''Nancy'' is an American
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
, originally written and drawn by
Ernie Bushmiller
Ernest Paul Bushmiller Jr. (August 23, 1905 – August 15, 1982) was an American cartoonist, best known for creating the daily comic strip ''Nancy (comic strip), Nancy'', which premiered in 1938 and features the title character who has remained ...
and distributed by
United Feature Syndicate
United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along wit ...
and
Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various other c ...
. It was spun off from ''
Fritzi Ritz
''Fritzi Ritz'' is an American comic strip created in 1922 by Larry Whittington. In 1925, the strip was taken over by Ernie Bushmiller and, in 1938, the daily strip evolved into the popular '' Nancy''. The Sunday edition of the strip, begun by Bu ...
'', a strip Bushmiller inherited from creator Larry Whittington in 1925. After Fritzi's niece Nancy was introduced in 1933, ''Fritzi Ritz'' evolved to focus more and more on Nancy instead of Fritzi. The new strip took the old one's daily slot, while ''Fritzi Ritz'' continued as a Sunday, with ''Nancy'' taking the Sunday slot previously filled by Bushmiller's ''Phil Fumble'' strip beginning on October 30, 1938.
History
1922 to 1982
The character of Nancy, a precocious eight-year-old, first appeared in the strip ''
Fritzi Ritz
''Fritzi Ritz'' is an American comic strip created in 1922 by Larry Whittington. In 1925, the strip was taken over by Ernie Bushmiller and, in 1938, the daily strip evolved into the popular '' Nancy''. The Sunday edition of the strip, begun by Bu ...
'', a comic about a professional actress and her family and friends. Larry Whittington began ''Fritzi Ritz'' in 1922, and it was taken over by Bushmiller three years later. On January 2, 1933, Bushmiller introduced Fritzi's niece, Nancy. In 1949, he was quoted as saying that he originally intended Nancy "just as an incidental character and I planned to keep her for about a week and then dump her... But the little dickens was soon stealing the show and Bushmiller, the ingrate, was taking all the bows."
[Virginia Irwin, 'Nancy: Ernie Bushmiller Rates High as Comic Artist, but He Wasn't Doing So Good Until Little Girl With Bangs Popped Out of an Ink Bottle', St Louis Post-Dispatch, February 13, 1949 p. 63] Nancy became the focus of the daily strip, which was renamed for her in 1938 after Lawrence W. Hager, editor of the Owensboro, Kentucky ''Inquirer-Messenger'' (now the ''
Messenger-Inquirer
''The Messenger-Inquirer'' is a local newspaper in Owensboro, Kentucky. ''The Messenger-Inquirer'' serves 15,087 daily and 20,383 Sunday readers in five counties in western Kentucky.
History
The newspaper's roots trace back to 1875, when Lee Lum ...
''), lobbied for the change;
Sluggo Smith, Nancy's friend from the "
wrong side of the tracks" had been introduced earlier that year, and the strip's popularity rose. Fritzi Ritz became a secondary character, although her solo strip continued as a Sunday-only strip, and her relationship with Phil Fumble was an ongoing presence until his departure in 1968. Comics historian
Don Markstein
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonop ...
ascribed the strip's success to Bushmiller's "bold, clear art style, combined with his ability to construct a type of gag that appealed to a very broad audience.
''Fritzi Ritz'' continued as a
Sunday feature until 1968. At its peak in the 1970s, ''Nancy'' ran in more than 880 newspapers, before falling to 79 shortly before Guy Gilchrist's departure from the strip in 2018.
[Schmitt, Brad]
"'Nancy' comic strip's Guy Gilchrist to step away after 22 years of Sluggo-ing it out,"
''USA TODAY'' (January 2, 2018).
1982 to 2018
The strip continued to be produced by different writers and artists.
Mark Lasky
Mark Lasky (1954 – July 31, 1983 in New York City) was an American cartoonist known for having succeeded Ernie Bushmiller on '' Nancy''.
Lasky first worked on ''Nancy'' as Bushmiller's editor, and was named the strip's new writer and artis ...
briefly handled the daily strip in 1982/1983 until his death from cancer at age 29.
Al Plastino
Alfred John Plastino (December 15, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American comics artist best known as one of the most prolific Superman artists of the 1950s, along with his DC Comics colleague Wayne Boring. Plastino also worked as a comics w ...
worked on Sunday episodes of ''Nancy'' from 1982 to 1984 after Bushmiller died. During that period,
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...
showed on TV a ''Nancy'' panel with Plastino's signature and made a joke about Plastino as a superhero name. (Letterman's writers were apparently unaware that Plastino was known for his superheroes.)
