Curtis (comic strip) explained

Curtis
Creator:Ray Billingsley
Status:Running
Syndicate:King Features Syndicate
Genre:Humor

Curtis is a nationally syndicated comic strip written and illustrated by Ray Billingsley, with a predominantly African American cast. The comic strip started up on October 3, 1988, and is syndicated by King Features.[1]

The comic strip portrays the daily life of a middle-class Black family living in a large American city, especially that of Curtis, the eponymous main character. It frequently chronicles aspects of African American culture and history.[2]

Curtis has been compared to Li'l Abner, which Billingsley cites as his favorite comic strip, in style.[3]

Themes

A recurring theme is Curtis' efforts to convince his father to try give up smoking, a personal issue for Billingsley, who is a prominent advocate for public health and the dangers of smoking.[4] For his efforts in educating young people about smoking, Billingsley has earned multiple awards from the American Lung Association.[5]

Though a fundamentally humorous comic, Curtis frequently addresses serious themes. Examples include bullying,[6] drug addiction and gentrification.[7] A storyline in 2020 involved the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

During the holiday season, Billingsley sometimes deviates from his usual characters to present special two-to-three week stories celebrating the Festival of Kwanzaa. Once an annual tradition in the strip, these specials became irregular in the mid-2010s, with Ray Billingsley citing declining reader interest in them. Similarly, around the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, the strip will discuss some aspect of Dr. King's life. The month of February is also dedicated to Black History Month, in which Mrs. Nelson assigns her class to write about various African-American figures in history.

Characters

[21] [22] [23]

In Other Media

On July 25th, 2024, Ray Billingsley posted the first animated short of “Curtis” made by animator Jason Williams on his Facebook for his birthday featuring the first panels of Curtis in animated form. due to the adults not being shown in the original panels, only his dad is seen with references to Diane and other characters shown in pictures and Easter eggs in the background.

Recurring gags

References

  1. [Dean Mullaney]
  2. Web site: 2016-07-18. Editor's Dispatch: A Conversation with Ray Billingsley, America's Leading Black Cartoonist. 2020-12-21. www.comicskingdom.com.
  3. Web site: Dueben. Alex. 2017-02-28. INTERVIEW: Ray Bilingsley reveals the hard lessons Will Eisner and the comics industry taught him. 2020-12-31. The Beat. en.
  4. News: Tobin. Suzanne. 2001-05-25. Comics: Meet the Artist - Ray Billingsley. 2020-12-21. The Washington Post.
  5. Web site: 2011-05-14. Comic Strips & Panels King Features Syndicate. 2020-12-21. en.
  6. Web site: Feller-Cohen. Julian. 2011-02-08. 'Curtis' and cartoonist Ray Billingsley confront bullying and other real-world problems. 2020-12-21. masslive. en.
  7. Web site: Kramer. Staci D.. 1993-03-29. Comic strip gets serious. 2020-12-21. The Chicago Tribune. en-US.
  8. News: Edwards. Gavin. 2020-04-27. A Pandemic Gives the Funny Pages a Jolt of Reality. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-12-21. 0362-4331.
  9. Web site: Curtis comic strip for January 8, 2020.
  10. Web site: Curtis comic strip for January 6, 2020.
  11. Web site: Curtis comic strip for April 12, 2023.
  12. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . May 25, 2010 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  13. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . April 11, 2020 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  14. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . June 17, 2020 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  15. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Houston, TX . March 1, 2014 . King Features . Houston Chronicle.
  16. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . July 6, 2016. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  17. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . June 4, 2017. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  18. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . November 16, 2014 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  19. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . June 15, 2016. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  20. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . June 18, 2016. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  21. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . April 18, 2017. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  22. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . April 21, 2017. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  23. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . April 27, 2017. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  24. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . July 1, 2021. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  25. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . July 2, 2021. King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  26. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . February 5, 2008 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  27. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . September 13, 2004 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  28. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . September 19, 2005 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  29. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . September 11, 2006 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .
  30. Ray Billingsley . Curtis . Seattle, WA . September 3, 2007 . King Features . Seattle Post-Intelligencer .

External links