Timeline – 1999 Part 1

Hi and Lois Sunday page digital proof, April 18, 1999.

This gag would not have worked as a black-and-white daily strip.  The full color palette of the Sunday funnies helps to simulate blue skies, white clouds, yellow sun, green grass, pink, rose, violet and lavender flowers, a robin red breast and a bluebird. It’s all in the pixels.

What a sweet episode!  Trixie’s personality can deliver a gag like this.  While Hi is immersed in reading his newspaper, Trixie is free-ranging around the backyard admiring the splendors of nature.

Every now and then, we like to insert an endorsement for the Sunday funnies in the strip.  It’s a great American pastime that all of our readers can relate to.

I have a collection of drawings, paintings and photos of cartoon characters and real people reading the comics.   I use these in books and articles about the history of the art form.

Here is one of my favorites of a kid enjoying his weekly Sunday section.

Next week we will feature another classic episode from 1999 in our Timeline series, so stay tooned.

– Brian Walker