The daily strip was handed to
Jerry Scott
Jerry Scott (born May 2, 1955) is an American cartoonist and writer. He is known for co-creating the comic strips ''Baby Blues'' and '' Zits''. He is one of only four cartoonists to have multiple strips appearing in over 1,000 newspapers world ...
in 1983 and the Sunday in 1985. Scott gradually started to draw the strip in a much different, more modern style than other incarnations. In 1994, the syndicate began seeking a replacement for Scott; applicants included
Ivan Brunetti
Ivan Brunetti (born October 3, 1967) is an Italian and American cartoonist and comics scholar based in Chicago, Illinois.
Career
Noted for combining blackly humorous taboo-laden subject matter with simplified and exaggerated cartoon drawing styl ...
[I ALMOST DREW NANCY]
by Ivan Brunetti
Ivan Brunetti (born October 3, 1967) is an Italian and American cartoonist and comics scholar based in Chicago, Illinois.
Career
Noted for combining blackly humorous taboo-laden subject matter with simplified and exaggerated cartoon drawing styl ...
; in ''Roctober'' magazine, No. 26 (1999/2000); archived online at MikeLynchCartoons.blogspot.com; retrieved October 25, 2016 and
Gary Hallgren
Gary Hallgren (born October 28, 1945) is an American illustrator and underground cartoonist. Illustrations by Hallgren have been "commissioned by publications such as ''The New York Times'', ''Men's Health'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', '' Mad ...
.
[garyhallgren.com gallery]
retrieved May 12, 2018 In 1995,
Guy and Brad Gilchrist were given control of the strip; Guy Gilchrist subsequently became the sole writer and illustrator.
Daily credits, post-Bushmiller:
* Mark Lasky: August 29, 1982 – July 9, 1983 (Lasky's first signed strip appeared on October 11, 1982)
* unknown artist: July 11, 1983 – October 8, 1983
* Jerry Scott: October 10, 1983 – September 2, 1995
* Guy (and Brad) Gilchrist: September 4, 1995 – February 17, 2018
Sunday credits:
* Al Plastino: November 21, 1982 – December 30, 1984 (Plastino's first signed strip appeared on November 28, 1982)
* Jerry Scott: January 6, 1985 – August 27, 1995
* Guy (and Brad) Gilchrist: September 3, 1995 – February 18, 2018
2018 to present
After 22 years, Gilchrist's last ''Nancy'' strip came out on February 18, 2018, which involved the marriage between the characters of Fritzi Ritz and Phil Fumble. The strip resumed on April 9 with a "21st-century female perspective" by
Olivia Jaimes
Olivia Jaimes is a Pseudonym, pseudonymous American cartoonist who began writing and illustrating the long-running daily comic strip ''Nancy (comic strip), Nancy'' in 2018, updating it for a modern audience.
''Nancy''
Jaimes began producing th ...
(a pen name), the strip's first female creator. At the time of the announcement, 75 newspapers still ran the strip. Jaimes said, "Nancy has been my favorite sassy grouch for a long time. I'm excited to be sassy and grouchy through her voice instead of just mine" and "the Nancy I know and love is a total jerk and also gluttonous and also has big feelings and voraciously consumes her world". Comics historian
Tom Spurgeon
Thomas Martin Spurgeon (December 16, 1968 – November 13, 2019) was an American writer, historian, critic, and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of ''The Comics Journal'' and his blog ''The Comics Reporter''. ...
described Jaimes as funny and talented, with an approach to the character that both breaks with and pays homage to Bushmiller's version.
In the process, Jaimes updated the content of the strip, such as Nancy frequently using her
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
and attending
robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
classes. The September 3, 2018 strip spawned an
Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
, depicting Nancy riding a
hoverboard
A hoverboard (or hover board) is a levitating board used for personal transportation, first described in science-fiction, and made famous by the appearance of a skateboard-like hoverboard in the film ''Back to the Future Part II''. Many attempts ...
using two phones, one of which was attached to a
selfie stick
A selfie stick is used to take photographs or video by positioning a digital camera device, typically a smartphone, beyond the normal range of the arm. This allows for shots to be taken at angles and distances that would not have been possible with ...
