Chic Young (1901–1973)

"Blondie" is one of those legacy strips that is nearly ubiquitous on the American newspaper comics page, and it's one of the least funny strips out there. But it's been around for 80 years, so when the first few years of the strip was published in book form, the comic strip historian in me leaped at the opportunity. And I learned that the strip was always pretty terrible. The gags are generally unfunny, the continuity stumbles and wanders like a drunkard heading home Friday night (I lost show more track of how many times Dagwood and Blondie broke up, or his wealthy parents unalterably opposed their engagement, then supported it, then threatened to cut him off if he married her). Blondie herself is quite comely, but the rest of the artwork is wooden and style-impaired. I'm amazed that the country, mired in the Great Depression, found any sympathy for a wealthy heir with no skills, intelligence or drive. The only thing that saved the strip was Dagwood's successful hunger strike to marry Blondie, and his subsequent disinheritance. This is altogether an unpleasant strip, and I marvel that it has lasted this long. show less

After noting how bad the "Blondie" strip was in the first collection, I held my nose and approached this book as a comic historian rather than a fan. And the first year does live down to my expectations, as the happy (and clueless) newlyweds return from their honeymoon expecting that Dagwood's rich parents will reconsider their vow to disinherit their son and take them in. Instead, much of this first year has the parents trying to get Dagwood to obtain a quickie divorce and come back to the show more family fold, sans Blondie. But Dagwood is resolute in his love for Blondie -- only time in the strip he ever shows any backbone. She even lands a job for him. As the couple gradually settle into married life, we see a gradual humanization of the strip as many of the familiar elements appear: a thankless office job with Mr. Dithers, the dog Daisy, (almost) steamrolling the hapless mailman in a mad dash to work, the Woodleys next door... but it isn't until the arrival of a baby boy (later named Alexander Hamilton Bumstead) that the strip comes into its own, and there are actually some panels of considerable charm and humor that remind me somewhat of "Gasoline Alley". A considerable improvement of what began as a thoroughly objectionable strip. show less

One of the classics on my shelf is Blondie and Dagwood's America, a celebration of Blondie's first 50 years with an historical essay and plenty of reprints. It was in that book that I learned about the strip's beginnings, the tumultuous courtship between flapper Blondie Boopadoop and railroad heir Dagwood Bumstead. The book has been well loved over the years--my children, my wife and myself have managed to totally dog ear the covers and trash the binding. Anyway, the other day I was browsing show more the stacks at the downtown library and noticed a new Blondie collection--the complete archive of the strip from 1930-1933 covering the full courtship of Dagwood and Blondie. Oddly enough, I thought about passing it by. I'm already in the middle of a couple of books and I didn't need to start another. But I grabbed it anyway, just for laughs. And laughs I got. While the plots are a bit twisted and continuity is often sacrificed for the sake of gags, Blondie was funny. Still is, now that we can read this book. Now I've got to be on the lookout for Volume Two.
--J. show less

"Blondie" is one of the more long-enduring and popular family comic strips. I can't really see why. The earlier strips, not shown here, had some small naive charm to them, but by modern times the strip had become essentially an occasionally amusing, banal and frequently boring strip with dated sensibilities. It remains a staple of the comic pages, which does not increase my faith in the tastes of the masses.