Comic strip "Middle-Class Animals." A realistically illustrated ape proclaims "Faith is an illogical belief in the improbable." A realistically illustrated bird of prey replies "I believe you."
"Middle-Class Animals" by Hugh Laidman, 1970-1972
July 20th, 1970 as seen in the Jersey Journal
Sunday comic strip "Homer the Reluctant Soul." Up in heaven, Homer tells Bert the auditor about his time as a child in Rome, serving as a food tester for a general. After a rat eats some of the food and dies, Homer warns the general, and in the process inadvertently invents testing on laboratory rats. A spinoff of Wiley Miller's "Non Sequitur."
"Homer the Reluctant Soul" by Wiley Miller, 1998-1999
June 28th, 1998 as seen in the Chicago Tribune
Comic strip "Cooper." A student gives his teacher an apple as a peace offering for wrapping the teacher's desk in electrical tape. The teacher responds by putting the apple on the boy's head, pulling out a bow and arrow, and attempting to pull a William Tell.
"Cooper" by Mike Keefe and Tim Menees, 1985-1987
May 2nd, 1986 as seen in the Anchorage Times
Comic strip "The Perishers." Marlon's friends make fun of him for his "aggro-packed sandwiches." When they ask if this sandwich has an inch-thick layer of ketchup, Marlon says no and takes a bite. When the boys get sprayed with ketchup, Marlon admits he lied. A British comic strip that ran from 1959 to 2006, but only ran a year here in the United States.
"The Perishers" by Maurice Dodd and Dennis Collins, 1970-1971*
October 19th, 1970 as seen in the Charlotte News
*American syndication.
Sunday comic strip "The Gravies." The Gravies watch Ted Van try to drive his tiny car through the snow. Turns out Ted Van's got a trick, by flipping his car on its roof and bringing a large dog, he can turn it into a dog sled!
"The Gravies" by Chester Gould, 1956-1964
December 28th, 1958 as seen in the Chicago Tribune
Sunday edition of informational comic strip "How It Began." A history of film projection and movies. Full text: "In the 4th century B.C. Aristotle noted that the sun would cast its exact image through a small hole in a card. Leonardo da Vinci, famous 15th, century artist, discovered that an entire outside landscape could be projected in this manner upon a wall of a darkened room. This camera obscura (dark room) was the forerunner of the modern camera. In 1640 Athanasius Kircher, a Roman Jesuit, exhibited to a select crowd his 'magia catoptricia' or magic lantern, which projected crudely painted figures onto a screen from transparent slides. The first attempt at animated pictures was with moving wax figures, invented by a German named Jacobus Pinketham, in London in 1709. In the early 1800s Peter Mark Roget of London observed that when he gazed at a moving cart through a window blind, each image between the slats was momentarily still. This is the principle of the still panel of a movie film. In 1832 Plateau and Stampfer drew pictures of various phases of motion on the rim of a blackened disc, which was rotated and viewed through a slit, thus anticipating the animated cartoon of today. Then Coleman Sellers in 1861 patented a machine with photographs pasted to paddle wheels and viewed in motion through stereoscopic lenses. This Kinematoscope gave us the word kinema for movies. Finally Thomas A. Edison used flexible photographic film to invent the modern moving picture machine, named it the Kinetoscope, and on October 6, 1889, successfully demonstrated it. This machine made possible the movies of today."
"How It Began" by Paul Berdanier, 1931-1939
March 10th, 1935 as seen in the Nashville Banner
Science comic strip "Frontiers of Science." Subtitled "Harnessing the Tides Part 2." A detailing of a proposed dam in the English Channel. Full text: "With their multi-action turbines set in a barrage dam built across the Rance Estuary, French engineers will be able to overcome the intermittent action of natural tides, and keep the reservoir behind the dam well filled. At night, or when power supplies on the national grid exceed demand, they can pump the sea at low tide back behind the dam, ensuring a good head of water for peak hour demands. The project will utilize 24 of the special turbine units to produce 625 million kilowatt-hours of power per year - and plans are already under way to harness the huge tides of the bay of Mont St. Michel... And thus man makes the first move toward utilizing a vast and untapped source of power - the orbital energy of the moon."