, and proclaiming that "Sluggo is
lit." Jaimes described her aim with that strip to "most upset the person who likes me the least ... somebody who's like, 'Nancy sucks now' ... what I imagine my greatest hater would despise most is Nancy interacting with every piece of technology using words you don't understand."
Art style
Bushmiller refined and simplified his drawing style over the years to create a uniquely stylized comic world. ''
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (''AHD'') is an American English, American dictionary of English published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969. ...
'' illustrates its entry on ''comic strip'' with a ''Nancy'' cartoon. Despite the small size of the reproduction, both the art and the gag are clear, and an eye-tracking survey once determined that ''Nancy'' was so conspicuous that it was the first strip most people viewed on a newspaper comics page.
In a 1988 essay, "
How to Read Nancy
"How to Read ''Nancy''" is an essay by Mark Newgarden and Paul Karasik, originally published in ''The Best of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy'' by Brian Walker (Henry Holt/Comicana, 1988). The piece examines the comic strip ''Nancy'', focusing on Bushm ...
",
Mark Newgarden
Mark Newgarden (born August 1, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American underground cartoonist. His work has appeared widely, and his influential shape-shifting weekly feature ''Newgarden'', which appeared in alternative weekly newspapers like ...
and
Paul Karasik
Paul Karasik ( ; born 1956)Kartalopoulos, Bill''Indy'' magazine (Spring 2004). is an American cartoonist, editor, and teacher, notable for his contributions to such works as ''City of Glass: The Graphic Novel'', ''The Ride Together: A Memoir of A ...
offered a probing analysis of Bushmiller's strip:
Comics theorist
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and ''Making Comics'' (200 ...
described the essence of Nancy:
Cartoonist
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...
described ''Nancy''s design more succinctly: "By the time you decided not to read it, you already had."
Characters
;Primary characters
![TipTopComicsNo167](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/TipTopComicsNo167.jpg)
* Nancy Ritz, a typical and somewhat mischievous eight-year-old girl. She encourages her friend Sluggo to improve himself and is instantly jealous of any other girls who pay attention to him. During Gilchrist's run, she was portrayed as living in Three Rocks, Tennessee (a suburb of Nashville)
although her home town was unspecified by other artists. Bushmiller located her home as 220 Oak Street next to Elm Avenue. She attends Central Elementary School in the Jaimes version. Aside from creating Nancy as Fritzi's niece, Bushmiller claimed to know nothing about her lineage, adding 'Very occasionally, I get curious kids asking me, but I don't know what to tell them.'
[Rod Mickleburgh, 'Carry On, Nancy' Vancouver Sun April 28, 1976 p. 4]
* Fritzi Ritz, Nancy's paternal aunt, with whom she lives. When Nancy initially appeared in the ''Fritzi Ritz'' comic strip, Fritzi was living with her father, George. The Fritzi character was gradually phased out in the mid-1980s before being dropped entirely by the end of the decade but returned as a main character in 1995 when the strip was taken over by brothers Brad and
Guy Gilchrist
Guy Gilchrist (born January 30, 1957''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 in Connecticut) is an American writer, artist, and musician, known for his children's books and comics. With his brother Brad, he produced a newspaper co ...
. In the current version of ''Nancy'', Fritzi acts as Nancy's full-time carer.
* Sluggo Smith,
Nancy's best friend, introduced in 1938. Sluggo is Nancy's age and is a poor ragamuffin-type from the wrong side of the tracks. He is sometimes described as Nancy's boyfriend. He is portrayed as lazy, and his favourite pastime seems to be napping; in 1976 Bushmiller told a reporter who asked how Sluggo supported himself: "I assume he delivers groceries on Saturday, or something like that."
In the Gilchrist version, Sluggo lives at 720 Drabb Street in an abandoned house he found
and according to a storyline in 2013 strips, is taken care of by truck driver "uncles" Les and More, who discovered that he had lived in an
orphanage
An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
; his mother died after he was born, and his father died serving his country. Sluggo's Uncle Vince is "shady" and his rich Aunt Maggie in California doesn't care about him because he reminds her of when she was poor.
Sluggo ran away from the orphanage, his cousin Chauncey gave him $200 and he took the train as far as Three Rocks.
;Secondary characters
* Agnes and Lucy, Nancy's identical twin friends in the Jaimes version. Agnes, the more wily twin, wears her hair down, and Lucy, the more idealistic and artistic twin, wears her hair up.
