Blondie (comic strip)

[[File:Blondie_1732.jpg|fram]

One of the longest-runnin] (80 years and counting) and most popular [[Newspaper Comic] of all time, and still fairly funny even after all this time, Blondie stars Dagwood Bumstead, a bog-standard salaryman with a strange haircut, one button on his shirt, and a love of monstrous sandwiches. He is happily married to [[Hello, Nurse!|Blondi], who runs a popular delicatessen and catering establishment. Their children are Alexander, who mimics his father in terms of hairstyle, and Cookie, who resembles her mother. The household is rounded out by the family dog, Daisy. Other recurring characters are [[Mean Bos] J.C. Dithers, [[Mouthy Kid Elmo, neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley, the mailman, Dagwood's car pool, and the chef at the local diner. Pretty much a [[Slice of Lif] comic at this point, the characters have stuck at the same age since the 1940s.

Dagwood was originally heir to the Bumstead Locomotive fortune, but was disowned when he married a flapper (originally known as Blondie Boopadoop) whom his family saw as below his class. He has since worked hard at J.C. Dithers & Company (currently as the construction company's office manager) to support his family.

80 years have severely eroded the original [[Fish Out of Wate] aspect of his character.

Derivative works include a series of comedy films (and long-running radio series) starring Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton, two single-season sitcoms (produced in 1957 and 1968), and an animated TV special.

Not to be confused with the band.


 * [[Acceptable Feminine Goal]: Blondie and her next door neighbor/friend eventually became "career women" by starting a catering business, so most of the work they do is cooking.
 * [[Alliterative Nam]: Blondie Bumstead, née Boopadoop.
 * [[Anime Hai]: Dagwood.
 * [[Aside Glanc]: Daisy often does this.
 * [[Big Eate]: Dagwood, again.
 * [[Character Titl]: Obviously, although it's really Dagwood, and not Blondie herself, who is the actual lead character.
 * [[Comic Book Tim]: While the Bumsteads and other characters have remained the same since the 1940s, their house and office have moved forward (albeit slowly and incrementally) with the passage of time.
 * Even Blondie's job title changed, from housewife to caterer in the early 1990s.
 * Crossove]: One strip in 2005 celebrated the Bumsteads' 60th anniversary with appearances by characters from other [[King Feature] comics, such as old favorites [[Hagar the Horribl], [[Hi and Loi], [[The Wizard of Id, [[B] and [[Beetle Baile] and relative newcomers such as [[Mutt], [[Zit], and [[Get Fuzz].
 * Dagwood Sandwich: [[Trope Name].
 * [[Defictionalizatio]: Very large sandwiches are now known as "Dagwoods" in some parts of the United States.
 * Does This Make Me Look Fat?: Dagwood responds by asking whether she meant from the waist up or from the waist down.
 * [[Drop-In Characte]: Elmo, a neighborhood kid who frequently drops by when Dagwood is trying to take a nap.
 * An old running gag, less commonly used these days, involved Dagwood trying to take a bath and having various characters [[Your Door Was Open|walking in on hi] while he was in the tub.
 * [[George Jetson Job Securit]
 * Girl of the Week, and Boy of the Week as well: Alexander's and Cookie's dates never show up more than once.
 * [[Gold Digge]: The reason Dagwood's parents disowned him was partly because they believed Blondie was this. In the very beginning, she was.
 * [[Greasy Spoo]: Lou's Diner, which Dagwood often frequents on his lunch break.
 * [[Hear Me the Mone]: An episode of the 1950s TV adaptation showed that Dagwood can riffle a packet of bills beside his ear, make noises like an adding machine, and then announce a cash value with over-the-top precision. Perhaps this helps explain why Mr. Dithers hasn't permanently fired him.
 * Henpecked Husband: Dithers
 * [[Hot Mo]: Blondie.
 * [[Identical Strange]: While not really noted as such in-universe, Dagwood's neighbor Herb Woodley and the mailman Mr. Beasley look almost exactly alike.
 * [[Inter Class Romanc]: The original strip was about the well-to-do Dagwood marrying the distinctly lower class Blondie against his parent's wishes. He was cut off and had to get a real job. The strip gradually morphed into the [[Dom Co] it has been for most of its run.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Dithers
 * [[Massive Multiplayer Crossove]: This Strip. All for the sake of a [[Milestone Celebratio], even!
 * [[Mean Bos]: Mr. Dithers fits this trope to a T. He's not above literally kicking Dagwood's ass.
 * [[Alternative Character Interpretatio]: Many readers feel that the incredibly lazy Dagwood deserves this.
 * Midnight Snack: A favorite habit of Dagwood.
 * [[Milestone Celebratio]: The 75th anniversary of the strip, which involved a [[Massive Multiplayer Crossove] of various other comic strips.
 * [[Morning Routin]: Common gag.
 * [[The Napoleo]: Dithers is considerably shorter than Dagwood.
 * [[Not a Morning Perso]: Dagwood.
 * [[Orphaned Punchlin]: In one of the Sunday Strips, Elmo tells Dagwood a joke that ends with "And so he says "Well, where's the stork?", with Dagwood expressing shock that Elmo actually recited that joke, claiming that, had he told that joke to his dad, he would spank Dagwood so hard that he'd have to sit on a quarter to tell whether it was heads or tails. In the ending strip, Dagwood decides to tell his wife the joke, which begins with "This stork goes over to a dance club..."
 * Retool: You know, at the start of the strip back in the 1930s, Dagwood was the heir to an industrial fortune, and Blondie a common gutterslut. When they got married a few years in, Dagwood was disowned, and forced to get a job for the first time in his life. That's why he's always late to work, takes naps until noon -- pretty much every running gag derives from Dagwood being used to a life of leisure and excess. Also, his haircut was apparently a pop culture reference at the time. Blondie's flapper origins and Dagwood's lost fortune don't really come up anymore, as the strip turned into the print equivalent of a family sitcom.
 * [[Running Ga]: Several:
 * Dagwood smashing into the mailman as he runs out of the door late for work.
 * Dagwood's massive sandwiches.
 * Dagwood's naps on the couch (noticing a trend, here?)
 * [[Slasher Smil]: When Dagwood was upset with Blondie for unknown reasons in one strip, he invokes this trope when attempting to deny that he was still upset with her.
 * [[Standardized Sitcom Housin]
 * [[Suppressed Mammarie]: It's implied that Blondie hid her rather large breasts during her flapper days.
 * Sweater Girl: Blondie, often.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Dagwood sandwiches, natch.
 * [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wif]: Dagwood and Blondie, of course, but also neighbors/best friends Herb and Tootsie. Tootsie is basically Blondie with dark hair. The Bumstead kids are an unmarried example of [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife|Ugly Brothe], [[The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter|Hot Siste].
 * Although in the world of the comic itself, Dagwood is actually considered rather good-looking, if a little dated in his style of dress.
 * [[Vitriolic Best Bud]: Dagwood and Herb
 * To a lesser extent, Dagwood and Dithers. The latter can go from giving Dagwood a tea at the Bumsteads' the next.
 * Sunday strip] could take [[Serious Business|any situation, no matter how trivial, to ridiculous levels of histrionism and [[Melodram].

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