Sunday Funnies

July 14, 2010

The Sunday Funnies stamp pane honors five of our most beloved comic strips: Archie, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, and Calvin and Hobbes. The strips, as well as their characters, may have changed over the years, yet each nevertheless remains an enduring classic. The stamps will go on sale July 16.

Archie

Offering an idealized portrait of American adolescence, Archie focuses on the escapades of 17-year-old Archie Andrews. A typical small-town teenager, Archie is cheerful, polite, and well meaning—despite his knack for goofing things up. He is also completely girl crazy. Vying for his affections are Veronica Lodge, a wealthy and haughty brunette, and sweet, blonde Betty Cooper, the classic girl next door. Archie’s eccentric pal Jughead Jones tries his best to avoid complicated relationships with girls, preferring to spend his time eating and sleeping instead. The whole gang attends Riverdale High, where Archie’s antics frequently try the patience of homeroom teacher Ms. Grundy and principal Mr. Weatherbee.

A departure from the comic-book superheroes that gained popularity during the 1940s, Archie and his friends first appeared in the December 1941 issue of Pep Comics (#22). By 1942, they had an entire comic book devoted to their adventures. Archie and his friends were created by John Goldwater and visualized by Bob Montana. Montana drew the newspaper comic strip until his death in 1975.

During World War II, Archie presented a reassuring view of the innocent foibles and mundane realities of teenage life that appealed to many Americans. The comic became a syndicated daily newspaper strip in 1946 and has since touched on contemporary fads, fashions, and concerns, including beatniks in the 1950s, racism in the 1960s, the environment, and the economy.

Beetle Bailey

A military strip with universal appeal, Beetle Bailey takes place on the grounds of Camp Swampy, a fictional army base. Possibly the laziest man in the army, Private Beetle Bailey is expert at sleeping and avoiding work. His chronic indolence antagonizes Sergeant Orville P. Snorkel (“Sarge”), the keeper of the rules, who is tough on his men but calls them “my boys.” Other characters include inept General Amos T. Halftrack, who loves golf and pretty women, and his civilian secretary, the shapely blonde, Miss Buxley.

Beetle Bailey debuted as a newspaper comic strip in September 1950. Cartoonist Mort Walker served four years as an Intelligence Officer with the U.S. Army during World War II and used that experience as “research.” He also derived his characters from real-life examples: Beetle was based on a high school buddy, while one of Walker’s tough-as-nails sergeants inspired the character of Sarge. The strip was added to Sunday newspapers in September 1952.

Beetle Bailey satirizes military customs and bureaucratic procedures, and comments on racism, sexism, and other contemporary social issues. However its main attraction is the appeal of its characters, especially Beetle, who is the common man trying to exist in the grasp of a system full of dense rules and regulations—and often coming out on top.

Dennis the Menace

Perpetually “five-ana-half” years old, Dennis Mitchell is a curious, mischievous boy with unruly blonde hair and a freckled face. Dressed in coveralls and a striped shirt, good-hearted Dennis tests the patience of his loving parents, Henry and Alice, guaranteeing that their lives are anything but dull. He also likes to pester the older couple next-door, George and Martha Wilson, in whose house Dennis frequently makes himself at home. Competing for Dennis’s attention are redheaded Margaret Wade, a perfectionist who wants to make Dennis into a respectable little boy, and down-to-earth Gina Gillotti, who accepts Dennis for who he is. Younger pal Joey McDonald follows Dennis’s lead wherever he goes.

Cartoonist Hank Ketcham was inspired to create Dennis by his own four-year-old son, also named Dennis. Dennis the Menace debuted in March 1951 as a single-panel cartoon. By the end of 1951, the comic had also begun to run on Sunday, the only day it appears in strip format. Ketcham retired in 1994 but continued to supervise the drawing of the strip until his death in 2001.

Initially a troublemaker, Dennis has mellowed over the years, and today his antics are more innocent than aggressive. Cell phones and computers have made their way into the comic, but little else in this idyllic suburban world of green grass and white picket fences has changed.

Garfield

Garfield is an orange tabby cat who hates Mondays and loves lasagna and television. Lazy, fat, self-centered, and cynical, he makes no apologies for his lifestyle, choosing to sleep all morning and eat all afternoon without guilt or shame. Garfield lives with Jon Arbuckle, an awkward bachelor with terrible taste in clothes and no luck with women, and Odie, a carefree and energetic dog who communicates only with his tail and tongue. What Odie lacks in smarts he more than makes up for in loyalty, giving Jon and even Garfield his never-ending devotion. Despite his sarcastic personality, Garfield does have a soft side, which he shows to no one but his own huggable teddy bear, Pooky.