* Amal, Magnet School student who was opposing team captain during a basketball competition (Jaimes version).
* Art camp counselor, an unnamed character in the Jaimes version, who is a very physically fit art teacher.
* Dae-hyun: "Dae-hyun was first introduced in the 5/16/20 ''Nancy''. He is a student at the Magnet School who also works as an announcer. His hobbies are studying and skateboarding. His favorite food is pizza." (Jaimes version).
* Derek, the number one socializer at the Magnet School (Jaimes version).
* Devon P., Robotics Competition opponent from North Elementary School (Jaimes version).
* Esther, a girl in Nancy's class in the Jaimes version. Introduced in 2018, she has a patchy relationship with Nancy.
*Grandma, Nancy's grandmother in the Jaimes version.
*Jerome, Magnet School student who writes poignant short stories (Jaimes version).
* Judy, Nancy's cousin who looks like her.
* Leon, Magnet School student (Jaimes version).
* Lyle, a blonde male classmate of Nancy's in the Jaimes version, who nearly always wears sandals with socks, regardless of the weather.
* Marigold, Sluggo's tomboy cousin.
* Melissa Bangles, one of Nancy's teachers in the Jaimes version, who had thwarted hopes of a basketball career.
* Mildred, originally Esther's and then also Nancy's rival in the Jaimes version. She goes to a nearby magnet school that Esther used to also attend.
* Nita, Nancy's math and robotics teacher, a character in the Jaimes version whose internal monologue often reflects on the difficulty and rewards of teaching.
* Old man, an unnamed character in the Jaimes version, a cranky oldster who has been affectionately dubbed "Ernest Dangit" by some fans.
* Oona Goosepimple, the spooky-looking child who lives in a haunted house down the road from Nancy's house. She originally appeared only in the comic book version of the strip, during John Stanley's tenure in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She appeared in the actual comic strip for the first time on October 16, 2013.
* Pee Wee, a neighborhood toddler who is known for his extreme literalness.
* Phil Fumble, Fritzi's boyfriend. When Nancy debuted in the ''Fritzi Ritz'' comic strip, Fritzi had a procession of boyfriends, such as "Wally". Phil Fumble was the subject of his own strip by Bushmiller. He was written out in 1968 but made a reappearance in the November 27, 2012, strip,
and became a regular character as of early January 2013, with the intention of furthering his relationship with Aunt Fritzi. Phil and Fritzi married in Gilchrist's last strip.
This character does not currently appear in Jaimes' version of the strip.
* Poochie, Nancy's dog (white with a large black spot on its back and black ears). A white dog with a black patch on its back and one black ear, identified by Nancy as hers, first appeared in the strip on January 13, 1933, however this dog was known as 'Woofy'. Poochie was first seen in the Jaimes version of the strip on June 27, 2018, although she was not mentioned by name in the Jaimes version until September 23, 2019. Poochie is regarded by Nancy and Fritzi as foolish, but she often outsmarts them.
*Pussycat, Nancy's adopted stray cat, who does not currently appear in the Jaimes version of the strip. Nancy first attempted to adopt an (unnamed) cat on January 18, 1933.
* Rollo Haveall, the stereotypical but nonetheless friendly rich kid. In the early 1940s, the strip's "rich kid" was known as Marmaduke and in 2013, Rollo's father's name is given as Rollo Marmaduke Sr.
* Spike Kelly (a.k.a. Butch), the town bully who frequently fights with Sluggo, but does not always win out.
Awards
Bushmiller won 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 ...
's Humor Comic Strip Award for 1961 and the Society's
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 ...
for Best Cartoonist of the Year in 1976.
In 1995, the strip was selected as one of the 20 in the "
Comic Strip Classics
The Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service on October 1, 1995, to honor the centennial of the newspaper comic strip. Walker, Mort. ''Mort Walker's Private Scrapbook : celebrating a life of l ...
" series of commemorative U.S. postage stamps.
