Comic strip couple celebrates 75 years, and she's still blond

At 75, she's still a knockout.

Beauty, cleverness and intelligence were among the words that popped into mind when Jo Ann Bock began to think back over her years of following Blondie Boopadoop.

"She was really cute, always funny and always a bright spot," said Bock, of Cape Girardeau.

On Sept. 8, Blondie will celebrate its diamond anniversary -- 75 years of touching lives such as Bock's.

"I grew up with her, we're the same age," said Bock. "She certainly was not of the dumb blonde variety."

Bock said the only dumb thing Blondie may ever have done was marry "Bungling Bumstead."

"Her coping skills with Dagwood were downright admirable," Bock said. "She took everything in stride. It was unfolding drama that brought daily humor into the lives of readers."

Today's comic strip culminates a 3-month story line leading up to the big celebration. Other funny-page stars, from Hagar the Horrible to Dennis the Menace to Garfield, have joined in the party action with tributes to the Bumstead couple throughout August and September.

The strip was originally created by Chic Young and has been written by Young's son, Dean Young, for the past 30 years.

In a press release, Young said the storyline is typical Blondie.

"It follows the trials, tribulations and stresses that Blondie and Dagwood face as they plan for the anniversary party, the biggest party to ever take place in the comics pages," Young said. "Their domestic comedy is only accentuated by the addition of so many amazing characters to their guest list."

Andrew Johnson, owner of Comix Strips in Cape Girardeau, said the popularity of Blondie and other older characters has decreased, but there's still an interest. A 1942 mint-condition edition of the Blondie comic book can fetch as much as $1,025.

At one point, said Johnson, the funny-type characters such Blondie, Betty Boop and Little Orphan Annie were as big as Superman.

"There was some change in the 70s. We even saw it in movies and on TV. More R-rated violence became acceptable, and then comics like this just disappeared," said Johnson.

Blondie has come and gone over the past 75 years in the comic book world. The last regularly published monthly book was released in 1976. There are still the occasional commemorative books and posters though.

The strip even inspired a few feature movies in the 1950s, said Johnson.

Older comic strips such as Blondie are also available in trade paperbacks.

"It's really the nostalgia of it," said Johnson.

As Dick Locher, cartoonist of Dick Tracy put it, "Blondie, like jazz and baseball, is an American Institution, and definitely on Dick Tracy's Most Wanted List."

cmiller@semissourian.com

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