Tom Heintjes

Yep! Comic strips were doing meta humor more than a century ago!

The Friday Flop:

PLAY BALL! In "Peanuts," Charlie Brown first played baseball (though not yet as pitcher) 75 years ago, on March 6, 1951:

The Chicago Tribune ran this ad in November 1970. I suppose the artist did his best, bless his heart. (Sorry, girls—this opportunity was open only to boys.)

Maybe he expects it to be an Apprentice-style process. “You’re fired…inshallah.”

He certainly had a way with words, didn’t he? Let’s recall a few of them.

"Betty Brown, Ph.G." by Boody Rogers, originally published on March 7, 1938, and titled "A Big Attraction." (I love a Rogers crowd scene.)

The Phantom first left a skull mark from his ring (on an unfortunate pirate's cheek) 90 years ago, on March 5, 1936.

Wordless Wednesday:

Alex Raymond's "Rip Kirby" first appeared 80 years ago, on March 4, 1946. (It was the strip he was working on at the time of his death in a 1956 car crash.) Here’s the first week of dailies:

One of the perks of hanging out in the Alley!

Topper Tuesday (“No Brains But,” topper to “Bringing Up Father”):

Before there was Farmville, there was "U.S. Acres," and the Jim Davis-created strip first appeared 40 years ago, on March 3, 1986. Here’s the first week of dailies:

As a parent, I understand how an adult can get completely exasperated by undisciplined, misbehaving children.

The More You Know Monday (“This Curious World” by William Ferguson):

"Conchy" by James Childress--a unique, fondly recalled strip about a beachcomber—first appeared on March 2, 1970. Here’s the debut strip:

Fritzi and Nancy Before Sluggo (“Fritzi Ritz” strips from February 20-25, 1933):

Slice-of-Life Sunday:

It was subsequently explained as an Earth-1/Earth-2 distinction, but that feels like a way of explaining away a spelling error. “We totally meant to do that!”

The first appearance of Superman’s extradimensional adversary, Mr. Mxyzptlk, was March 1, 1944, in the Man from Krypton’s newspaper strip. (His name was originally spelled “Mxyztplk,” but for whatever reason its spelling later became fixed as Mxyzptlk.) This appearance preceded his comic book debut.

It’s almost March! Courtesy of Morrell’s, a March 1942 calendar that works in 2026.

Sluggo Saturday (“Nancy” strips from February 12-17, 1945):

“Sappo” first received its title panel exactly one month later.

“Sappo,” the long-running topper to E.C. Segar’s “Thimble Theatre,” first appeared 100 years ago, on February 28, 1926. This was prior to Popeye’s arrival in the strip in January 1929. (Its debut even featured a great flop!)

Don’t forget that she couldn’t sufficiently convince everyone that she’d worked at McDonald’s.

Riverdale Week in Review (“Archie” strips from February 28-March 5, 1949):

The Friday Flop:

Rudy Wenderlin, the U.S. Forest Service employee who was the primary artist behind the long-running Smokey Bear campaign, was born on February 27, 1910. (He didn’t create Smokey, but he was the mascot’s chief artist and was considered Smokey’s caretaker for decades, through his retirement in 1973.)

Look at the bright side: If he gets trichinosis from the BBQ, his brain worm will have company.

"Betty Brown, Ph.G." by Boody Rogers, originally published on February 28, 1938, and titled "Wild and Woolly."

Go to bettybrownbook.com and enter the code MANUSCRIPT15 at checkout—valid through tomorrow—to get 15% off your copy of The Complete Betty Brown, Ph.G. in paperback or hardcover.)