Stripper's Guide

Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 is often cited as the source that said Will Eisner and Jerry Iger formed a business called the Eisner and Iger Studio, that was also known as the Syndicated Features Corporation. I have been unable to find any evidence to support that claim. The business name, Universal Phoenix Feature Syndicate, is mentioned in two books about Eisner.

In Bob Andelman’s book, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life (2005), he wrote:

As the workload rapidly increased—Eisner & Iger created the Universal Phoenix Feature Syndicate to distribute their creations globally—they hired other artists and parceled out the assignments to a young but immensely talented (and fast) stable of artists. The bull-pen continued the books in whatever style Eisner established….

Will Eisner: A Dreamer’s Life in Comics (2010), by Michael Schumacher, said:

The Eisner & Iger company had been around only a few months when the two partners, buoyed by the early response to the company, decide to create their own comics syndicate. Universal Phoenix Features Syndicate, initially designed to handle foreign clients…quickly found a market in the United States…

In an interview with the Cubic Zirconia Reader, Jerry Iger referred to the syndicate as Universal Phoenix Features.

The founders of the Eisner and Iger Studio never called their syndicate business Syndicated Features Corporation.

The Syndicated Features Corporation produced a Sunday color-comics section with eight strips: Adventures of Nervy Nerts by George Scott; Adventures of the Red Mask by George West; Happy and His Pappy by Kin Platt; The Jamms by Crawford Young; Jigger by Gus Jud; Peggy Wow by Ray McGill; Pop’s Night Out by Dick Dorgan; and Silly Willie by Roy B. Nyles, the pseudonym of Loy Byrnes. The comics ran from July 13, 1936 to March 8, 1937. A few years later, the comics were reprinted in Best Comics. Happy and His Pappy also appeared in Startling Comics. None of these artists were associated with the Eisner and Iger Studio.

The owner of the Syndicated Features Corporation was mentioned in Michael Vance’s book, Forbidden Adventures: The History of the American Comics Group (1996). Regarding American Comics Group (ACG) writer and editor, Richard Hughes, Vance wrote:

Hughes’s opportunity came as a result of being in the right place at the right time—New York City, at the birth of a new art form. It was his talent, however, that secured him his position with Syndicated Features Corporation, one of the many branches of the Sangor Shop.

The Sangor Shop was a reference to Benjamin William “Ben” Sangor, a lawyer, real estate developer and publisher. Who’s Who said Sangor was a publisher of soft porn pulp magazines during the 1930s. Sangor ventured into comic strips through his Syndicated Features Corporation which may have produced other material for newspapers.

The Wikipedia entry for ACG explained the origin of the company:

The company evolved out of a company owned by Sangor. In the mid-1930s, Sangor and Richard E. Hughes began to produce a short-lived prepackaged comics supplement for newspapers.

Although this statement was not sourced, the existence of Syndicated Features Corporation’s 1936 comics supplement prove it to be true.

In 1938, Sangor’s daughter, Jacquelyn, married publisher, Ned L. Pines, who wanted to get into comic book publishing. Sangor’s experience with comic strips proved useful. He knew some artists and his shop was able to deliver packages of art for Pines’s comic books and other publishers, too. One of the shop members was the aforementioned Kin Platt. And Sangor’s shop produced material for his company, ACG, which ended in 1967.

The Eisner and Iger Studio piece of the puzzle does not fit in the Syndicated Features Corporation* picture.

—Alex Jay

* According to the Robert D. Fisher Manual of Valuable & Worthless Securities (1971), Volume 13, the Syndicated Features Corporation was a Delaware company whose stock was worthless in 1940. Years later, the name was resurrected as Best Syndicated Features, Inc., which was part of ACG.

Happy and his Pappy ran in the short-lived Sunday pre-print section offered by an outfit called Syndicated Features. However, if you come from the comic-book world, you might be thinking, "Naw, ya can't fool me. That strip ran in Best Comics and Startling Comics in the early 1940s". Well, you're right, but I have to play the trump card and tell you that my Happy and his Pappy beats you by four years or more, and the strips you find in those comic books are merely reprints of an honest to goodness newspaper strip. And that's true not just of Happy and his Pappy, but all the Syndicated Features strips, which found their way en masse into comic books well after their newspaper careers fizzled.

Syndicated Features is a mystery itself. If you run it around the interweb search engines, you'll see any number of folks claiming that it was a newspaper syndication arm of the Eisner and Iger shop. To that I have to say, in my most conciliatory voice, sorry but no. Definitely not. The creators featured in the Syndicated Features comic section were not in the same (lowly) league as those fresh out of art school kids to whom Eisner & Iger were paying a pittance. In fact, not one of the creators at Syndicated Features has any tenuous connection to Eisner and Iger.

But what, then, is the deal with Syndicated Features? They came out of nowhere to produce and market a nice little quality tabloid section of weekly color comics in 1936. They managed to attract some creators of note (granted, C-level cartooning celebrities), so they were not completely averse to spending money for professional material. And yet they made the same simple mistake that others did. They marketed a color comic section to small weekly papers. As is the standard result of such marketing, they got some clients to sign up at first, on a free, trial or print-now-pay-later basis, and when it came time to pay the piper, the newspapers bailed. It really is amazing how many companies tried the same fatally flawed approach.

So Syndicated Features' comic section, of which Happy and his Pappy was usually the front page feature, crashed and burned after a mere eight months.

Now that we have the big picture out of the way, let's talk about Happy and his Pappy. The feature about a wacky father and some team was original titled just Happy when it debuted in the first issue of the tabloid on July 13 1936. Dad got co-billing starting with the October 26 issue. The strip is a little reminiscent of Milt Gross' That's My Pop, all except that the creator Kin, while not a bad writer, was no Milt Gross.

Some comics historians have the opinion that 'Kin' of Happy and his Pappy is Kin Platt, who took over Mr. and Mrs. in 1948. I'm a little skeptical of that, as the art style of this Kin doesn't seem to me to bear much resemblance to that Kin. Dissenting opinions are welcomed in the comments!

 In the next couple weeks we will cover each of the Syndicated Features strips, along with Ink-Slinger Profiles for many of the creators. Alex Jay will weigh in at the end of this series with some information he has uncovered about Syndicated Features.

Labels: Obscurities

After a loooong layoff in the mystery strip listings, here's my list for letter M. Rather than rehashing what this list represents I refer you to this post that explains all.

As usual I'm looking for proof that any of these features ran in U.S. newspapers. Proof must be in the form of tearsheets from a newspaper. For the purposes of listing features in the Stripper's Guide Index documentary proof is needed. If you don't have any samples you can scan or photocopy for me but do know where a mystery strip ran, please let me know the name of the paper and I'll try to get hold of the microfilm to verify it.

Don't forget that if you can supply proof that a title listed below did indeed run you get not just my gratitude (cash value 1/20th of a cent) but also a goodie box of neat comic strip related stuff (vintage tearsheets, reprint books, even original art find their way into these) for your trouble. (SORRY - as of 2018 goodie boxes are sadly no longer available - I now live in Canada and our postal rates are so outrageous that I cannot afford to send out goodie boxes - SORRY!)

MD - James Whatley - Interpress - weekly panel - 1974-82
Modern Oxygen / MO - Marc A. Vargas - American International Syndicate - daily panel - 1993-94
Machamer's Corner - Gene Machamer - Dickson-Bennett - daily panel - 1981-82
Machine Head - Syder Webb - Copley News - weekly strip - 1987-88
Mad Lewis Mad Caps - Fred Lewis - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1988-90
Madge the Badge - Al Liederman - Trans World News - daily strip - 1978-79
Maggie McSnoot - uncredited - Ledger Syndicate - daily strip - 1945-50
Malfunction Junction - Mal Hancock - Whitegate Features - daily - 1990-93
Mama's Boy - Will Gould - Kay Features - daily strip - 1931
A Man Called Horace - Andrew Christine and Roger Kettle - North America Syndicate - daily strip - 1992-98 (British strip)
Man in the Street - Jett Black - Schwartz Cartoon Service - daily strip - 1928
Man's Wings - John McCormick and J.M. Richardson - King Features - daily strip - 1929-33
Mandy Capp - Carla Ostrer - North America Syndicate - daily strip - 1997-98 (British strip)
Manny From Mars - Fred Treadgold - BP Singer Features - weekly panel - 1963-69
March of Science - John I. Hudson - Science Service - daily panel - 1936-38
Margie - Stanley Metz - Century Features - daily panel - 1937-38
Maria - Griz - Columbian Comics Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1991-96
Marsh Mellows - Len Borozinski - Copley News Service - daily strip - 1977
Marty - Gerald Bennett and Roy Sanchez - R-GAB Features - daily strip - 1978-79
Marvin - Pat Moran - World News Syndicate - daily panel - 1973
Mary Jane (aka Mary Lou) - Stanley Matz - Matz Features - daily strip - 1936-46
Masked Invaders - William Sherb - Jolyon Features - daily strip - 1939
Masked Marvel - Ben Thompson - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Masked Pilot - uncredited - Beacon Newspaper Service - daily and Sunday strip - 1940
Mata Hari - J.D. McFarland - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1970
Matt Marriott - Tony Weare - Piccadilly Press - daily strip - 1966-68 (British strip)
Maya - John Heine - Publishers-Hall Syndicate - daily panel - 1973 (found in Philadelphia Inquirer)
Mayme The Manicurist - uncredited - Chicago Tribune - daily panel - 1930 (found in NY Daily News)
The McNabs - Leonard Bruce - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily strip - 1983-88
The Meanest Man In The World - Bob Battle - Transworld Features - daily strip - 1956-59
Memoirs of a Housewife - Juli Tarpin - Lew Little Syndicate - Sunday panel - 1965
Memories of a Former Kid - Bob Artley - Extra Newspaper Features - weekly strip - 1986-95 (aware of this appearing in Good Old Days and Reminisce magazines, still looking for newspaper appearances)
Men From Mars - Stanley Miller - Unique Features - daily panel - 1945
The Merriers - Stan Campbell - Eric Jon Associates - weekly strip - 1958-62
Merry Mixup - Barbara Jones - Allied Features - daily panel - 1970-71
Merry Moments - Eg Margo - Queen Features - weekly panel - 1939 (found! in Goltry Leader)
Merry-Go-Round - Jerry Marcus - Roberts News Service - weekly panel - 1962-67
Michael Brand - William Barry - Adventure Features - daily strip - 1975-76
Miffy - Dudley Buxton - Miller Services - daily strip - 1934
Mighty O'Malley - George Merkle/Dean Miller - Chricago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1947-49
Mike O'Kay - Roberts - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily strip - 1926 (found! in Lowell Sun)
Millie - Roger Mahoney and Andrew Pilcher - North America Syndicate - daily strip - 1992-96 (British strip?)
Milly - C. Decker - Lloyd James Williams Co. - daily panel - 1939
Milo - Ronald Boerem - Danny Ball Productions - weekly strip - 1978-79
Mimi - Mary Dorman - National Newspaper Service - daily panel - 1974
Mind's Eye - Jerome Chamberlain - Trans-World News Service - daily panel - 1976
Mini-Poster - Don Addis - Willow Creek Syndicate - daily panel - 1969 [found! by Brubaker in Raleigh News and Observer]
Minit Movies - Irving Phillips - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1933-34
Minstrel Lore - Robert Larsen - Pat Anderson Features - daily panel - 1976
Mr. Cheerio - Milt Lichtenstein - Leeds Features - daily panel - 1933
Moccasin Trails - Mike Roy - Royal Features - daily panel - 1960-61 (alternate title for Hoss Laffs?)
Modern Planes - Les Marshall - Eisner-Iger Associates - weekly panel - 1937-39
Mojoe - Edward Bryant - self-syndicated - weekly - 1991-92
Mom's Boarding House - Gerald Bennett - Dickson Features - daily panel - 1979
Mona - uncredited - Vaz Diaz International - daily strip - 1954-69
Moonshines - J.D. McFarland - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1968-69
Morgan Rogers in Days of Queen Elizabeth - A.S. Curtis - Curtis Features - daily strip - 1949-50
Mother Goose - Eleanor Schorer - Columbia Newspaper Service - weekly strip - 1926-27 (do have the 1915 series)
Motorization of Mr. Man - James Henderson - Ullman Features - weekly panel - 1931
The Mountain Ranger - Ralph Matz - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1940
Movie Epochs - R. Dale Armstrong - Fred Harman Features - daily - 1934 [John Mackenzie tells me that this feature was photo and essay, no cartoons involved, and so ineligible for SG]
Movie Gig - Jim Richardson - Dickson-Bennett - daily strip - 1983-84
Mr. 2 by 4 - Jack O'Brien - Nationwide Features - daily panel - 1949-50 [Charles Thompson supplies proof that Nationwide was a producer of advertising strips; not eligible for SG listing]
Mr. Big - Tim Newlin - self-syndicated - daily and Sunday strip - 1992
Mr. Dilly - Bil Dwyer - Globe Syndicate - daily strip - 1948
Mr. Housewife - Clayton Strohmeyer - Creators Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 2002-03
Mr. Magic - Shirley Spillman - Pacific News Service - daily and Sunday panel - 1961-62
Mr. McCivic, Taxpayer - MEB - Eagle Syndicate - daily strip - 1934 (did NOT run in Brooklyn Eagle)
Mr. Sandman - Frank Vydra - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1970
Mr. Skooch - Charles Saxton - Atlas Features - weekly strip - 1951-59 (all Atlas Features material has been found in Bessemer Herald and several others)
Mr. and Mrs. Homer - Everrett Lowry - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1932
Mrs. Weber's Diary - Posy Simmonds - Feature Associates - weekly strip - 1983 (British strip)
Muldoon - Bob Meyer - Oceanic Press Service - weekly strip - 1983-95
Murfy - Buzz Gambill - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1994-present (found by Charles Brubaker in several papers; see comment below)
Murphy's Law - Nick Frising - Allied Features - daily panel - 1979-89
Muscle Movies - uncredited - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily panel - 1926 (found but not really comics; diagrams for exercising, sports)
Musings of the Mad - His Mark - Fine Arts Syndicate - weekly strip - 1932
Musk Malone - Larry McNeil - Midwest Syndicate - daily strip - 1946
My Big Brudder - Frank Engli - Eastern Color Printing - weekly strip - 1930-34
My Stars - Ken Bruns - LA Times Syndicate - daily panel - 1976 [found! B. McNamara supplies proof that the panel ran in the Knoxville News-Sentinel --- thanks B!]

Labels: Mystery Strips

Here are the mystery strip B listings. Read yesterday's post to see what this whole mess is about.

I'm going to stop with B for a few days to see what sort of response comes in. Putting together a letter's worth of listings takes anywhere from 2 - 6 hours, so it's a major time investment. I'd like to see if the investment has any dividends...

Babs & Aldo - Buddy Valentine - King Features - daily/Sunday strip - 2003 (found! ran in Deseret Morning News - thanks to Charles Brubaker)
Baby Bee - Garcia - RDR Syndicate - daily panel - 1983
Baby Lynn - Tony Marchese - Trans-World - weekly panel - 1978
Bac Talk - Bob Howard - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1973
Bachelor Bill - Bill O’Malley - Independent Features - daily panel - 1965
Bachelor Party - Adam Miller - Creators Syndicate - daily panel - 2002-03 (found! by Charles Brubaker in Salt Lake Tribune -- albeit running only selected dailies on Sundays)
Bachelors - George Castillo - United Cartoonists - daily strip - 1988
Back Home - Homer Box - Editors Copy Syndicate - weekly strip - 1986-present
Backfire! - George Leeds and Henry Riddick - Family Features - daily panel - 1948-49
Bad Example - Carlton Winford - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1971
Bad Libs - Ronald Boerem - Danny Ball Productions - weekly strip - 1978-79
The Baffles - Mahoney - National Weekly Newspaper Service - weekly panel - 1956-62 (found! in Soda Springs (ID) Sun)
The Bag Line - H.F.Voorhees - Dille - weekly panel - 1925
Ballads Of Classified Clara - Clarence W. Payne - CP Syndicate - daily panel - 1936
Balloonatics - Ernest Hix - Bell Syndicate - daily panel - 1948
Balloonatiks - Mark Gandy and Fred Goodman - Animagic - daily strip - 1996-97
Baloney - Martin Duffy - Trans-World - daily panel - 1976-78
Bannister Babies - Constance Bannister - Columbia Features - thrice weekly panel - 1972
Barbs & Brickbats - Allen and Owen Richardson - Dickson Features - weekly panel - 1979
Bargain Daze - Harley Schwadron - Davy Associates - weekly panel - 1990-present
Barkis And Family - Crockett Johnson - George Matthew Adams - daily panel - 1955 (FOUND! in Oakland Tribune)
Barklay - Laing - Interpress - daily strip - 1973
Barnacle - Alexander Monroe - Singer - weekly strip - 1978
Barnacle And His Friends - Alex Moore - Oceanic Press Service - weekly panel - 1983-95
Barnstormers - Frank Tabor - Trans-World - daily panel - 1976-81
The Barnyard Gate - Sarge O’Neill - Southern - daily strip - 1970-78
Baron Nobux - Jack Thomas - Queen Features - daily strip - 1939
Barring None - Burck - Chicago Times - daily panel - 1941
Barry Finn - Tarpe Mills - Watkins Syndicate (Brooklyn Eagle) - weekly strip - 1939
Basic Nature - Dick Lancaster - Continental - weekly panel - 1995
Batch - Marty Bartels and Bill Lane - Chicago Sun-Times - daily strip - 1994-95
Baz And Company - Mike Higgs - News America - daily panel - 1993
Be A Detective - Bruce Patterson - Matz Features - daily strip - 1937
Be A Sport - Jim Janeway - American International - daily strip - 1992-94
Beaker - Leonard Bruce - Leoleen Durck Creations - daily strip - 1991-92
Beat This - Tip Brady - McClure Syndicate - daily panel - 1958
Beau Geste - P.C. Wren - Register & Tribune Syndicate - daily strip - 1933-34 (never mind -- turns out this is an alternate title for Flying To Fame)
Beau Peep - Andrew Christine and Roger Kettle - The Syndicate - daily strip - 1987-90
Beauregard - Jack Davis - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1961 (Ger Apeldoom says the strip didn't sell, ran in a humor magazine instead)
Beautiful! - Charles Bowen and Barbara Jones - Allied Features - daily panel - 1977-86 (found! by Jeffrey Lindenblatt in Indianapolis News)
Beautyettes - Aldine Swank - Associated Features - daily panel - 1935 (note: name is a pseudonym of Faith Burrows)
Becky - Frank Tabor - Anderson Features - weekly strip - 1970
Becky’s Senior - Evans Krehbiel - Weekly Features - daily strip - 1986-89
Bee Smart - John Prinkey - Other Dimensions - daily strip - 1971-79
The Beehive - editors of Childlife - Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1957-61
Beep-Beep - Robert Leduc - Service Offset de Presse - daily and Sunday panel - 1968-71
Begger - Ken Muse - Dickson-Bennett - weekly strip - 1982
Belly Laughs - Sarge O'Neill - Southern Cartoon Syndicate - daily strip - 1970-73
Benny Kukoe - T.J. Garlan - Thompson Service - daily - 1932
Berenstain Bears - Stan & Jan Berenstain - King Features - daily panel - 1982
Berserkers of the 21st Century - Bob Tuna - Lew Little Enterprises - daily and Sunday strip - 1998 (creator tells me that the strip has so far appeared online only)
Bert 'n' Gert - Jack Levin - General Features - daily strip - 1954 (found! turns out to be continuation of "Hands 'n' Faces")
Best Years - Ed Heckman - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1992-94
Best of Church Humor - Jack Hamm - Religious Drawings Inc - Sunday - 1960 (not the same as Church Humor from the 1970s)
Best Of Press - L. Hughes - Editors Copy Syndicate - weekly panel - 1976
Bettey And Her Pals - William Miller - Unique Features - daily panel - 1945
Betty Blurbs - J.C. Beesley - King Features - daily panel - 1929-30 (FOUND! in Lethbridge Herald)
Betty Botch and Bob Botch (listed separately) - Mel Millar - Pat Anderson Features - weekly panel - 1972-75
Betty Brighteyes - Bill Seidcheck - General Features - weekly strip - 1937-42 [found! by Art Lortie in Hastings News]
Betty Lee - Ralph Matz - Matz Features - daily strip - 1935-38
Between Us Girls - Ashton Wing - Allied Feature - daily panel - 1964-69
Bi-Focals - Ruth Marcus - McNaught Syndicate - daily and Sunday panel - 1977 (found! in Clearfield Progress)
Bible Stories in Color - La Sorgente - Spadea Syndicate - weekly strip - 1973-75
Bible Story - Glen Cassel - American International - daily strip - 1990-94
Bible Today - M. Roget - Mark Morgan Inc - weekly panel - 1970-72
Bibs - Mickey Jai and Martin Kormic - Dickson Bennett - daily panel - 1982
Big Boss & Company - Richard Davies - Community Features - weekly panel - 1980
Big Boy - Ferd Himme - Lowery Cartoon Corp - weekly panel - 1932
Big Brother - Clem Scalzetti - Dickson-Bennett - weekly strip - 1980-82
Big Feet - Pedro Moreno - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily panel - 1979-85
Big Flat City - Richard Kolkman - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1994-97 (FOUND! Creator reports it ran in college papers 1988-96)
Big Foot - Robert Beasley - Danny Ball Productions - daily strip - 1979
Big Little Things - Walter Galli and Dick Thomas - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1936
Big Moments - Ving Fuller - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1950
Big Town Follies - Mike Gray and Bob Moore - Nationwide Features - weekly panel - 1949-50 [Charles Thompson supplies proof that Nationwide was a producer of advertising strips; not eligible for SG listing]
Big World Of Little Things - Alfred O. Shedd - Science Service - weekly panel - 1927
Bigg's Business - Bob Zahn - Centurion Press and others - daily panel - 1972-79 and 1990-present (found in Syracuse Post-Standard, 1972-76 only; in 1979 Zahn said he was no longer producing the feature)
Bill And Hazel - Harlan Wade - Transworld News Service - daily panel - 1978
Bill Bunker - Henry Formhals - United Feature - unknown - 1933
Billy And His Dog/Billy The Kid - Lloyd James Williams - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1939-40
Billy The Beaver - James Rodriguez - Comic Art Therapy - daily - 1993-95
Bing And His Buddies - Ed Brennon - General Features - weekly strip - 1937-42 [found! by Art Lortie in Hastings News]
Bizness Peepul - W.O. Evans Jr - Thompson Service - thrice weekly panel - 1933-34
Bizz And Biff - F.H. Cumberworth - Watkins Syndicate - daily strip - 1940
Black Bart - Dick Locher - Winford Co. - daily - 1971
Black Sheep - W.A. Dillard - Columbia Inc - daily strip - 1935
Black And White - Weihrauch - Select Features - daily panel - 1948
Blaze Braden - Paul Morgan - Crown Features - Sunday strip - 1960
Blisters - Jeb Ladouceur and Neel Roth - Transworld News Service - daily strip - 1978
Blockheads - John Gile - Register & Tribune Syndicate - daily panel - 1979
Bloop - Joseph Morton - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily - 1988
Bob Bannon - Prentice Phillips and Ray Tucker - Ray Gross Features - daily panel - 1938
Bob Sledd - Stuart Welsh - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1928
Bobby Babysitter - Ron Fritz - American International - daily strip - 1992-94
Bodities - Dr. Kruidenier - Esquire Features - daily panel - 1939
Boids - Peter Garvey - Transworld News Service - daily panel - 1976
Boldo Inc - Steve Moore - Star Group - weekly panel - 1984-85
Bonzer U - Kearney Egerton - LA Times Syndicate - daily strip - 1968
Boomers - Kent Whitaker - Kentoons - thrice weekly panel - 1994-97
The Boomers - William Feld - Stuyvesant Syndicate - weekly strip - 1970
Boosterville - Leonard Bruce and Douglas Nelson - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily strip - 1985-86
Born Lucky - Bruce Plante - Universal Press - weekly panel - 2001-present (found! verified by creator Bruce Plante)
Bossy The Rooster - R.S. Matz - Unique Features - daily strip - 1946
Botony Boy - David B. Wood - Transworld News Service - weekly strip - 1977-78
The Brain Trust - Jack Roman - Press-Craft Features - weekly panel - 1978
Brain Wave - Ed Wilkens - Transworld News Service - weekly panel - 1978
Brass Tacks - Nick Frising - Allied Features - daily panel - 1978-86
Breaker, Breaker - J.W. Lynch and Mike MacCormack - Copley News Service - daily strip - 1977
Brother Simon And Lucas - Pedro Moreno - Transworld News Service - daily strip - 1976-88, 93-94
Brothers-In-Law - Jacquin - Premier Syndicate - daily strip - 1926 just a messed up listing in E&P -- this is an already documented strip by Darrell McClure
Brothers-In-Law - Edward Bryant - self-syndicated - weekly - 1991-92
Buccaneers - Al Ciederman - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1989
Bucksaw - Randy Muir - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1987
Bud 'n' Bub - Ed Kressy - Publishers Autocaster - weekly strip - 1931 DD Degg found this strip running in Cass City (MI) Chronicle - thanks DD!
Bud Broker - KmC - Feature Associates - daily - 1984
Buffo - Howard Rands - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1989-91
Buford - John Marshall - Syndicated Newspaper Services - daily strip - 1982
Buford's North Forty - Chris Carr - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1986
Bug - Rand Renfore - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily - 1985-87
Bug Movies - Stookie Allen - EAS - weekly strip - 1930-34
Bugwine - Arthur Akers and Dudely Williams - Allied Features - daily strip - 1935
Builders Of America - George (Jimmie) Smith - Transatlantic News Features - ? - 1942
The Bumbles - Al Smith - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1982-83 [found! in Burleson Star by Charles Brubaker. Thanks Charles!]
The Bumpalumpkins - Robert J. Alberts - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily - 1987-88
Bumper T. Bumper - Robert Laughlin - Transworld News Service - daily - 1979
Bumpy - C.D. Russell - Famous Features - daily strip - 1925
Bus - Woody Gelman - Solomon & Gelman - daily strip - 1947
Bush League - John Bianchi and Ken Shaw - LA Times Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1975
Bush League Barry - Victor Pazimino - EAS - weekly strip - 1930-34
Business Card - Anne and Gene Bass - Cartoonist & Writers Syndicate - thrice weekly - 1992
Business As Usual - Harley Schwadron - Allied Press International - daily panel - 1980-81
Buster - Aaron Bacall - Transworld News Service - daily strip - 1976-77
Buster And Lester - Virgil Maldonado Jr - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily - 1986-87
Butter And Eggs - Norcross - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily panel - 1926
Butterball - Bill Danch - Select Features - daily panel - 1957-62
Button's Bunch - Ford Button - Dickson-Bennett - daily and Sunday strip - 1980-86
Button-Up - Ford Button - R-GAB Features - daily panel - 1980
Button-A-Day - Ed Moore - United Feature - daily panel - 1972-73
Buzz And Biff - F.H. Cumberworth - Watkins Syndicate - daily strip - 1939
Buzzy - Brian White - Watkins Syndicate - daily strip - 1935-36
By George - George Callahan - Dickson-Bennett - daily strip - 1982
By Murphy's Law - Robert Howell - Journal Syndicate - daily - 1982-86

Labels: Mystery Strips

Time for another letter of the mystery strips. If you don't know what this is about, look down about 5 posts for an explanation (I gotta figure out how to use those permalinks one of these days). EDIT - figured it out, here's the link.

