The Muppets (comic strip)



The Muppets comic strip was a daily newspaper comic that first premiered in over 500 daily newspapers on September 21, 1981, just months after The Muppet Show ended its five year run. The strip was created by brothers Guy and Brad Gilchrist. Guy, the artist and cowriter, was only 24 years old when the strip began. Brad, the head writer, was about 21.

The Muppets Comic Strip was printed daily from 1981 to 1986 in over 660 newspapers worldwide. Special strips were also created in color, exclusively for issues of Muppet Magazine during its run.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan invited Guy to be guest of honor at the "Easter at The White House" celebration. It was later that week that Guy’s Muppets artwork was permanently enshrined in the Smithsonian Institute. Guy’s Muppet artwork was chosen to be part of the touring Art of the Muppets exhibit and has appeared in museums worldwide.

The strip originally had a more naturalistic style that was patterned directly off the puppets. As time went on, though, Guy became more confident drawing the characters and the strip became more stylized, capturing the essence of the characters in this new medium.

Characters featured in the Muppets comic strip included: Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter, Rowlf, Statler, Waldorf, Robin, Beauregard, Sam the Eagle, Floyd, Zoot, Janice, Animal, Rizzo, Link Hogthrob, Dr. Julius Strangepork, The Swedish Chef, Camilla, Pops, Beaker, J.P. Grosse, Foo Foo, and Thog. Background characters included Whatnots, Monsters, Chickens, Rats, Frogs and a handful of characters that looked somewhat like Doozers, although in scale with the Muppets.

Book collections
Six books were released by Tom Doherty Associates collecting the later strips.