| Momma | |
|---|---|
 The cover of a Momma collection | |
| Author(s) | Mell Lazarus |
| Current status/schedule | Concluded daily & Sunday strip; reruns |
| Launch date | October 26, 1970 |
| End date | July 10, 2016 |
| Syndicate(s) | Publishers-Hall Syndicate (1970–1975) Field Newspaper Syndicate (1975–c. 1987) Creators Syndicate (c. 1987–2016) |
| Publisher(s) | Dell; Sheed, Andrews, and McMeel |
| Genre(s) | humor, adults |
Momma is an American comic strip by Mell Lazarus that ran from October 26, 1970, to July 10, 2016. [1]
Momma was Lazarus' second strip; he had been publishing the syndicated strip Miss Peach since 1957. Debuting on October 26, 1970, Momma was initially distributed by the Publishers-Hall Syndicate, and later was handled by Creators Syndicate and published in more than 400 newspapers worldwide. [2]
Creators Syndicate announced Momma's (and Mell Lazarus') death July 10, 2016, in a comic strip memorial that included other grieving comic strip characters. [3]
The central character is Sonya Hobbs, an annoying, short, widowed, opinionated senior citizen mother with a controlling, nagging personality. Although Lazarus based the character on his own mother, when he showed it to her, she thought the character was based on his aunt, exclaiming, “You caught Aunt Helen to a tee!” [2] [4]
"Momma" has three grown children:
While Momma constantly tries to make her children feel insignificant without her, they consider her to be an emotional burden. Still, they love her in their own way as she loves them in turn.
Other recurring characters in the strip include Mr. K, a bald senior citizen who attempts to court Sonya, but to whom she cannot bear the thought of remarriage. Her best friend is Mrs. Grimhaus, a woman with similar child concerns. Unlike Sonya, however, she has been married several times, all ending due to divorce or death. Normy is Francis' best friend, who has a similar outlook to Francis on life and work. Some strips show Normy's family, who relationship with his own mother is even more strained than that of Francis and Sonya.
Lesser parts of the strip show a flashback where Francis, Normy, and Thomas had all been ordered to serve an enlistment in the United States Army, and the trio sometimes reflects back on their service, joking how it was easier to handle than the trouble with their mothers.
During the course of the strip, Momma has a variety of dream sequences, which include a homeless Francis holding a cup for donations. Other dream sequences include her late husband Jerome and herself at the gates of Heaven, awaiting entrance. Sometimes Jerome appears as an angel in a case where Sonya does not know what to do about her children or another problem in life.
Book collections include Momma (Dell, 1972) and The Momma Treasury (Sheed, Andrews, and McMeel treasury series, 1978).
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