Comic books
There were first several Fritzi Ritz comic stories in comics published by United Feature Syndicate. These include ''Fritzi Ritz'' No. 1 (1948), 3–7 (1949), #27–36 (1953–1954); ''United Comics'' #8–36 (1950–1953); ''Tip Topper Comics'' #1–28 (1949–1954); St John published ''Fritzi Ritz'' #37–55 (1955–1957). Dell published ''Fritzi Ritz'' #56–59 (1957–1958)
Nancy appeared in comic books—initially in a 1940s comic strip reprint title from United Feature, later
St. John Publications
St. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During the 1947-1958 existence of its comic-book division, St. John established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John, the firm was located in Manhattan a ...
and later in a
Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
comic written by
John Stanley. Titled ''Nancy and Sluggo'', United Feature published #16–23 (1949–1954), St. John published #121–145 (1955–1957). Titled ''Nancy'', until retitled ''Nancy and Sluggo'' with issue No. 174, Dell published #146–187 (1957–1962). (
Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman (born March 27, 1927) is an American cartoonist.
Comic Strips
He entered the comic strip field in 1950 and worked on several strips, including ''Kerry Drake'', ''Little Iodine'' and ''Bunny''. In comic books he was the last artist d ...
produced some of Dell's Nancy stories in 1960–61. Gold Key published #188–192 (1962–1963). Dell also published ''Dell Giants'' devoted to Nancy (#35, No. 45 and "Traveltime"), and a ''Four Color'' #1034.
Nancy and Sluggo also appeared in stories in ''Tip Top Comics'' published by United Feature (#1–188), St. Johns (#189–210), and Dell (#211–225), ''Sparkler'' #1–120 (1941–1954) and ''Sparkle'' #1–33 (1953–1954) published by United Feature. Fritzi Ritz and Nancy appeared in several ''Comics on Parade'' (#32, 35, 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 55, 57, 60–104) published by United Feature.
''Nancy'' was reprinted in the British comic paper ''
The Topper'', between the 1950s and the 1970s. ''Nancy'' also had its own monthly comic book magazine of newspaper reprints in Norway (where the strip is known as ''Trulte'') during 1956–1959.
Animation
Nancy was featured in two animated shorts by the
Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...
studio in 1942–1943: ''School Daze'' and ''Doing Their Bit''.
In 1971, several newly created Nancy and Sluggo cartoons appeared on the Saturday morning cartoon series ''
Archie's TV Funnies
''Archie's TV Funnies'' is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation which appeared on CBS from September 11, 1971, to September 1, 1973. The series starred Bob Montana's Archie characters, including Archie Andrews, Betty C ...
'', which starred the Archie Comic Series characters running a television station. Nancy appeared along with seven other comic strip characters:
Emmy Lou
Marty Links (September 5, 1917 – January 6, 2008) was an People of the United States, American cartoonist best known for her syndicated comic strip ''Emmy Lou''.
Biography
Born Martha B. Links in Oakland, California, she moved with her family ...
,
Broom-Hilda
''Broom-Hilda'' is an American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russell Myers. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, it depicts the misadventures of a man-crazy, cigar-smoking, beer-guzzling, 1,500-year-old witch and her motley cre ...
,
Dick Tracy
''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...
,
The Dropouts
Howard "Howie" Post (November 2, 1926 – May 21, 2010) Alternate source: "'Dropouts' cartoonist Howard Post dies in NJ at 83", Associated Press via ''The Washington Post'', May 24, 2010 was an American animator, cartoonist, and comic strip an ...
,
Moon Mullins
''Moon Mullins'' is an American comic strip which had a run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Tribune Media Services, Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of d ...
,
the Captain and the Kids
''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).[Smokey Stover
''Smokey Stover'' is an American comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Bill Holman from March 10, 1935, until he retired in 1972 and distributed through the ''Chicago Tribune''. It features the misadventures of the titular fireman and ha ...]
. The series lasted one season. In 1978, she was also featured in several segments of Filmation's animated show ''
Fabulous Funnies
''Fabulous Funnies'' is a 1978–1979 American animated children's show produced for Saturday morning television by Filmation. The show aired for one season from September 9, 1978, to December 1, 1978, on NBC, airing 13 episodes.
The show was a ...
'', a repackaging of ''Archie's TV Funnies'' material minus the Archie characters wraparounds.
Foreign versions
''Nancy'' has been translated into a variety of languages, often with changes to characters' names. In Sweden, the strip is called ''Lisa och Sluggo''. In French, Nancy is called Philomène in Canada, and Zoé in France, where the strip is called ''Arthur et Zoé'' (Arthur being the French name of Sluggo). Nancy also appeared on the back cover of the popular Arabic children magazine ''
Majid'' during the 80s, she was known as Moza while Sluggo was portrayed as her brother Rashoud. In Mexico she is known as Periquita, while Sluggo is called Tito. In Brazil, Nancy and Sluggo were called Xuxuquinha and Marciano in the 60s and in the following decade as Tico and Teca (Sluggo and Nancy respectively).
