Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers was an American gag-a-day celebrity comics comic strip by Stuart Carothers[1] and later Elzie C. Segar starring Charlie Chaplin. It ran in syndication from March 29, 1915, until September 16, 1917.[2] It was one of the earliest comic strips inspired by the popularity of a celebrity.
| Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers | |
|---|---|
 Daily comic from E.C. Segar's tenure on the series. | |
| Author(s) | Stuart Wallace Carothers, Warren & Ramsey, Elzie Crisler Segar |
| Current status/schedule | Canceled daily strip |
| Launch date | 29 March 1915 (daily) 12 March 1916 (Sunday) |
| End date | July 15, 1916 (daily) September 16, 1917 (Sunday) |
| Syndicate(s) | Keeley-Handy Syndicate |
| Publisher(s) | Chicago Herald, M.A. Donohue & Co. |
| Genre(s) | Gag-a-day, Humor Slapstick |
Background
editCharlie Chaplin's Comic Capers was published in the Chicago Herald.[3] The comic strip cashed in on the tremendous popularity of the comedian at the time. It was created by Stewart W. Carothers in March 1915,[2] who drew and wrote the stories until his tragic early death from defenestration.[1] Two cartoonists credited as Warren and Ramsey took over the series until they were replaced by Elzie C. Segar, at that time still an amateur.[4] On February 29, 1916, Segar published his first Chaplin strip. The daily version ran until July 15, 1916. His Sunday version ran longer, from March 12, 1916, until September 16, 1917.[5][6] It was his first professional cartooning job. Contrary to his predecessors, who mostly borrowed ideas from Chaplin's films, Segar thought up his own jokes. He gave Chaplin a tiny sidekick named "Luke the Gook" to act as a straight man to his gags.
Collections
editIn 1917, five books were published by M.A. Donohue & Co., in 'Best of' style collections. Four of them being painting/coloring books.[7] These books are considered to be from the Platinum Age.[8]
Published collections;
- Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers, Series 1, No 315
- Charlie Chaplin in the Movies, No 316
- Charlie Chaplin Up in the Air, No 317
- Charlie Chaplin in the Army, No 318
- Charlie Chaplin's Funny Stunts, in Full Color, No. 380
Reception
editDespite Chaplin's popularity, the comic strip wasn't a huge success in the United States, mostly due to the fact that all artists involved were basically amateurs.
See also
edit- Inside Woody Allen, another newspaper comic strip based on a comedic film performer.
- Charlie Chaplin comics
References
edit- ^ a b Carothers entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ a b Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780472117567.
- ^ "The Early Works of E.C. Segar". Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
- ^ "ASK THE ARCHIVIST : CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S COMIC CAPERS," Comics Kingdom (September 24, 2015).
- ^ Segar entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "Popeye's Pop EC Segar". Archived from the original on 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
- ^ Charley Chaplin's Comic Capers, A Collection, Series: Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers, ID: CharleyChaplinsComicCapersACollection. Internet Archive.
- ^ Overstreet, Robert M. (March 2000). The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. 30th Edition. Gemstone Publishing. p. 236. ISBN 0060957344.
External links
edit- Charley Chaplin's Comic Capers, A Collection {A 'Internet Archive' digital collection of book scans, and daily comics.}
- "Teary Eyes" Anderson in Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers: Series 1, No. 315. {Video review and narration of first book.}
- Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers v1 315 {Scans of first book, hosted by comicbookplus.com.}
- U'Ren, Christine. "Ripped from the Funny Pages, Part 3: Celebrity Cartoonists, Chaplin, and Other Tramps," Silent San Francisco (Oct. 19, 2015).
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