On this day in 1957, Andy Capp debuted in Britain’s Daily Mirror. If you’re a Millennial you may have no idea of whom I’m speaking. Please allow me to hip you up. Andy Capp is an extraordinary daily comic strip about a working-class Brit whose main interests are drinking, fighting, leisure activities and playing rugby. What he definitely isn’t interested in is getting a job. He seems to spend most of his day in the pub. If not a man’s man, then certainly a scoundrel’s scoundrel. And very funny. Capp’s creator, Reg Smythe, didn’t believe in soft edges or political correctness. And while Andy thrived during the latter-half of the last century, his star has dimmed somewhat in this new age of easy outrage and arbitrary offense. Fun fact: Since the 1960’s, Andy Capp Fries, a bagged pub snack somewhere between potato chips and french fries, has been available to the public in a wide variety of flavors. They’re actually quite excellent.
Loves me some Andy Capp Hot Fries. The cartoons were great – anyone who could blame the sidewalk cracks for his drunk stumble is alright by me.
Haha! A scoundrel’s scoundrel…
As a matter of fact, I’ve been checking the Andy Capp comic strip almost daily for the better part of my last three-to-four years… All thanks to the MDM archives. Where late one miserably hungover evening, I first learned about my favorite whimsical freeloader.
As a kid, before I discovered alcohol, cartoons were what intoxicated me. 15 years later, I buy vintage Andy Capp comic books off of the EBay whenever I happen to come across them.
And for that, to Frank Kelly Rich and the MDM staff, I raise my glass… Thank you!