Creator of Family Circus, Bil Keane, Passes Away

[InformationGeek]

I've not been a fan of Family Circus as I never read it that much, but still.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/11/09/family-circus-creator-bill-keane-dies/

[LilCerberus]

bummer

[Chainsawmidget]

Not a fan either, but I gotta give the guy props for keeping it going so long. 

[indianasmith]

He created a neat little slice of innocent, family friendly Americana . . .

They don't come along like that very often nowadays.

RIP, Bill.

[FatFreddysCat]

If Norman Rockwell had drawn a comic strip, it would've looked something like "The Family Circus."

Gotta give the man props for the longevity of his creation, even if it hadn't been funny/relevant since Eisenhower was president.

R.I.P.

[Jim H]

I also give him credit for his handling of the Dysfunctional Family Circus.  Dysfunctional Family Circus was a parody, generally involving creating new lines of dialogue (usually making them risque, etc).  They got pretty nasty eventually, and Bil Keane personally tried to get it shut down - but did it personally and with a good deal of grace and politeness, according to the creator of the DFC.  So, he seems like a generally cool guy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysfunctional_Family_Circus

As far as the comic itself...  Bland. 

[Mofo Rising]

No disrespect to Bil Keane or his family, but "The Family Circus" is awful.

It's a prime example of why the comics page has lost all of its vitality and relevance.

I care a lot about comics, even the throwaway art of daily comics. If you're not familiar with syndicated comics, of which every comic that appears in the newspaper are, it is an ultra-conservative industry. There are only one or two syndicates providing comics for the news page, and you almost have to sell your soul to get into them. One of the primary driving forces behind those comics are keeping comics that have been around for years to please the people who don't give a s**t about comics, but would rather see something that's always been on the page because they're resistant to change.

Often the comics are pablum, of which "The Family Circus" is the prime example. Just garbage there for tradition's sake.

The explosion of webcomics is a stark rebuttal of that entire method of thinking. There are so many webcomics which provide content in the same fashion as those on the newspaper's comic page, but they're funny, relevant, and able to express themselves in a manner you will never see in the newspaper dailies.

A comparison, picture the newspaper as a comics radio station that only plays the most popular hits, or engages in "American Idol" shenanigans. The least offensive garbage is what they sell ("Garfield," I'm looking at you.) Then expand your view to everything else that is going on in the world (webcomics). The syndicates are selling pap.

Sorry, I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but comics are capable of so much more than what "The Family Circus" is selling.

[Mr. DS]

If Norman Rockwell had drawn a comic strip, it would've looked something like "The Family Circus."

Honestly, you hit the nail on the head there.   The comic itself like many have said, was rather "meh".  I think it kind of gave an innocent view of childhood and parenthood that wasn't too bad. It often proved too "sweet" for my interests though. However, I do have to admit I liked the ones where the kids took a much longer path to get a simple task done and they track him with an arrow.  That and the "not me" ghosts.  Its something I can appreciate as a parent.

None the less, RIP.

[ChaosTheory]

RIP, Bill.

I wonder, which maudlin and too-long-running comic strip will Seanbaby wage war against now?
http://www.cracked.com/blog/pg13-family-circus/
Maybe "Cathy"  I hope it's "Cathy."

[tracy]

What a shame....I've read Family Circus for many years.