Barney Google And Snuffy Smith

On June 17, 1919, readers met a wiry, bug-eyed character named Barney Google for the first time. More than a century later, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith remains one of the great survivors of the funny pages: a strip that has reinvented itself again and again while keeping its comic spirit unmistakably intact. Created by Billy DeBeck, the strip began as Take Barney Google, For Instance, a gag-a-day feature about a small, scheming sports fan with a talent for trouble and a weakness for betting. Barney was not exactly a model citizen, which may explain why readers liked him. He was crafty, unlucky, vain, resilient and, above all, funny. In other words, he was built for the comics page. Debut episode of ‘Barney Google’ (17 June 1919). The strip’s first major transformation came in 1922 with the arrival of Spark Plug, Barney’s beloved racehorse. Sparky quickly became more than a supporting character. With his blanket-covered body, stubborn personality and underdog charm, he helped turn the strip into a national sensation. Barney and Spark Plug’s racing adventures expanded the world of the comic, sending them far beyond the original setup and […]

For 25 years, cartoonist John Rose has lovingly guided one of comics’ most enduring and endearing institutions: Barney Google and Snuffy Smith. And if you ask anyone who knows him — fellow cartoonists, editors, readers, or fans — they’ll probably tell you the same thing before anything else: John is simply one of the nicest people in the business. Rose officially took over the reins in 2001, and his origin story is as whimsical and delightful as he is. Working as an editorial cartoonist at the time, he was a member of the National Cartoonists Society, where he learned that cartoonists sometimes had assistants. So he put together some samples of his work and sent them to longtime Snuffy Smith cartoonist Fred Lasswell. The response? A Saturday afternoon call that changed the course of his life when he heard, “I got the packet of samples that you sent me, and I really like the way you draw big noses.” Lasswell ended up hiring Rose as his inking assistant. John Rose’s first Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip (May 21, 2001) It was a natural fit. Rose brought a deep respect for the […]