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Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers

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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/scheduleCanceled
Launch date29 March 1915; 110 years ago (1915-03-29)
End dateSeptember 16, 1917; 108 years ago (1917-09-16)
Syndicate(s)Keeley-Handy Syndicate
Publisher(s)Chicago Herald, M.A. Donohue & Co.
Genre(s)Gag-a-day, Humor Slapstick

Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers is 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.

Background

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Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers was produced by the Chicago-based J. Keeley Syndicate[3] and published in the Chicago Herald.[4] The comic strip cashed in on the tremendous popularity of the comedian at the time. Chaplin was depicted as his popular The Little Tramp character.[3] The strip 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, early in his career.[5] 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.[6][7] 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.[5]

Collections

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In 1917, five books were published by M.A. Donohue & Co., in 'Best of' style collections, four of them being painting/coloring books.[8] These books are considered to be from the Platinum Age.[9]

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

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Despite Chaplin's popularity, the comic strip was not a huge success in the United States. It fared better in the U.K., where it was published in the weekly comics magazine Funny Wonder for decades.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Carothers entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780472117567.
  3. ^ a b Voger, Mark (March 2023). "Send in the Clowns: Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis in the DC Universe". RetroFan. No. 25. United States: TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 34.
  4. ^ "The Early Works of E.C. Segar". Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  5. ^ a b c The King (September 24, 2015). "Ask the Archivist: Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers". Comics Kingdom. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019.
  6. ^ Segar entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "Popeye's Pop EC Segar". Archived from the original on 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  8. ^ Charley Chaplin's Comic Capers, A Collection, Series: Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers, ID: CharleyChaplinsComicCapersACollection. Internet Archive.
  9. ^ Overstreet, Robert M. (March 2000). The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. 30th Edition. Gemstone Publishing. p. 236. ISBN 0060957344.
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