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"Mutt and Jeff," by Bud Fisher
Bud fisher's "Mutt and Jeff" becomes the first successful daily comic strip on the "San Fransisco Chronicle." Cubism has likely influenced Bud Fisher's comic, as it features characters that are simplified into basic, flat shapes with an equally flat color scheme. The comic strip would also become a subtle reference piece for Dadaist Marcel Duchamp's "The Fountain," with the signature "R Mutt." -
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Cubism
Championed by the likes of Picasso and Braque, Cubism focuses on the depiction of basic, simplified shapes. Cubist works of art are often geometric and very abstract in appearance, and are usually devoid of formal elements of art such as perspective, form, and value. -
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Futurism
As the "future" portion of the name suggests, Futurism places great emphasis on technological advancement. Dynamism, speed, and efficacy were some of the focused elements of Futurism, and often champions the artistic depictions of architecture and machinery. -
"Automatic Weight Reducing Machine" by Rube Goldberg
"Automatic Weight Reducing Machine" illustrates an absurd contraption that features a variety of unconventional objects such as a balloon, a donut, a stove, and a prison. This is the result of Goldberg's fascination with technological advancement and the wonders of machinery, likely driven by Futurist ideologies. -
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Dadaism
During the advent of the first World War, Dadaism was formed to challenge most conventional means of art and design. In Dada art, there is no logic, reason, or any sense of order. Instead, Dadaists works of art are often satirical and nonsensical, and express a great distaste against capitalism and the bourgeois. -
"Gasoline Alley," by Frank King.
Making its official debut in 1918, "Gasoline Alley" is the second-longest comic strip of all time, next to "The Katzenjammer Kids" (1897). "Gasoline Alley" is one of the earliest comic strips in which the readers follow the protagonist in real-time. Meaning the characters aged, got married, fought in the war, and even going through a mid-life crisis. It is possible that during the early years of "Gasoline Alley's" debut, Futurism was its influence, as it had a focus on vehicles and engineers. -
"Winnie Winkle," by Martin Branner
Launched by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, "Winnie Winkle" is one of the first American comic strip series that follows the life of working women. "Winnie Winkle" paves its influence onto becoming a role model of American women after the first World War. The comic strip also gave influence to Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, and has possibly left part of its legacy towards the beginning of the Feminist movement. -
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Social Realism
Lead by the artists of the Ashcan School of Art, Social Realism draws attention to the socio-economic imbalances among the American working class. In other words, open everyone's eyes to the harsh reality relating to the poor. This movement would become especially significant because of the advent of the Great Depression. -
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Surrealism
Influenced by the Dada movement and the horrors of World War I, the Surrealist movement depicts works of art that are dream-like in appearance. Surrealists, such as Salvador Dali, often create artwork renowned for being unsettling, uncanny, and will often show inhuman, and deformed subjects. -
"Blondie," by Chic Young
One of the most popular comic strip series in America, "Blondie" is a comedic slice-of-life comic strip series that follows the life of Blondie Bumstead through her clumsy-but-lovable husband's shenanigans. Their marriage touched the lives of many American households, and still to this day. A good thing, too, as the American households had a great need for happiness during the Great Depression. -
"Funnies on Parade"
Headed by Max Gaines of Eastern Color Printing, "Funnies on Parade is arguably one of the very first comic "books" to ever be published. The first issues of Funnies on parade featured reprints of some of the most popular comic strips of the past, including "Mutt and Jeff." Its greatest significance is that it showed there was a great market for comics, as they were cheap, and a source of relief around the end of the Great Depression. -
"Flash Gordon" by Alex Raymond
Published by King Features Syndicate, "Flash Gordon" was one of the very first comic strips to be created under the genre of science fiction. As a space opera, there are elements of surrealism that can be spotted throughout the series. Most notably, the scenes feature bright and vivid colors, and are very bizarre, and very other-worldly. -
Action Comics, Superman, and the Golden Age of Comics
After National Allied Publication evolved into what is now known as "DC Comics," Sequential Artists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster debuts America's first major superhero, Superman. Thus began the Golden Age of comics. This was the age in which the subject matters made known a very clear distinction between good, and evil. This struggle between good and evil was especially significant for the Golden Age as the superheroes would serve as role models for the American soldier. -
