Half Hitch (comic strip)

Technopedia Center

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
S1 Informatics S1 Information Systems S1 Information Technology S1 Computer Engineering S1 Electrical Engineering S1 Civil Engineering

faculty of Economics and Business
S1 Management S1 Accountancy

Faculty of Letters and Educational Sciences
S1 English literature S1 English language education S1 Mathematics education S1 Sports Education

Half Hitch (comic strip) - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Half Hitch

Author(s)	Hank Ketcham (1943–1945) Bob Saylor (1970–1975)
Illustrator(s)	Dick Hodgins (1970–1975)
Current status/schedule	Concluded daily strip
Launch date	1943; February 16, 1970
End date	1945; 1975
Syndicate(s)	King Features Syndicate (1970–1975)
Publisher(s)	The Saturday Evening Post (1943–1945)
Genre(s)	Humor, Military

Half Hitch is an American comic strip by Hank Ketcham, in syndication first between 1943 and 1945 and later from 1970 to 1975. It is an example of military humor, but unlike most cartoons and comics of this genre, is focused on the navy, rather than the army. The unnamed character first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1943.^[1]

During World War II, Hank Ketcham served in the U.S. Navy. During his service, he created a comic strip for the amusement of his fellow sailors, following the adventures of a short, lecherous sailor and his friends. It was published in The Saturday Evening Post where it became popular.^[2] The strip ceased in 1945, but after the great success of Dennis the Menace, Ketcham revived it as Half Hitch. The revival was distributed by King Features Syndicate, running from 1970 to 1975, as described by comics historian Don Markstein:

But in the late 1960s, when there once again was a soldier or a sailor in most families, King Features Syndicate started looking into something new, to tap into the popularity of its Beetle Bailey. Ketcham had proved his own drawing power with Dennis, so they decided on a revival of his diminutive sailor, dubbing him Half Hitch. The new version began as a daily and Sunday on Monday, February 16, 1970. Tho Ketcham's name went on it, this incarnation was written by Bob Saylor and drawn by Dick Hodgins, using a Ketchamesque style. Though King had had some success with pantomimes (e.g., Henry, The Little King), this time Hitch spoke. And so did everybody else in the strip, even a seagull named Poopsy, tho the latter didn't seem interested in talking with anybody but Hitch. The title character was no longer as hapless as before, but he still did many traditional sailor-like things, such as having a girl in every port.^[3]^[4]

The strip's main character, Half Hitch, is short, rather lazy, and intensely interested in the pursuit of women. Other characters include the ship's stern captain, various NCOs and sailors, and Poopsy, Hitch's pet seagull. Poopsy spun out into his own strip in 1974.^[5]^[6]

References

^ Donald D. Markstein, Half Hitch
^ Current biography yearbook, vol. 17, H.W. Wilson Company, 1957, p. 336
^ Maurice Horn (1976), The World Encyclopedia of Comics, vol. 1, Chelsea House Publishers, p. 301, ISBN 978-0-87754-042-7
^ Half Hitch at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012.
^ Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, The Inventory of the Hank Ketcham Collection #126 (PDF), p. 52
^ Heritage Auctions, Dick Hodgins Jr. - Poopsy Sunday Comic Strip Original Art, dated 4-6-75

v t e King Features Syndicate comics
Current	Arctic Circle Baby Blues Barney Google and Snuffy Smith Beetle Bailey Between Friends Bizarro Blondie The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee Carpe Diem Curtis Deflocked Dennis the Menace Dustin The Family Circus Flash Gordon Funky Winkerbean Gearhead Gertie Hägar the Horrible Hi and Lois Intelligent Life Judge Parker Kevin and Kell Laff-a-Day Legalization Nation Mallard Fillmore Mark Trail Marvin Mary Worth Mother Goose and Grimm Mutts On the Fastrack The Phantom Popeye Olive & Popeye Prince Valiant Pros & Cons Rae the Doe Rex Morgan, M.D. Rhymes with Orange Safe Havens Sally Forth Sam and Silo Sherman's Lagoon Shoe Six Chix Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids Take It from the Tinkersons Tiger Todd the Dinosaur Zippy Zits
Historical	Abie the Agent Ace Drummond Agatha Crumm Alphonse and Gaston The Amazing Spider-Man And Her Name Was Maud Apartment 3-G Archie Art Linkletter's Kids Barney Baxter Baron Bean The Better Half Betty Boop Betty Boop and Felix Big Ben Bolt Bleeker: The Rechargeable Dog Boner's Ark Brick Bradford Bringing Up Father Buckles Buz Sawyer Captain Kate Count Screwloose from Tooloose Crankshaft Crock Disney Christmas Story Disney Holiday Story Donald Duck Dr. Kildare Dumb Dora Edge City Etta Kett Felix the Cat Flapper Filosofy Franklin Fibbs Gil Grandma Grin and Bear It Gummi Bears Half Hitch Happy Hooligan Hazel The Heart of Juliet Jones Hejji Henry The Incredible Hulk Inside Woody Allen Johnny Hazard José Carioca Jungle Jim The Katzenjammer Kids King of the Royal Mounted Krazy Kat Little Annie Rooney Little Iodine Little Jimmy The Little King The Lone Ranger Mandrake the Magician Mickey Mouse Mister Breger Moose & Molly My Cage Norb The Norm Oh, Brother! Ollie and Quentin Ozark Ike The Pajama Diaries Pete the Tramp Piranha Club Polly and Her Pals Quincy Radio Patrol Red Barry Redeye Reg'lar Fellers Retail Rip Kirby Room and Board Rusty Riley Sam's Strip Scamp Secret Agent X-9 Silly Symphony Skippy Steve Canyon Steve Roper and Mike Nomad Strictly Richter Teena They'll Do It Every Time Tillie the Toiler Tim Tyler's Luck Tina's Groove Toots and Casper Triple Take Trudy Tumbleweeds Tundra Uncle Remus and His Tales of Br'er Rabbit Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales What a Guy! Winnie the Pooh Wonder Woman
Related	Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Central Press Association DailyINK Jay Kennedy King Comics King Features Syndicate National Cartoonists Society The Sunday Funnies Kings Watch

This comic strip–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Categories:

Hidden categories: