Blondie is a comic strip created by American cartoonist Chic Young. The comic strip is distributed by King Features Syndicate, and has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the strip, which features the eponymous blonde and her sandwich-loving husband Dagwood, led to the long-running Blondie film series (1938–1950) and the Blondie radio program (1939–1950).
Young wrote and drew Blondie until his death in 1973, when creative control passed to his son Dean Young. A number of artists have assisted on drawing the strip over the years, including Alex Raymond, Jim Raymond, Paul Fung Jr., Mike Gersher, Stan Drake, Denis Lebrun, Jeff Parker, and (since 2005) John Marshall. Despite these changes, Blondie has remained popular, appearing in more than 2,000 newspapers in 47 countries and translated into 35 languages. From 2006 to 2013, Blondie was also available via email through King Features' DailyINK service. On January 1, 2026, the first few Blondie strips from 1930 entered the public domain. Many of the later Blondie strips published before May 1933 are also in the public domain due to no renewal of copyright.
Overview
Designed to follow in the footsteps of Young's earlier "pretty girl" creations Beautiful Bab and Dumb Dora, Blondie focused on the adventures of Blondie Boopadoop—a carefree flapper girl who spent her days in dance halls along with her boyfriend Dagwood Bumstead, heir to an industrial fortune. The name "Boopadoop" derives from the scat singing lyric that was popularized by Helen Kane's 1928 song "I Wanna Be Loved by You".
Blondie and Dagwood debuted on September 8, 1930, in the New York American and several other newspapers across North America. The strip was only moderately popular in its first two and a half years, as interest in humorous "pretty girl" stories dried up as a result of the Great Depression, turning Blondie into a parody of those strips and taking a more melodramatic direction. In mid-1932, and considering the scenario to have run its course, Young briefly tried writing Dagwood out of the daily continuities by having his parents send him on a cruise to Europe and replacing him as Blondie's boyfriend with a garage mechanic, but immediate reader response led to Dagwood returning by late August.
Marriage On February 17, 1933, after much fanfare and build-up, Blondie and Dagwood were married. After a month-and-a-half-long hunger strike by Dagwood to get his parents' blessing, as they strongly disapproved of his marrying beneath his class, they disinherited him. Left only with a check to pay for their honeymoon, the Bumsteads were forced to become a middle-class suburban family. The marriage was a significant media event, given the comic strip's popularity."Big Deals: Comics’ Highest-Profile Moments," Hogan's Alley #7, 1999 The catalog for the University of Florida's 2005 exhibition "75 Years of Blondie, 1930–2005" notes: Blondie's marriage marked the beginning of a change in her personality. From that point forward, she gradually assumed her position as the sensible head of the Bumstead household. And Dagwood, who previously had been cast in the role of straight man to Blondie's comic antics, took over as the comic strip's clown.
Setting In conjunction with a contest to name the daughter, who eventually became known as "Cookie", Chic Young stated that the Bumsteads are "a little family out in Joplin, Mo."
The Joplin Globe clarified in an August 1946 issue, "Dagwood Bumstead and family, including Daisy and the pups, live in the suburbs of Joplin, Missouri," citing Young.
Cast of characters Blondie Bumstead (née Ruthie Boopadoop): The eponymous leading lady of the comic strip, Blondie is a smart, sweet and responsible woman. She can be stressed at times due to her young family and Dagwood's antics, and despite being usually laid-back and patient, Blondie does get upset sometimes. She is also extremely beautiful, with golden hair, gentle curls, and a shapely figure. A friend once told Dagwood that Blondie looked like a 'million bucks.' In 1991, she began a catering business with her neighbor, Tootsie Woodley. Dagwood Bumstead: Blondie's husband and a kind and loving, yet clumsy, naïve, and lazy man, his cartoonish antics are the basis for the strip. He is a big fan of sports (primarily football and baseball) and has a large, insatiable appetite for food (but he remains slender). Dagwood is especially fond of making and eating the towering Dagwood sandwich. He celebrates even the most insignificant holidays and approaches Thanksgiving (a holiday known for lavish dinners) with the same reverence most people reserve for Christmas. His continuous antagonistic and comical confrontations with his boss, Mr. Dithers, for numerous reasons including Dagwood's laziness and silly mistakes, is a subplot that gets considerable attention in the strip. His klutziness is also a fundamental part of his encounters with Mr. Beasley the mailman. Another subplot deals with Dagwood and his neighbor Herb. Dagwood can also often be seen napping on his own couch. He is employed as the office manager at J. C. Dithers Construction Company. Alexander Bumstead: The elder child of Blondie and Dagwood, he is in his late teens, and was formerly referred to by his pet name "Baby Dumpling". As a child, he was very mischievous and precocious. As a teenager, he is athletic, levelheaded, and intelligent. Despite resembling his father, he is more down-to-earth, like his mother. His full name, revealed in the November 7, 1934, strip, is Alexander Hamilton Bumstead. Cookie Bumstead: The younger child of Blondie and Dagwood, she is in her early teens. Cookie is portrayed as a sweet, bubbly teenaged girl whose interests include dating, hanging out with friends, and clothes. Her appearance has changed the most compared to the other characters. As a child (1940s–mid 1950s), she