C.B. Gordon - Mark Der Marderosian - Dickson-Bennett - weekly strip - 1981-82
Cactus Gal - Jack O'Brien - Nationwide Features - daily panel - 1949-50 [Charles Thompson supplies proof that Nationwide was a producer of advertising strips; not eligible for SG listing]
Campaign Button - Kearney Egerton - Interocean Press Syndicate - daily panel - 1972
Campus Laughter - Pedro Moreno - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily panel - 1979-84
Can It Be Done? - Ray Gross - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1934-39 [Found! by Robert Brooke in Boynton Index]
Can You Imagine - Art Radebaugh - General Features - daily panel - 1947
The Candy Man - Bill Murray - Minority Features - weekly - 1981-present
Cap'n Kadd - Pat Anderson - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1970-75
Cap'n Knot - Howard Swift - Russell Enterprises - daily strip - 1968-69
Capitaine Bonvent - P.J. Kuhn - Douglas Whiting Ltd - daily strip - 1965-69
Capital Carnival - Gerald A. Bennett - Dickson-Bennett - weekly strip - 1979
Capital Hills - Jack Anderson and Mort Gerberg - United Feature - daily and Sunday strip - 1982
Captain Wings - Flowers - Editors Press Service - daily and Sunday strip - 1946-47
Captain Skid - Richard Benavidez - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily - 1988
Captain Cockle - Peter Garvey - Transworld News Service - daily panel - 1976
Captain Flame - Pat Boyette, Bruce Darrow, Don Sherwood - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1954-58 (Found! by John Adcock in Horry County News)
Captain Flight - Ray Tobin, Bob Robson - Allied Features - daily strip - 1945-46
Captain Freedom - Farrell - Allied Features - Sunday - 1941
Cargo Smith, Navy Seal - Bill Barry - Adventure Features - daily and Sunday strip - 1996-97
Caricatoons - Buzz Gambill - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1995-present
Carol Day - David Wright - Piccadilly Press - daily strip - 1966-69 (looking for proof that it ran in US)
Cars And Stars - Ray McNamara - Christy Walsh Syndicate - weekly panel - 1926 [Alex Jay found this -- it's a photo and column feature, not a cartoon of any kind, so miscategorized by E&P]
The Cartoon Bug - John Gallagher - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - weekly strip - 1970-74
Cartoon Comedy Club - John Shepherd - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1994-95
Castles In The Sand - Henrik Rehr - At Large Features - daily strip - 2001-02
Catesby - William Ferguson - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1952-53 [found by Todd Hillmer - thanks Todd!]
Caught In The Act - Horace Knight - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - thrice per week panel - 1956
Chameleon - Al Wiseman - Altair Inc. - daily strip - 1973
Channel Jockeys - Phil Evans and Jim Asher - Wheller-Evans - daily strip - 1977-78
The Chargers - Ross Bunch - Grand Prix Features - daily strip - 1971-78
Charley - Nathan Diggs - Amadou Features - weekly panel - 1973
Charley Sez - David Brown - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1974-75
Charley The Chump - Jim Navoni - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily strip - 1926
Cheerful Earful - Hazel Duncan - Fortune Features - weekly panel - 1948
Chester - William Hatch and Tony Ortiz - Feature Service - daily strip - 1991-2002
Chickita - Ed Hechtman - Dickson-Bennett - daily panel - 1984
Chip's Place - L. Stuchkus - Dickson Bennett - daily strip - 1980-81
Chris The Li'l Martian - Pedro Moreno - Transworld News Service - daily strip - 1976-82, 1993-94
Christina Anders - Robert Acomb - Chicago Sun-Times - daily strip - 1950 (turns out to just be an alternate name for "Jack and Judy in Bibleland")
Christopher Strong - Bill Scott and Jim Seed - Register & Tribune Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1950
Chubby - Guy Hooks - Agnes Kelleher - daily panel - 1937
Chuck And Sally Ann - Rhoda Burton - Allied Features - daily strip - 1979
Church Chuckles - Charles Cartwright - Chicago Tribune/Al Smith Service - weekly panel - 1959-97 [Found! by Alex Jay in Wichita Times]
The Circle - Aaron Kerns - Universal Press Syndicate - daily strip - 1970 [Found! by Jeffrey Lindenblatt in Minneapolis Star and Philadelphia Daily News]
Citizen George - George Wolfe - Al Smith Service - weekly panel - 1970-73
Citizen Senior - Dave Berg - Whitegate Features - daily - 1989-93
Clancy Boys - Dan Cortor - Dickson-Bennett - daily panel - 1983-84
Classic Stories - uncredited - Ledger Syndicate - daily strip - 1950
Classie Addie - Ellen Conner and Lorene Rutherford - Agnes Kelleher - daily panel - 1939 (Found! by Cliff Erickson in the Altus Times-Democrat. Thanks Cliff!)
Claude Hopper - Lorna Caviness - R-GAB Features - daily panel - 1980-82
Clean Ups - Richard Johnson - Richmond Syndicate - weekly panel - 1976
Clem's Best - Clem Scalzitti - Dickson-Bennett - daily panel - 1981
Click - Gordon Shepard - World News Syndicate - daily panel - 1973
Clipper - L.F. Van Zelm - Globe Syndicate - daily strip - 1950
Clipper Williams On Courage Island - Dick Calkins - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1937-38 (turns out to be an alternate title for Skyroads)
Close-Ups - Hinderer and Leitner - Wade Allen Syndicate - daily panel - 1968 [Found! by Charles Brubaker in Red Bluff Daily News; thanks Charles!]
Coby's Corner - Dick Smith - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1991-93 (sorta found -- ran VERY sporadically in Orem-Geneva Times in 1991-93, not often enough to qualify as a regular series -- still looking for regul,ar appearances)
Codgie - H.F. Voorhees - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily strip - 1924
Coffee-Oddities - C.M. Payne - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1938
Colonel Hush - Theodore Scheel - Queen Features - weekly strip - 1939
Colonel Cracker - Lloyd James Williams - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1931-33
The Colonials - Richards and Wetherholy - Gordon Langley Hall News Service - daily and Sunday strip - 1967
Color Blind - Orrin Brewster - Creators Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1999 FOUND! by Charles Brubaker; thanks Charles!
Comet Bill - uncredited - Press Alliance - weekly strip - 1940
Comigraph - W.F. Peters - Publishers Feature Service - weekly panel - 1946-49
Concrete Jungle - Dale Patterson - Copley News Service - weekly panel - 1982 FOUND! by D.D. Degg in Oswego County Messenger
Condemonium - Lee Martin - McNaught Syndicate - daily panel - 1981
Congressman Dripp - Ben Youman - Federated Press - weekly panel - 1946-56
Consolidated Enormous - Bob Zahn - Feature Associates - weekly - 1980
Cookie Pushers - Buford Tune - EAS - weekly strip - 1930-34
Cooking With Gags - Bob Archer - Royal News Syndicate - weekly panel - 1949
Copp Twins - D. Orme - Jolyon Features - daily strip - 1939
Copy Boy/Copy Cub - Homer Fey - Western Newspaper Union - weekly panel - 1947-50
Copycats - Robert Ranger - Transworld News Service - daily strip - 1978
Cornflakes - Nellis Johnson - Superior Features - weekly strip - 1978-81
Cosgrove - Martin Duffy - Transworld News Service - daily panel - 1976-78
Cosmic Critters - Jim George - Dispatch Features - daily strip - 1966
Count of Monte Cristo - Jack Cortez - Eisner-Iger Associates - weekly strip - 1938-40
Coupons - Bob Vojtko - Pat Anderson Features - daily panel - 1976
Courthouse Squares - John Jarvis - Community Press Service - 1973,76,78,81-82,2001-present Found! in McHenry Plaindealer
Cowboy Joe - Joe Buresch - Unique Features - daily strip - 1938
The Cowboy - Gloria Jacquart - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily - 1987-89
Cranberry Cafe - Tom Roy - Creators Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 2000
Crazy Quilt - Courtney Dunkel - Independent Features - weekly panel - 1965
Crazy Zoo - Hsaio Yen Chung - Sparks Syndication - weekly - 1991
Cringely - Al Fagaly and Harry Shorten - McClure Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1946
Critters - Jerry Cardona - United Cartoonist Syndicate - daily panel - 1980-84
The Critters - Gene Patterson - Allied Features - daily panel - 1969-71
Croaker (aka Crocker?) - John Jarvis - Community Press Service - weekly panel - 1983-2002
Crosby's Country Cousins - Joe Buresch and Abe Crosby - Crosby Newspaper Syndicate - daily strip - 1938-42
Cross Bones - Bob Ashley - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1974
Cross-Cuts - L.L. Cross - Fact Features - weekly panel - 1936-38
Crosscut - Morrie Brickman - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily panel - 1957-62 [turns out to be continuation of "Do It Yourself" -- thanks D.D. Degg for the info!]
Crowe's Feats - J.D. Crowe - Copley News Service - weekly strip - 1986-88 [found! by Charles Brubaker in a bunch of papers. Thanks Charles!]
Crowley Chronicle - Pat Crowley - Copley News Service - weekly strip - 1987-94 [found! by Ray Battorff Jr. but only a few isolated examples -- still looking for a paper that gave it regular appearances]
Cuff & Rubin - Curt Brando - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1993-94
Curior-Rarezas - John Harvey - Inter-American Syndicate - daily panel - 1934
Curious Creatures - Richard Addison - King Features - daily panel - 1930-31 [Found! in Boston American]
Curious Facts - C.J. Petersen - Matz Unique Features - daily strip - 1935
Curley's Cranes - Roger Curley - Allied Features - daily - 1972
Cy Cylinder - Bob Moore - Nationwide Features - Sunday panel - 1949-50 [Charles Thompson supplies proof that Nationwide was a producer of advertising strips; not eligible for SG listing]
Cybil Action - Dibble and Hatch - Feature Service - daily - 1991-92
Cynth Hiddle - Wing - Johnson Features - daily panel - 1925
Cyril - Bob Battle - Transworld Features - daily strip - 1952-55

Labels: Mystery Strips

The following features were all listed in the Editor & Publisher annual Syndicate Directory listings. Problem is that I have not been able to find these features running in any American newspaper. I'm looking for positive proof that (1) these features did indeed exist, (2) they are actually comics of some sort and weren't just mislabeled in E&P, and (3) they ran in U.S. newspapers. If you have any information about a mystery strip on this list please, please, please tell me all about it. And if you can provide positive proof that the mystery feature did indeed run in U.S. newspapers (a tearsheet -- that is, an actual clipping from a newspaper or a copy thereof -- is proper proof) and qualifies for listing in the Stripper's Guide index, you can be the recipient of a goodie box chock full of all manner of comic strip ephemera -- reprint books, old tearsheets, magazines, even original art find their way into my goodie boxes. Trust me that my goodie boxes do not disappoint! (SORRY - as of 2018 goodie boxes are sadly no longer available - I now live in Canada and our postal rates are so outrageous that I cannot afford to send out goodie boxes - SORRY!)

If you prefer to contact me privately rather than posting a comment on the blog, send it to strippersguide@gmail.com. Please be sure to mention Stripper's Guide in your subject line or I may miss your message in amongst all the spam.


Here are the mystery features starting with letter "R". Each listing has the title, years advertised, creator(s), syndicate and format. Sorry, I'd put these in a more attractive tabular form, but Blogger plays havoc with tables:

Radio Bugs, 1925, E.C. Dunkel, Readers Service, daily panel
Radiolaffs, 1925, Jo Fischer, Audio Service, daily panel
Rags 'n Muffins, 1939, Joe E. Buresch, Newspaper Art Features, daily/Sunday panel
Recess Set, 1970, Walt Buchanan and Mary-Ann Hill, Hopkins Syndicate, daily panel
Reck Romance, 1966, Nino Perez and Dick Scalone, Newsday, daily panel
The Record Book, 1970, William Feld, Stuyvesant Syndicate, weekly panel
Red Diamond, 1945, Don Moore, Raymond Doherty, daily strip
Red Pepper, 1951-54, Audavee Bransford, Atlas Features, weekly strip (Found! by Mike DeLisa in Indian Valley Record)
Red Pepper, 1974, Pat Anderson, self-syndicated, weekly strip
Reddickulous, 2003-?, David Reddick, Seriocomics, daily/Sunday panel
Albert T. Reid Cartoons, 1925-29, Albert T. Reid, Bell Syndicate/self-syndicated, daily/weekly panel (probably political cartoons; yes, says Ray Bottorff who has found them in a few papers)
Reincarnations of Eve, 1925, Frank Ellis, Register & Tribune Syndicate, weekly panel (found! by Ray Bottorff in Des Moines Register; questionable because text heavy, but I'm listing it in SG)
The Reporter, 1971, Bill Ryan and Ed Valtman, Gannett News Service, thrice-weekly panel (found! by Ray Bottorff in Ithaca Journal and other papers)
Retirement Is..., 1974,Eugene Carr, National Newspaper Syndicate, daily panel
Retread, 1995, Tom Nast, Avanti News Features, weekly
Reuben, 1979-80, Byron Vaughn, self-syndicated, daily panel
Rev., 1985-86, Nick Hobart, United Cartoonist Syndicate, daily
The Revolutionaries, 1973, John R. Kock, Spadea Syndicate, daily strip
Rib, 1986-88, Mike Paulson, Extra Newspaper Features, weekly strip
Ribbets, 1978, David Ball, Trans World News Service, daily strip
Ricky's Little People,1986-87, Ricky Barrera, United Cartoonist Syndicate, daily
Ride 'em Cowboy, 1939, Joe Buresch, Miller Features, daily strip
Riff McTic, 1967-69, Alex Crosby, Editorial Board Syndicate, daily strip
Riff Raff, 1976-77, Ed Wilkins, Trans World News Service, weekly panel
Riggin' Bill, 1937, Fred Schwab, Harry A Chesler, daily/Sunday strip
Ring Rongs, 1932-34, Leonard Merrill, Thompson Service, daily/weekly panel
Rink Brody, 1946, H.D.Williams, Ledger Syndicate, daily strip
Rip Tide, 1959-72, Frances Herron and Jerry Grandenetti, Columbia Features, daily/Sunday strip
The Ripoffs, 1978, George Hartman, Richard Lynn Enterprises, daily strip
Rita, 1981, P.I.B., United Press International, daily panel
Road to Adventure, 1965, Ray Golabiewski, Alex S. Arnott, daily/Sunday panel
Robert R.N., 1990-98, Joe Genovese, American International Syndicate, daily panel
Robots, 1935, Victor A. Brown, Thompson Service, daily strip
Rocky, 1980-81, Joseph Parkolay, Dickson-Bennett Features, weekly strip
Rocky Reach, 1948, Ed Finch, Globe Syndicate, daily strip
Rod Craig, 1949, Sydney Miller, Reuters, daily strip (Australian strip -- did it ever run in U.S.?)
Rodney, 1963, N. Norton, B.P.Singer, daily panel
Rodney, 1985-86, John Viola, United Cartooonist Syndicate, daily
Roger and his Pal, 1939, Pete DeAngelo,Waltan Features, daily strip
Roger Kaputnik, 1992-200?, Dave Berg, Whitegate Features, daily/Sunday strip
Rojo the Red Lobster, 1991-97, Elaine Sandra Abramson, Create-a-Craft, daily/Sunday strip
Romanticats, 1998-200?, Elaine Sandra Abramson, A&A, daily/Sunday strip
Ronda on the Telephone, 1984, Ed Heckman, Dickson-Bennett Features, daily panel
Room & Board, 1978, G.A. Bennett, R-GAB, daily strip
Roosty Roosty, 1941, Charles Bowers, Bell Syndicate, weekly strip
Roscoe, 1982-86, Goddard Sherman, Dickson-Bennett Features, daily strip
Rose Riley, 1935, Vaywor, uncredited, daily strip
A Round A Day, 1965-68, Eugene Craig, Dispatch Features, daily/Sunday panel
Roundo, 1946-50, Don G. Moore and Michael Shay, Midwest Syndicate, weekly panel/daily strip (I think all Midwest features are for advertising)
Rube From Trube, 1976-78, Phyllis Maxwell, Trans World News Service, daily strip
Rube The Boob, 1934-48, Ralph Matz, self-syndicated, daily strip
Ruby of Pun Kalab, 1939, C. David Vormelker, Jolyon Features, daily strip
Rudy, 1977, Doug Borgstedt, Copley News Service, daily panel (found! by Jeffrey Lindenblatt in Philadelphia Inquirer)
Rudy Bear, 1980-81, Bob McFerren, Dickson Features, daily panel
Rudy and Judy, 1946, R.S.Matz, Unique Features, daily strip
Rural Route, 1959-67, Walter Ball, Toronto Star Syndicate, weekly strip (Canadian feature -- was it successfully syndicated in the U.S.?)
Ruth & Roxy, 1939, Chenoweth and Rhymer, Publishers Syndicate, daily/weekly strip

