Comic books have always had a relationship with comic strips. The modern comic book began
by either reprinting comic strips or featuring new pages patterned after the comic strip format.
As the new material overwhelmed the reprint stuff, it was not unusual to see
new comic book stories based on newspaper comic strip characters.
© respective copyright holders
Comic books consisting entirely of one page strips became increasingly rare, if not nonexistent, but one-page gag strips were still plentiful in the all genres of comic books. Henry Boltinoff devoted a big part of his career to filling space in DC Comics for thirty years.
© DC Comics
When superheroes came to dominate the books the strips faded, but never really disappeared.
Fred Hembeck and Chris Giarrusso, among others, held up the tradition.
© DC Comics and Marvel Enterrtainment
Recently there have been occasions that saw the comic books revert back to their origins.
Savage Dragon © Eric Larsen; Captain America © Marvel Entertainment
This all came to mind because of Skottie Young‘s newest effort to place his Stupid Fresh Mess comic strip into Image comic books.
I’ve always wanted to a do a comic strip. As long as I’ve been reading the strips in the newspaper, I thought that’s what I would be doing one day! Eventually, I grew up and stumbled into comic books instead of strips and the rest is history.
I never let go of that dream though. So when Eric Stephenson at Image called me back in the fall asking me if I wanted to be a part of the IMAGE COMICS 30th ANNIVERSARY ANTHOLOGY I said…
“Ugh, I really want to buy I don’t know if I have the time.”
We talked about options that could make it possible and when he said it could be as long or short as I want and that’s when it hit me. I could use this as my chance to do that Sunday style comic strip I have always wanted to do.
Years ago, I was going to make a run at a strip based on my family and the funny stuff that gets said between a couples, kids and parents, pets and even the wildlife that you see in your backyard. I called it STUPID FRESH MESS. (yes, long before I formed my company and gave it the same name.) I figured since i never really took that anywhere back then, this predicament that I got myself in would be a perfect opportunity to bring it to life.
And just like that, that little kid with the paper route, delivering the comic strips in the newspapers everyday…is a cartoonist making them!
Stupid Fresh Mess © Skottie Young/Stupid Fresh Mess