originally had long, curly hair with a black bow holding a long curl on the top of her head. As a young teen (late 1950s–1960s), she wore her hair in a ponytail with curly bangs. As an older teen (1970s–1990s), she wore her hair long with a black headband. Later (2000s), she dropped the hairband and wore her hair with bangs and barrettes, and flipped to the sides. Her current hairstyle is long with bangs and flipped at sides. Daisy: The Bumsteads' family dog, whose best friend is Dagwood, frequently changes her expression in response to Dagwood's comments or other activities. She gave birth to puppies in the later years of the comic. Daisy's birthday is September 19. Mr. Beasley the Postman: He is the Bumsteads' mailman, with whom Dagwood seems to always collide and knock down as Dagwood hurriedly leaves the house. Variations on this gag are that once Alexander collided with Beasley and once the Bumsteads installed an outside mailbox-which Dagwood ran into instead of Mr Beasley. Beasley's birthday is August 26. Mr. Julius Caesar Dithers: Founder of the J.C. Dithers Construction Company and Dagwood's boss, he dictates orders to his employees and believes the best thing in life is money. Mr. Dithers has a very harsh personality and is portrayed as a difficult and controlling employer. He continuously denies Dagwood's requests for a raise and frequently threatens to fire him. He always addresses Dagwood somewhat disrespectfully by using only his last name "Bumstead". Although it usually does not seem like it at the workplace, Mr. Dithers is a good-hearted man. Despite the frequent disputes at work, Julius and Cora are frequent dinner guests at Dagwood's home after work. On these occasions, the relationship is more cordial, with Mr. Dithers addressing Dagwood by his first name. A running gag for many years is that whenever Dagwood messes up an important contract Dithers will pick Dagwood up and either kick or throw him down the hallway. On the 75th anniversary of Blondie, Dithers became great friends with the visiting King of ID! Julius' birthday is July 2. Mrs. Cora Dithers: Mr. Dithers' wife, she usually gets into fights with him as she exerts control over him (she usually wins). She is great friends with Blondie. Herb Woodley: Dagwood's best friend and next-door neighbor, Herb, though, can be extremely selfish and mean at times when he does not return the expensive power tools and favors that he usually borrows from Dagwood. Herb constantly finds means to annoy and infuriate him. Tootsie Woodley: Herb's wife and Blondie's best friend, Tootsie and Blondie can empathize with one another as women, mothers, and particularly as spouses of eccentric husbands. In 1991, she joined Blondie in starting a catering business. Elmo Tuttle: A kid in the neighborhood, he has a friendship with Dagwood (whom he calls "Mr. B"), but sometimes annoys him. His last name was originally "Fiffenhauser". Replaced a similar character named Alvin Fuddle who was Baby Dumpling's best friend through the 1940s. Lou: He is the owner and counterman at Lou's Diner, where Dagwood goes for lunch. Dagwood sometimes suggests new specials for the diner. Lou's arms are covered with tattoos (a heart and a Navy anchor) and he always has a toothpick in his mouth. His cooking skill (or at least that of the small cook who sometimes appears beside him) is dubious and all his meals are of a quality that Blondie would never be party to -- rancid, over-spiced, or tasteless, and way too expensive. Lou does little to improve the quality of his food or to gain the satisfaction of his customers. Once when Lou closed the diner for a week so he could visit his mother in Hoboken, Dagwood suffered "withdrawal pains".7-21-2016 "Blondie" Claudia and Dwitzell: They are carpoolers with Dagwood and Herb. Claudia is a lawyer. No occupation has been identified for Dwitzell, sometimes called "Dwitz". Dwitzell works in the novelty business. Mike Morelli the Barber: Dagwood's barber, he likes to make fun of Dagwood's hairstyle and can usually be seen with his nameplate, "M. Morelli", displayed by his barber's chair. Mike loves to lure and drag Dagwood into political debates at points where it usually leaves Dagwood frustrated. Marlene: Dithers' secretary. Alvin Fuddle: Baby Dumpling's best friend, a mischievous boy who annoys the Bumsteads especially Dagwood. Only appeared from the 1930s to 1950s and plays a more prominent role in the Columbia film series. A similar character named Elmo Tuttle replaces his role. Maya: Blondie's pastry chef, hired in 2024.
Running gags
Several running gags occur in Blondie, reflecting the trend after Chic Young's death for the strip to focus almost entirely on Dagwood as the lead character: Dagwood often collides with Mr. Beasley the mailman while running out the front door—late for work. Other variations of the late-for-work gag: Dagwood keeping his car pool waiting, running after their car or stuck in traffic. In earlier decades, he had been late for the bus, or even earlier in the strip's run, late for the streetcar. Dagwood's impossible appetite for food: The impossibly tall sandwiches Dagwood fixes for himself, which came to be known colloquially as the "Dagwood sandwich", became famous. Dagwood in his pajamas is having a midnight snack, with most of the refrigerator contents spread out on the kitchen table, or balanced precariously on his extended arms on the way to the table. At Lou's Diner, whenever Lou's cook makes up a new extra hot Chili dish, Dagwood eats it (despite Lou's warnings) and Dagwood always ends drinking water endlessly to cool the burning spices in his mouth Dagwood has a propensity to nap on the couch during the day, often interrupted by Elmo, who wants to ask him a question, Blondie, who has a chore she wants him to do, or Dithers, who offers him his job back after he fired him.