Labels: Mystery Strips

Here are the L for Lost features. Help them find their way off that crazy island!

Laff It Off - Vance van Demark - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1941
Laff Toons - Mike Gray and Bob Moore - Nationwide Features - weekly panel - 1949-50 [Charles Thompson supplies proof that Nationwide was a producer of advertising strips; not eligible for SG listing]
Laff Track - Marty Brucella - R-GAB Features - daily panel - 1980
Lamentin' Luke - Art Gates - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1956
Land of the Midnight Fun - Sarge O'Neill - Southern Cartoon Syndicate - daily strip - 1974
Larger Than Life - David Gallagher - Public Syndicate - daily panel - 1992-93
Larry Brannon - Winslow Mortimer - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily strip - 1961-68 (Alberto Becattini says it ran in the Toronto Star - did it appear in any US newspapers? Yes, it ran in the Kingsport Post!)
Lars And June - Ray Rhamey - Rayr Thoughts - daily strip - 1977-78 (found! by Jeffrey Lindenblatt in Philadelphia Daily News)
The Last Straw - Dan Juravich - Superior Features - weekly strip - 1983-present
The Late Late War - Fred Fredericks - Adcox Associates - daily strip - 1960 (found in Hayward Review)
Laughing Gas - Bill Freyse - Feature Sales Syndicate - daily strip - 1937-38
Laura Good - Ellis Eringer and Russ Manning - Crown Features - Sunday strip - 1960 (Alberto Becattini says it ran in Shopping Bag/Family Funnies, a weekly magazine distributed in southern California supermarkets)
Law And Disorder - George Koukos - Creators Syndicate - daily strip - 2000
The Law - Charles Schwab - Unicorn Features - daily panel - 1972-73
Lefty Betts - Bob York - Globe Syndicate - daily strip - 1948
Legal Laffs - Rube Weiss - Blackstone Press Features - weekly panel - 1971-76
Leisure Hour - Newton Pratt - Globe Syndicate - daily panel - 1950
Lemont Brown - Darrin Bell - Continental News Service - weekly strip - 1996-99 (D.D. Degg says this ran in the UC Berkeley Daily Californian, a college paper, before it was renamed "Candorville" on syndication)
Les Moore - Philip Jewell - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1992-96
Lest We Forget - Joe Archibald - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily panel - 1926
Let's Go - Grace Brown and Marion Moran - Conde Nast - daily strrip - 1929
Let's Go Town - William Spear Jr. - Western Newspaper Union - weekly panel - 1927, 1936-37
Li'l Chief Hot-Shot - Frank Stevens - Associated Features - daily and Sunday strip - 1945-46
Li'l Peanut - Lou Paige - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1951 (found! in Audubon News-Guide)
Li'l Philosopher - Constance Bannister - Miller Services - daily panel - 1960-62
Libby - Jeff Sinclair - Kartooning Advertising - daily strip - 1980-81
Life Lines - L.C. (Les?) Carroll - Crosby Newspaper Syndicate - daily panel - 1938
Life's Little Dramas - Bart Hodges Jr. - NY Post Syndicate - twice weekly panel - 1946-47 (D.D. Degg reports that this was a text column with a caricature graphic, not eligible for SG. Thanks DD!)
Life's Little Temptations - Phil Hummerstone - Words & Pictures Service - daily panel - 1949-50
Life-Laffs - Ralph Hershberger - Century Features - daily panel - 1937
Lippy The Yippy - Sarge O'Neill and Bill Wright - Southern Cartoon Syndicate - daily panel - 1970-76
Listen Ladies - Mark Beebe - NY Herald-Tribune - daily panel - 1953
Little Evy - Evy Caroll - King Features - daily panel - 1945 (found! in New York Mirror)
Little Ezra - Ed Jona - Allied Features - daily/weekly strip - 1938
Little Folks of Circleville - Rome Siemon - N.E.W.S. - daily and Sunday strip - 1949
Little Green Man - Jaime Diaz - Ed Marzola & Associates - daily and Sunday strip - 1976
Little Ideas That Grew Big - Frank Cheesman - North America Sportsmens Bureau - thrice weekly panel - 1938
Little Island - Collins Clive - United Press International - daily strip - 1984
Little Jackie - Stanley Miller - Matz Features - daily strip - 1936
A Little Leary - Bill Leary - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily panel - 1963-86 (doesn't qualify for listing, art was reused from day to day on this homilies panel - thanks to Bill Mullins for sample)
The Little Major - Bob Kane - General Features - weekly strip - 1937-42 [found! by Art Lortie in Hastings News]
The Little Man - Ray Salmon - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1980-2001
Little Moonfolks - Rome Siemon - Associated Press - daily and Sunday strip - 1952 [Jeffrey Lindenblatt has found the daily running in the Greenwood (MS) Commonwealth. Thanks Jeffrey! Anyone find the Sunday?]
Little Otto - H.T. Elmo - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily strip - 1926
Little People of the Air - Isabelle Stewart Way - Giblin Features - daily panel - 1925 (doesn't qualify for listing, turns out to be an illustrated text column about birds - thanks to Bill Mullins for sample)
Little Rodney - Jimmy Caborn - Arthur J. Lafave - weekly panel - 1937-39 (FOUND! in Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Little Rowdies - Marsh and Mulholland - Thompson Service - daily strip - 1934
Little Sampson - Paschall - Graphic Syndicate - daily - 1925
Little Strokes - Elena - self-syndicated - daily and Sunday panel - 1973
Little Wild-Heart - Carl Moon - Independent Syndicate - weekly strip - 1930
Live 'n Laff - Rube Weiss - Blackstone Press Features - weekly panel - 1967-76 (Found! by Robert Brooke in Eastern Oklahoma Journal)
Live It Up - Tony Victorian - World News Syndicate - daily panel - 1973
Lola - Inigo - Picadilly Press - daily strip - 1966-68
Lonely Heart - Herc Ficklen - Avalon Features - daily panel - 1968-79
Long Shots - Frank Hill - Continental Features - daily panel - 2003-present
Looking Around - Sid Hathaway - Al Smith Service - weekly panel - 1970 (Ray Bottorff Jr finds that this was actually a text column, listed in the wrong E&P section. Thanks Ray!)
Looney Land - Jim Navoni - Premier Syndicate - daily panel - 1926 (Found! by Bill Mullins in the Lowell Sun. Thanks Bill!)
Loony Limericks - Jerry Schiller - Blackstone Press - weekly panel - 1957-61
Loop Carew - Ted Miller - Press Alliance - daily - 1940-48
Lord, I Said - Hank Hartmann and Martha Merrill - LA Times Syndicate - daily panel - 1978 (Found! in Kokomo Tribune, Carlisle Sentinel, Alexandria Town Talk -- but it was self-syndicated, not thru LA Times -- thanks to Ray Bottorff Jr.)
The Losers - Bob Kane - Ledger Syndicate - daily panel - 1966
Love And Laughter - Maria Molnar - Oceanic Press Serv ice - weekly strip - 1983-95
Love, Love, Love - Chuck and Gwen Bowen - Universal Press - daily panel - 1970-71 (found! in Sacramento Union)
Lucky Breaks - C.R. Miller - Distinctive Features - daily panel, Sunday strip - 1930

Labels: Mystery Strips

More mystery strips, today the letter G.

