Three cheers for ‘the funnies’

Beginning the new year on a light touch, I’m off and running with nostalgic memories of comic strips — we used to call them “the funnies” in the 1930s. From our front porch on Good Hope Street, we would watch for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian’s afternoon delivery. I’d try my best to outrun my brother and sister to get first dibs on the comics.

Yes, I grew up following the daily antics of Tillie the Toiler, Alley Oop, Little Orphan Annie, Boots and Her Buddies, Andy Capp, Blondie, Dick Tracy, Li’l Abner and Brenda Starr. This is merely a random list; dozens more entertained readers through mulptiple decades.

In addition to these popular strips, single-panel cartoons also gained popularity. Past favorites include Williams’ “Out Our Way” and Freyse’s “Our Boarding House.” Present-day single-panel toons sure to bring a chuckle (or not) are Bil Keane’s “Family Circus,” Wilson’s “Ziggy” and Anderson’s “Marmaduke.”

The comic section always has been a popular draw with fans. The switch from black and white to color was dazzling. I recall the page reduction to tabloid size during the paper shortage of World War II. A few decades later, 1967 to be exact (I’m looking at the Missourian issued on Aug. 17 of that year), I notice the page size is 17x23 inches. Today’s comic page measures 11x21.

On this ’67 comics page I see Alley Oop, Dick Tracy, Andy Capp and Orphan Annie are still around for laughs. Other features are a crossword puzzle, television schedule and a dress pattern. I’m pleased to report today’s Missourian still offers a crossword puzzle along with a sudoku grid and good ole Beetle Bailey, Lola, Peanuts, Garfield and Dennis the Menace.

Once upon a time (probably during my grade-school years), I treasured the Sunday papers that offered paper dolls with complete wardrobes for Boots, Brenda Starr and Jane Arden. My sister Kitty and I spent many hours cutting them out and playing like they were real. You know, it was “plack, plack, plack” (interpretation: “play like this” and “play like that”).

If I had to pick a favorite comic strip, I’d settle for “Blondie” by Young. She’s been around even longer than I have. Most comic characters do not age, but some do. The Bumstead children, Alexander and Cookie, grew up, survived their teens and moved on with their lives. Blondie and Dagwood are still in their house coping with life’s daily challenges (Dagwood colliding with the mailman, running late and keeping his carpool waiting and building monstrous sandwiches in the middle of the night).

Dagwood still has those twin cowlicks and bow tie, he continues to nap on the job and wonders why he never gets a raise from tightwad Mr. Dithers. Then there’s Blondie with the same curly hair style, miraculously keeping her girlish figure with curves in all the right places. The family pet, Daisy, keeps pace with this hectic family, and her reactions and expressions mirror the humorous homespun predicaments of the Bumstead household.

Not everyone appreciates the comic section of the newspaper. Some people never even look at the funnies. This column is definitely not for them. For those of us who daily check out our favorite comic characters, I offer a resounding “three cheers for the funnies!”