Sam and Silo
Encyclopedia
Sam and Silo is a comic strip created by Mort Walker
(creator of Beetle Bailey
and Hi and Lois
) and Jerry Dumas
. The series first ran as Sam's Strip from 1961 to 1963 and was resurrected as Sam and Silo in 1977. Dumas has been solely responsible for the strip since 1995.
In Sam's Strip, the title character, Sam, was aware of being the proprietor of the comic strip in which he appeared. The strip relied heavily on metahumor
, break-outs into other comic strip universes, appearances by classic comic strip characters, and breaking the fourth wall
.
Other comic strips have used metahumor from time to time — for example, Pogo used objectified speech balloons and on rare occasions the characters could see the artist's signature; Doonesbury
characters look at putative fan mail — but Sam's Strip used it every day. Thus, it held a special interest for comic strip aficionados; but it left the general public nonplussed.
The only other recurring character was Sam's unnamed assistant, who was only given a name in the more conventional gag-a-day comic strip Sam and Silo in 1977, featuring the two characters in a small American town.
in 2009.
Mort Walker
Addison Morton Walker , popularly known as Mort Walker, is an American comic artist best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954. He has signed Addison to some of his strips.Born in El Dorado, Kansas, he grew up in Kansas City, Missouri...
(creator of Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip set in a fictional United States Army military post, created by cartoonist Mort Walker. It is among the oldest comic strips still being produced by the original creator...
and Hi and Lois
Hi and Lois
Hi and Lois is a comic strip about a suburban family. Created by Mort Walker and illustrated by Dik Browne, it debuted on October 18, 1954, distributed by King Features Syndicate.-Characters:...
) and Jerry Dumas
Jerry Dumas
Jerry Dumas is an American cartoonist, best known for his Sam and Silo comic strip. Dumas is also a writer and essayist, and a columnist for the Greenwich Time.-Biography:...
. The series first ran as Sam's Strip from 1961 to 1963 and was resurrected as Sam and Silo in 1977. Dumas has been solely responsible for the strip since 1995.
Characters
- Sam
- Silo
- The Mayor
- The Janitor
Sam's Strip
Sam's Strip appeared from October 1961 to June 1963. It reached a peak circulation of about 60 newspapers, not enough to sustain it.In Sam's Strip, the title character, Sam, was aware of being the proprietor of the comic strip in which he appeared. The strip relied heavily on metahumor
Meta-joke
Meta-joke refers to several somewhat different, but related categories: self-referential jokes, jokes about jokes , and joke templates.-Self-referential jokes:...
, break-outs into other comic strip universes, appearances by classic comic strip characters, and breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
.
Other comic strips have used metahumor from time to time — for example, Pogo used objectified speech balloons and on rare occasions the characters could see the artist's signature; Doonesbury
Doonesbury
Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
characters look at putative fan mail — but Sam's Strip used it every day. Thus, it held a special interest for comic strip aficionados; but it left the general public nonplussed.
The only other recurring character was Sam's unnamed assistant, who was only given a name in the more conventional gag-a-day comic strip Sam and Silo in 1977, featuring the two characters in a small American town.
Books
One paperback collection, Sam's Strip Lives!, was published in small quantities under the aegis of the Museum of Cartoon Art. Sam's Strip: A Comic about Comics, a collection of the strip's complete run, was published by Fantagraphics BooksFantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
in 2009.