| Broom-Hilda | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Russell Myers |
| Website | www.gocomics.com/broomhilda |
| Current status/schedule | Running |
| Launch date | April 19, 1970 |
| Syndicate(s) | Tribune Content Agency[1] |
| Genre(s) | Humor |
Broom-Hilda is an American newspapercomic strip created bycartoonistRussell Myers. Distributed byTribune Content Agency,[1] it depicts the misadventures of a man-crazy, cigar-smoking, beer-guzzling, 1,500-year-oldwitch and hermotley crew of friends.
The original idea forBroom-Hilda came fromElliot Caplin, brother ofLi'l Abner cartoonistAl Capp. He described the main character to Myers, who responded with a sketch of the witch and several samples. Caplin, acting as Myers' business manager, submitted these to theChicago Tribune Syndicate. Introduced on April 19, 1970, it became an immediate success.Broom-Hilda was reprinted in several collections during the 1970s and 1980s.
Although events mostly take place during the present in an unidentified forest, the setting changes. Locales change drastically from day to day—and background details can change from panel to panel within the same strip, while the characters remain stationary (much like the backgrounds inKrazy Kat). Broom-Hilda is capable oftime travel, reappearing in various centuries throughout history to chat with (burlesque versions of) diverse historical figures.
Broom-Hilda was adapted twice for animated television series. The first was part ofArchie's TV Funnies (1971), an animated series set in a television station run byArchie Andrews and his friends.Broom-Hilda was one of the comic strips featured on their show, along withDick Tracy,Moon Mullins,Emmy Lou,The Captain and the Kids,The Dropouts,Nancy andSmokey Stover. The series was produced byFilmation Associates. Broom-Hilda's voice was provided byJane Webb (also the voice ofBetty Cooper andVeronica Lodge).
Broom-Hilda returned in another Filmation series,Fabulous Funnies (1978). Thirteen episodes were produced, and the series ran for one season onNBC.[2] The show featured animated versions of several famous comic strips, includingTumbleweeds,Alley Oop andNancy. Voices were provided byJune Foray (Broom-Hilda),Bob Holt (Gaylord) andAlan Oppenheimer (Irwin and Grelber).
The character also made a brief animated appearance inThe Fantastic Funnies (1980), a TV special that aired onCBS showcasing newspaper cartoonists. The animation sequence was produced byBill Melendez Productions. June Foray was brought back to voice the character.
A live-actionBroom-Hilda sketch was included in the specialMother's Day Sunday Funnies broadcast May 8, 1983, onNBC.[3]
In 2004, it was announced that there would be aBroadway musical[4] based on the comic strip characters, written byMartin Charnin (Annie) andKurt Andersen (Spy magazine). The music was composed byLeroy Anderson. There was discussion of casting with Andersen suggestingCatherine Zeta-Jones[5] for the title role, but the show was not produced.
Grelber also appeared as a computer program on oldUnix systems. Typing the command "Grelber" would cause the computer to insult the user.
Myers won theNational Cartoonists Society's Humor Comic Strip Award for 1975 for his work on the strip.
Myers holds the record for most comic strips drawn by one person, without assistance, for Broom Hilda, with over 19,000 daily and Sunday comic strips over 53 years, according to writer and comics expertMark Evanier.[6]
Caplin died in 2000. Myers continues to write and draw the strip, compiling a large backlog of strips in the event poor health were to prevent him from meeting his syndication requirements.[7]
Myers won a 2024 Guiness World Book of Records Award for the most comic strips drawn by one person for the longest period of time (54 years) in the world.
AtUniversal's Islands of Adventure, in Toon Lagoon, Broom-Hilda can be seen in front of the entrance of Comic Strip Cafe.
