OPEN POST: Sunday Comics With "Hi and Lois!"

Remember "Hi and Lois?" I only have faint memories of it, but I'm sure I'm alone in that since it achieved blockbuster status and critical acclaim as a daily strip in nationwide newspapers and comic books for nearly 40 years. That's quite a run! It premiered in 1954, or a good six years before the similar "Family Circle," both of which relied heavily on innocent childhood shenanigans and family comedy. 

Yet as I soon realized when I first discovered "Hi and Lois," while "Family Circus" is told strictly from a child's point-of-view, "Hi and Lois" is very much told from an adult perspective, exploring the stresses of suburban life - a new way to live in the postwar 1950s - and how raising teenagers alongside toddlers could create conflict.

The strip is very light on its feet, but just beneath the surface, there's a surprising degree of anxiety, which was new to the comics' depiction of family life. 

Jointly created by Mort Walker, who also created "Beetle Bailey," and Dik Browne, who created "Hagar the Horrible," the strip is actually a spin-off of "Beetle Bailey." In 1954, Beetle went home on a military furlough to visit his sister, Lois. Mort liked the suburban milieu so much that he partnered with Dik to spin Lois and her husband Hi off into their own strip that same year.

Something was definitely in the air at this time, at least for comic strip artists. Charles Schulz' "Peanuts" put anxiety, anguish and neurosis at the forefront of comics starting in 1950, and just after, "Hi and Lois" followed suit. And, sure, it's a lot more easygoing, but if you’re receptive to its stings, they're there. Did you grow up with "Hi and Lois" in your hometown newspaper? 

Art Credits: King Features Syndicate/Comics Kingdom