Cathy | |
---|---|
Author(s) | Cathy Guisewite |
Website | www |
Current status/schedule | Concluded daily strip |
Launch date | November 22, 1976 |
End date | October 3, 2010 |
Syndicate(s) | Universal Press Syndicate/Universal Uclick |
Genre(s) | Humor, gag-a-day |
Cathy is an American gag-a-day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life: food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. The strip's debut was on November 22, 1976, and it appeared in over 1,400 newspapers at its peak. The strips have been compiled into more than 20 books. Three television specials were also created. Guisewite received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award in 1992 for the strip. [1]
Initially, the strip was based largely on Guisewite's own life as a single woman. "The syndicate felt it would make the strip more relatable if the character's name and my name were the same," Guisewite said in an interview. [2] "They felt it would make it a more personal strip, and would help people know it was a real woman who was going through these things. I hated the idea of calling it 'Cathy'." Guisewite had Cathy's long-time boyfriend, Irving, propose on Valentine's Day 2004. The two characters married in the February 5, 2005 strip. [3] That same year, Cathy appeared in the 75th anniversary party of Blondie and Dagwood.
On August 11, 2010, Cathy Guisewite announced the decision to end the run of Cathy. [4] On October 3, 2010, the final strip ran with the revelation that Cathy is pregnant with a girl. [5]
On June 1, 2020, Cathy Commiserations, a single-panel cartoon, began on GoComics. The earliest entry was dated March 20, 2018. The series paused May 9, 2021, but resumed on October 29, 2021. [6]
Three animated specials were made from the strip: Cathy , Cathy's Last Resort and Cathy's Valentine . [8] All aired on CBS, and the former won Guisewite an Emmy Award. [9]
Defined by Cathy Guisewite, the four basic guilt groups are four types of temptation that the character Cathy faces in her daily life. [10]
Cathy has a love/hate affair with food (especially carbs). She loves food, but suffers from body dysmorphia from her weight. She is often shown in a department store fitting room trying to stuff herself into a bathing suit. She is overweight, but not obese, and has some success with weight loss over the course of the comic. Cathy is particularly fond of chocolate, pizza, and her mother's cooking. [11]
Cathy dates extensively, but is unable to find "Mr. Right." She has a number of love interests throughout the comic, though none more consistent than Irving. Later in the series, they marry. At the end of the comic series, Irving and Cathy find out that they are expecting a child. [12]
Although well-meaning, Mom's advice often frustrates Cathy. Cathy is from the era of feminism, women's rights, and the sexual revolution. Mom is from the earlier, more conservative World War II—1950s era. Although presented as an equal in her marriage to Cathy's Dad, Mom holds many old-fashioned ideas. Prior to Cathy's marriage, she seems to have an obsession with seeing Cathy married, keeping a current copy of Bride magazine in her purse and trying to send Christmas cards to Cathy's ex-boyfriends. [13]
Cathy has to juggle many tasks at Product Testing, Inc. Her boss, Mr. Pinkley, often asks the impossible. Cathy always seems to pull through in the end and gives him and the client exactly what they want, albeit with quite a bit of drama. [14]
Following are books featuring Cathy, illustrated by Guisewite. The chronological strips and special collections lists are believed to be complete; the other sections are not.
Note: capitalization appears according to the copyright page of the book.
The following books are collections of strips in the order they were published.
The following books include strips already published in earlier books.
The following books are smaller than the works above. They may have a short storyline and are intended as gifts.
Paperback gift books.
The following books feature Cathy illustrations by Guisewite, but are not authored by her.
The June 18, 2017 strip of the relaunched Bloom County featured a dismayed Cathy awakening in bed alongside Steve Dallas. [15] She also appeared in the strip the following day. [16]
The comic strip Luann featured Mabel (in the October 5, 2016 strip) as a worker of the 'Bridal Barn' wedding gown store where Toni Daytona went to purchase her wedding gown with the help of Nancy and Luann DeGroot.
A live action Cathy sketch was included in the special Mother's Day Sunday Funnies broadcast May 8, 1983 on NBC. [17]
Caroline in the City features fictional cartoonist Caroline Duffy (Lea Thompson), who makes a rival strip. The feud between Caroline and Cathy is described as "oily rag, lit cigarette". In the season 1 episode "Caroline and the Bad Back", Caroline hurts her back and is unable to meet a deadline. To prevent the newspapers from double running Cathy strips, Del (Eric Lutes) and Richard (Malcolm Gets) create one for Caroline. The strip is presented as being only funny to men. Upon seeing the strip, Caroline declares that: "Cathy is gonna have a field day with this". [18]
In Sex and the City season 3, "Cock-a-doodle-doo", Miranda compares her lonely and repetitive take-out orders to a Cathy cartoon, and Carrie asks her never to refer to Cathy again, indicating Cathy's status by 2000 as a symbol of an earlier generation's sad, contemptuous view of single women. (Miranda: "I'm sitting home with my cat, ordering the same thing almost every night. The only thing sadder would be a Cathy comic pasted on my refrigerator door." Carrie: "Never say Cathy comic to me again"). [19]
On the series 30 Rock , Cathy has been referenced more than once. On the episode "Don Geiss, America and Hope", Liz Lemon's boyfriend Wesley compares her obsession with food to being like "a Cathy cartoon that just won't end". In another episode, Liz exclaims "Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, aack!", which had been exclaimed by Cathy herself in an earlier strip.[ citation needed ]
On Saturday Night Live , Andy Samberg would portray Cathy as loud and obnoxious on Weekend Update (Season 34, Episode 17; aired March 7, 2009).
In The Simpsons episode "Girls Just Wanna Have Sums", a painting of Cathy is shown as part of a hall of famous female artists; in the painting, Cathy is shown in a two-piece swimsuit, saying "I'm finally able to fit into my bathing suit.... and it's September!". In a Simpsons comic strip, Comic Book Guy owns a rare Cathy cartoon - the only one that men find funny.
In the 2022 Robot Chicken episode "May Cause Involuntary Political Discharge", Cathy falls in love with the Martian leader from Mars Attacks over their shared love of the word "Ack!"
In the 2010 The Big Bang Theory episode "The Wheaton Recurrence", Sheldon brings Penny ice cream, citing that he had been familiarizing himself with the comic strip Cathy and that when she is upset, she says "Ack!" and eats ice cream.
In 2021, writer and comedian Jamie Loftus released Aack Cast, a podcast series tackling the history, impact, and continuing relevance of the comic strip. [20]
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Cathy is a 1987 animated television special based on the Cathy comic strip by Cathy Guisewite. It features Kathleen Wilhoite as the voice of Cathy Andrews, and was written by Guisewite, executive-produced by Lee Mendelson, produced by Bill Melendez, and directed by Evert Brown.
Cathy's Last Resort is a 1988 animated television special based on the Cathy comic strip by Cathy Guisewite. It features Kathleen Wilhoite as the voice of Cathy Andrews, and was written by Guisewite, executive producer Lee Mendelson, produced by Bill Melendez, and directed by Evert Brown. This special premiered after the episode "The NASA Space Station" of This Is America, Charlie Brown.
Cathy's Valentine is a 1989 animated television special based on the Cathy comic strip by Cathy Guisewite. It features Kathleen Wilhoite as the voice of Cathy Andrews, and was written by Guisewite, executive-produced by Lee Mendelson, produced by Bill Melendez, and directed by Evert Brown. This special premiered after This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad.