Comic Strip Characters

Fun Facts About Comic Strip Characters

• Snoopy from Peanuts started as a dog who walked on all fours and didn't speak. He only later evolved into a more human-like character with wild fantasies, like being a World War I flying ace.
• Popeye originally gained his super strength from rubbing the head feathers of a magical creature named Bernice the Whiffle Hen. The change to spinach was introduced later to encourage kids to eat vegetables.
• Lasagna was chosen to be Garfield's favorite food largely because it was easy to draw layer by layer, making it perfect for comic panels.
• Charles Schulz had Charlie Brown wear the iconic zigzag shirt simply because it was an easily recognizable design.
• The recurring prank where Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown, only to pull it away last second and send him sprawling, appeared over 50 times in the strip's run.
• The Dogbert character in Dilbert was inspired by creator Scott Adams' deceased pet beagle, Lucy. The character often serves as the strip's cynical voice of corporate ambition.
• In Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin is named after the 16th-century theologian John Calvin, while Hobbes is named after the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, which adds layers of meaning to their adventures.
• A Dagwood sandwich is named after Dagwood Bumstead from the Blondie comic strip, who was famous for stuffing numerous meats, cheeses, veggies, and condiments between multiple slices of bread, creating a comically tall, but delicious stack.
• Beetle Bailey's full name is Private Carl James Bailey. His nickname comes from his aunt who thought his freckles made him look like a ladybug beetle. Incidently, the strip debuted in 1950 and originally featured Beetle as a lazy college student named Spider.