Cultural references
Bushmiller's art work has inspired other artists:
;Comics
* Cartoonist
Bill Griffith
William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal daily comic strip '' Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" is credited to ...
has used the characters and emulated Bushmiller's style frequently in his ''
Zippy the Pinhead
Zippy the Pinhead is a fictional character who is the protagonist of ''Zippy'', an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. Zippy's most famous quotation, "Are we having fun yet?", appears in ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'' and became a ...
''.
* Cartoonist
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and ''Making Comics'' (200 ...
developed a card game, 5-card Nancy, in which players use random panels of ''Nancy'' to create their own stories. McCloud also included a Nancy cameo in his book ''
Understanding Comics
''Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art'' is a 1993 non-fiction work of comics by American cartoonist Scott McCloud. It explores formal aspects of comics, the historical development of the medium, its fundamental vocabulary, and various ways in ...
''. When describing the "non-sequitur" transition type, several unrelated images appear between panels. One is an upside-down picture of Nancy being struck by lightning with the caption "Danger".
* Cartoonist
Mark Newgarden
Mark Newgarden (born August 1, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American underground cartoonist. His work has appeared widely, and his influential shape-shifting weekly feature ''Newgarden'', which appeared in alternative weekly newspapers like ...
has included Nancy in his work.
*''
Pearls Before Swine
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...
'' cartoonist
Stephan Pastis
Stephan Thomas Pastis (; born January 16, 1968) is an American cartoonist and former lawyer who is the creator of the comic strip ''Pearls Before Swine''. He also writes children's chapter books, commencing with the release of ''Timmy Failure: ...
(known for using other comic characters in his strip) portrayed Nancy and Sluggo as
extras to replace
Rat and Goat during the 2003 "Pearls Labor Dispute".
* ''
Mad'' has run several parodies, including "Nansy", in which Nancy is transformed into the main character of several other comic strips, including ''
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
'', ''
Dick Tracy
''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...
'' and ''
Li'l Abner
''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...
'', all with that same hyphen-nose and frizzy hairdo. Also in ''Mad'', Bushmiller gets the hardboiled treatment: "If Mickey Spillane Wrote Nancy".
*
Quino
Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, better known by his pen name Quino (; 17 July 193230 September 2020), was an Argentinian cartoonist. His comic strip ''Mafalda'' (which ran from 1964 to 1973) is popular in many parts of the Americas and Europe ...
's ''
Mafalda
''Mafalda'' () is an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentinian middle class and progressive youth, is concerned about humanity and world peace, ...
'' bears a strong resemblance to the earlier ''Nancy'', which Quino mocks in one strip, where Miguelito buys a Nancy magazine and shows it to Mafalda noticing the resemblance, only for Mafalda to retort (off-frame) that she looks more like his grandmother.
* Cartoonist
Max Cannon
''Red Meat'' is a weekly three panel black-and-white comic strip by Max Cannon. First published in 1989, it has appeared in over 80 newspapers, mainly alternative weeklies and college papers in the United States and in other countries. It has be ...
often includes Stubbo, a boy drawn in Bushmiller's style, in his ''
Red Meat
In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...
'' strip.
* German cartoon duo Katz & Goldt (Stephan Katz and
Max Goldt
Max Goldt (pseudonym of Matthias Ernst) (born 23 November 1958) is a German writer, columnist and musician.
Early life
Goldt was born in the town of Weende, now Göttingen, to working-class parents originally from Silesia. In 1977, he moved to ...
) appear as Sluggo and Nancy in their comics ''Homage to Ernie Bushmiller'' (2004) and ''Forty Million'' (2018)
;Other media
* Nancy was the subject of
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
's 1961 painting ''Nancy''.
* Nancy was the subject of several
pop art works by
Joe Brainard
Joe Brainard (March 11, 1942 – May 25, 1994) was an American artist and writer associated with the New York School. His prodigious and innovative body of work included assemblages, collages, drawing, and painting, as well as designs for book ...
