"The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics" and the Comic Strip

This week, we dive into the world of the comic strip. Comic Strips have been a source of entertainment and cultural satire since the early 19th century and have been a mainstream form of art and a staple of American society ever since. Comic Strips are almost always found in the pages of the newspaper and have been one of the favorite past times of children as they anticipate each day's or week's issue to see what happens to their favorite characters. Many of these older comics are products of their times, so their contents could be viewed as having extremely racial stereotypes or including jokes that by today's standards may not seem as funny unless they are examined more thoroughly. Some comics such as Buck Rogers became so popular with their more continuing stories instead single weekly ones that they soon crossed into numerous other forms of art and entertainment such as animation, movies and radio shows.

There are so many examples of comic strips that it may seem overwhelming when trying to decide where to start. Thankfully, we have The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics to help us. This book is a fantastic collection of some of the most popular and possibly greatest comic strips that have helped shaped many comics, art, and culture of today. Some of these works Include The Katzenjammer Kids by Harold H. Knerr, Krazy Kat by  George Herriman and many more. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics also gives us a brief history on comics strips through the various ages, and the included works are arranged by the date of their original publication.

Of the many works available, I mainly focused on the series Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz and Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. While Peanuts is one of those comic strips that focuses more on the philosophical, psychological, and sociological aspects that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, some of these are actually still relatable to the readers of today. This series is probably one of the best examples of a comic strip that expanded into numerous other styles such as movies, TV specials, toys, etc. Calvin and Hobbes became another very popular series in today's market after its initial debut in 1985 and chronicles the imaginary adventures between a six year old boy and his anthropomorphic stuffed tiger toy as they go on numerous adventures. This strip delves into the mind of a child, and growing up as a child with just as much imagination, I wish I had read this comic strip more.