Comic Strip and Comic Book
The late 1800s and early 1900s saw the rise of the comic strip, a panel of drawings that form a narrative. England's W. F. Thomas created one of the first regularly featured characters, Ally Sloper, who appeared from 1884 to 1920. In the United States Richard F. Outcault (1863-1928) created "Hogan's Alley" (later renamed "The Yellow Kid") in 1895, a popular strip starring Mickey Dugan, a kind of aged baby attired in a trademark yellow sack bearing printed comments. Originally published in the New York World , it also appeared in the New York Journal and spurred a tug-of-war between the two newspapers, giving rise to the term yellow journalism. In 1897, Rudolph Dirks's (1877-1968) " Katzenjammer Kids," based on an earlier cartoon called "Max und Moritz" by Wilhelm Busch (1832-1908), appeared in the New York Journal. The year 1907 brought readers the first successful daily comic strip, Bud Fisher's "Mr.
Mutt" (later "Mutt and Jeff") drawn for the San Francisco Chronicle . By the 1930s adventure strips had gained popularity in the United States, among them "Dick Tracy" created by Chester Gould (1900-1985), featuring a square-jawed police detective who tangled with creatively named, odd-looking villains. Other early adventure strips included "Superman," "Tarzan," "Terry and the Pirates," and "Prince Valiant." Comic strip fare today includes offerings such as "Mary Worth," featuring a middle-aged, maternal advisor, and "Peanuts," a creation of Charles Schultz (1922-), whose dog Snoopy and round-headed child Charlie Brown have helped make his strip one of the most successful. Beginning in 1924 with "Little Orphan Annie," by Harold Gray (1894-1968), strips have often blended entertainment with social commentary or political satire. Other early examples include "L'il Abner," originated in 1934 by Al Capp (1909-1979), and "Pogo" in 1949, by Walt Kelly (1913-1973). " Doonesbury" by Garry Trudeau chronicles the progress of its college-friend characters from the turbulent era of the 1960s through the present, and "Outland" and its predecessor " Bloom County" by Berke Breathed (1957-) use animal and human characters to render satirical commentary. The first comic book was an 1897 collection of reprints of the "Yellow Kid" strip. A collection of "Mutt and Jeff" reprints appeared in 1911, and Japan published the first comic book featuring original material in 1920. Comic books became especially popular during World War II, providing welcome diversion for readers stationed away from home. While the rise of television in the late 1940s somewhat lessened public interest in comic books, their popularity rose in the 1960s, and they still attract ardent readers and collectors. An assortment of " alternative press" comic books has sprung up, including such standouts as Peter Bagge's "Hate," Julie Doucet's "Dirty Plotte, " and Neil Gaiman's fanciful "Sandman."
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