Break from the Grind November 13, 2012
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: What’s the longest-running comic strip?
November 13, 2012 – The comic strip “The Katzenjammer Kids” has been in print since 1897.
Reported by PS
Created by Rudolph Dirks, it first ran on December 12, 1897, in the Sunday supplemental for The New York Journal. The comic strip was about the adventures of rebellious twin brothers Hans and Fritz.
Reportedly, it proved so popular it sparked an early 20th century bidding war between newspaper barons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Pulitzer and Dirks kept Hans and Fritz for The New York World, while Hearst kept the strip’s title.
“The Katzenjammer Kids” still runs in nearly 50 newspapers. The current artist is Hy Eisman.