G. Whiskers - Geoffrey Foladeri - Press Alliance - daily strip - 1940-58 (found! by Cole Johnson in NY Post, SF Chronicle, New Hampshire's L'Avenir Nationale)
Galloping Galaxies - Lillian Bono - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1983-84
G.R.A.B. - David Dunning, Sally Wilson - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1978-79
Gabby Flynn - Ken Ernst - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Gabe & Loki - Ross Bunch - Centurion Press - daily strip - 1972-78
The Games Afoot, The Sherlock Holmes Crime Scene Chronicle - Howard Bender, Jack Harris - Singer Media - 1996-2003 (Ray Bottorff Jr. reports that Bender says it never sold in the US, just in Europe)
Garden State Digest - Gar Schmitt - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1969
Gargoyle And Gadget - E.B. Sullivan - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily strip - 1936-45
General Friendship - McCann & Tepper - United Feature Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1946
Generation Gap - Kennison Keene - Community & Suburban Press - weekly panel - 1971 (found! in Nashua Reporter)
Geographic Oddities - Leon A. Dickinson - Queen Features - weekly panel - 1939
George - George Wolfe - Al Smith Service - weekly panel - 1969
George And Jacques - Adrian Raeside - Miller Services - daily strip - 1979 (Charles Brubaker asked Raeside about this strip, turns out in ran only in the Toronto Star, thus doesn't qualify for Stripper's Guide indexing)
Georgi - Sharaga Caltoon - American Internation Syndicate - weekly strip - 1992-94
Geraldine - Mike Rose - Atlas Features - weekly strip - 1951-59
Geriatrix - Paul Norris, Lyle Swigart - Copley News Service - weekly panel - 1978-85 (existence verified by DD Degg in Oswego County Messenger - thanks DD!)
Gerties Gig - Suzanne Farrow - LA Times Syndicate - daily panel - 1976 (found! by Ray Bottorff Jr. in Ventura County Star, but it is a later self-syndicated version. Still looking for an LA Times version)
The Ghost Rider - Stanley Matz - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1939
Ghoulsville - Peter Garvey - Trans World News - daily panel - 1976
Giggle Gags - Cecil Danner - Paramount Syndicate - daily panel - 1938
The Gilmore Brothers' Music Scene - Douglas and Keith Gilmore - Telstar - weekly strip - 1975 Miscategorized -- was a text column feature. Thanks Ray Bottorff Jr!
Ginger - Gene McNerney Jr - Watkins Syndicate - daily strip - 1936
Ginger Blue - Al Carreno - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1954 Found! by JohnAdcock in Hory County News
Gino - Gene Machamer - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1982-91
Girl About Town - Melisse - United Feature Syndicate - daily panel - 1936
Glamorettes - Woody Kimbrell - General Features - daily panel - 1950
Gleeb - Paul Lowney - Copley News Service - weekly panel - 1981-85 FOUND! by D.D. Degg in Oswego County Messenger
Glombo - Glen Sherman - Humor Books Syndicate - daily strip - 1995-96
Going Down - Leonard Bruce - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily strip - 1982-92
Going West -Frank Thomas - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1951-54 (aka Hossface Hank?)
Goldbrick & Company - Tom Gibb - Exmark News Service - weekly strip - 1980
The Golden Age - Robert Hoover - Dispatch Features - thrice weekly panel - 1968-74
Golden Spurs - W. O'Forest - Jones Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1940
Goo-Gags - Pat Pending - King Features Syndicate - daily panel - 1926
The Good Old Days - Walter Schwimmer - Feature Sales Syndicate - daily panel - 1938
Goodbyland - Charles Biro, George Nagle, Bob Wood - ? - Sunday strip - 1937-38
Goofy Golf - H.C. Weagant - King Features Syndicate - daily panel - 1926 (found! in Port Arthur News)
Goomer - Nacho & Ricardo - Creators Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1992
Gopher Hole Gazette - Evans - Harper Features - weekly panel - 1934 (turned out to be an illustrated column and thus not eligible for SG listing)
Grace And Looie - Al Wiseman - LA Times Syndicate - daily panel - 1966,73
Gramps - Patrick Rice - American Way Features - daily strip - 1987
Grandfather Clause - Chris Wright - Creators Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 2000-01 FOUND! existence verified by Charles Brubaker; thanks Charles!
Grandpa Noah - Gus Edson - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - weekly strip - 1955 (verified - replaced Cousin Juniper as topper to The Gumps)
Great Little Lovers - Grace Drayton - DP Syndicate - weekly strip - 1926
Great Moments - Dick Leahy - Continental News Service - weekly strip - 1995-present
The Great Pierre - Marc Swayze - Bell Syndicate - daily strip - 1956 (DD Degg says Swayze in Alter Ego article said the strip never sold)
Green Force Five - Osvaldo Blanco, Miguel Repetto, Alfredo Grassi - King Features Syndicate - daily strip - 1985-87
Green Scene - Pat Hines - Richard Lynn Enterprises - daily panel - 1978
Greenhouse Effect - Jeff Barfoot - Paradigm-TSA - daily and Sunday strip - 1999
Greenwood - Keith M. Manzella - self-syndicated - daily and weekly strip - 1988-94
Greg-Jim Humorous Adventures - Gregory Clarke, Jim Frise - Star Newspaper Service - weekly - 1938-40 (apparently a text story series with illustration, and therefore not eligible)
Grimes the Butler - Joe Busciglio - Publishers Feature Service - weekly panel - 1946-49 (found by Ray Bottorff Jr. in a number of papers but turns out it is a syndicated ad strip -- see comments below -- oh, and it seems to have pretty much run its course in 1946-47)
Gripes And Grins - Lin Streeter - Associated Newspapers - daily panel - 1945 (found! by Ray Bottorff Jr. in Tacoma News-Tribune and a few others)
Ground Zero - Tim Haggerty - United Feature Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1987 (Found! in LA Times)
Grumps - Roger Price - Manson Western Syndicate - daily panel - 1976
Guess Who - William Feld - Stuyvesant Feature Syndicate - weekly panel - 1970
Gully Foyle - Reginald and Stanley Pitt - Ledger Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1967-71 (Art Lortie and Steven Rowe both say it was never successfully sold - case closed!)
Gunther - John Roman - McNaught Syndicate - daily strip - 1980-81

Labels: Mystery Strips

After a long layoff I'm finally back to listing mystery strips. Today's post is brought to you by the letter D. If you don't recall what I'm doing here, read this post. Any and all information is greatly appreciated and rewarded as well.

Dad Allen - Leonard Merrill - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1932-33
Dad Burns - Al Ware - self-syndicated - twice weekly panel - 1966
Daffy Demonstrations - Ray Rohn - Ledger Syndicate - daily panel - 1926
Dairy Boy - Ferd Himme - Lowery Cartoon Corp - weekly panel - 1932
Daisy Daily and Dotty Dawn - Larry Whittington - General Features - weekly strip - 1937-42 [found! by Art Lortie in Hastings News]
Dan Dennis - Sam Gilman - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Dan Hastings - Jack Binder, Fred Guardineer, Ken Fitch - Harry Chesler Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1937-38
Dan Savage - Bob Goodbread - Dickson-Bennett - daily strip - 1981-82
Dash Sanders - Frank Cunningham, Hal Sharpe - Thompson Service - daily strip - 1938
Dash Of Humor - Art Bouthiller - Creative Comic Syndicate - weekly panel - 1991-92
Davey Dollar - Steve Byrne - R-GAB Features - daily/weekly panel - 1980
David Copperfield - David Volkmelker - Jolyon Features - daily - 1939
The DeBrees - Barsotti, Kipp - LA Times Syndicate - unknown - 1975 (found! by Cole Johnson in the Philadelphia Inquirer - thanks Cole!)
Deadwood Gulch - Gordon (Boody) Rogers - Eastern Color - weekly strip - 1930-34
Dean Denton - Harry Francis Campbell - Walkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Dear Gods - Leonard Bruce, Ross Osterman - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily strip - 1991-92
Deb's Diary - Earl Reeder - National Newspaper Service - daily panel - 1928 (found! by Ray Bottorff Jr in Harrisburg Telegraph)
Deep River Dan - Joe Buresch - Newspaper Art Features - daily strip - 1939
Demetrakis - Manos Pavlidis - Mid-Continent Features - daily - 1975
Dennis Dull - Phil Young - Chronicle Features - daily panel - 1993
Derby Dan - Bozz - Press Alliance - daily strip - 1940
Desprit Danny & Tess Turrible - A.C. Sells Jr. - Thompson Service - daily strip - 1935
Detective Dolt - Walt Clay, Don Easton - United Feature Syndicate - unknown - 1933
Detectives Nehi & Skyhi - Joe Buresch - Thompson Service - daily strip - 1934-36
Diamond Challenge - Jim Evans, Jim Johnson - United Fetaures - daily and Sunday strip - 1991-97 (found! by Ray Bottorff Jr in Oakland Tribune)
Diary Of Dr. Hayward - Curt Davis - Eisner-Iger Associates/Pan American Press - weekly strip - 1939-50
Diary Of A Good Girl - Melisse - King Features - daily panel - 1937 (found! in Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph)
Did You Know? - John Jarvis - Community & Suburban Press Service - weekly panel - 1978
Didja' Hear? - Herman - Western Newspaper Union - weekly panel - 1948 (found! in Titonka Times)
Different Blokes - Kevin Miller, David Watkins - Suzerain Group - daily strip - 1993-94
Dilly - Dell Healy - Trans World News Service - daily strip - 1979
Dim Wits - David Rogers - American International Syndicate - daily panel - 1979
Ding Bats - Nonnee Coan - Chicago Daily News - daily panel - 1973
Dinky Doyle - Frank Thomas - Consolidated News Features - daily strip - 1946 (Thomas says it never reached syndication in Alter Ego #151)
The Dinosaur Circus - Elena Steier - DBR Media - weekly - 2001-03 (found! by Charles Brubaker in the Drumright (OK) Gusher - thanks Charles!)
A Dip In The Future - A.A. Goodrum - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1932
Diplomatic Pooch - Jim Asher, Phil Evans - Evans & Cooke - daily strip - 1970-71
Dizzy Heights - G. Melikov - Nu-Way Features - daily panel - 1936
Do You Believe - Steve Feeley, Ed Kuekes - Lafave Syndicate - daily panel - 1955-62 (found by Alex Jay in Aberdeen American-News-- cartoon turns out to be a minor element, more of an illustration, not eligible for SG listing)
Do You Know That - George Gunderson - Star Syndicate - daily panel - 1930-31 (turned out to be a Canadian feature)
The Dobbs Family - Chris Decker - Lloyd James Williams - daily and Sunday strip - 1938-41
Doc - Hy Gage - Ledger Syndicate - daily panel - 1925 (Found! in Detroit Free Press)
Doc Doodle - Ross E. Bunch - Wilson Features - daily and Sunday strip - 1979
Doc Perkins' Tickletones - T.C. Buxton - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1937-38
Doc Savage - uncredited - Ledger Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1966-73
Doctor Proctor - Eddie Germano - Trans World News Service - daily strip - 1976-79
Dodie - Peter Garvey - Trans World News Service - daily panel - 1976
Doggone - John Broudhecker - Allied Features - daily panel - 1958-60
The Doghouse - Dave Allen - Worldwide Media - daily and Sunday strip - 2000-03
Dogs Of War - Buzz Williams - Miller Features - daily strip - 1938-39
Dolf's Fortune - Kenyon Brooks - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1928
Domestique - uncredited - Spadea Syndicate - weekly strip - 1975
Don't Do That - Sylvia Robbins - Associated Press - weekly panel - 1950-56
Don't Laugh - Tony Weier, John Whelan - At Large Features - daily strip - 2001-02
Doors - Woodie Hall - Mike LeFan Features - thrice weekly - 1976
Doozies - Edmund Gross, Joe Roy Santoro - Features Unlimited - Sunday panel - 1974
Dork Tower - John Kovalic - Sheffield Productions - weekly strip - 1998-present (I am told that this strip was never really aimed at a mainstream newspaper audience and likely has never appeared in one)
Dorothea - Glenn - Miller Services - daily strip - 1937
Dot And Dash - Tony Basso - Associated Midwest Newspapers - daily strip - 1937-38
Dottie Date - Ray Doherty - self-syndicated - daily panel, Sunday strip - 1948
Double Bill - Bill Buttle - Miller Features - weekly - 1999 (according to the creator this was a puzzle feature)
Double Duty - Al Liederman - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1987-92
Doctor Aha - Bob Adam - Winford Company - daily panel - 1975
Doctor Crystal's Cosmic Kid's Stuff - Jean & Jim Anton - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1985-86
Doctor Justice - E. Letkeman - Star Newspaper Service - daily strip - 1945
Doctor Remedy - Adolph Schus - George Matthew Adams Service - daily panel - 1939
Doctor Sam And The Space Monsters - Jim Westermann - Editorial Board Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1967-69
Doctor Tombs - Tom Lowell - Independent Features - daily - 1965
Doctor X - M.R. Mont - Editors Press Service - daily strip - 1946-47
Drawn Out - Bill and Eric Teitelbaum - LA Times Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1980
The Drimbles - Agoo - Ledger Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1971-72
Driver Ed And Edna - Ross Bunch and the Dintimans - Trans World News Service - daily panel - 1976-78
Drug Chuckles - Everett Lowry - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1932 (Found! by Charlie Thompson in Winnona Republican Herald)
Drugs & Guns - Edward Bryant - self-syndicated - weekly - 1991-92
Duckie - J. Carver Pusey - United Features - daily strip - 1928
Ducking Out - Tom Mikionis - Universal Press Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1994 (found! by Jeffrey Lindenblatt in Berkshire Eagle)
Duckville Doings - Bill Bly - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily strip - 1926
Duffer - Art A. McCourt - Feature Syndicate - weekly - 1979-80
The Duke Of Manhattan - Edwin Homer, Delos Lovelace - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1946 (found by cartoonist's son Nick Homer -- see Obscurity of the Day post)
Dumb Blonde - George Davies - Transatlantic News Features - daily panel - 1948
The Dwigginses - Russ Bender, Guy Nonnan - Century Features - unknown - 1937

