The Muppets (comic strip)

The premiere comic: September 21, 1981.

Gilchristcomic-color2 — An example of the color strip in *Muppet Magazine*.

The Muppets comic strip first premiered in over 500 daily newspapers on September 21, 1981, just months after The Muppet Show ended its five year run. The strip was created by brothers Guy and Brad Gilchrist.

The Muppets Comic Strip was printed daily from 1981 to 1986 in over 660 newspapers worldwide. Special strips were also created in color, exclusively for issues of Muppet Magazine during its run.

The strip is notable as being the first comic strip in history to be syndicated in multiple countries starting on the very first day of publication. Guy Gilchrist described working on a world-wide comic stating: "We had to work twice as far in advance as anyone else in our business at that time, because our strips had to be shipped via airmail and messenger (prior to the internet, of course) all around the world to be translated into every language of the 80 countries that read us each day. We had to be extremely aware of the global marketplace. We couldn't, for instance, write any 'puns' or English language wordplay. It couldn't be translated, you see." ^[1]

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan invited Guy to be guest of honor at the "Easter at The White House" celebration. Later that week, Guy’s Muppets artwork was permanently enshrined in the Smithsonian Institute. Guy’s Muppet artwork was chosen to be part of the touring Art of the Muppets exhibit and has appeared in museums worldwide.

The strip originally had a more naturalistic style that was patterned directly off the puppets. As time went on, though, Guy became more confident drawing the characters and the strip became more stylized, capturing the essence of the characters in this new medium.

Characters featured in the Muppets comic strip included: Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter, Rowlf, Statler and Waldorf, Robin, Beauregard, Sam the Eagle, Floyd, Zoot, Janice, Animal, Rizzo, Link Hogthrob, Dr. Julius Strangepork, The Swedish Chef, Camilla, Pops, Beaker, J.P. Grosse, Foo Foo, and Thog. Background characters included Whatnots, Monsters, Chickens, Rats, Frogs and a handful of characters that looked somewhat like Doozers, although in scale with the Muppets.