Brian Walker's Take on Dr. Morgan

Brian Walker is the founder and former director of the National Cartoon Museum (previously the Museum of Cartoon Art), and has been part of the creative team producing Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois. He has taught a course in cartoon history at the School of Visual Arts, and served as curator for over 65 cartoon exhibitions. Source: back book jacket, The Comics: Since 1945.

www.exhibitionsinternational.org

Notes taken from the following text:

Walker, B. (2006). The Comics Since 1945. (N. Columbus & R. Slovak, Eds.) (Paperback.). New York: Abrams.

• Elements allowing comics to succeed in America include printing/distribution, concentration of populations to urban areas and acceptance of new forms of expression
• The Yellow Kid is given credit as the first, 1896 (p. 6)
• First Sunday publication in 1925 was met with resistance by religious groups, claiming that it "is antagonist to the spirit of the Lord's day, and tends to subvert the institution." I guess the comics won that battle (p. 6)
• William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, owners of the publishing companies battled for employees and readers (p. 7)
• Richard Outcault, creator of The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, is credited to the be father of the modern comic strip
• October 25, 1896, Outcault used speech balloons and sequential paneling, defining the structure of the comic strip for years to come (p. 9)
• While syndicates allowed artists more freedom and greater visibility, they also had to relinquish their rights to their artistic creations (this is no longer the case) (p. 10)
• Here's how it works: cartoonist develops idea, submits a sample of strips and Sunday pages to the editors of the syndicates, syndicates provide the content to the newspaper - syndicates split the profit with the cartoonist (p. 11)
• Newspaper editors often "test drop" a strip to see if there's any backlash (p. 12)
• "The funnies have endured primarily because comic characters have a universal, timeless appeal. Their daily appearances make them familiar to million. Their triumph make them heroic. Their struggles make them seem human. Cartoonists create friends for their readers. Pogo, Charlie Brown, Calvin and Hobbes, and Dilbert are part of a great cultural legacy that is being further enriched every day. The final panel has yet to be drawn." (p. 15)
• Boston University readership study (1962) listed Rex Morgan, MD as one of the top 15 features, along with others suggesting that humor versus story was about 50/50 in terms of popularity (p. 74)
• William Steve, editor of the Houston Chronicle did an official study (1962) declaring Rex Morgan, MD "essential" to any comics page, even though syndicates felt story/continuity strips were fading out of popularity  - this study was admittedly "unscientific and highly opinionated", but it's still a data point (p. 122)
• The 70's saw the death of many continuity strips, though Rex Morgan, MD continued to thrive (p. 170)
• In 1980's, the Time-Union (Rochester) canceled Rex Morgan, MD; but only temporarily - the paper received 237 letters demanding its return (p. 226)
• This also happened for Dallis' other strip, Apartment 3G (p. 226)
• In 1985: Rex Morgan, MD was in 350 newspapers, Judge Parker in 250, and Apartment 3-G in 200 (these are all Dallis' creations); he believed the success was due to the relevancy of the strips because they "address the problems that are occurring today." Cocaine addiction, FAS and spousal abuse were just some of the topics covered in the 80's (p. 227)