Labels: Mystery Strips

Today's post is brought to you by the letter F. If you don't recall what I'm doing here, read this post. Any and all information is greatly appreciated and positive proof is rewarded as well.

Fair Game - Stephanie Piro - Chronicle Features - daily panel - 1996-98 (found! in SF Chronicle and several others, and lasted much longer in self-syndication)
Faith, Hope And Sue - Lisa Wild - Davey Associates - daily panel - 1994
Familiar Folks - Bill Nickel - Editorial Services - weekly panel - 1947
Family aka Doug Wright's Family aka Nipper - Doug Wright - Toronto Star Syndicate - weekly strip - 1980 (known in Canada, but did it appear in any US newspapers?)
Family K624 - Tim Jackson - Creative License Studio - weekly - 1999-2002
Family Popcorn - Shel Dorf, Tom Reese - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1997
The Family - Wildt - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1991-94
Familyades - Lois Gilbert - Associated Midwest Newspaper Syndicate - daily panel - 1937-38
Famous Fighters - John Wentworth - National Newspaper Service - daily strip - 1932
Famous Monuments - Hendrick van Loon - Christy Walsh Syndicate - weekly strip - 1927 (found by Bill Mullins in Pittsburgh Press, but turns out to be drawings of famous landmarks with extensive printed discussion - not eligible for SG listing)
Famous Pastimes - Paul Sell - Leeds Features - daily panel - 1933
Fantom Of The Fair - Paul Gustavson - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Farm Life - Harlan Wade - Trans World News - daily strip - 1978
Fast Lane - Harley Schwadron - Davey Associates, Copley News Service - weekly, daily panel - 1993-present
Father Victor - John T. O'Brien - National Catholic Welfare Conference - weekly strip - 1958-60 (so far found only in Catholic newspapers, still looking for it in a mainstream newspaper)
Faulty Fables - Rick Stromoski - Whitegate Features - daily - 1990-91 (Charles Brubaker contacted the creator who said "it was negotiated to be syndicated but as far as I know nothing came of it")
Faxtoons - Dan Rosandich - Great Lakes Features - weekly - 1991-92
Feedback - Doc and Rebecca Blakely - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1987
Ffarm.com - Bob Englehart, Pat McGrath - Paradigm-TSA - daily and Sunday strip - 1999 (Found! in Hartford Courant)
The Field Family - Al Brooks - Humor Books Syndicate - weekly strip - 1993-96
The 52 Club - Rooney W. Davis - Quality Art Service - weekly panel - 1967-69
The Fighting Chaplain - Carl Pfeufer - Eric Jon Associates - weekly strip - 1955-61 (Alberto Becattini says it ran in the Catholic Weekly - not a newspaper by our definition)
Figleaves - Greg Curfman - Sandcastles Syndicate - weekly strip - 1976-79
The Final Frontier - Dawn Munson - American International Syndicate - daily panel - 1993-95
Fireman Sam - Joe Buresch - Miller Features - daily strip - 1939
The First Lady - Madeline Brogan - Tribune Media Services - daily and Sunday strip - 1993 (found! by Charles Brubaker in Victorville Daily Press. Thanks Charles!)
First World War - Laurence Stallings - Register & Tribune Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1934 (found by Bill Mullins in El Paso Herald; turns out to be a photo page, so definitely not eligible for SG listing)
Fish Story - Randy Bisson - American International Syndicate - daily panel - 1988-98
A Flash Of Luck - S. M. Nemer - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1934
Fletcher Of The 4-H'ers - Joe Buresch - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1958-86 (Alberto Becattini quotes Buresch as saying that it ran in farm publications)
Flight - J.H. Mason, W.D. Tipton - McNaught - daily panel - 1935 (found! by Fram in Salt Lake Tribune)
Flip Art - Al Goring - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1975-77
Fluffhead - Jacques Boivin - Miller Services - daily panel - 1979
Flying Legion - William Winston - National Newspaper Service - daily strip - 1939-42 (Alberto Becattini says it was a topper to Skyroads - I have never seen a Skyroads Sunday)
Focus On Fact - Neville Randall - Interpress - daily strip - 1973
Fodor's Follies - Laszlo Fodor - Bell Syndicate - daily panel - 1938-39 (found! by Ray Bottorff Jr. in Paterson Evening News)
Folly's Thinkshop - Richard Jarrett - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1979-82
A Fool There Was - Pete Keenan - International Syndicate - weekly panel - 1927-28 (found by Bill Mullins in Hamilton Evening Journal)
Footsies - Bill Shelly - Wade Allen Syndicate - daily panel - 1968 [found by Charles Brubaker in Johnson City Press-Chronicle. Thanks Charles!]
For Better Or Worse - Justin Manning - Four Corners Syndicate - weekly panel - 1968-70
For Heaven's Sake - Ruth Davis, Bob Maley - Heavenly Comics Syndicate - daily panel - 1969-72
For Pete's Sake - Robert Righetti - Danny Ball Productions - weekly panel - 1978-79
For Warped Minds Only - Ralph Hamellmann - Global Features - daily and Sunday strip - 1991-93 (known in Canada - Calgary Herald -- but no US appearances yet; oh and there it is a weekly panel)
For Women Only - Isabelle Ziegler - Carlile Crutcher Syndicate - daily strip - 1939 (found by Bill Mullins in St. Louis Star-Times; turns out to be a text column, not strip)
Fortune Kookies - Charles Glass - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - daily panel - 1973-77 (found by Bill Mullins in Fremont Argus and several other papers)
Foto Finish - Charles McKenzie - United Cartoonists Syndicate - daily - 1988
The Fourth Floor - Todd Schowalter - Plain Label Press - daily strip - 2001-03
The Fox And The Crow - Jim Davis - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1950
Fractured Facts - John Locke - Syndicated News Service - weekly panel - 1994-present
Francie Frills - Vic Herman - McClure Syndicate - daily panel - 1948
Freak Patents - Harvey Peake - Carlile Crutcher Syndicate - daily panel - 1936 (found by Bill Mullins in Louisville Courier-Journal, but it is an illustrated column, not eligible for SG listing)
Fred - Leonard Bruce, Charles Durck - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily - 1983-92
Freddie Fix It - Mike Gray, Bob Hyde - Nationwide Features Syndicate - daily panel - 1949-50 [Charles Thompson supplies proof that Nationwide was a producer of advertising strips; not eligible for SG listing]
Free Zone - Winthrop Prince - Chronicle Features - weekly - 1985-90 (existence verified by author - thanks Winthrop!)
Froyd - Philippe Grabowski, Bob Keleman - Syndicated News Service - daily and Sunday strip - 1991-present
Frustration - Ray Hanson - Register & Tribune Syndicate - daily panel - 1974
Fun Bug - Howard Rands - Al Smith Service - weekly panel - 1978 (Todd Hillmer found this feature, turned out to be an activity panel, not eligible for the SG index)
Funnigrams - W.F. Peters - Publishers Feature Service - weekly panel - 1946-49 (found by Bill Mullins, but its a generic panel cartoon feature paired up with local ads, not eligible for SG)
Funny Form - Charles Barsotti - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1974 (Charles Brubaker checked with the creator, who says it was never sold or syndicated)
Funny Money - Dan Shefelman - King Features - weekly - 1991 CONFIRMED by creator (see post below)
Funny Side Up - Trent - World Feature Service - weekly strip - 1931
Funtime - Edo Anderson - Smith-Mann Syndicate - weekly strip - 1951-54
Fusebox - Greg Panneitz - Continental Features - weekly strip - 2002-present
Future Eye - John Mayo, Jerry Siegel - McClure Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1953
Fuzzy - Leonard Bruce - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily - 1983-92

Labels: Mystery Strips

The Syndicated Features weekly tabloid sections are quite rare, since they only ran in a handful of papers, most of them smaller weeklies. But if they're rare, then the feature Jigger is the comics equivalent of hens' teeth.

The Syndicated Features sections were four page tabloids, and on the back 'cover' of each issue there was normally a half page ad. The ad space was reserved for the subscribing newspaper. They could put a house ad there, or sell the space to an advertiser. Since the ads are always black lettering on a one-color background, I'm guessing that Syndicated Features sent the tab sections out with a big blot of color there, and the newspaper ran the sections through their press once to add a black ink ad.

