Was Ginger Originally A Supporting Character?
Q: Was Ginger Meggs originally a supporting character?
A: TODAY'S FUN FACT from the Center for Cartoon Studies: Neither Krazy Kat, Popeye, or Nancy were the featured character of their comic strip. They were all marginal or supporting characters before asserting themselves as the star.
L-R, Krazy Kat, Popeye, Nancy
This is a pretty big shift. It would be like if the show was initially called The Kramer Chronicles, but got renamed to Seinfeld. But it isn’t that uncommon.
Our own Ginger Meggs was initially named Ginger Smith, and was a background character in a strip called Us Fellers, in which the main character was Gladsome Gladys. The strip was published on November 13, 1921, 100 years ago this year.
You can see Ginger here, bowling a cricket ball in the first panel:
Here is what Ginger (and Benny) looked like early in colour, alongside Gladsome Gladys:
By James C. Bancks, 18th December 1921
