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The comic strip switcheroo (also known as the Great Comics Switcheroonie or the Great April Fools' Day Comics Switcheroonie) was conducted on April 1, 1997, in which several cartoonists, without the foreknowledge of their editors, worked on the other's comic strip for that date, in commemoration of April Fools' Day.
Forty-six syndicated artists participated in the event, which was conceived by Baby Blues creators Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott. [1] Some of these trades were one for the other, while others did multiple-way swaps. Additionally, Drabble creator Kevin Fagan drew the strip with his non-dominant hand, while Greg Howard and Craig MacIntosh assumed each other's respective roles for the date's Sally Forth strip. Charles M. Schulz ( Peanuts ) and Patrick McDonnell ( Mutts ) were slated to do each other's strips, but ultimately did not participate because the former doubted the idea's viability. Each artist was permitted to take liberties with the strip they were handling.[ citation needed ]
The one-day experiment proved to be a success, garnering some publicity and being a harmless yet amusing prank played on the newspapers, the readers, and the comic syndicates.[ citation needed ]
While characters making guest appearances in comics is not uncommon, this event was the most ambitious in scale. Similarly, the phenomenon persists in webcomics, where Internet cartoonists occasionally do the other's series.
The Arlo and Janis strip for April 1, 1998, references the event; the first two panels are blank, with the last two panels comprising Janis telling Arlo that no such similar event would take place in 1998 and Arlo informing her that Dagwood Bumstead "misunderstood entirely".[ citation needed ]
The FoxTrot strip for April 1, 2001, also references the event; in that strip, Paige Fox reminisces about the switcheroo, as characters from other strips make appearances in FoxTrot's style, briefly taking Jason's place; followed by members of the Fox family appearing in the styles of other strips. The strips thus referenced include Cathy , Hägar the Horrible , The Boondocks , Doonesbury , Baby Blues , and Calvin and Hobbes . [2]
On April 1, 2005, Stephan Pastis ( Pearls Before Swine ), Bill Amend (FoxTrot), and Darby Conley ( Get Fuzzy ) each drew similar strips revolving around Ouija boards; the three strips have largely similar dialogue and punchlines. [3] [4] [5]
On April 1, 2016, at least fifty webcomics, including Cyanide & Happiness , The Awkward Yeti , and Poorly Drawn Lines , all ran similar dialogue; the comics revolved around a subject having a bucket of water dumped on them, said subject criticizing the stunt as "unoriginal", and the originator of the prank reflecting that "perhaps... [they] were the fool". [6]
On April 1, 2021, Olivia Jaimes of Nancy and Steenz of Heart of the City worked on the other's strip for that date. [7] [8]
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The comics of April 1, 1997, were swapped as follows:
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Other notes:
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