"Few gag-a-day strips from the golden age of newspaper comics are as beloved by aficionados while remaining so obscure to the general public as Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller". "The strip, about a rambunctious little girl, her buxom aunt, and her tough-talking best friend, was a study in comedy’s bare essentials, using a handful of panels to tell exquisitely crafted jokes, many of which played with the format of the comic strip itself. It began in 1938, as a spinoff of an earlier strip, Fritzi Ritz, about Nancy’s aunt who gradually became a supporting character in her own strip. And it was so ambitiously simple that it inspired a famous work of comics criticism, the 1988 essay (and later book) “How to Read Nancy.”
While reading @Bobby Cole 's "I Want Custard" thread, I was reminded of a Nancy & Sluggo cartoon that my brother and I liked years ago. It was a three paneled cartoon in the comic section, beginning with sluggo wearing a pie on his face. In the next panel, Nancy was singing "I've thrown a custard to his face"! Finally, Suggo, in the last panel was singing (through the pie")..."I like breathing out, and breathing in"! I looked for it, but couldn't find it.
Nancy was not my favorite comic strip, probably because that is my real name, and as a kid I took it personal. But this one I can relate to, because I used to count my allowance money. I never got an opportunity to spend it, and could never think of anything I wanted, so that was all it was good for. I didn't like it when they put it in a savings account either.
The real Nancy? "Through the diligent efforts of cartoonist Mark Newgarden the real Nancy was found. Nestled in the wilderness of Wappinger's Falls, New York." Nancy Carbonara In 1997 "...she granted LCD (radio program) a brief interview on one condition: her age or birthdate not be revealed." LCD: How did you meet Ernie Bushmiller? NANCY: He had an interest in my older sister. He was soft on her. She was quite attractive but not interested in him. She thought he was silly. Continued (LINK)
Thanks for that interesting interview, Nancy. since Bushmiller was influenced by Lewis Carroll's drawings (based on a real Alice) I think he meant that Nancy was hie "Alice" (from Wonderland), not the waitress. The "Kitchen Sink"?
When my daughter (now 48) was a little girl, she fell in love with the character in the Archie comics named "Jughead". We found a comic book dedicated to Jughead and gave it to her as a present. She loved it! Hal
'Nancy' comic strip's Guy Gilchrist to step away after 22 years of Sluggo-ing it out (2018) And for his big finale — Aunt Fritzi's getting married, y'all!