Original Medium: Newspaper comics
Appearing in: The San Francisco Chronicle
First Appeared: 1907
Creator: Bud Fisher
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"Mutt & Jeff", by "Bud" Fisher, started in The San Francisco Chronicle on November 15, 1907. It is generally believed to be the first daily comic strip to appear in 'strip' form (with the panels running across the newspaper page, rather than vertically or in a square box) on a six-day-a-week schedule, with continuing characters. The key here is the first to run 6 days a week... In 1907, Bud Fisher began drawing a daily comic strip called "Mr. A. Mutt" (the initial stood for Augustus). A short time later, he added the diminutive Mr. Jeff, and "Mutt and Jeff" was born. Mutt was a tall, lanky man with a penchant for the ponies, while Jeff looked like the Monopoly man after a rough weekend. Mutt and Jeff were affable losers -- the guys in the cheap seats at horse races on a Wednesday afternoon. In 1982, after an impressive 75-year run - and having outlasted Bud Fisher and Al Smith (who took over the strip after Bud) - the strip was finally laid to rest. Oh, Mutt became the very first 'Toon' candidate for U.S. President in 1908 and "Mutt & Jeff" became a slang term for a tall person paired with a short one. |