Reg'lar Fellers

Reg'lar Fellers was a long-run newspaper comic strip adapted into a feature film, a radio series on NBC and two animated cartoons. Created by Gene Byrnes (1889-1974), the comic strip offered a humorous look at a gang of suburban children (who nevertheless spoke like New York street kids). Syndicated from 1917 to 1949, Byrnes' strip was collected into several books.

While working as a sports cartoonist with the New York Telegram, Byrnes created his cartoon panel It's a Great Life If You Don't Weaken which introduced the Reg'lar Fellers characters in 1917. He began Wide Awake Willie as a New York Herald Sunday page in 1919, and this too featured Reg'lar Fellers characters. With Reg'lar Fellers distributed by the Bell Syndicate as a daily strip in 1920, Byrnes changed the name of the Sunday strip to Reg'lar Fellers. At its peak, the strip was syndicated in 800 newspapers. It was imitated by other strips, notably Ad Carter's Just Kids.

Characters and story

The characters include leader Jimmy Dugan, sidekick Puddinhead Duffy, Puddinhead's little brother Pinhead, Bullseye the dog and the gang's girl member, Angie Riley. Reg'lar Fellers had at least two topper strips—Daisybelle and Zoolie.