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''Cathy'' is an American
gag-a-day A gag-a-day comic strip is the style of writing comic cartoons such that every installment of a strip delivers a complete joke or some other kind of artistic statement. It is opposed to story or continuity strips, which rely on the development of ...
comic strip, drawn by
Cathy Guisewite Cathy Lee Guisewite (born September 5, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created the comic strip ''Cathy'', which had a 34-year run. The strip focused on a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships, and havi ...
from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life—food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. The strip debuted on November 22, 1976, and appeared in over 1,400 newspapers at its peak. The strips have been compiled into more than 20 books. Three television specials were also created. Guisewite received the
National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
Reuben Award The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
in 1992 for the strip.


History

Initially, the strip was based largely on Guisewite's own life as a single woman. "The syndicate felt it would make the strip more relatable if the character's name and my name were the same," Guisewite said in an interview. "They felt it would make it a more personal strip, and would help people know it was a real woman who was going through these things. I hated the idea of calling it 'Cathy'. Guisewite had Cathy's longtime
boyfriend A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suitor and sweetheart. The analogous female te ...
, Irving, propose on
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
2004. The two characters married in the February 5, 2005 strip. That same year, Cathy appeared in the 75th anniversary party of
Blondie and Dagwood ''Blondie'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. The comic strip is distributed by King Features Syndicate, and has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the strip, which features the eponym ...
. On August 11, 2010, Cathy Guisewite announced the decision to end the run of ''Cathy''. On October 3, 2010, the final strip ran with the revelation that Cathy is
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...
with a girl. On June 1, 2020, ''Cathy Commiserations'', a single-panel cartoon, began on
GoComics GoComics is a website launched in 2005 by the digital entertainment provider Uclick. It was originally created as a distribution portal for comic strips on mobile phones, but in 2006, the site was redesigned and expanded to include online strips ...
. The earliest entry was dated March 20, 2018. The series paused May 9, 2021, but resumed on October 29, 2021.


Main and supporting characters

* Cathy Andrews Hillman: the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the strip and the only one not shown with a nose (although a small one was occasionally seen in side views). Cathy is also the only character that does not have beady eyes; instead, hers are drawn in an inverted heart-shape. * Andrea: Cathy's
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
foil and best friend. Andrea's role was reduced in the later years. Andrea is married to Luke, whom she met during an online chat, and has two children, Zenith and Gus, who grew from infants to uninhibited teens (not seen in the strips), illustrating—especially Zenith—that the characters do age, albeit very slowly. With Zenith, Andrea was obsessed with motherhood, to the point of eating special diets while pregnant and playing music on headphones into her pregnant womb to ensure her baby was born with a high IQ, and then bonding so tightly with Zenith that she understood her baby babble perfectly. Gus, however, entered a playgroup and she did not have as strong a connection with him (which initially left her distraught). * Electra: Cathy's dog—rescued from the animal shelter as a puppy. * Vivian: Irving's dog—also a
rescue dog Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party such as a person, shelter, or rescue organization. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters and rescue groups. Some or ...
from the shelter. Both Cathy and Irving said that the dogs rescued them. * Anne (Annamaria) Andrews: Cathy's mother. Just as likely to provide frustration as inspiration. Refused to throw anything out, even
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...
. Was highly marriage obsessed and was constantly either asking Cathy when she was getting married or trying to fix her up. * Bill Andrews: Cathy's father. More often than not, a helpless bystander to Cathy's mom. Cathy went to him when she needed advice about work, something Cathy's mom (even though she had created jobs—M.O.Ms, Mothers on the Move, or Granny Nannies, the daycare center in Flo's house) said she knows little about. * Charlene McGuire (née Markota): Cathy's cousin and another close friend, receptionist at her office. Charlene's role expanded greatly once Andrea got married. Charlene announced her pregnancy on Sunday, May 20, 2007. * Simon: Charlene's husband. He and Cathy dated ten times before she decided that he wasn't for her. But (at first) Cathy was adamant that Charlene should have adhered to the "woman's rules" one of which is to never date a woman's old boyfriend. He and Charlene broke up briefly, which led to both her and Cathy signing up for video dating, but they eventually got back together. * Irving Hillman: former on-again-off-again love interest, golf and
electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
addict and her husband as of February 5, 2005. The more complex the machinery, the better he liked it—even if he did not understand how to set it up. * Mr. Earl Pinkley: Cathy's boss, who often managed to make what little control he actually had of his work environment go a very long way. At one point, he sexually harassed Cathy by coming on to her in her apartment. Cathy solved the problem by telling Charlene what really happened and the gossip about her boss "spending the night" (he forgot to mention it was due to the fact that he was knocked out when Cathy punched him in the nose). * Mrs. Hillman (née Polanski): Irving's mother. She did everything in her power to aggravate Cathy, especially regarding the 2007 Hillman family reunion. * Mr. Hillman: Irving's father. He seemed content to let his wife do all the talking. * Mabel: a Frank Nelson-type character who would show up as the salesperson at any given store, bank, travel agency etc. that Cathy or other characters went to (including Andrea's nurse when she had Zenith), always had a pencil in her hair, and whose interactions would usually escalate until she or her customer had a meltdown. She sometimes had a co-worker with her. In at least one strip, the co-worker was referred to as Edith. * Emerson was one of the first boyfriends introduced (Irving was first) when the strip debuted. He pursued Cathy who figured she could do better and irritated Irving. He was eventually dropped in favor of Irving, but is often mentioned in Cathy's list of those she dated.