, collected in ''The Nancy Book'' (2008), Siglio Press. They include:
** ''If Nancy Was an Ashtray'', 1972
** ''If Nancy Was a Boy'', 1972
** ''If Nancy Was a da Vinci Sketch'', 1972
** ''Nancy Diptych'', 1974
** ''If Nancy Was a Painting by de Kooning'', 1975
* In Mexico, the character, shown in the comic strips, become so popular that a socks company used her image and name in Spanish (Periquita) for a brand of girl's anklets very popular in Guadalajara, to the point it has her own song and commercials.
* ''Periquita #200'' (a comic book edition of the Spanish-language version of ''Nancy'') is seen on a table in a restaurant near the end of the film ''
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
''.
Collections
;Comic strip (by Ernie Bushmiller)
* ''Nancy'' (1961),
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.
History
Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...
(''The Fun-Filled Cartoon Adventures of Nancy'')
* ''The Best of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy'' by Brian Walker (1988),
Henry Holt
*
Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...
series:
** ''Nancy Eats Food'' (Volume 1) (1989)
** ''How Sluggo Survives'' (Volume 2) (1989)
** ''Nancy Dreams and Schemes'' (Volume 3) (1990)
** ''Bums, Beatniks and Hippies / Artists and Con Artists'' (Volume 4) (1990)
** ''Nancy's Pets'' (Volume 5) (1991)
* ''Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Nancy: The Enduring Wisdom of Ernie Bushmiller'' (1993), Pharos Books
* ''Nancy Is Happy: Complete Dailies 1942–1945'' (2012),
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint.
History
Founding
Fantagraphics was found ...
(The first in a projected series reprinting 24 years worth of daily strips.)
* ''Nancy Likes Christmas: Complete Dailies 1946–1948'' (2012), Fantagraphics Books
* ''Nancy Loves Sluggo: Complete Dailies 1949–1951'' (2014), Fantagraphics Books
;Comic book (by John Stanley)
* ''Nancy Vol. 1: The John Stanley Library'' (2009),
Drawn & Quarterly
Drawn & Quarterly is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic content, ...
* ''Nancy Vol. 2: The John Stanley Library'' (2010), Drawn & Quarterly
* ''Nancy Vol. 3: The John Stanley Library'' (2011), Drawn & Quarterly
;Comic strip (by Olivia Jaimes)
* ''Nancy: A Comic Collection'' (2019),
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC (formerly Andrews, McMeel and Parker (1975–1986) and Andrews and McMeel (1986–1997)) is a company that publishes books, calendars, and related toys. It is a part of Andrews McMeel Universal (which comprises AM ...
''Random Acts of Nancy''
A spin-off titled ''Random Acts of Nancy'' began March 19, 2014, consisting of sampled single panels of ''Nancy'' comics drawn by Ernie Bushmiller. Creator John Lotshaw described the process:
When people ask me what ''Random Acts of Nancy'' is, I tell them it's their little daily ray of Absurdist sunshine. The lack of context - indeed, its very removal - is what attracted me to Random Acts the moment Guy explained it to me... The process begins by skimming through Nancy daily strips. Currently, we're using Ernie Bushmiller's art exclusively, but we're not limited to his work... Once I find a strip with a promising panel, I clean up the art as much as I can in Photoshop. I remove the extra panels, and then begin coloring the art. When the panel is colored, I run a filter on the art to create the halftone dots that make the panel look as if it was printed on an old-fashioned four-color press. Finally, I flatten the image and add the indicia, including the original publication date of the strip. Repeat the process until... well, I run out of material. Thanks to the genius of Ernie Bushmiller, that's not going to happen any time soon.
Following Guy Gilchrist's departure from ''Nancy'', this strip was discontinued.
References
Further reading
*
Strickler, Dave. ''Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index''. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. .
*
Karasik, Paul and
Mark Newgarden
Mark Newgarden (born August 1, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American underground cartoonist. His work has appeared widely, and his influential shape-shifting weekly feature ''Newgarden'', which appeared in alternative weekly newspapers like ...
. ''How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels''. Seattle: Fantagraphics Books 2017. .
External links
''Nancy'' comic stripClassic ''Nancy''nancyandsluggo.comat Toonopedia
* Dossena, Tiziano Thomas
"Guy Gilchrist: From the Muppets to Nancy, A Success Story" ''L'Idea Magazine'', 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nancy (comic strip)
1938 comics debuts
American comic strips
Comics about women
Comics adapted into animated series
Comics spin-offs
Gag-a-day comics
Children's comics
Terrytoons characters
Works about orphans