50

Heathcliff made his debut on this day 50 years ago. Here, Heathcliff's wacky supporting characters are flooding the streets to honor the original orange cat that they love and fear.

I don't think there's going to be enough cake.

September 3, 1973

I'm shocked you can get a raw fish at this ice cream parlor. I guess Westfinster has always been very accommodating toward Heathcliff.

January 8, 1986

Brutus balanced that flowerpot on his head all the way home? That's pretty good. If only there was a way to monetize that. What was Brutus doing at the florist? He didn't buy anything.

I don't understand any of this. This comic is clearly only written for the golfers who read the Sunday comics. Short game? I don't know what that is, and nobody tell me because I don't want to know.

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Tuesday Quickies

May 18, 1974

Art will use this joke again, almost verbatim, eleven years later. And yes, of course he has forgotten what day it is. If he didn't remember it in the morning, what makes you think he'd remember it when he gets home.

Oh, good, and we're going to continue the weird theme of Gladys meeting Brutus at the door when he gets home from work in today's comic. Don't worry, everyone. I'm sure this won't happen. I'm positive comic strip time will prevail and Brutus' life will remain the same.

Arnold the Pig

February 9, 1974

William Henry Harrison (He died in 30 days!) is a fascinating president to read about because of all the "what could've been" scenarios he left. He probably wouldn't have been a great president but that's for another post. William Harrison was the oldest president at the time at 68-years-old. During the campaign, his age was a huge issue Democrats kept bringing up. Nowadays, 68-years-old doesn't seem that old.

It's...impressive(?) that Gladys can still fit into her wedding dress. But it seems like a lot of work for little gain--whether or not Brutus was a loving and attentive husband.

I swear Brutus and Gladys have had three wedding anniversaries over the year I've done these classic strips.

Oh, cool. Are you going to slaughter that pig in front of me? I mean, I'm still going to eat whatever I order, but I might feel a little more guilty and take slightly slower bites.

I'm not sure if I like this angle.

Ladies, Don't Debase Yourself for Chocolate...With Brutus

November 17, 1973

He's probably going to take you to the Cleveland Boondock Steakhouse. Or just bring home some flowers. Hell, he may even break out the painted turtles like he did with your birthday.

Was Arnie the only person who chose Kansas City to win and everyone else picked Philadelphia? Or was it like a bracket situation or whatever? Some guy comes to you in September: "Here. Pick who you think will win the Super Bowl and give me $20."

I'm gonna give Wilberforce the same advice I've been giving my students: Why do you need to be with anyone? Be your own valentine. Love yourself before finding someone to love you. Sure, relationships can be great but they are not the end all, be all of existence.

At least with telling a non-living comic strip character this, they can't make fun of my pants or my hair after I finish talking to them.

This Is How Chicago Burned Down

January 13, 1985

At least he remembered...? And remembered before and not after.

But I'm pretty sure sales are final at a florist's. He's not going to want his dying/dead flowers back.

That seems...dangerous? Couldn't a burning piece of leaf blow away and start a fire somewhere else? I feel Brutus would need a permit for this. In fact, I think I can hear the fire truck sirens off in the distance coming from the last panel.

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At Least Gladys Seems to Be Getting Upset Now

Jesus, Mother Gargle is a selfish, greedy, and angry piece of crap. Brutus is loving Gladys just fine but because he's not draping her in gold jewelry and fur coats then he's a terrible husband? No wonder Gladys' father either left or died years ago.

That Is a Terrible Card

I don't think Gladys is going to be thrilled with getting just a card for her wedding anniversary. Especially one with such a stupid comment inside of it. I know that we should be shaming Brutus but I think we should also shame this Hallmark Crown Store employee who is just "Wedding anniversary? Here's a card. Five dollars, please."

Getting Gladys nothing would be better than whatever this is.

On a serious note, today is the 57th anniversary of The Born Loser (hence, why Brutus is anniversary shopping). Here are the first two comics from May 10 and May 11. Remember, the strip originally had no regular characters and the art was very different.

Ad Astra Per Aspera

On the seal of Kansas great--

Great the seal and great the state--

Is a sky that bright stars gem.

And above, the apothegm,

Ad astra per aspera.

Ad astra per aspera!

Thus the Kansas pioneers,

In past battle clouded years,

Fought their fierce disputed way.

Not in battle's fine array,

Uniform and epaulette

And long lines of bayonet,

But with rifle and shotgun,

Uniformed in plain homespun,

Fought they--won--and realized

That their way was blood baptized.

Ad astra per aspera,

Brown is dead, but freedom lives.

Now, in peace, the teacher gives

His life to the Kansas youth,

Dreaming not of future fame,

Hoping not for deathless name,

Teaching virtue, honor, truth,

Love of country, loyalty,

That the dawning future age

Well may guard this heritage.