When I was doing research for this series of posts, though, I came across a couple newspapers that apparently had no interest in selling ad space. They opted to have the syndicate include an additional comic strip on that half-page. That makes Jigger by Gus Jud one seriously rare puppy. In order to show you samples, I had to resort to the blurry microfilm versions above. Sorry about that.

Gus Jud has only one other newspaper strip credit, for Little Dave. Both Little Dave and Jigger are strips about kids, sort of like watered-down Skippy and with workmanlike but unexceptional art. Oddly enough, in the 1940s Jud moved over into comic books but continued to do (as far as I can tell from the GCD) exclusively short features about little boys. Of the samples I've seen, you could substitute the Jigger or Little Dave logo on any of them and no one would be able to tell the difference.

Now that's what I call over-specialization!

Jigger, for the few clients that used it, began with the section on July 13 1936, and most likely continued to the end of the section, though the latest I've been able to verify from online sources is from December.

Labels: Obscurities

As you'll no doubt recall from previous installments of this series, the following features were all listed in the Editor & Publisher annual Syndicate Directory listings. Problem is that I have not been able to find these ones in any American newspaper. I'm looking for positive proof that (1) these features did indeed exist, (2) they are actually comics of some sort and weren't just mislabeled in E&P, and (3) they ran in U.S. newspapers. If you have any information about any mystery strip on this list please, please, please tell me all about it. And if you can provide positive proof that the mystery feature did indeed run in U.S. newspapers (a tearsheet is ideal proof) and qualifies for listing in the Stripper's Guide index, you can be the recipient of a goodie box chock full of all manner of comic strip ephemera -- could be reprint books, old tearsheets, magazines, original art or all of the above. Trust me that my goodie boxes do not disappoint! (SORRY - as of 2018 goodie boxes are sadly no longer available - I now live in Canada and our postal rates are so outrageous that I cannot afford to send out goodie boxes - SORRY!)

If you prefer to contact me privately rather than posting a comment on the blog, send it to strippersguide@gmail.com. Please be sure to mention Stripper's Guide in your subject line or I may miss your message in amongst all the spam.

Here's the mystery features starting with letter "P" as in "please get me off this list!". Each listing has the title, years advertised, creator(s), syndicate and format. Sorry, I'd put these in a more attractive tabular form, but Blogger plays havoc with tables:

P.J. Abominable, 1968, John Gallagher, United Feature Syndicate, daily strip
The PO Box, 1993-97, Earl T. Musick, self-syndicated, weekly (author says it sold primarily to specialty publications - thanks Earl!)
Pa and Abie, 1926, Russell, Wheeler-Nicholson, daily strip
Pa and Ma, 1926, Voorhees, John F. Dille, daily strip
Padded Cell, 1942, Charles J. Dunn, Watkins Syndicate, daily panel
Paddy Pigg, 1937, Richard Decker, Allied Features, daily and Sunday strip
A Page For Every Age, 1936, G. Melikov, Nu-Way Features, weekly strip
Pan-Dee-Monium, 1982, Jackson Gray, Mid-Continent Features, daily strip
Pandora, 1948, Kaye Spence, Press Features, daily panel
Panel of Fun, 1939, C. Decker, Bell SYndicate, daily panel
Pantomime, 1975, Sara Black, Spadea Syndicate, daily panel
Paperclips, 1981, Doug Brunner, Community Features, thrice weekly
Paradise Park, 1994-99, R. Claude, Singer Media, weekly strip
Parents Plus, 1968-69, Justin Manning, Four Corners Syndicate, weekly panel
Parking Space, 1931, Russell Askue, McClure Syndicate, daily panel
Party Gators, 1998-2004, Elaine Sandra Abramson, A&A, weekly strip
Party Ranks, 1986-87, Mike Pascal and Joe Stuart, JSA Publications, daily/weekly strip
Pat the Paris Shopper, 1932-35, Joan Carson, John F. Dille, daily strip (fashion feature?)
Patent Nonsense, 1999, Roy Doty, Paradigm-TSA, daily strip
The Patsy, 1933-34, Irma Harms, Thompson Service, daily strip
Patterson's People, 1968-73, Gene Patterson, Allied Features, daily panel
Patty Lee, 1933, Edwin Finch, Henle Features, daily
Peanut Butter Soup, 1990-92, Joe Amadeo and Tom Kerr, Syndicated News Service, weekly
Pebbles, 1951, Henry Boye, McClure Syndicate, daily panel
Pee Wee's Pencil, 1979, Joe Rice, Copley News Service, daily and Sunday panel (found by Charles Brubaker, activity panel, doesn't qualify for SG)
Peeping Tom, 1981, C. Crist, Globe Syndicate, weekly strip
Peg, Ann & Barbara, 1928-30, Mabel Whitney, International Syndicate, daily panel
The Pennypockets, 1939, Wes Dennis, Consolidated News Features, daily strip
People & Things, 1940, Prescott Chaplin, Bell Syndicate, daily/weekly strip (likely illustrated column)
PeraNormal, 1996-98, Jim Pera, Second Ring Syndicate, weekly strip
Percy's World, 1961, Howie Schneider, Page One Syndicate, daily strip
Perfect Couple, 1986, Rick Geary, Copley News Service, twice weekly strip
Peter Panic, 1973-2003, Lo Linkert, Singer Media, daily/weekly panel
Peter Pupp, 1937-39, Bob Kane, Eisner-Iger Associates, weekly strip
Petey, 1935, Lou Darvas, Thompson Service, daily panel
Pews, 1982-85, Joe McKeever, Copley News Service, weekly panel [Charles Brubaker reports that McKeever says he never saw the panel in print -- Copley told him they didn't know which papers, if any, actually ran it]
Phil Ossifer, 1934-36, Clyde Campbell and O. DeCaillet, Thompson Service, daily panel
Phillip's Flock, 1968-85, Doc Goodwin, Dispatch Features, Sunday strip (found in Columbus Dispatch, actually a weekly strip in daily format)
Phoney Photos, 1925, Bret Hart Jr., Readers Syndicate, daily panel
Phrog, 1985-86, George Albitz, Al Smith Service, weekly strip (Found! in Laurel Outlook)
Phyllis, 1939, Bernard Baily, Keystone Press Features, daily strip
Pig Newton, 1983, Mal Hancock, Field Newspaper Syndicate, daily panel/Sunday strip (found! in Philadelphia Daily News)
Pilot Storm, 1959-72, Henk Sprenger, Douglas Whiting, daily strip (Dutch - appeared in U.S.?)
Pinhead Pete, 1928-31, uncredited, Premier Syndicate, weekly panel (found! by Bill Mullins in Cleveland Plain Dealer and Portland Oregonian -- thanks Bill!)
Pinny and his Pals, 1937, Barney Bravman, Foreign Press Syndicate, daily/weekly strip
Pipe Dreams, 1957-63, Rud, Sun News Features, daily/Sunday panel
The Pit, 1957, Morris Turner, Pioneer Press Service, daily panel
Pixel, 1985, Frank Hill and Ted Mancuso, Al Smith Service, weekly strip
Playmates, 1924-25, Lloyd Jones and H.F. Voorhees, John F. Dille, daily strip
Plympton, 1978-81, Bill Plympton, self-syndicated/Universal Press Syndicate, weekly-4 times weekly panel (possibly political cartoon, originated in Soho Weekly News before syndication)
Pollutocrats, 1972, Larkin and Gordon, Allied Feature Syndicate, daily panel
Polly Esther, 1971, Ed McNally, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel
Polymericks, 1978, Steve McKinstry, Enterprise Features, 3 times weekly panel
Ponder This, 1965, Leonard Andrews, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily [Charles Brubaker finds this was a poetry feature, incorrectly categorized in E&P - thanks Charles]
Poor Little Rich Man, 1948, Courtney Dunkel, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel (found! by Michael Vassallo in New York News)
Pop Winters, 1935, Cliff Knight, Triton Syndicate, daily panel
Possum Holler, 1936, Boody Rogers, McClure SYndicate, daily strip
Pre-Columbian Mysteries, 1976, Mario Bertolini, Ed Marzola & Associates, daily strip
Prince, 1986, Winthrop Prince, Chronicle Features, weekly panel (author says it was syndicated as Free Zone to several papers and appeared in the SF Chronicle under this title - thanks Winthrop!)
Private Stuff, 1953, Jack O'Brien, Editors Syndicate, daily panel (found, but only in military base paper The Hilltop Herald -- still unfound in a mainstream paper)
Professor Naturebug, 1971, John Hazlett and Edward Thomas, Dispatch Features, Sunday strip (found in Columbus Dispatch, but very text heavy and doesn't qualify)
Professor Pi, 1959-72, V.T.Born, Douglas Whiting, daily strip (Dutch - appeared in U.S.?)
Professor Unquote, 1948, Bill Henry, Globe Syndicate, daily strip
Proven Proverbs, 1962, Bill Zaboly and William Davy, Select Features, daily panel
Pud, 1989-98, Steven Nease, Southam Syndicate/Liberty Features, daily strip (Canadian - appeared in U.S.?)
Punch Line, 1975-78, Palbo, Community Press Service, weekly panel
Punchline, 1995-96, Tim Newlin, self-syndicated, Sunday strip
Punchy and Judy, 1945, Loy Byrnes, NY Post, daily strip (found! in NY Post)
Puzzy, 1953, Jack Fitch, Editors Syndicate, daily panel

Labels: Mystery Strips

Ray McGill flitted around the cartooning world for many decades. He did editorial cartoons and a very minor syndicated strip for Hearst, comic book work in the 40s, and assisted on major strips Mickey Finn and Blondie (regarding the latter, his obit claims that he produced the topper Colonel Potterby and the Duchess, which I thought was handled by Jim Raymond).

His contribution to the Syndicated Features tabloid section was Peggy Wow, a strip about a cute blonde Hollywood secretary cum agent whose star client also happens to be her boyfriend. Although the setup sounds like a good one, Ray McGill seemed to have trouble constructing gags. Read the samples above and tell me that both those strips don't suffer from a weird sort of subject drift on the third tier of panels. McGill racks up the pins well enough, but when he throws the ball, it bounces into the next lane. Later in the run Peggy gets involved in a continuity about a missing judge, and that seemed to help McGill focus his work better. Unfortunately, McGill's growth as a cartoonist did not help to save Syndicated Features.

Peggy Wow appeared throughout the entire publishing history of the Syndicated Features tabloid section, from July 13 1936 to March 8 1937.

Labels: Obscurities