Animated specials

Three animated specials were made from the strip: ''
Cathy ''Cathy'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life—food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes ...
'', ''
Cathy's Last Resort ''Cathy's Last Resort'' is a 1988 animated television special based on the ''Cathy'' comic strip by Cathy Guisewite. It features Kathleen Wilhoite as the voice of Cathy Andrews, and was written by Guisewite, executive producer Lee Mendelson, pr ...
'' and ''
Cathy's Valentine ''Cathy's Valentine'' is a 1989 animated television special based on the ''Cathy'' comic strip by Cathy Guisewite. It features Kathleen Wilhoite as the voice of Cathy Andrews, and was written by Guisewite, executive-produced by Lee Mendelson, p ...
''. All aired on CBS, and the former won Guisewite an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
.


The four basic guilt groups

Defined by Cathy Guisewite, the four basic guilt groups are four types of temptation that the character Cathy faces in her daily life.


Food

Cathy had a love/hate affair with food (especially carbs). She loved food, but hated what it did to her thighs. She was often shown in a department store
fitting room A changing-room, locker-room, (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context) or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...
trying to stuff herself into a bathing suit. She was constantly on a diet, weighed herself obsessively and many mornings feared to get up, believing that she had ballooned overnight. Cathy is particularly fond of chocolate,
pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...
, her mother's cooking, and her aunt's homemade nut rolls every Christmas.


Love

Cathy had dated extensively, but was unable to find "Mr. Right". Although a number of love interests had come and gone over the years, none had come back like Irving. Later in the series, they finally marry. At the end of the comic series, Irving and Cathy find out that they are expecting a child.


Mom

Although well-meaning, Mom's advice often frustrated Cathy, whether or not Mom was right. Cathy and her mother were from two different generations: Cathy grew up in the era of
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, women's rights, and the sexual revolution. Mom was from the earlier, more conservative
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
—1950s era. Although an equal in her marriage to Cathy's Dad, Mom held many old-fashioned ideas. Prior to Cathy's marriage, she seemed to have an obsession with seeing Cathy married, right down to keeping a current copy of ''Bride'' magazine in her purse and going as far as trying to send Christmas cards to some of Cathy's ex-boyfriends.


Work

Cathy had to juggle many tasks at Product Testing, Inc. Her boss, Mr. Pinkley, often asked the impossible, and Cathy always seems to pull through in the end and give him and the client exactly what they wanted, albeit with quite a bit of drama.


Books

Following are books featuring Cathy, illustrated by Guisewite. The chronological strips and special collections lists are believed to be complete; the other sections are not. ''Note: capitalization appears according to the copyright page of the book.''