Jim Davis, Garfield’s creator, initially wanted to focus the comic strip on Jon but soon realized that Garfield was the star. Although the perpetually cranky cat has slimmed down considerably and learned to walk on his hind legs, little about his personality has changed since he first appeared in newspapers in June 1978.

Garfield typically does not comment on contemporary social and political events. Instead the strip pokes fun at the close relationship that Americans have with their pets while also dealing with universal issues like dieting, exercise, and the tedium of everyday life. Other recurring characters include Liz, Garfield’s vet and Jon’s dream girl; Arlene, the female cat most likely to share dinner and trade insults with Garfield; and Nermal, who claims to be the “World’s Cutest Kitten.”

Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes explores the rich fantasy life of Calvin, a precocious six-year-old boy, and his tiger friend Hobbes. Lured into a trap with a tuna fish sandwich, Hobbes is real only to Calvin; to everyone else he is a stuffed toy. Together the inseparable friends take wagon rides through the woods, ponder the mysteries of the world, and generally test the fortitude of Calvin’s parents, who never know where their son’s imagination will take him. With the help of his “transmogrifier”—a large cardboard box—Calvin can turn himself into just about anything, from a fearless astronaut or a fearsome dinosaur to troublemaking clones of himself.

Calvin and Hobbes first appeared in print in November 1985. Creator Bill Watterson named his characters after the European philosophers John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes. During the strip’s run, Watterson experimented with creative layouts as well as fantastical—and sometimes distorted—drawing styles that stretched the limits of newspaper comics and won legions of fans. The final strip appeared on December 31, 1995. 

Although centered on the escapades of an unconventional little boy and his favorite stuffed animal, Calvin and Hobbes addresses broad social and political themes with humor and intelligence. Through Calvin’s interactions with his parents and classmates, as well as his insatiable curiosity about the world, the character-driven strip tackles such issues as religion, ethics, and the environment.

The Sunday Funnies stamp pane honors five of our most beloved comic strips: Archie, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, and Calvin and Hobbes. Art director Ethel Kessler selected the images that appear on the stamps.

The Archie stamp features Archie sharing a chocolate shake with brunette Veronica Lodge on his right and blonde Betty Cooper on his left.

The Beetle Bailey stamp features Beetle, smiling calmly while Sarge loses his cool.

The Calvin and Hobbes stamp captures the precocious six-year-old and his tiger pal making scary—and ridiculous—faces.

The Dennis the Menace stamp features five-year-old Dennis, dressed in red coveralls and striped shirt, running off to some new adventure.

The Garfield stamp features the crabby tabby standing back to back with Odie, a carefree, energetic dog.

Offering an idealized portrait of American adolescence, Archie existed only in comic-book form before debuting in newspapers in 1946. A typical small-town teenager with a knack for goofing things up, 17-year-old Archie Andrews is often torn between haughty brunette Veronica Lodge and sweet, blonde Betty Cooper.

A military strip with universal appeal, Beetle Bailey first appeared in September 1950. Possibly the laziest man in the army, Private Beetle Bailey is an expert at sleeping and avoiding work. His chronic indolence antagonizes Sergeant Orville P. Snorkel, who is tough on his men but calls them “my boys.”

Dennis the Menace follows the antics of Dennis Mitchell, a good-hearted but mischievous little boy who is perpetually “five-ana-half” years old. His curiosity tests the patience of his loving parents and neighbors, guaranteeing that their lives are anything but dull. The comic debuted in March 1951 as a single-panel gag.

Garfield first waddled onto the comics page in June 1978. Self-centered and cynical, the crabby tabby hates Mondays and loves lasagna. He lives with Jon Arbuckle, a bumbling bachelor with a fatally flawed fashion sense, and Odie, a dopey-but-devoted dog.

Calvin and Hobbes explores the fantasy life of six-year-old Calvin and his tiger pal, Hobbes. The inseparable friends ponder the mysteries of the world and test the fortitude of Calvin’s parents, who never know where their son’s imagination will take him. The strip ran from November 1985 to December 1995.