"Frontiers of Science" by Professor Stuart Butler, Bob Raymond and Andrea Bresciani, 1961-1987
August 7th, 1964 as seen in the Corvallis Gazette-Times
Serialized comic strip "Judd Saxon." A group of people perform a test, dropping a glass jar off a table. A fortune hangs on the results. The jar doesn't shatter, proving its invention to be genuine.
"Judd Saxon" by Ken Bald, 1957-1963
November 30th, 1957 as seen in the Des Moines Tribune
Educational comic strip "Chester the Crab." Part of a series explaining taxes to a young audience, Chester explains excise taxes through a parody of Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter chasing a koala wearing tennis shoes and holding weights made from coins. Chester wonders if the government might start taxing crabcakes the same way they tax cigarettes and alcohol.
"Chester the Crab" by Bentley Boyd, 1995-2006
January 10th, 2003 as seen in The News & Advance
Single panel comic strip "Beautiful!" Reader submitted moments that are considered beautiful. Isn't it beautiful "when your working teenage son invites you and your mother to lunch." That's from Mrs. R.J. Roberson from Indianapolis, Indiana.
"Beautiful!" by Barbara Jones and Charles Bowen, 1977-1979
November 30th, 1978 as seen in the York Dispatch
Single panel informational comic strip "Beat This!" Profiles of record holders, which readers encouraged to try and beat them. Full text: "Who is the 'walking on hands' champion? Johanna Husligner walked on hands from Vienna to Paris, 871 miles, in 55 days, walking 10 hours a day."
"Beat This!" by Tip Brady, 1958-1959
December 5th, 1958 as seen in the Medford Mail Tribune
Serialized comic strip "Sergeant Stony Craig." While on leave, Marine sergeant Stony Craig tries to return a dropped pocketbook to a woman she met on the street, but is stopped by his Russian friend Sergei. From a distance, they watch the woman have a sinister meeting with a man named Jungle Katz, who works for Mr. Snake.
"Sergeant Stony Craig" by Frank H. Rentfrow and Gerry Bouchard, 1937-1946
March 31st, 1941 as seen in the Evening Star
Single panel fashion comic strip "Beautyettes." A woman shows off her feather boa and dress. Caption reads: "For dress, a bright-hued feather wig as coiffure, makes a dashing rig."
"Beautyettes" by Aldine Swank, 1932-1933
March 18th, 1933 as seen in The Tribune
Comic strip "Mescal Ike." In the American Western setting, a couple walk by a house and witness a scene of a bear beating the crap out of two men before walking off. "We was a goin' to see if he fit before we made a rug outta him," one of the men explains.
"Mescal Ike" by S. L. Huntley, 1926-1940
March 20th, 1939 as seen in the Richmond Progress
Comic strip "High Pressure Pete." Two repairmen come by to fix a woman's radio. They pull it apart, making a mess, but can't find the problem. Finally, the woman's son admits that he had unplugged it, which nobody had thought to check.
"High Pressure Pete" by George Swanson, 1927-1938
May 10th, 1933 as seen in the Journal and Courier
Single panel comic strip "Grimsly." Two men arrive at a restaurant called "Clancy's Bar & Microwave." One of the men, Grimsly, asks, "Didn't it used to be called 'Clancy's Bar & Grille'?"
"Grimsly" by Harley Schwadron, 1984-1989
June 26th, 1987 as seen in the Post-Bulletin
Comic strip "The Baffles." Mr. Baffle is chased by an angry dog. He jumps over a fence to get away, only to find the yard occupied by an even larger, even meaner dog.
"The Baffles" by Mahoney, 1951-1965
July 5th, 1957 as seen in the Verden News
Single panel comic strip "Barkis & Family." Family dog Barkis is on a walk with one of his friends when they spot another dog hiding behind a "BEWARE OF THE DOG" sign. Barkis remarks, "It hasn't done much for Toby's morale."
"Barkis & Family" by Crockett Johnson, 1955-1955
July 7th, 1955 as seen in the Boston Globe
Single panel comic strip "Kickin' Around." After getting dressed and putting on her makeup, a woman comes down to meet her date. "Been waiting long, Hurbert?" she says. In the living room, vines from a potted plant have wrapped around Hurbert, indicating that yes, he has been waiting long.
