Yesterday saw the release of Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story and tomorrow will be the 30th anniversary of the Mutts comic strip. The Daily Cartoonist is splitting the difference and celebrating both today.
From the award-winning syndicated comic strip Mutts, the long-awaited “Guard Dog” story is now collected and presented in full color along with supplementary material, timed for the 30th anniversary
An important notice to collectors from the Mutts site:
PLEASE NOTE! Due to popular demand, the book publisher has already announced a second printing of this eagerly anticipated story. All copies ordered at the MUTTS Shop after August 22 will ship later this fall, when the second printing is complete.
That’s Right. If you want a first edition of the book and haven’t pre-ordered it, either from Patrick or a bookstore, you had best hustle down to the closest Barnes and Noble or Target and hope to find a first edition there.
- Publisher: Abrams ComicArts (September 3, 2024
- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Item Weight: 1.4 pounds
- Dimensions: 6.8 x 1 x 8.1 inches
At 192 pages and mostly one panel per page this book, like the drawings and the story, is ART!
Last week Brian Cronin at Comic Book Resources interviewed Patrick about the book and the comic strip.
Patrick McDonnell’s Mutts is one of the most popular, and most acclaimed, comic strips in the world, and this September will mark the 30th anniversary of McDonnell’s hit comic strip, which details the lives of a dog, Earl, and his cat best friend, Mooch. McDonnell has won the prestigious Reuben Award from the National Cartoonist Society for Cartoonist of the Year, and Mutts also won the Society’s award for Comic Strip of the Year (Mutts has also won the Harvey Award for the Best Comic Strip a remarkable EIGHT times).
Besides the upcoming 30th anniversary, McDonnell is also celebrating the release of his latest Mutts collection, Breaking the Chain, next month, which is a special full-color book from Abrams Books collecting the historic October 2023 Mutts storyline where Guard Dog, the longstanging Mutts cast member who helped show the world the cruelty of tethering dogs, was finally freed from his chain, and adopted by another cast member from the strip, the sweet little girl, Doozy.
Which brings us to the comic strip and 30 years of Mutts.
Mutts is justly renowned for its gentle, sweet humor and for Patrick’s amazing, minimalist artwork.
And, of course, his homages to comic and “higher” art in the Sunday Mutts title panels.
The September 5, 1994 edition of The Detroit News and Free Press introduces the new comic strip and cartoonist:
At MuttsComics Patrick reminisces through three decades of the comic strip, fully illustrated.
Over the past three decades, Patrick McDonnell’s award-winning MUTTS comic strip has won the hearts of animal lovers and art enthusiasts around the world. Join us as we celebrate 30 years of friendship, kindness, and simple joys from the furry characters that so many have come to know and love.
Comics Kingdom doesn’t carry the first four years of Mutts dailies (or the first Mutts Sunday).
The Daily Cartoonist presents the first week, September 5 – September 11, 1994, here:
On September 5th, MUTTS will turn 30! In the coming months, we’ll be celebrating with stories from readers, plus lots of furry strolls down memory lane. To kick things off, we’re excited to introduce our Limited-Edition 30th Anniversary Collection honoring three decades of friendship, kindness, and simple joys. With gifts like a band-inspired MUTTS tee, a gorgeous enamel keychain, a commemorative coffee mug, and more, there’s an anniversary gift to spark joy for every MUTTS lover in your life.
>this book, like the drawings and the story, is ART!
It is indeed. I ordered my copy a few minutes after I saw it in your list of upcoming books; it arrived this evening. First edition, hardcover with dust jacket, sewn signatures. And the story…yes, art.
The 1994 byline says Detroit News not Free Press.
Good round-up!
Yep. It was/is two newspapers in one, working under a joint operating agreement with the nameplate reading The Detroit News and Free Press. The Freep had the hard news and sports, The News ran entertainment and features. The Classified ran under both. And both had their own editorial and comics pages. Mutts ran on The News’ comics pages. I have changed the credit to what the masthead read. (Newspaper,com credits only The Freep and I didn’t pay as close attention as you did.)
Today’s 30th anniversary strip, featuring Guard Dog, is an update of the gag from the very first “Mutts” comic. Very clever!
Thanks, Mr. McDonnell for the love and humor you have given us all these years!