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Marvin (comic strip)

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Marvin & Family
Author(s)Tom Armstrong
Websitehttp://comicskingdom.com/marvin
Current status/scheduleRunning
Launch dateAugust 1, 1982
Syndicate(s)King Features Syndicate
Genre(s)Humor

Marvin, later called Marvin & Family, is a daily newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Tom Armstrong and distributed in the U.S. by Hearst's King Features Syndicate. Debuting in 1982, it revolves around the life and times of a young baby boy named Marvin, along with his parents, Jeff and Jenny Miller, and their dog Bitsy. In 1989, CBS aired a special, "Marvin, Baby of the Year."

Publication history

Cartoonist Tom Armstrong debuted the seven-days-weekly comic strip Marvin on Sunday, August 1, 1982.[1] Originally distributed by North America Syndicate, it later went through Hearst's King Features Syndicate. The strip revolves around the life and times of a young baby boy named Marvin, along with his parents, Jeff and Jenny Miller, and their dog Bitsy.

In 1989, CBS aired a special, "Marvin, Baby of the Year." There was an earlier strip named Marvin, which was created by Pat Moran and syndicated in 1973.

While the strip's characters do not age, Marvin is identified as less than 1 year old in the December 16, 1999 strip, [2] and identified as a 2-year-old on the official website as of May 2015.[citation needed] The location is not explicitly defined, other than that in one strip Marvin states that he is in Indiana.[citation needed] However, in another strip, his mother is reading The Sacramento Bee.[citation needed]

A few flashback episodes showed Marvin as an unborn fetus, in imitation of Eggbert a strip by LAF .

Creator Tom Armstrong has made changes to the strip's character designs. In one e-mail to a fan[3] Armstrong explains why he made these changes.

Other characters include Megan, Marvin's cousin; Janet, who is Megan's mother and Jenny's sister (she and her husband were divorced); Ming Ming, Janet's adopted daughter from China; Bea and Roy, Marvin's grandparents; Bea and Roy's toy schnauzer named Junior;[4][5] Roy's pill-addict friend Bernie; and Marvin's friends Jordan,[citation needed] Warren (who is a genius),[6][7] Kyle[8] and Will, a child prodigy who spelled "prodigy" at five months.[9][10] Jeff has a macho friend, Ted.[11]

Prior to 2013 the strip's name was simply Marvin.

Events

Bea and Roy Arnold[12][13] lost their retirement savings in the 2008 recession and had to move in with Jeff and Jenny; Janet did not have enough room.[12][14]

In 2010, the Millers got new neighbors, the Purfects, who are so perfect they make the Millers feel inadequate. Rodney Purfect has a Ph.D. and is a company president, has won the Heisman Trophy and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He is six feet five inches tall and very manly. Barbie Purfect is a blonde housewife who attended cooking school in Paris, was a cheerleader, class president and sorority president. Rodney Purfect II is two and a half years old but reads at a third grade level, performed his piano composition for Queen Elizabeth II and was potty trained at 6 months.[15] He also has blond hair.

In 2005, Marvin guest starred in the comic strip Blondie for its 75th anniversary.

References

  1. ^ Marvin at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016.
  2. ^ e.g. http://marvincomics.com/comics/december-16-1999/ where he states it is his first Christmas,
  3. ^ Schwarz, Rick (June 10, 2003). "Google Contributor posts email from Marvin creator Tom Armstrong". Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "Marvin". DailyINK. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  5. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. May 31, 2014, King Features Syndicate.
  6. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. April 26, 2016, King Features Syndicate.
  7. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. April 27, 2016, King Features Syndicate.
  8. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. August 9, 2016, King Features Syndicate.
  9. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. June 29, 2016, King Features Syndicate.
  10. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. July 1, 2016, King Features Syndicate.
  11. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. May 9, 2014, King Features Syndicate.
  12. ^ a b Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. December 8, 2008, King Features Syndicate.
  13. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. March 30, 2010, King Features Syndicate.
  14. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. December 12, 2008, King Features Syndicate.
  15. ^ Tom Armstrong (w, a). Marvin. August 15, 2010, King Features Syndicate.

Further reading

  • Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1


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