Hejji

Last updated
Dr. Seuss' Hejji (April 7, 1935) Hejjiseuss.jpg
Dr. Seuss' Hejji (April 7, 1935)

Hejji is a short-lived 1935 comic strip, an early work and the only comic strip by prominent children's author Dr. Seuss (pseudonym of Theodor Geisel). Hejji was produced by Geisel during the Great Depression, two years before the publication of his first book.

Contents

Distributed by William Randolph Hearst's King Features Syndicate, Hejji began publication on April 7, 1935, as a Sunday strip. A comic strip with an unusually brief publication period, it was canceled after only three months; the final comic was published on June 23, 1935. [1]

Characters and story

The title character was a traveler who, in the first strip, entered the strange land of Baako, which had whales swimming in water-filled volcano craters, a flower broadcasting music and twin goats sharing a single beard. Hejji inadvertently plucks the sacred Trumpet Flower and is promptly arrested. He is taken to the palace of the Mighty One, who has Hejji thrown to the Seven Deadly Wombats. After Hejji escapes, the Mighty One apologizes and gives him a guided tour of Baako. They encounter various creatures and eventually arrive at the mysterious castle of the Evil One.

Recycling characters

Characters and situations from Hejji reappeared in later Dr. Seuss work. For example, the two goats with the single beard reappeared in the musical fantasy film The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T , scripted by Geisel.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr. Seuss</span> American childrens author and cartoonist (1904–1991)

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American children's author and cartoonist. He is known for his work writing and illustrating more than 60 books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. His work includes many of the most popular children's books of all time, selling over 600 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death.

<i>The Cat in the Hat</i> 1957 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house of Sally and her brother one rainy day when their mother is away. Despite the repeated objections of the children's fish, the Cat shows the children a few of his tricks in an attempt to entertain them. In the process, he and his companions, Thing One and Thing Two, wreck the house. As the children and the fish become more alarmed, the Cat produces a machine that he uses to clean everything up and disappears just before the children's mother comes home.

<i>Horton Hears a Who!</i> 1954 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

Horton Hears a Who! is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss. It was published in 1954 by Random House. This book tells the story of Horton the Elephant and his adventures saving Whoville, a tiny planet located on a speck of dust, from the animals who mock him. These animals attempt to steal and burn the speck of dust, so Horton goes to great lengths to save Whoville from being incinerated.

<i>The Cat in the Hat Comes Back</i> Childrens book by Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is a 1958 children's book written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss and published by Random House. In this book, a sequel to The Cat in the Hat (1957), the chaos-causing title character leaves a pink stain in the family bathtub, which spreads around the house as the children try to get rid of it, until the cat unveils a series of increasingly small cats from beneath his hat, the smallest of which resolves the problem.

<i>Green Eggs and Ham</i> 1960 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

Green Eggs and Ham is a children's book by Dr. Seuss. It was published by the Beginner Books imprint of Random House on August 12, 1960. The book follows Sam-I-am as he follows an unnamed man, repeatedly asking him if he would like to try some green eggs and ham before the man eventually tries it and likes it. Seuss began writing Green Eggs and Ham after his editor Bennett Cerf bet him $50 that he could not write an engaging children's book with a vocabulary of 50 words. Finding the challenge difficult, Seuss used notes, charts, and checklists to keep track of his progress. The book covers themes of conflict between individuals, though Seuss has said that it lacks any deeper meaning. Green Eggs and Ham was widely praised by critics for its writing and illustration, and challenge of writing a book in 50 words is regarded as a success. The book has been the subject of multiple adaptations, including a television series of the same name in 2019.

<i>The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins</i> 1938 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is a children's book, written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published by Vanguard Press in 1938. Unlike the majority of Geisel's books, it is written in prose rather than rhyming and metered verse. Geisel, who was a collector of hats, got the idea for the story when he was on a commuter train from New York to New England, while sitting behind a businessman wearing a hat. The businessman was so stiff and formal that Geisel idly wondered what would happen if he took the man's hat and threw it out the window, and he artistically, albeit erroneously, concluded that the man would "simply grow a new one".

<i>Horton Hatches the Egg</i> 1940 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

Horton Hatches the Egg is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published in 1940 by Random House. The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's egg while its mother, Mayzie, takes a permanent vacation to Palm Beach. Horton endures a number of hardships but persists, often stating, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!" Ultimately, the egg hatches, revealing an elephant-bird, a creature with a blend of Mayzie's and Horton's features.

