Millions of Americans know and love Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Blondie and Dagwood, Doonesbury, Li'l Abner, Garfield, Cathy, Beetle Bailey and other such comic strip characters. Thanks to the cartoonists--the people who have brought and still bring these and other characters to life day after day in the newspapers--the characters have become an entertaining and important part of American culture.
Charles Schulz (
Peanuts
), Chic Young (
Blondie
), Gary Trudeau (
Doonesbury
), Al Capp (
Li'l Abner
), Jim Davis (
Garfield
), Cathy Guisewite (
Cathy
), Mort Walker (
Beetle Bailey
), Rudolph Dirks (
The Katzenjammer Kids
), Alex Raymond (
Rip Kirby
), Chester Gould (
Dick Tracy
), Frank King (
Gasoline Alley
), Cliff Sterrett (
Polly and Her Pals
), and other cartoonists whose comic strips appeared in American newspapers between 1945 to 1980 are featured in this work. The author provides a biographical sketch of each cartoonist, with special attention given to the cartoonist's career and characters.