Chronological strips

The following books are collections of strips in the order they were published. * ''Cathy Chronicles'' (1979) * ''"What do you mean, I still don't have equal rights??!"'' (1980) * ''What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing With a Double Bed'' (March 1981, ) * ''I think I'm having a Relationship with a Blueberry Pie!'' (1981, ) * ''Another Saturday Night of Wild and Reckless Abandon'' (September 1982, ) * ''A Mouthful of Breath Mints and No One to Kiss'' (August 1983, ) * ''Men should come with instruction booklets'' (August 1984, ) * ''Wake me up when I'm a size 5'' (July 1985, ) * ''Thin thighs in thirty years'' (July 1986, ) * ''A hand to hold, an opinion to reject'' (August 1987, ) * ''Why do the right words always come out of the wrong mouth?'' (August 1988, ) * ''My Granddaughter Has Fleas!!'' (August 1989, ) * ''$14 in the Bank and a $200 Face in My Purse'' (August 1990, ) * ''Only Love Can Break a Heart, But a Shoe Sale Can Come Close'' (August 1992, ) * ''Revelations From a 45-Pound Purse'' (August 1993, ) * ''The Child Within Has Been Awakened But the Old Lady on the Outside Just Collapsed'' (September 1994, ) * ''Understanding the "Why" Chromosome'' (August 1995, ) * ''Abs of Steel, Buns of Cinnamon'' (August 1997, ) * ''I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore'' (August 1998, ) * ''I'd Scream Except I Look So Fabulous'' (August 1999, ) * ''Shoes: Chocolate for the Feet'' (August 2000, )


Special collections

The following books include strips already published in earlier books. * ''Reflections: A Fifteenth Anniversary Collection'' (January 1991, ) * ''Cathy Twentieth Anniversary Collection'' (September 1996, ) * ''Food'' (December 2001, ) * ''Love'' (December 2001, ) * ''Mom'' (December 2001, ) * ''Work'' (December 2001, ) * ''The Wedding of Cathy and Irving : A Cathy Collection'' (July 2005, )


Gift books

The following books are smaller than the works above. They may have a short storyline and are intended as gifts.


Hardback

* ''Commiserations'' (September 1993, ) * ''Like Mother, Like Daughter'' (September 1993, ) * ''Confessions to My Mother'' (March 1999, ) * ''Affirmations'' (May 1996, ) * ''Shop till you drop, then sit down and buy shoes'' (May 1996, )


Paperback

Paperback gift books. * ''How to Get Rich, Fall in Love, Lose Weight, and Solve All Your Problems by Saying "No"'' (1983, ) * ''Eat Your Way to a Better Relationship'' (1983, )


Other books

The following books feature Cathy illustrations by Guisewite, but are not authored by her. * ''Motherly Advice from Cathy's Mom'', written by Anne Guisewite, Cathy Guisewite's mother (1987, * ''Dancing Through Life in a Pair of Broken Heels'', written by Mickey Guisewite, Cathy Guisewite's sister (April 1994, ) * ''Lifestyles of the Trim & Healthy'', written by Matthew Bennett (June 1994, ) * ''Girl Food'' written by Barbara Albright & Cathy Guisewite (1997, )


In popular culture


Comics

The June 18, 2017 strip of the relaunched ''
Bloom County ''Bloom County'' is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which originally ran from December 8, 1980, until August 6, 1989. It examined events in politics and culture through the viewpoint of a fanciful small town in Middle America, wh ...
'' featured a dismayed Cathy awakening in bed alongside
Steve Dallas Steve Dallas is a fictional character in the American comic strips of Berke Breathed, most famously ''Bloom County'' in the 1980s. He was first introduced as an obnoxious frat boy in the college strip ''The Academia Waltz'', which ran in the Uni ...
. She also appeared in the strip the following day. The comic strip '' Luann'' featured Mabel (in the October 5, 2016 strip) as a worker of the 'Bridal Barn' wedding gown store where Toni Daytona went to purchase her wedding gown with the help of Nancy and Luann DeGroot.


