Tiger is an American comic strip created by Bud Blake. Launched May 3, 1965, the charming and well-drawn strip about a group of suburban boyhood pals was distributed by King Features Syndicate to, at its peak, about 400 newspapers worldwide.
The National Cartoonists Society named Tiger best humor strip in 1970, 1978 and 2000, with an additional nomination in 1998. Blake drew the strip until he was 85, two years before his death on December 26, 2005. After Blake retired, the strip continued to appear as reprints, and as of December 2005, according to the syndicate, Tiger was running in more than 100 newspapers in 11 countries. The strip, which appealed to children, centered on a boy nicknamed Tiger; his little brother, nicknamed Punkinhead; Tiger's best friend, Hugo; and the brothers' spotted dog, Stripe. Supporting characters included neighborhood girls Suzy and Bonnie, and the smart, bespectacled Julian. Charlton Comics published eight issues of a comic book version from March 1970 to January 1971.
Quotes
Joe Kubert, commenting after Blake's death [1]: "I know his work and I've always enjoyed it. He was a wonderful artist and a wonderful cartoonist."
References
- King Features Website biography
- Lambiek.net Comicpedia entry
- Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Tiger
- National Cartoonists Society: Bud Blake biography
- Associated Press article on CNN.com about Blake's death
- The Star-Ledger, Dec. 30, 2005: "Nutley's Bud Blake, drew 'Tiger' comic"
- News from Me: "Bud Blake, R.I.P."
- Cached site of 2004 article from reuben.org
- Hogan's Alley #13 (July 2005): Interview with Bud Blake (offline)
