the pups, live in the suburbs of Joplin, [Missouri],” according to the August 1946 Joplin Globe, citing Chic Young.[1]
Running gags
There are several running gags in this strip, reflecting the trend after Chic Young's death for the strip to focus almost entirely on Dagwood as the lead character.
- An impossibly tall sandwich Dagwood often fixes for a snack, which came to be known as a Dagwood sandwich.
- Dagwood's propensity to nap on the couch during the day.
- Dagwood is repeatedly shown colliding with Mr. Beasley, the mail man, while rushing out the front door, late for work.
- Dagwood is often interrupted by other characters while he is relaxing in the bathtub.
- Goofing off or sleeping at his desk in the office.
- Mr. Dithers firing him for being incompetent, or physically booting him out of his office.
- Dagwood demanding a raise from Dithers and failing to get it every time.
- Dagwood meeting salesmen at his house door selling impossible looking items.
- The late-for-work gag, with assorted variations, with Dagwood keeping his car pool waiting, running after their car, or stuck in traffic. In earlier decades he had been late for the bus or, even earlier in the strip's run, he had been late for the streetcar.
- Having a midnight snack.
- The Christmas shopping gag, where Dagwood is shown holding up a number of Christmas packages that completely cover up his face and upper body.
- Dagwood singing in the bathtub.
75th anniversary
In 2005, the strip celebrated its 75th anniversary with an extended story arc in which characters from other strips, including Garfield, Beetle Bailey, and Hägar the Horrible, made appearances in Blondie. The strip Pearls Before Swine made fun of the fact that their cast was not invited, and decided to invite themselves. This cross-over promotion began July 10, 2005, and continued until September 4, 2005.[2][3][4]
Modernization
While the distinctive look and running gags of Blondie have been carefully preserved through the decades, a number of details have been altered to keep up with changing times. The Bumstead kitchen, which remained essentially unchanged from the 1930s through the 1960s has slowly acquired a more modern look (no more legs on the gas range and no more refrigerators shown with the motor on the top).
Dagwood no longer wears a hat when he leaves the house to go to work, nor does Blondie wear her previous hat and gloves when leaving the house. Although some bedroom and bathroom scenes still show him in polka-dot boxer shorts, Dagwood no longer wears garters to hold up his socks. Around the house, he frequently wears sport shirts, and his standard dress shirt with one large button in the middle is slowly disappearing. Blondie is no longer a housewife since she teamed with Tootsie Woodley to launch a catering business in 1991. Dagwood still knocks heads with his boss, Mr. Dithers, but now he does it in a more modern office at J.C. Dithers Construction Company. Their desk computers sport flat panel monitors, and Mr. Dithers has a laptop. Telephones have changed from candlestick style to more modern dial phones, to touchtone and on to cellphones. Dagwood now begins each morning racing to meet his carpool rather than chasing after a missed streetcar or city bus. Even Mr. Beasley, the mail carrier, now dresses in short-sleeve shirts and walking shorts, rather than the military-style uniform of days gone by.
During the late 1990s and 2000-01, Alexander worked part-time after high school at the order counter of a fast food restaurant, the Burger Barn. There are still occasional references to Cookie and her babysitting. Daisy, who once had a litter of puppies that lived with the family is now the only dog seen in the Bumstead household. Cookie and Alexander can be seen in modern clothing trends and sometimes use cellphones, reference current television shows, and talk about attending rock concerts of popular current Rock, Pop, and Hip Hop music acts.
Sandwich shop
On May 11, 2006 Dean Young announced the opening of the first of his Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes over the coming summer in Clearwater, Florida. Recently in the comics, the characters have all been either jokingly or seriously talking about Dagwood opening his own sandwich shop.[5]
A counter-service restaurant called Blondie's opened at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure in May 1999, and serves a traditional Dagwood-style sandwich. In fact, Blondie's bills itself as "Home of the Dagwood Sandwich." Lunch meats can be purchased at grocery stores featuring Dagwood and an assortment of meats.
Awards
In 1948, Chic Young's work on the strip won him a Reuben Award, named for cartoonist Rube Goldberg. In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps.[6]
Adaptations
Blondie was adapted into a series of 28 theatrical films, beginning with Blondie in 1938 and running through Beware of Blondie in 1950. Penny Singleton played the titular character, with Arthur Lake as Dagwood; the two also starred in a Blondie radio show heard on several different networks from 1939 to 1950.
Two Blondie television series were also produced, each lasting only one season. The first ran for 26 episodes in 1957 with Lake reprising his film and radio role and Pamela Britton as Blondie. The second, broadcast in the 1968-69 season, had Patricia Harty and Will Hutchins in the lead roles. An animated special featuring the characters was shown in 1987,[7] and a second special, Second Wedding Workout, was telecast in 1989. Blondie was voiced by Loni Anderson, Dagwood by Frank Welker. Both animated specials are available on the fourth DVD of the Advantage Cartoon Mega Pack. Blondie made several cameos in Garfield Gets Real.
Books
There are numerous book collections reprinting the strip, notably Dean Young and Rick Marschall's collaboration to provide a historical background in Blondie & Dagwood's America (1981).
Blondie and Dagwood in Footlight Folly (1947) was an original paperback novel (not illustrated) published by Dell; it was unnumbered but is usually considered part of the mapback series.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_279151924.html?start:int=15
- ^ "Blondie's 75 Year Anniversary". Blondie.com. http://www.blondie.com/2005/07/blondies-75-year-aniversary.html. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
- ^ "'Blondie' to mark 75th anniversary with comic strip cameos". CBC.ca. 2005-07-15. http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/07/15/Arts/blondie050715.html. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
- ^ *Virtue Magazine
- ^ Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes
- ^ Toonopedia
- ^ IMDb
Further reading
- Blondie: the Bumstead Family History by Dean Young and Melena Ryzik (2007). ISBN 140160322X
External links
- ArcaMax: daily Blondie strip
- Blondie official site
- Blondie: The Movie Series
- Comic Book Awards Almanac
- King Features: Blondie
- Library of Congress: Blondie Gets Married! exhibition
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