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 daily strip
Launch date29 March 1915 (1915-03-29) (daily)
12 March 1916 (1916-03-12) (Sunday)
End dateJuly 15, 1916 (1916-07-15) (daily)
September 16, 1917 (1917-09-16) (Sunday)
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 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.

Background

Charlie 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

In 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

Despite 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

References

  1. 1 2 Carothers entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780472117567.
  3. ↑ "The Early Works of E.C. Segar". Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  4. ↑ "ASK THE ARCHIVIST : CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S COMIC CAPERS," Comics Kingdom (September 24, 2015).
  5. ↑ Segar entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Popeye's Pop EC Segar". Archived from the original on 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  7. ↑ Charley Chaplin's Comic Capers, A Collection, Series: Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers, ID: CharleyChaplinsComicCapersACollection. Internet Archive.
  8. ↑ Overstreet, Robert M. (March 2000). The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. 30th Edition. Gemstone Publishing. p. 236. ISBN 0060957344.
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