''Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers'' was an American gag-a-day

celebrity comics Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

comic strip by Stuart Carothers Carothers entry
Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021. and later

Elzie C. Segar Elzie Crisler Segar (; December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938), known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip ''Thimble ...

starring Charlie Chaplin. It ran in syndication from March 29, 1915, until September 16, 1917. It was one of the earliest comic strips inspired by the popularity of a

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

Background

''Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers'' was published in the ''Chicago Herald''. The comic strip cashed in on the tremendous popularity of the comedian at the time. It was created by Stewart W. Carothers in March 1915, who drew and wrote the stories until his tragic early death from

defenestration Defenestration (from Modern Latin ) is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window. The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. T ...

. Two cartoonists credited as ''Warren'' and ''Ramsey'' took over the series until they were replaced by

, at that time still an amateur."ASK THE ARCHIVIST : CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S COMIC CAPERS,"
''Comics Kingdom'' (September 24, 2015). On February 29, 1916, Segar published his first Chaplin strip. The daily version ran until July 15, 1916. His Sunday version ran longer, from March 12, 1916, until September 16, 1917. It was his first professional cartooning job. Contrary to his predecessors, who mostly borrowed ideas from Chaplin's films, Segar thought up his own jokes. He gave Chaplin a tiny

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

named ''"Luke the Gook"'' to act as a

straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...

to his gags.

Collections

In 1917, five books were published by M.A. Donohue & Co., in 'Best of' style collections. Four of them being painting/

coloring books A coloring book (British English: colouring-in book, colouring book, or colouring page) is a type of book containing line art to which people are intended to add color using crayons, colored pencils, marker pens, paint or other artistic media. ...

. These books are considered to be from the

Platinum Age The history of American comics began in the 19th century in mass print media, in the era of sensationalist journalism, where newspaper comics served as further entertainment for mass readership.Williams, Paul and James Lyons (eds.), ''The Rise ...

. Published collections; * ''Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers'', Series 1, No 315 * ''Charlie Chaplin in the Movies'', No 316 * ''Charlie Chaplin Up in the Air'', No 317 * ''Charlie Chaplin in the Army'', No 318 * ''Charlie Chaplin's Funny Stunts'', in Full Color, No. 380

Reception

Despite Chaplin's popularity, the comic strip wasn't a huge success in the United States, mostly due to the fact that all artists involved were basically amateurs.

References

External links

Charley Chaplin's Comic Capers, A Collection

"Teary Eyes" Anderson in Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers: Series 1, No. 315.

Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers v1 315
* U'Ren, Christine

Silent San Francisco (Oct. 19, 2015). 1915 comics debuts 1917 comics endings American comic strips Comics based on films Comic strips based on real people Comic strips set in the United States Cultural depictions of Charlie Chaplin Defunct American comics Gag-a-day comics Public domain comics Comic strips started in the 1910s {{comic-strip-stub

Background

Collections

Reception

See also

References

External links