Origins and History of the American Comic Strip Quiz

Answer: All of these

Although the various features of the modern comic strip had been in use earlier in the 19th century, the modern comic strip was birthed in the context of the competition between William Randolph Hearst's "New York Journal" and Joseph Pulitzer's "New York World" newspapers. While working for Pulitzer, Outcault introduced "Hogan's Alley", featuring the character "The Yellow Kid". Pulitzer published the strip in color and the term "yellow journalism", which came to refer to the sensational style of Pulitzer's newspaper, originated from "The Yellow Kid".

So popular did "Hogan's Alley" become that Pulitzer's chief competitor, William Randolph Hearst, lured Outcault away from Pulitzer's paper with a substantial monetary offer. After a court battle over the copyright, Pulitzer was left in possession of the name "Hogan's Alley", but Hearst was awarded the character "The Yellow Kid", which became the name of the strip that ran in Hearst's "New York Journal". "The Yellow Kid" strip consistently utilized the divided panels and speech balloons that many consider (along with recurring characters) to be defining features of the modern American comic strip.

In 1902, Outcault launched "Buster Brown", which became a supremely popular and enduring comic strip character and an even more enduring name for a brand of shoes. Once again, Outcault begin drawing the strip for a different newspaper and later defected to Hearst. As was the case with "Hogan's Alley", a court ruled that the strip's name "Buster Brown" belonged to the original paper but the character went to the cartoonist. Buster's dog "Tige" is thought to be the first talking animal cartoon character.

Answer: The Katzenjammer Kids

Narrative strips have been in use from ancient times; there is even a description of one in the "Aeneid" that relates the story of the Trojan War. Some point out a similarity between comic strips and the "Bayeux Tapestry", which depicts the conflicts leading up to the 11th century battle of Hastings.

While these comparisons strike this quiz writer as forced, the features of the modern American comic strip were all in use in Europe in the 19th century. Thomas Rowlandson created the "Tours of Dr. Syntax" from 1812-21. This satirical series of engravings chronicled the adventures of a hapless cleric, Dr. Syntax, and utilized speech balloons. The darkly humorous, mischievous exploits of "Max and Moritz" lack the stylistic trappings of the modern American newspaper comic but incorporate a narrative style and content that appear to have, at the least, strongly influenced the development of "The Katzenjammer Kids".

Perhaps the most distinctly American feature of the early comic strips was the passionate loyalty they stimulated in their readers. This loyalty translated into increased circulation and hence increased profits for newspapers. Ultimately, Yankee merchandizing led to such diverse spin-offs including shoe brands, movies, comic books, food brands and dolls (or action figures).

Answer: Captain Easy

In 1924, Roy Crane's comic strip character, Wash Tubbs, began to have adventures, albeit in a comic vein. Although Tubbs was hardly a heroic adventurer, in 1929, the intrepid Captain Easy began to join Tubbs on his adventures. Before long, it seemed like Wash had become the Captain's sidekick.

In 1933, "Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune" began to detail the adventurous life the heroic captain had led prior to hooking up with Wash Tubbs. By the time the Captain had a strip of his own - Tarzan, Buck Rodgers, and Dick Tracy were being featured in strips of their own, but Wash Tubbs and the Captain were the first to have adventures.

Answer: Rube Goldberg

Having graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1904 with a degree in engineering, Rube Goldberg was hired by the City of San Francisco as an engineer. Within months, he had quit his job to draw sports cartoons for the "San Francisco Chronicle". Rube Goldberg drew a number of syndicated comic strips and, in 1948, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize... for political cartoons. Yet clearly, this engineer-cartoonist will always be best remembered as the creator of the devices that are named after him, "Rube Goldberg machines".

Answer: Prince Valiant

In its more than 60 years of existence, "Prince Valiant" has undergone a number of changes. Initially dependent on Arthurian legend and featuring monsters and magic, the strip evolved a more historically based and historically accurate story line. When Prince Valiant's creator Hal Foster died in 1982, his successor (and former collaborator) John Cullen Murphy moved the action from Western Europe to Byzantium.

