Blondie...and Dagwood, Of Course
Mon., August 22, 10:29 AM
As I may have mentioned from time to time, I really enjoy comic strips. To heck with television serials; give me those little snippets that turn up in my newspaper every day. They make us laugh, often at ourselves. For years I have been an advocate of laughter as therapy.
I love cartoon crossovers – you know, when a character from one comic strip turns up in somebody else’s strip. Most often it occurs when one artist draws two different strips, as when “Beetle Bailey” spends his furlough with his sister’s family in “Hi and Lois.” And I got a real kick out of the ouija board joke that turned up in three different strips on April Fool’s Day.
So you can imagine how much I am enjoying “Blondie” these days. For the last several weeks, Blondie and Dagwood have been planning an anniversary party. I couldn’t figure out what they were celebrating. Not only were they married in 1933 – which would not make this a special jubilee – but it’s a little embarrassing to mark seventy years when you still have teenagers in the house.
So I’ve been googling from time to time, and I finally found it. Meanwhile, we’ve had the benefit of all their planning – music, flowers, caterers – and Blondie’s the best caterer in town, but she’s not available. Last week Dagwood turned up in some other strips, with “here’s an invitation to our party.” Yesterday all sorts of strange characters started camping out in the Bumsteads’ front yard. Well, they’re strange if you don’t normally read the comics. If you do, there are a lot of old friends.
This morning I found the explanatory link, which I’m glad to see, since this is all before my time. I knew some of the history because my dad told me, but the dates didn’t add up… So now I know. And I will savor the next two weeks, as I celebrate the cleverness of these people who entertain me every day.
See ya in the funny papers!
