How to Be a Cathy Cartoon Fan
Cathy was a revolutionary cartoon comic strip when it began in 1976. It was the only syndicated comic at the time written by a woman for women. Written by Cathy Guisewite, Cathy has weathered a wildly changing world over the years and still manages to speak to women. Read on to learn how to be a Cathy cartoon fan.
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Instructions
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Know the author. Cathy Guisewite, a graduate of the University of Michigan created the Cathy cartoon strip. She became an advertising copywriter and worked in that profession for four years before becoming a cartoonist.
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Consider the history. Cathy debuted in November 1976 after Guisewite sent sketches and stories about her life to her mother. Her mother thought they were the start of a cartoon comic and urged Guisewite to submit them to a syndicate. She did and had a contract within a week.
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Learn about the characters. The main character is Cathy Andrews along with her dog Electra. She got married in February 2005 to Irving, who has a dog named Vivian. Cathy's parents are Bill and Anne Andrewsone. Finally, Andrea and Charlene are friends of Cathy's.
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Understand the four basic guilt groups the cartoon strip is based on: food, love, mom and work. These are so central to the plot of Cathy that Guisewite compiled all the strips she had written over the years and sorted them into the four groups. She then created four new books in honor of "Cathy's" 25th anniversary and called them "Food," "Love," "Mom" and "Work."
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See the issues Guisewite has dealt with through Cathy. She has used the comic to voice her opinions about wearing fur and getting a pet from an animal shelter.
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Tips & Warnings
Cathy often requires a woman's perspective to be funny. Men have complained over the years that they just don't get it.
Cathy has been accused of promoting negative stereotypes about women. Guisewite said, she considers food and body image things all women struggle with, even modern-day working women. "I think every human I know is on a quest to be a little better than they were the day before, and that's really what the comic strip is about," Guisewite said in a "Washington Post" online interview.