For those of you wondering, Count Screwloose of Tooloose is a genuine comic strip character. Illustrated by Milt Gross, the Count's strip ran from 1929 to 1934. Incidentally, some credit Milt Gross with being the author of the first graphic novel ("Nize Baby") in 1926.

Answer: Alley Oop

In the early 1930s, Vincent Hamlin was devising an advertising layout for a Texas oil company when he acquired a new interest in fossils. So, when he decided to pursue a career as a cartoonist, he placed his caveman hero in a pseudo-stone age environment that allowed for the existence of dinosaurs.

However, Hamlin was not content to confine his caveman to a single setting. In 1939, Hamlin arranged for Oop to encounter Doc Wonmug and his time machine. Oop happily journeyed through time until 1947 when even the confines of earth became too small and Oop was sent to the moon. Hamlin apparently became the first science fiction writer to predict that the peoples of earth would watch a moon landing on television.

As of 2005 "Alley Oop" continues to be carried in more than 600 newspapers. (And yes, Rocky Stoneaxe is a genuine comic strip.)

Answer: Pogo

In the 1950s, Walt Kelly did not shrink from skewering the powerful Senator Joseph McCarthy. Other public figures satirized included J. Edgar Hoover, Robert Kennedy, Spiro Agnew and Ronald Reagan.

Walt Kelly's "Pogo" was set in Okefenokee Swamp. A recurring line from the strip, "We have met the enemy and he is us", is widely quoted, as is the statement, "Don't take life so serious - it ain't nohow permanent." Early in his career, Walt Kelly worked on animation for Walt Disney along with Hank Ketchum, creator of "Dennis the Menace". During the 1950s Kelly was called on to give testimony to a senate subcommittee investigating the connection between comics and juvenile delinquency.

Answer: A full half page for his Sunday comic

The earning potential of newspaper cartoon characters outside their strips has been exploited since the early 20th century. The Yellow Kid hawked every thing from buttons to whiskey. Gary Trudeau abandoned his comic strip "Doonesbury" for two years during which time he assisted in the production of a Broadway musical version of "Doonesbury". No holiday seems special without television appearances by Charlie Brown and Garfield.

Bill Watterson prefers to earn compensation solely for his comic art, refusing to engage in merchandising. In the process Watterson has forgone untold millions of dollars of personal profit. He refuses to go on promotional tours or to license his characters. He has allowed two calendars and the marketing of collections of his strips in book form. Otherwise, virtually all "Calvin and Hobbes" products are unauthorized. He has sued to stop the production of the automobile stickers that feature Calvin urinating. For a time he slipped autographed copies of his books into a local bookstore, stopping when he realized they were being sold on Ebay for outrageous sums.

Watterson takes the artistic aspect of his work very seriously. As the size allotted to strips was reduced over a period of years, he felt that his artistic options were compromised. His hope in asking a full half page for his Sunday comics was that he would be able to improve his art work and thereby the overall quality of his strip.

Answer: Doonesbury

Gary Trudeau's "Doonesbury" has frequently sparked controversy. In 1973, the "Lincoln Journal" became the first of many newspapers to move the strip to the editorial page to avoid conflicts between "Doonesbury's" avid fans and equally avid detractors.

In 1975 the comic strip received a Pulitzer Prize... for editorial cartooning. Over the years, a number of newspapers have declined to publish certain of Trudeau's strips. Yet, the largely liberal Trudeau has received kudos from unlikely sources, including President Gerald Ford who said "There are only three major vehicles to keep us informed as to what is going on in Washington: the electronic media, the print media, and 'Doonesbury' - not necessarily in that order."

Answer: All of these

Since the time of Pulitzer and Hearst's battle over "The Yellow Kid", comic strips have aroused passions for a number of reasons. The political and social commentaries of strips from "Little Orphan Annie" to "Dilbert" have been met with both acceptance and outrage.

In 1997, the "Los Angeles Times" declined to publish some of Johnny Hart's "BC" comic strips dealing positively with Christian faith. The week following the September 11, 2001, attack on the New York's World Trade Center, the "Bryan-College Station Eagle" refused to publish a series of strips that impugned the intelligence of President Bush. In 2003, the "Washington Post" omitted a series of "Boondocks" comic strips that dealt with Condoleezza Rice's personal life.