#Rage comics faces series

Also, they developed a book series and live-action stage play. In the 1920s, they traveled as far as the Amazon and even the Arctic Circle. In WWI to tamp down its German heritage, for five years Hans und Fritz became the Dutch brothers, Mike and Aleck. 'Katzenjammer' continued under six different authors until 2006. Still, every strip was signed by Rudolph until his passing in 1968. Dirks' son John took over the strip in the Fifties, taking it in a Science Fiction direction and a more modern look. After battling it out, Dirks retained the rights to 'Hans und Fritz,' and Hearst kept the name of 'Katzenjammer Kids.' In 1916, Dirks joined Hearst's arch-rival Joseph Pulitzer's 'New York World' reintroducing 'Hans und Fritz' in the new strip 'Captain and The Kids.' While it did have a short run as a daily, 'Captain and The Kids' proved to be more successful as a Sunday-only strip. So they almost went to court over the rights to the characters. While he took time off, Hearst hired Harold Kerr, who drew a rival strip called the 'Feinheimer Twins.' One year later when Dirks wanted to return, Hearst refused. By using the familiar story tropes of the day with his artistic advances, 'Katzenjammer Kids' became huge.Īfter 15 years of these strips, Dirks needed some rest. However, his most important invention was the 'speech bubble.' Suddenly, words appeared from the mouths of the characters. When they got socked or punched, Dirks envisioned a circle of stars around their aching head. Out of ingenuity, Dirks was the first to use a cloud of dust behind a character to explain they were running, or cover them in beads of sweat to indicate nervousness. Even more confining to these still powerful images was the characters' usage of words appearing underneath the frame.

In the beginning, comics were perhaps one or two squares - drawn almost always like a still from the activity. Over that time and under constant pressure for more stories and hilarity, Dirks became the first to give 'movement' to characters. Soon they were joined by Der Inspector and even Der Pirate.ĭirks continued drawing 'Katzenjammer Kids' for 15 years. The Mom and Dad characters were also quickly altered, with Dad leaving only to be replaced by Der Captain. And 'Dat' and 'Chust' were used in the place of 'That' and 'Just.' Maintaining this language barrier made these miscreants and their ways even more hilarious. Dirks was very careful to have these characters maintain their German immigrant language. The three brothers quickly became two: Hans und Fritz. As his youthful subjects were all about making noise and trouble, he named them after a modification of the German word for 'caterwaul.' Like Buster Brown and countless other strips, these kids were pranksters who gleefully played their jokes and then learned a lesson in the end. He fondly remembered 'Max and Moritz' from his childhood and the German immigrant Rudolph Dirks to concoct a similar story that could be told in installments in his newspaper. Thirty years later, Hearst moved to New York City and purchased the failing New York Journal for pennies on the dollar. 'Max and Moritz' was a slow starter, but it finally started selling - including to one of its biggest fans, William Randolph Hearst. The Munich publisher Kaspar Bush saw the potential, paying him nearly 2 years' salary for the book.

When he first approached his publisher with these silly hyperbolic adventures, he was actually turned down. In Europe in 1865, the poet and artist Wilhelm Busch told his tales with pictures in his native German where they were labeled 'Bilderbogen.' Out of his hundreds of stories, the mischievous Max and Moritz proved to be the biggest favorites. The entire modern comic form came together in one that, believe it or not, is still in print today. (Coincidentally, so many publications led to a battle for readers and dropped the price as low as 3 cents). In addition, this massive cycle of growth led to 19 daily newspapers (several in other languages) operating at one time in New York City. As they poured into the major cities, the language barriers were broken by the comics printed in magazines and local newspapers. The late 1800s were a significant time for nascent America to grow in population, thanks to a massive influx of immigrants from all over the world.

Rage comics faces