"Detective Comics"
Soon to be turned into what is now known as "DC Comics," the very first issue of "Detective Comics" was published under the National Allied Publications by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. This anthology was known for its detective genre, and features the works of Vin Sullivan, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster. It would not be until 1939 when DC Comics debuts its most significant superhero, Batman, in Issue 27. Batman, like Superman, would be a major contributor to the start of the Golden Age of comics. -
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories
Walt Disney first made comic, "Mickey Mouse Magazine," in the 1930s, but their comics did not start their prevalence until the 1940s. During this time, Disney's comics were published and distributed by Dell Comics, and were written and drawn by the likes of Walt Kelly, and Carl Barks. It was these comics that featured Disney's most notable duck characters, including Donald Duck, his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as well as Scrooge McDuck. -
"Captain America" by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon
With the advent of World War II, Captain America was originally created purely as a political hero during the Golden Age of comics. The cover depicted the star-spangled super-soldier punching Adolf Hitler, and greatly gave rise to patriotism in the United States. This instance of American patriotism leads to the sale of nearly a million copies sold. -
"Pogo" by Walt Kelly
"Pogo" initially made its appearance in 1941 in "Albert Takes the Cake," but it wasn't until its syndication in 1948 that its significance would truly take hold. During the years as a syndicated newspaper strip, "Pogo" would be a controversial source of political and satirical commentary. Themes included human foibles disguised in anthropomorphic animals, the advent of the Red Scare, as well as environmental issues. -
"Peanuts" by Charles Schultz
From United Feature Syndicate daily, to Sunday strip, Charles Schultz's "Peanuts" would live on to be one of the most profitable and influential comic strips of all time. Featuring some of the world's most iconic characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy, the story would become a comedic commentary on the social and philosophical aspects of everyday life. "Peanuts" would also have a countless number of animated adaptations, both as series and as feature-length films. -
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Pop Art
At the conclusion of the Second World War, economic prosperity will be on the rise. With this economic explosion, particularly in the United States, came the rise in the prevalence of advertisements, commercial products, mass-produced food, as well as the production of comics. All of the elements listed would become the major subject matters of Pop Art. It would also be the Pop Art movement that comics would acquire their highest form of expression through the aforementioned elements. -
The Silver Age, and the Comics Code Authority
As the audience was in the market for subject matters that held more adult-suitable sensibilities, one of the most influential instances of surreal art influences is the Silver Age of comics. The genres of the Silver Age of comics would contain influential elements of surreal art, and incorporate them with a more-disturbing and darker overtones. These stories would become so controversial, that the resulting Senate hearings would come to create the Comics Code Authority in 1954. -
"Dr. Strange" by Steve Ditko
Created by Steve Ditko under Marvel Comics in 1963, Dr. Strange is one of the last examples of comics that took influence from the on-goings of the Surrealism movement during its last years. The story of "Dr. Strange" is depicted with the masterful manipulation of the fabric of reality. As a result, the scenes in each of its pages feature images of otherworldly places that are bizarre, and very dream-like in appearance. -
"Drowning Girl" by Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was one of the greatest champions of the movement of Pop Art. It would be his affinity towards comics, as well as his creative mentality rooted in previous modernist movements. "Drowning Girl" is a derivative of a splash page in the comic "Run for Love" by Tony Abruzzo, and features the application of primary colors, as well as the incorporation of benday dots to echo the marks of the process of comic printing. -
"Doonesbury" by Gary Trudeau
Typically, comic strips would be made to tell light-hearted funny stories. Similar to Walt Kelly's latest artistic objective in creating "Pogo," another 20th-century comic strip series would challenge that very notion. As a result, right around the end of the Pop Art movement, Gary Trudeau would make his debut of his comic strip series "Doonesbury," which focused on satirical and political commentary. Trudeau's objective would allow him to be the first strip artist to earn the Pulitzer Prize.