<i>And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street</i> 1937 Dr. Seuss book

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is Theodor Seuss Geisel's first children's book published under the name Dr. Seuss. First published by Vanguard Press in 1937, the story follows a boy named Marco, who describes a parade of imaginary people and vehicles traveling along a road, Mulberry Street, in an elaborate fantasy story he dreams up to tell his father at the end of his walk. However, when he arrives home, he decides instead to tell his father what he actually saw—a simple horse and wagon.

<i>Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories</i> 1958 picture book collection by Dr. Seuss

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is a picture book collection by Theodor Seuss Geisel, published under his more commonly known pseudonym of Dr. Seuss. It was first released by Random House Books on April 12, 1958, and is written in Seuss's trademark style, using a type of meter called anapestic tetrameter. Though it contains three short stories, it is mostly known for its first story, "Yertle the Turtle", in which the eponymous Yertle, king of the pond, stands on his subjects in an attempt to reach higher than the Moon—until the bottom turtle burps and he falls into the mud, ending his rule.

<i>On Beyond Zebra!</i> 1955 book by Dr. Seuss

On Beyond Zebra! is a 1955 illustrated children's book by Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. In this take on the genre of alphabet book, Seuss presents, instead of the twenty-six letters of the conventional English alphabet, twenty additional letters that purportedly follow them.

<i>McElligots Pool</i> 1947 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

McElligot's Pool is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published by Random House in 1947. In the story, a boy named Marco, who first appeared in Geisel's 1937 book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, imagines a wide variety of fantastic fish that could be swimming in the pond in which he is fishing. It later became one of the Seuss books featured in the Broadway musical Seussical where its story is used for the song "It's Possible".

<i>Youre Only Old Once!</i> 1986 picture book for adults by Dr. Seuss

You're Only Old Once! A Book for Obsolete Children is a 1986 picture book for adults by Dr. Seuss, released on Geisel's 82nd birthday. It was his first book for adults in 47 years.

Roy McKie was an American writer and illustrator of children's books, most notably under the Beginner Books imprint. He illustrated many books penned by Theodor Seuss Geisel under the pen name Theo. LeSieg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geisel Library</span> Iconic Library at the University of California, San Diego

Geisel Library is the main library building of the University of California, San Diego. It is named in honor of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as children's author Dr. Seuss. The building's distinctive architecture, described as occupying "a fascinating nexus between brutalism and futurism", has resulted in its being featured in the UC San Diego logo and becoming the most recognizable building on campus.

Bartholomew Cubbins is a fictional page, a pleasant boy, and the hero of two children's books by Dr. Seuss: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938) and Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1949). Cubbins also appears in "King Grimalken and the Wishbones", the first of Seuss's so-called "lost stories" that were only published in magazines. Besides the three printed stories about him—and the stage adaptations of both books—Bartholomew Cubbins also appears as a character in the TV show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. Seuss's only film, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., has a main character named Bartholomew Collins who is based on Cubbins, and, like his namesake, is a young boy who is wiser than the adults around him.

<i>The Big Honey Hunt</i> 1962 childrens book by Stan and Jan Berenstain

The Big Honey Hunt is a children's book by Stan and Jan Berenstain, the first in the long running Berenstain Bears series. It was first published in 1962, by Beginner Books, an imprint of Random House, co-founded and managed by Dr. Seuss. The book introduces a family of anthropomorphic bears: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Small Bear.

<i>The Lorax</i> (film) 2012 Illumination film

The Lorax, also known as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, is a 2012 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is the second screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1971 children's book of the same name following the 1972 animated television special. Directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Kyle Balda, produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy and written by the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, it stars the voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate and Betty White.

<i>The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories</i> Book by Dr. Seuss

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories is a collection of seven illustrated stories by children's author Dr. Seuss published by Random House on September 27, 2011. Though they were originally published in magazines in the early 1950s, they had never been published in book form and are quite rare, described by the publisher as "the literary equivalent of buried treasure". The stories were discovered by Charles D. Cohen, a Massachusetts dentist and a Seuss scholar and biographer, who also wrote an introduction to the collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government comics</span>

Government comics include informational material produced in comic book-format by governments and their affiliated bodies. These works fulfill a wide variety of purposes often seen in government publications, primarily educating the public about government programs or lifestyle choices the government wants to encourage. Richard L. Graham examines and dissects the United States' government comics in Government Issue: Comics for the People, 1940s-2000s.

<i>What Pet Should I Get?</i> Book by Dr. Seuss

What Pet Should I Get? is a Dr. Seuss children's book, posthumously published in 2015. Believed to have been written between 1958 and 1962, the book chronicles the adventures of Jay and Kay from Seuss' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish in their attempts to buy a pet.

References

  1. Hejji at Don Markstein's Toonopedia, Archived from the original on December 11, 2015.