Comic strips Licensing

Dagwood (character) promoting Dagwood Sandwich Shoppe rubs writer wrong way

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Alan Gardner August 3, 2006 1 minute 3 comments

Earlier this summer, I brought you news that Dean Young was going to open up a chain of sandwich shops called “Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppe” named after the Dagwood character in Blondie.  The first store opened in June.

At least one person is speaking out and questioning the appropriateness of using story lines in the comic that promote the sandwich shop.

But I don’t recall the newspaper strips pitching those products. I would never have known about Young’s plans — inquiries from potential franchisees are welcome! –if I hadn’t gotten on the Internet to do a little research about the Blondie strip.

As a longtime reader (though perhaps not much longer), I can tell you that Dagwood starting his own sandwich place makes absolutely no sense.

What would happen to his boss, the irascible Mr. Dithers, so fond of kicking Dagwood’s backside and denying him raises?

What about the greasy spoon where the cook tries, but usually fails, to shock Dagwood’s cast-iron tastebuds?

And wouldn’t Dagwood be in direct competition with Blondie, who made news herself a few years ago when she started a catering business after seven decades as a lovely young housewife?

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