On August 11, local time, cartoonist Cathy Lee Guisewite announced that she will end her syndicated newspaper strip Cathy on October 3. To be honest I haven't given much thought to Cathy because I haven't payed much attention to newspaper strips, or spent much time reading newspapers, in the last decade. But whatever one thinks of the quality of the strip itself (Its art generally failed to impress me), one has to admire Guisewite's achievements with the cartoon. Cathy has lasted more than thirty years, appeared in more than 1400 newspapers, and has been collected into more than twenty books. Those are impressive numbers that few cartoonists ever garner within their lifetimes. And from what I can tell, Guisewite is ending the strip on her own terms. Now that is truly amazing.
Jessica Wakeman on Cathy as the precursor to several popular TV shows.
Tom Spurgeon shares his thoughts.
Alan Gardner ponders on the possible replacements to fill the gaping hole left when Cathy ends.
Mary Elizabeth Williams declares Cathy a feminist icon. Lindsay Beyerstein begs to differ.
Shaenon Garrity breaks down Cathy's favorite expression.
MPR News interviews Cathy Guisewite.
Shaenon Garrity explains Cathy's appeal to Baby Boomers.
R.C. Harvey narrates the history of Cathy: pt1, pt2, pt3,
A few cartoonists offer tributes to Cathy in comic strip form.
(links are added as they appear)
