Click the image to see a larger version.
I hope no one was woken up too early today, and I hope that if they were they will learn not to give a bass drum to a child for Christmas next year. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Click the image to see a larger version.
Little Jimmy, by Jimmy Swinnerton, was one of the very earliest comic features with recurring characters. The titular character Jimmy was often seen getting into trouble, as well as causing it. Jimmy doesn't appear in this particular strip, however, and all the trouble is caused by Mrs. Perkins' dog Violet. Of course, one could say that the Major has actually caused the trouble himself by kicking Violet in the first place. I'm sure the real Santa is always very kind to animals.
Click the image to see a larger version.
Virgil Partch, creator of Big George, was more well-known for his single panel magazine cartoons, but due to the prodding of his friend Hank Ketcham, creator of Dennis the Menace, he eventually made it into the newspaper. He had to tone down his humor a bit from his magazine work, as his gags weren't always family friendly material. Still, he clearly didn't have trouble coming up with enough gags for the papers to run, because the strip ran for 30 years. In fact, Partch was able to work extremely far in advance of his deadlines, so he actually had years' worth of strips backlogged. This came in handy for the syndicate after his death in 1984, as they had enough material to continue printing new strips for another 6 years!
Here we see Big George himself, the bumbling husband and father wearing the Christmas stocking. With how early some kids get up on Christmas morning, and with how stressful the holiday season can be, I can completely understand somehow getting a sock on your foot that was never meant to be there. I do wonder, though, if only the candy cane was in there or if there were other treats and stocking stuffers that he's been stepping on this whole time. I hope there was no LEGO.
Click the image to see a larger version.
Bobby Make-Believe was created by Frank King, who is better known as the creator of Gasoline Alley. Bobby only lasted from 1915 to 1919, and Gasoline Alley came along in 1918 and is most likely the reason why Bobby's strip was scrapped. Bobby seems like the type of kid that would fit right in with the Gasoline Alley folks, though, and the strip has a similar aesthetic and writing style to what King would write later.
Unlike yesterday's strip, Bobby isn't entirely selfless and says if he ever met Santa that he would ask him for things for himself as well as make sure the kids he doesn't like don't get anything. Still, he has a good heart and cares about his friends who are less fortunate, and would make sure Santa brings them something nice that they would like. I love that he mentions the kid on crutches who can't use toys, and asks Santa to bring him some books instead. It also seems to be implied that he has a bit of a crush on Virginia, given that he asks Santa to bring her all kinds of things. It's all make-believe, obviously, but I love how King is able to show who Bobby really through a simple fantasy.
Click the image to see a larger version.
This one is just incredibly wholesome, and Annie here has the attitude that I wish far more adults would have. Annie was, of course, an orphan who was adopted into a wealthy family, yet she doesn't take it for granted. She's grateful for what she has, and she remembers that there are others who are still in the position that she used to be in. If only we could all act this way, the world would be in a much better state.
Click the image to see a larger version.
Yes, Winnie Winkle's younger brother is named Perry Winkle. Perry was an orphan living on the streets who was adopted by Winnie's parents, and is therefore not well-versed in proper etiquette. The Spud Finnegan he mentions in the first panel is a member of the local kids' gang the Rinkydinks, who Perry hung around with and was shown with more and more as the strip continued.
I really like this particular strip, because although it shows a very stark contrast between Perry's behavior and the behavior of the other children, and although they do laugh at the end, Reggie and the Hyatt family are very kind and welcoming to Perry and are tolerant of his errant behavior. I can imagine many other strips that wouldn't be nearly as nice to their protagonists, and would most definitely end with the child being flung unceremoniously out the front door. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've read a few of those.
Click the image to see a larger version.
The Peanuts character Schroeder was a massive fan of Beethoven, and over the years Charles Schulz had shown him celebrating Beethoven's birthday on December 17. In 1967, however, he obviously was busy or something because he forgot. Poor Schroeder.
Also, Snoopy is apparently on his way to the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. He never made it there, however, as when he originally set out he didn't realize he had no way of crossing the ocean.
Click the image to see a larger version.
Thimble Theater, and the character of Popeye, were created by E.C. Segar, but several artists and writers have continued the strip long after Segar's death. Here we have a strip by Tom Sims and Bob Zaboly, featuring the famous glutton J. Wellington Wimpy. Wimpy was known by those who read the strip and those who watched the cartoons as a man with a bit of a black hole for a stomach, but 5 entire turkeys is even more than I imagined he could handle. The strip seems to indicate that he had appointments to eat all of those dinners, so it's not necessarily his fault entirely. I imagine each of them were just kind enough to invite him over to eat a holiday meal, and Wimpy graciously accepted each invitation. How could he refuse? Obviously there were consequences, but I don't imagine turkey sickness lasts more than a day or two.
A fun side note: While the popular chicken restaurant chain Popeye's was not named after the comic strip sailor man but was instead named after the police detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle from The French Connection, the popular diner restaurant chain Wimpy was actually named after J. Wellington Wimpy, at least according to the official company website.
Click the image to see a larger version.
The escalation in this Christmas sequence is so great. Every time you think Ignatz has been foiled, he is already way ahead, even though the logic of it is still completely absurd. Given how many times Ignatz has been locked in jail, though, I guess it only stands to reason that if hanging up four stockings is against the law Ignatz would be the first to know, and would be the first to do whatever he could to dodge the law. He wouldn't want Officer Pupp giving him any new Christmas lodgings.
Click the image to see a larger version.
Today's strip is a continuation of the one from yesterday, and raises an interesting question: How many stockings would you put up if you were a centipede? Further, how many stockings would you need if you were, say, a centipede family of four? Would you have enough space in your home to hang all of them? Do centipedes have chimneys? Does centipede Santa have a beard or just more antennae? So many questions.