Griff and the Unicorn

Universal Press Syndicate seemingly tried to think outside the box when they started in 1970. Their first comic strip was Doonesbury, which looked at the lives of college students and the political activism of the era. The strip was a hit, and 42 years later it's still appearing in newspapers all over the world.

Other strips they introduced in the '70s include Cathy, Ziggy, and For Better or For Worse, all successes. But for every successful strip there were many that failed to take off.

One of those was Griff and the Unicorn, which Universal syndicated from November 20, 1972 to March 16, 1974. The strip was daily only (no Sundays) and was drawn by Dave Sokoloff, a children's book author. He was still in college when he drew the strip, making him one of the youngest nationally syndicated cartoonists at the time. According to the creator the strip was only in 20 newspapers, which explains its short life-span.

The artwork is extremely strange, which is what caught my eye when I found it in newspaper microfilms. I can only imagine what 1970s-era newspaper readers thought of the strip.

In a way, the Unicorn's design reminds me of Lauren Faust's designs for My Little Pony (the large eyes, specifically).

"Conchy" Sunday Bonus (December 15, 1974)

Conchy - Week of February 2, 1976

The following Conchy storyline ran on the week of February 2, 1976.

These are disturbing in hindsight when you realize what happened to James Childress. His divorce and subsequent custody battle was what drove him to end his own life less than a year after this was published.

"Arnold" Sundays 4

This is an early "Arnold" strip, published in February of 1983, when the strip was three months old (every other Sundays posted are from 1985-86). Unusually it has a forth character making a physical appearance. Possibly she was a character that appeared early on before the cartoonist decided to limit the cast to just three.

More Nancy

More Nancy strips by Jerry Scott.

Conchy Sunday Bonus (November 3, 1974)

Conchy - Week of August 23, 1976

Rest of the August 1976 strips, including 30 and 31st.

(This strip has whole new meaning when you realize what happened to the cartoonist five months later.)