October 23rd, 2020

Timeline – 2012 Part 1

by Brian

The Sunday page above features a romantic winter walk with Chip and his girlfriend.

Chip Flagston was about eight years old when Hi and Lois started in 1954.  He is the only character in the cast who has aged slightly over the years.

As he matured, his adolescent libido became a rich source of gags. Although he knew about them from the beginning, Chip really discovered the opposite sex in the 1960s.  He graduated from women-hater clubs and hiding in trees from schoolgirls to carrying their books and spending hours on the phone with his class sweetheart.  He has to go through this difficult age alone, convinced that his parents don’t understand anything about true romance.  After all, what do Moms and Dads know about the problems of teenage girls and boys?

In this classic strip from 1965, Hi and Lois notice the change.

In the episode below, Chip seems to think that the rest of the family is unaware of his obsession with girls. He is not doing a very good job of keeping his secret.

Readers who remember the awakening years of adolescence have a chance to relive their experiences by following Chip’s romantic exploits. It’s a lot less painful from a distance.

– Brian Walker

The Sunday page above features a drawing of Auguste Rodin’s famous sculpture, “The Thinker.”

Initially titled “The Poet” it was originally commissioned in 1880 as part of an assemblage of figures based on Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy,” and was designed to surround the “Gates of Hell” doorway in a planned Decorative Arts Museum in Paris. He worked on it for over 37 years.  One casting is currently on display at the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia.

There are over 28 full-size castings of “The Thinker” in locations around the world, inlcuding Paris, Tokyo and Louisville, Kentucky, and many more reproductions of various sizes.

When Mort Walker was a young boy, he did a pen-and-ink illustration of “The Thinker.” It was published in Cargo magazine and he received $1 in payment.

This drawing was included in both of Mort Walker’s autobiographies, Backstage at the Strips (1975) and Mort Walker’s Private Scrapbook (2000).

– Brian Walker