| Curtis | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Ray Billingsley |
| Website | comicskingdom |
| Current status/schedule | Running |
| Launch date | October 3, 1988; 36 years ago (October 3, 1988) |
| Syndicate(s) | King Features Syndicate |
| Genre(s) | Humor |
Curtis is a nationally syndicated comic strip written and illustrated by Ray Billingsley, with a predominantly African American cast. The comic strip started up on October 3, 1988, and is syndicated by King Features.
The comic strip portrays the daily life of a middle-class family living in a large American city, especially that of Curtis, the eponymous main character. It frequently chronicles aspects of African American culture and history.
Curtis has been compared to Li'l Abner, which Billingsley cites as his favorite comic strip, in style.
Themes
A recurring theme is Curtis' efforts to convince his father to try give up smoking, a personal issue for Billingsley, who is a prominent advocate for public health and the dangers of smoking. For his efforts in educating young people about smoking, Billingsley has earned multiple awards from the American Lung Association.
Though a fundamentally humorous comic, Curtis frequently addresses serious themes. Examples include bullying, drug addiction and gentrification. A storyline in 2020 involved the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the holiday season, Billingsley sometimes deviates from his usual characters to present special two-to-three week stories celebrating the Festival of Kwanzaa. Once an annual tradition in the strip, these specials became irregular in the mid-2010s, with Ray Billingsley citing declining reader interest in them.
References
- Dean Mullaney, Bruce Canwell and Brian Walker, King of the Comics : One Hundred Years of King Features Syndicate. San Diego : IDW Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781631403736 (p. 259)
- "Editor's Dispatch: A Conversation with Ray Billingsley, America's Leading Black Cartoonist". www.comicskingdom.com. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^ Dueben, Alex (2017-02-28). "INTERVIEW: Ray Bilingsley reveals the hard lessons Will Eisner and the comics industry taught him". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- Tobin, Suzanne (2001-05-25). "Comics: Meet the Artist - Ray Billingsley". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- "Comic Strips & Panels | King Features Syndicate". 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^ Feller-Cohen, Julian (2011-02-08). "'Curtis' and cartoonist Ray Billingsley confront bullying and other real-world problems". masslive. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- Kramer, Staci D. (1993-03-29). "Comic strip gets serious". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- Edwards, Gavin (2020-04-27). "A Pandemic Gives the Funny Pages a Jolt of Reality". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-21.