In 1964, Johnny Hart and Brant Parker were the original creators of "The Wizard of Id". The strip features medieval characters who reside in the run-down kingdom of Id. It is fitting that the king of Id refers to his subjects as "Idiots". The King is an extremely short despot (Napoleonic complex, perhaps?) with a sense of humor; the Wizard is Merlin-like, and Sir Rodney the Chicken-Hearted is the king's main knight and head of the Royal Army and Navy. Rodney's standard is a yellow chicken on a white background.
The National Cartoonists Society named "The Wizard of Id" the best humor strip in 1971, 1976, 1980, 1982 and 1983.
2. Bil Keane
Answer: Family Circus
Bil Keane (1922-2011) began his comic strip "The Family Circus", originally titled "The Family Circle", in 1960. Based on events in his own life, Bil wrote about the everyday lives of a suburban family of six. The characters include parents Bil and Thelma and their kids, Billy. Dolly, Jeffy and P.J., along with their two dogs, Barfy and Sam. Unlike most comic strips, "The Family Circus" is drawn inside a circle, with the text below. Since Bil's death, the cartoon continues to be drawn by his son, Jeff Keane.
3. Tom Wilson
Answer: Ziggy
"Ziggy" is one of my favorite cartoon series. He first appeared in a 1968 book collection called 'How Do You Do?", published by the card company American Greetings. Tom Wilson is the creator of "Ziggy", and was a former executive at American Greetings.
The character of Ziggy is small, bald, pants-less and barefoot, with a large nose. Ziggy winds up in odd, sometimes surreal situations or simply just comments on everyday life. To me, he is the underdog who you just have to root for. For example, in one cartoon Ziggy is saying "I just ate six Happy Meals and I'm still depressed".
The comic continues to be drawn by Wilson's son, Tom Wilson Jr.
4. Garry Trudeau
Answer: Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau's famous Pulitzer Prize-winning comic strip "Doonesbury" first appeared on the scene in 1970. The characters include Michael Doonesbury who, much like Trudeau himself, has progressed from a college student to a youthful senior citizen. The strip is known for its cynical humor, satire and political observations. While there are a number of major characters with different affiliations, the strip still espouses a 'liberal' point of view.
As a sidenote: Garry Trudeau has been married to newsperson Jane Pauley since 1980.
5. Jim Davis
Answer: Garfield
Ah! the lazy, Monday-hating, lasagna loving, orange cat Garfield has been seen in comic strips since 1978. "Garfield" has become a household name, having appeared in books, on TV and in films. Jim Davis is the creator of this outspoken (who never speaks) cat, his owner Jon Arbuckle and Jon's dog, Odie.
The cartoon is kind of the 'anti-Doonesbury' in that in does not deal in social or political commentary. In 2013, "Garfield" held the "Guinness World Record" for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip. BTW, "Garfield" is set in Muncie, Indiana which (coincidentally?) happens to be the home of Jim Davis.
6. Walt Kelly
Answer: Pogo
Walt Kelly (1913-1973) was the cartoonist responsible for creating "Pogo" which was first launched in 1948. Some of my earliest memories involve reading about Pogo who lived in the Okefenokee Swamp (which I subsequently learned was an actual place in Florida). I didn't get the social commentary or the political satire at the time, nor did I even know what kind of animal Pogo was, but I loved the way it was drawn. Kelly first worked at Walt Disney Studios in 1936 and helped contribute to characters like Dumbo and Pinocchio, and the film "Fantasia".
He also had one of the best lines, i.e., "We have met the enemy and he is us". Oh, and Pogo is a possum!
7. Reg Smythe
Answer: Andy Capp
And now for something from 'across the pond'..."Andy Capp" is a British cartoon created by Reg Smythe (1917-1998). Andy first appeared in the "Daily Mirror" in 1958. Capp is a working-class bloke who is never actually seen working. He lives in Hartlepool in England, is married to Flo and can usually be found at the neighborhood pub. I've always wondered how he can see to play darts with his hat covering his eyes. Did you know that his name is a pun on the local pronunciation of "handicap"? As far as the author, Reg Smythe, he was born and died in Hartlepool.
8. Al Capp
Answer: Li'l Abner
Speaking of Capps, it was humorist Alfred Gerald Caplin (1909-1979), better known as Al Capp, who created the colorful characters from Dogpatch, U.S.A., in the "Li'l Abner" comic strip. The cartoon was ground-breaking at the time because all previous cartoons had dealt with northern urban life until Capp set his satirical strip in the South. "Li'l Abner" featured a bunch of hillbillies in a small poverty-stricken mountain village, peopled by the overall wearing muscular 'hunk' Li'l Abner Yokum, his Mammy and Pappy, and his love interest, Daisy Mae.
The strip ran from 1934 until 1977.
9. Gary Larson
Answer: The Far Side
Perhaps one of the cleverest, weirdest and best loved cartoons was the single-panel comic "The Far Side", written and drawn by Gary Larson. It ran from January 1, 1980 to January 1, 1995. The series was satirical in nature (pun here), and featured people and anthropomorphic animals in surrealistic settings.
It spawned almost two dozen books, years worth of calendars and a bunch of angry letters from readers who usually misunderstood the meaning of the cartoons. Gary Larson retired in 1995 but, like Phil Collins, Michael Jordan and Brett Favre, we are still hoping for a comeback!
10. Bill Watterson
Answer: Calvin and Hobbes
Can a cartoon which features a six year old boy and a sardonic stuffed tiger be considered philosophical? Let's take a quote from Bill Watterson, the creator of "Calvin and Hobbes" and see: "The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us". You decide. "Calvin and Hobbes" was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson named his characters after John Calvin, a French Reformation theologian and Thomas Hobbes, a political philosopher. He set the characters down in the contemporary, suburban United States and gave us a good look at ourselves.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor eburge before going online.
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