Marmaduke
Encyclopedia
Marmaduke is a newspaper
comic strip
drawn by Brad Anderson
from 1954 to the present day. The strip was created by Anderson, with help from Phil Leeming (1955–1962) and later Dorothy Leeming (1963–1969), and (since August 2, 2004) Paul Anderson. The strip revolves around the Winslow family and their Great Dane
, Marmaduke. The strip on Sundays also has a side feature called "Dog Gone Funny", in which one or more panels are devoted to dog anecdotes submitted by the fans. Anderson, who says he draws on Laurel and Hardy
routines for his ideas, received the National Cartoonists Society
Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for the strip in 1978.
's Reuben Award for Newspaper Panel Cartoon in 1978, and the George Arents Pioneer Medal for Syracuse University
alumni in 1999.
Marmaduke continues to be widely syndicated, and is popular with readers: attempts to cancel Marmaduke have drawn protest, such as those by readers of The Toronto Star in 1999, of the Sarasota Herald Tribune in 2007, and of the Chicago Sun-Times
in 1986.
Despite this, its longevity and perceived monotony have been noted by satirical publications such as The Onion
, and made it a butt of jokes, or "a hot source of retro-ironic-subversive humor": a blog called "Joe Mathlete Explains Today's Marmaduke" deconstructs
the strip to offer an alternative explanation for what's happening in the drawing; another blog called "Marmaduke Can Vote" gives each panel a political slant; and "The Marmaduke Project" re-imagines Marmaduke in other forms.
In his satirical analysis at The Comic Strip Doctor, David Malki of Wondermark
ranked Marmaduke among "the worst newspaper comic strips" alongside Heathcliff
, Family Circus and Dennis the Menace
.
, whose title character was also based on a comic strip character. In this animated version, the male characters were voiced by Paul Winchell
and the females were voiced by Russi Taylor
.
dog move from Kansas to California, was released on June 4, 2010.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
drawn by Brad Anderson
Brad Anderson (cartoonist)
Brad Anderson is an American cartoonist.-Life and early career:He graduated from Brocton Central School in Brocton, New York in 1943 and then served with the United States Navy until 1946 and continued to cartoon. Initially aspiring to be an industrial designer, Anderson attended Syracuse...
from 1954 to the present day. The strip was created by Anderson, with help from Phil Leeming (1955–1962) and later Dorothy Leeming (1963–1969), and (since August 2, 2004) Paul Anderson. The strip revolves around the Winslow family and their Great Dane
Great Dane
The Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...
, Marmaduke. The strip on Sundays also has a side feature called "Dog Gone Funny", in which one or more panels are devoted to dog anecdotes submitted by the fans. Anderson, who says he draws on Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
routines for his ideas, received the National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society 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 troops...
Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for the strip in 1978.
Characters
- Marmaduke – A Great DaneGreat DaneThe Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...
. Marmaduke lives with the Winslow family and exhibits many characteristics not typically displayed by dogs. - Dottie – Housewife of the family whose daily life would probably be a lot less of a hassle if she didn't have Marmaduke around.
- Phil – The head of the household. Phil loves his dog despite Marmaduke's antics but, not surprisingly, gets fed up once in a while.
- Barbara – The Winslows' older child, caterer to Marmaduke.
- Billy – The younger Winslow child and official egg peeler of Marmaduke.
- Mr. and Mrs. Snyder – The Winslows' neighbors and slaves of Marmaduke.
Reception
Brad Anderson won the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society 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 troops...
's Reuben Award for Newspaper Panel Cartoon in 1978, and the George Arents Pioneer Medal for Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
alumni in 1999.
Marmaduke continues to be widely syndicated, and is popular with readers: attempts to cancel Marmaduke have drawn protest, such as those by readers of The Toronto Star in 1999, of the Sarasota Herald Tribune in 2007, and of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
in 1986.
Despite this, its longevity and perceived monotony have been noted by satirical publications such as The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
, and made it a butt of jokes, or "a hot source of retro-ironic-subversive humor": a blog called "Joe Mathlete Explains Today's Marmaduke" deconstructs
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
the strip to offer an alternative explanation for what's happening in the drawing; another blog called "Marmaduke Can Vote" gives each panel a political slant; and "The Marmaduke Project" re-imagines Marmaduke in other forms.
In his satirical analysis at The Comic Strip Doctor, David Malki of Wondermark
Wondermark
Wondermark is a webcomic created by David Malki which was syndicated to Flak Magazine and appeared in The Onion's print edition through 2008. It features 19th-century illustrations that have been recontextualized to create humorous juxtapositions. It takes the horizontal four-panel shape of a...
ranked Marmaduke among "the worst newspaper comic strips" alongside Heathcliff
Heathcliff (comic strip)
Heathcliff is a comic strip created by George Gately in 1973 featuring the title character, a wisecracking cat. Now written and drawn by Gately's nephew, Peter Gallagher, it is distributed to over 1,000 newspapers by Creators Syndicate, who took over the comic from McNaught Syndicate in 1988.The...
, Family Circus and Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
.
Animated series adaptation
Ruby-Spears produced Marmaduke segments for the 1980 animated series HeathcliffHeathcliff (1980 TV series)
Heathcliff is an animated TV series that debuted on October 4, 1980. It was the first series based on the Heathcliff comic strip and was produced by Ruby-Spears Productions...
, whose title character was also based on a comic strip character. In this animated version, the male characters were voiced by Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
and the females were voiced by Russi Taylor
Russi Taylor
Russi Taylor is an American voice actress. She is the current voice actress of Disney's Minnie Mouse character. She has held this role since 1986, longer than any other voice actress...
.
Motion picture adaptation
A combined live-action/animation Marmaduke movie, in which the Winslows and their computer-generatedComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
dog move from Kansas to California, was released on June 4, 2010.