Satisfied that holding ground

May the way sometimes be found--

Ad astra per aspera.

Teacher! When the gate unbars

And swings open 'mong the stars;

When upon the streets of gold

You tread softly, as of old

In the schoolroom, may One greet

Your home coming with a sweet

Look of kindness. May He say,

"I am glad to welcome you!

I was once a teacher, too;

You, as I, thus found the way--

Ad astra per aspera."

-E.E. Kelley

Chanute, Kansas

Elmer Ellsworth Kelley was born in Warren County, Indiana on September 13, 1861. He came to Kansas in 1887, originally settling in Toronto. He was principal at their schools for six years then moved to Chanute where he was principal of the high school and then superintendent. He returned to Toronto in 1909, buying the local newspaper.

Kelley married Lillie Sutton in Indiana in 1882 and they had six children--Ruth (1884-1974), Marcia (1886-1979), Albert (1889-1940), Elmer (1891-1972), Thomas (1895-1967), and Katherine (1902-1999). Kelley passed away on January 31, 1940. Lillie died May 7, 1960. Both are buried in Valley View Cemetery in Garden City, Kansas.

The Kansas State Historical Society has a massive collection of letters, documents and genealogy compiled by Katherine Kelley Powell about her family with items dating back to the 1850s.

He Yam What He Yam

Getting this tribute to Popeye just in under the wire, aren't you Chip?

Popeye, as we all know, originally starred in E.C. Segar's Thimble Theatre which started in 1919 and originally starred Harold Hamgravy and his girlfriend Olive Oyl. Popeye first appeared January 17, 1929 and soon became the strip's star. Thimble Theatre was renamed Popeye in the 1970s. So while we're all honoring Popeye on his 90th, let's all wish Olive Oyl a happy 100th.

Gonna Take You Back to the Past

"Here's to good old Kansas, the greatest state of them all--the fairest of the fair!"

-George R. Peck, in a toast at the Chicago Kansas Day Club annual dinner, Jan. 28, 1911.

Fifty Years Old

by Walt Mason

Special to the Topeka Daily Capital, Jan. 29, 1911

Through fifty years of striving

She held her upward way;

A thousand woes surviving,

She stand serene today;

No more the settler faces

The empty, silent places;

No more the red man chases

To council or to fray.

Across her woods and waters

No more is heard the drum;

And to her sons and daughters

The boon of peace is come;

Prosperity abounding

Her people is surrounding

And in her mills, resounding,

The wheels and shuttles hum.

And we, whose ways are pleasant,

Whose bosoms bear no scars,

Should look back from the present

To old time woes and wars;

Through threat'ning circumstances,

Through death and deadly chances,

The name and fame of Kansas

Made progress to the stars.

Our mother's natal morning

We greet with smiles and tears,

Her shining brow adorning

With wreaths from all the years;

And then, from incense burning,

Our hearts aglow with yearning,

With tender eyes we're turning,

To bless the pioneers.

I haven't gotten to that point yet every year there seems to be a breaking point with me and the seasons. On a really hot day in the summer, I'll promise not to speak badly of winter and vice versa. I haven't gotten to that point this winter but I am ready for it to warm up so I can do some stuff outside.

By the way, Brutus recording the weather report on August 4th actually happened.

I only wish today's strip used the same first panel words as August 4's.

Honeymoon Plans

Wilberforce, you've seen how your parents act. Clearly something didn't take during their first honeymoon which has messed them up over the last 20+ years.

I don't know where Brutus and Gladys think they are going for this second honeymoon. Al's Roadside Motel, where they spent their first, just outside beautiful Parma, Ohio closed back in 1987 and the Thornapples sure as hell can't afford to actually go anywhere.

One Dollar for Every Year

Look, I don't need a fancy party celebrating my time with a company as long as my boss never puts their arm around me like that. It looks like Veeblefester is trying to climb inside Brutus but can't find a way in.

40 Years a Cat

Garfield is turning 40 today. That's great and all but there are several other comic strips that are celebrating an anniversary this year that I hope gets as much coverage as Garfield has been getting from GoComics. Gasoline Alley will be celebrating 100 years in November. Nancy, who just got a new artist, will celebrate 80 years if you don't count the time it was Fritzi Ritz. Heathcliff, the original orange and black cat, will be celebrating 45 years this September. Here's hoping those strips get a little love as well and not just from their creators.

I find it kind of aggravating that all of the arguments between Brutus and either Gladys or Mother Gargle are kind of like the comments section on newspaper sites or social media platforms. And just like those places, what they are arguing about is probably unknown to them and completely pointless.

They Know They're a Comic?