Television

A live action ''Cathy'' sketch was included in the special ''Mother's Day Sunday Funnies'' broadcast May 8, 1983 on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. '' Caroline in the City'' features fictional cartoonist Caroline Duffy (
Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990) and Beverly Switzl ...
), who makes a rival strip. The feud between Caroline and ''Cathy'' is described as "oily rag, lit cigarette". In the season 1 episode "Caroline and the Bad Back", Caroline hurts her back and is unable to meet a deadline. To prevent the newspapers from double running ''Cathy'' strips, Del (
Eric Lutes Eric Lutes (born August 19, 1962) is an American actor, known for his roles as Del Cassidy on '' Caroline in the City'', Jerry Stanton in ''Switching Goals'', and Jake Carlson on ''So Little Time'' (which starred both Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley O ...
) and Richard (
Malcolm Gets Malcolm Gets (born December 28, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Richard in the American television sitcom '' Caroline in the City''. Gets is also a dancer, singer, composer, classically trained pianist, vocal direct ...
) create one for Caroline. The strip is presented as being only funny to men. Upon seeing the strip, Caroline declares that: "''Cathy'' is gonna have a field day with this". In ''Sex and the City'' season 3, "Cock-a-doodle-doo", Miranda compares her lonely and repetitive take-out orders to a ''Cathy'' cartoon, and
Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...
asks her never to refer to ''Cathy'' again, indicating Cathy's status by 2000 as a symbol of an earlier generation's sad, contemptuous view of single women. (Miranda: "I'm sitting home with my cat, ordering the same thing almost every night. The only thing sadder would be a Cathy comic pasted on my refrigerator door." Carrie: "Never say Cathy comic to me again"). On the series ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
'', ''Cathy'' has been referenced more than once. On the episode "
Don Geiss, America and Hope "Don Geiss, America and Hope" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 73rd overall episode of the series. It was directed by Stephen Lee Davis, and written by Jack Burditt and Tr ...
",
Liz Lemon Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series ''30 Rock''. She created and writes for the fictional comedy-sketch show ''The Girlie Show'' and later ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. She is po ...
's boyfriend Wesley compares her obsession with food to being like "a Cathy cartoon that just won't end". In another episode, Liz exclaims "Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, aack!", which had been exclaimed by Cathy herself in an earlier strip. ''
Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web series ...
'' season 3, episode 8: "Burning Bridges" featured a reference to the comic strip. On ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'',
Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2005 ...
would portray Cathy on
Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...
(Season 34, Episode 17; aired March 7, 2009). In the 2010 ''
The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'' episode "The Wheaton Recurrence",
Sheldon Sheldon may refer to: * Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name Places Australia * Sheldon, Queensland *Sheldon Forest, New South Wales United Kingdom *Sheldon, Derbyshire, England *Sheldon, Devon, England * ...
, having studied the comic, brings
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some ice cream after she gets into a fight with her boyfriend
Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikiwikiweb:Λέων, Π...
, saying, "If you were a cat, I would have brought you a lasagna." In ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' episode "
Girls Just Wanna Have Sums "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" is the nineteenth episode of the The Simpsons (season 17), seventeenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the Unit ...
", a painting of Cathy is shown as part of a hall of famous female artists; in the painting, Cathy is shown in a two-piece swimsuit, saying "I'm finally able to fit into my bathing suit.... and it's September!". In a ''Simpsons'' comic strip,
Comic Book Guy Jeff Albertson, commonly known as Comic Book Guy, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the second-season episode " Three Men and a Comic Book", wh ...
owns a rare ''Cathy'' cartoon - the only one that men find funny. In the 2022 ''
Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...
'' episode "May Cause Involuntary Political Discharge", Cathy falls in love with the Martian leader from ''
Mars Attacks ''Mars Attacks'' is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion of Earth by c ...
'' over their shared love of the word "Ack!"


See also

*
Cathy Guisewite Cathy Lee Guisewite (born September 5, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created the comic strip ''Cathy'', which had a 34-year run. The strip focused on a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships, and havi ...
*
List of women in comics This is a list of women who have been involved with producing comic books and comic strips. Many notable female comics creators exist even though the field of comics creation is traditionally male-dominated. Africa Congo * Fifi Mukuna Egypt * ...
*
Reuben Award The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...


References


External links


Cathy at goComics.com
* * *

from
Universal Press Syndicate Universal Press Syndicate (UPS), a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Eb ...
* ttp://www.reuben.org/ncs/members/biogs/guisewite.asp Cathy Guisewite profile at National Cartoonist Society Awards (Reuben) Web sitebr>Retrospective on Cathy's cultural influence in ''Jezebel'', 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathy (Comic Strip) 1976 comics debuts 2010 comics endings American comics characters American comic strips Comics about dogs Comics about women Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into television series Comics characters introduced in 1976 Comic strips set in the United States Female characters in comics Gag-a-day comics