"Kickin' Around" by Wally Falk, 1945-1956
June 28th, 1948 as seen in the Oakland Post Enquirer
Comic strip "Baron Nobux." Baron Nobux has come into a little money from the horse races, and his Uncle Rufe Sizzlepuss suggests he invest it with a gentleman named Lord Snodweed. Nobux meets Snodweed, who claims to have made millions in elephant tusk ivory down in Africa. However, Lord Snodweed's wealth is put into question when another man shows up, asking for that five dollars he lent Snodweed last week.
"Baron Nobux" by Jack Thomas, 1939-1939
October 5th, 1939 as seen in the Fairview News
Comic strip "Teenie." A mother greets her daughter, who is returning from a hunting trip. The daughter is excited about a "fantastic shot" she took, then pulls out a photograph of a deer. She wasn't shooting deer with a gun, she was shooting them with a camera! This strip created by a father and teenager daughter team, Jeff & Tristan Marble.
"Teenie" by Jeff & Tristan Marble, 1982-1984
November 9th, 1984 as seen in the South Idaho Press
Single panel comic strip "Dear God Kids." Sitting at a desk, a girl wonders, "Dear God, ...Did you ever have one of those days?"
"Dear God Kids" by Anne Fitzgerald, 1984-1988
July 7th, 1984 as seen int he Anchorage Times
Comic strip "Shrubbery." A praying mantis from Health and Human Services advises plants Shady and Shrub to expand their marriage initiative. Marriage could solve so many problems! Imagine Saddam Hussein married to Barbara Streisand, or Hillary Clinton to Eminem!
"Shrubbery" by Signe Wilkinson, 2002-2003
December 8th, 2002 as seen in the Salt Lake Tribune
Single panel comic strip "BJ's Better Way." Pictures and poems on little tips and tricks you can do around the house, what we now call "lifehacks." Today's poem: "When on the floor, you spy some tar / Get out the peanut butter jar / Dab some on, then rub the spot / It disappears, believe it or not!"
"BJ's Better Way" by Bonnie & Jeff Carlson, 1988-1993
November 6th, 1991 as seen in the Telegraph Plus
Comic strip "Fusbugs." A bug sees a cave and flies over to see who lives there. A burst of fire indicates that it's a dragon, leaving the bug scorched. A local strip for Mount Zion, Illinois.
"Fusbugs" by Jim Wood, 1981-1981
January 29th, 1981 as seen in the Mt. Zion Region-News
Comic strip "Uncle Charlie." Uncle Charlie waters some vines growing up a pole. Eventually, the vines climb up the pole and extend to another, becoming a clothesline for Charlie to dry his clothes on.
"Uncle Charlie" by Peter Laing, 1959-1979
December 3rd, 1975 as seen in the Syracuse Herald-Journal
Comic strip "Over Here." People crowd around as the baby Young Nuisance speaks for the first time. The parents argue over whether the baby said "da da" or "ma ma", neighbors roll their eyes, a "comedian" makes a sexist joke about how women get the last word, and Ol' John Don't holds up a sign, telling you not to trust babies.
"Over Here" by Jack Callahan, 1918-1918
September 4th, 1918 as seen in the San Antonio Evening News
Comic strip "The Muppets." Rowlf and Kermit are at the park, watching beautiful ladies as they go out for a jog. Kermit sighs. "If Piggy knew I was out here, she'd..." Suddenly, Miss Piggy jogs into scene. "She'd what?" she asks with an unamused expression.
"The Muppets" by Guy & Brad Gilchrist, 1981-1986
September 6th, 1983 as seen in the Clarion-Ledger
Comic strip "Fred & Others." A man running from president says he'll look after the little man. He's then stomped on by giant feet. "And I won't forget the big man." A rare Australian comic strip to make it to the States.
"Fred & Others" by Ron Tandberg, 1969-1973
December 12th, 1972 as seen in The State
Sunday edition of comic strip "Babs & Aldo." Young boy Aldo has gotten a card to give to young girl Babs for Valentine's Day. Aldo's mother suggests he also gives her a present, giving Aldo a piece of chocolate to give to her. Aldo can't resist, and Babs ends up receiving half a chocolate.
"Babs & Aldo" by "Buddy Valentine"*, 2003-2004
February 15th, 2004 as seen in the Salt Lake Tribune
*Bud Grace