Apparently the number 53 is something to get all excited about. I am a strict anniversary conventionist. 1-10, you can celebrate every year then it goes 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, and then every 25 after that. Unless you're Garfield, then you can celebrate every year. But only Garfield.

The New 52

I wasn't able to post at my regular time because I had a job interview but I see that I didn't miss much. Nothing to insult here. Happy anniversary to the Born Loser and to Chip.

9 Years?!?

Crankshaft

I never take the audio tour when I'm at a museum. If I wanted to know pointless details and what I should be seeing and feeling about a particular piece, I would just ask someone, but if I went to a museum and they handled their tour as condescending and moronically as this museum is, I'd complain, demand my money back, and tell everyone who follows me on social media how terrible the museum was. Just because some museum in Ohio refuses to put up your work, Batiuk, doesn't mean you can be a jerk.

I can't believe we have three more days of this crap.

Hagar the Horrible

The goblet of beer either needs to be drawn bigger or the no symbol needs to be smaller.

The Born Loser

Did you know that today is the ninth anniversary of this website? I've been doing whatever it is I do here since 2008?

And of course Veeblefester has part-time workers. They aren't on the payroll because "unpaid interns" sounds much better when you are ordering someone to do something.

"We've Spent 56 Years Trying To Get Rid of Those 'Little Things'"

Slylock Fox and Comics for Kids

It seems as if Slylock is less concerned about the Mystery of the Missing Vanity and more interested in the Mystery of Is Harry Ape's Mom Also an Ape? Why is Foo Foo Cat just now reporting her vanity stolen? Honestly Harry may have gotten away with this caper if he just threw the newspapers away. Also...Hey, is that a dragon wearing a top hat in the Your Drawing panel?

Family Circus

I love that both Thel and Bil are looking at Gran'ma like "What the hell is she talking about? Big things? What? Just put the damn plates on the table."

Mary Worth

"Here's your vicodin. The doctor said it should help relieve the pain."

"I know what vicodin does, Mom. I was a freaking drug addict."

Dennis the Menace

Wait. They teach about Snow White in Sunday School? I've got that thing all wrong then.

Heathcliff and Garfield

It's finally happened. Heathcliff and Garfield have finally become basically the same comic strip.

1188: 50 Years a Born Loser

As we've seen at the end of every strip this week, The Born Loser is 50. Sadly, reaching 50 is pretty easy in comic strip-land because of the hesitation syndicates (and some newspapers) have about replacing tried-and-true strips with untested ones. Today marks the actual 50th anniversary of The Born Loser and to celebrate, GoComics has had a short interview with Chip Sansom, a short blog post with Chip's editor, a brand-new Facebook page, a printable Born Loser certificate that looks good next to any DeVry, ITT or University of Phoenix diploma and a contest to win one of twelve signed Born Loser prints. I was hoping for a strip collection or every strip from 1965 to today to be uploaded but maybe those will be forthcoming.

What's interesting is what has transpired here over the last seven or so years. Sure, there are a few meanderings but we usually wind up right back here, talking about The Born Loser. I started this blog because I considered The Born Loser one of the worst comic strips but I have grown to not only respect it but like it. Sure, it's not in my top ten of best comic strips ever but it's a steady performer--a workhorse, you might say.

While I may joke about what's going on in The Born Loser, I do it out of respect. I had the opportunity to talk with Chip back in December during a Twitter Q&A and he was very informative with a pretty witty sense of humor. It was also interesting to get a more personal response to certain questions that you normally don't get in behind-the-scene interviews. So, like always, today's post and this blog in general, is dedicated to Chip and his father Art who started the whole thing and to the people who read this thing and those who read it even when I do those meandering history or story posts.

"First thing when I get to work, I'm going to punch Arnie in the back of the head!"

I was hoping for some older panels showing Brutus' loser-ness. Oh, well, I guess Brutus getting his days confused and heading to work on a Sunday is just as good. I don't know if this city's mass transit runs on a Sunday so Brutus may be standing at his bus stop for awhile.

1187: Hattie Cares Not For Our Driving Laws

I'm not a car person. As long as my car gets me from Point A to Point B and maybe Point C on weekends, then I am happy. I have a student who asks if I would buy him a car and the car is always a fancy sports car like a Corvette or Lamborghini. What would he do with a car like that? I'm pretty sure he will never learn to drive a car so it would just sit and do nothing. Why am I thinking of this like I would actually consider buying him the car if I had the money. I have a strict "I need all the money I can get so you're not getting any of it" policy.

1186: Does He Not Even Notice He's Dropping Stuff?

With or without Brutus, Veeblefester seems to be doing just fine. If anything, Brutus' mediocrity has kept Veeblefester from installing one of those car elevators in his house which isn't a bad thing and keeps Veeblefester a bit more down to Earth.