Sunday Comics this morning (Sunday Showcase Review later)

Before the Sunday Showcase review happens today we're going to look at the Sunday Comics page from the Tennessean from 1973 - 1985. All of the strips do come from October. This was my second favorite part of the paper. 

First up we have Miss Peach of the Kelly School by Mell Lazarus who also created Momma which we'll see later. Miss Peach ran for 45 years with its last one appearing on 9-8-2002. This one is from the October 7, 1973 Tennessean. Francine gets burned by Ira. 

Bud Blake's Tiger is up next. This comic came about after King Features asked Bud to create a comic that would rival Peanuts. It ran from 1965 to 2004. It's no Peanuts, but it's still a great comic and one I enjoyed reading when I was a young man. This strip is from 10-6-1974.

Speaking of Peanuts, here we have one featuring Sally Brown as she struggles through another school day. Sally was a character I din't like when I was young, but she's one of my favorites now. I think Charles Schulz was one of the best writers of the 20th century. Peanuts ran from 1950 to 2000 and is my favorite comic strip of all time. This one ran October 5, 1975. 

Blondie has been a comics staple since 1930. This one ran October 10, 1976 and is a nice peek into the office world. 

The Cappy Dick section was always full of interesting facts and crafts. Cartoonist Rick Yager who did Buck Rogers was the creator of this syndicated page.

Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller is another favorite of mine. She was introduced into the Fritzi Ritz on January 2, 1933 and eventually took over the strip, kind of like Urkel did on the Family Matters show. The strip has been done by various artists since Bushmiller died. I really liked Mark Lasky's work on it, but he died of cancer before he even did a year's worth of strips at the age of 29. Olivia Jaimes recently revived the strip and it's quite fun again. This strip ran October 22, 1978.

Now for some drama: This Star Wars strip ran October 14, 1979. The artwork is by Russ Manning and Steve Gerber is the writer for this one. Star Wars ran as a comic from 1979 to 1984.

Kerry Drake is a detective comic that ran from 1943 to 1983. I just found this one amusing with its "Cocaine and cash! They tried to take it all!" last panel.

Good ole Doonesbury created by G.B. Trudeau. I didn't get much of the humor when I was a little kid, but by the time this strip ran on 10-19-1980 I was hip. 

Here's Mel Lazarus again with Momma. This comic ran from 1970 until Lazarus died in 2016. The "momma" of the title was Sonya Hobbs who put up with her children Thomas, Francis, and Marylou who is featured in this strip from October 11, 1981. I like the Burt Reynolds riff used in it. This was a comic I never really liked though I did like Miss Peach.

The comics usually ended with a full page ad and I thought this one was cool. This Dungeons & Dragons ad is from October 31, 1982

Review of the Mattel Dungeons & Dragons electronic game

Russell Myers's Broom Hilda has been going strong since April 19, 1970 with the adventures of the witch Broom Hilda and her two main pals Irwin Troll and Gaylord Buzzard. Early in the strip Broom Hilda was a beer drinker who was rarely seen without a cigar in her mouth, but Russell let those habits disappear. This particular strip ran 10-23-1983 and it would have mildly amused me then, but really hits me with some pathos now that I am well into middle age. 

It wouldn't be a Sunday Comics section without a Mort Walker strip, in this case Beetle Bailey, which Mort did from 1950 until his death in 2018 with his sons continuing the strip. Mort also did Hi and Lois and Boner's Ark (under the pseudonym Addison) which also ran in the Tennessean on Sundays. He was a pretty amazing cartoonist, a true giant. This strip ran 10-14-84.

Andy Capp was a front pager in the Tennessean and enjoyed his usually drunken foibles. Reg Smythe created the rascal who was licensed out to Goodmark Foods who used his image and sometimes whole strips on bags of Andy Capp's Hot Fries and Cheddar Fries among other flavors. I loved those snacks even more than reading the comic. This strip ran October 27, 1985.

I wrap this post up with a politically themed strip from the late great James Childress. Conchy did not run for long, but the Tennessean was one of the first big dailies (maybe even the first) to pick it up. It wasn't always political, but its comic themes were generally more serious than most. It's right up there with the Peanuts for me.