William "Bill" Watterson (b. 1958) drew the popular cartoon "Calvin and Hobbes" from 1985-1995. Mr. Watterson is famously protective of his characters, not licensing their use in other media although they often appear on bumper stickers, t-shirts, signs and the like.
2. The Far Side
Answer: Gary Larson
American Gary Larson (b. 1950) began cartooning in 1976. In 1980, the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper hired him to produce a comic that they syndicated to other newspapers under the title "The Far Side". Larson stopped producing "The Far Side" in 1995, but the quirky single-panel cartoons remain popular in print and on merchandise.
3. Ranma 1/2
Answer: Rumiko Takahashi
Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist, active since 1978, and recognized worldwide as one of the most accomplished artists of the genre. "Ranma 1/2" was her third major series, first published in 1987. Both the print and animated (anime) versions of "Ranma 1/2" were very popular in the U.S. and are credited with introducing those art forms to American audiences.
4. Pogo
Answer: Walt Kelly
American Walt Kelly (1913-1973) drew "Pogo" as a daily comic strip starting in 1948. The strip was set in the Okefenokee Swamp with characters that were anthropomorphic swamp animals. "Pogo" was known for making political and sociological commentary, one of the best known being the animals picking up piles of litter, titled "WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US".
This cartoon figured prominently in the first Earth Day celebration in 1970.
5. Beetle Bailey
Answer: Mort Walker
Mort Walker illustrated the first "Beetle Bailey" comic in September 1950 and continued until shortly before his death in 2018, one of the longest runs of a cartoon drawn by the original artist. The hapless Beetle was a college dropout who joined the Army, where he continued to be an underachiever.
In the early years of the strip, it was revealed that Beetle was the brother of Lois, from the strip "Hi and Lois" that was written by Mort Walker and drawn by Dik Browne.
6. xkcd
Answer: Randall Munroe
American Randall Munroe started the web comic "xkcd" in 2005, describing its topics as "romance, sarcasm, math, and language". Munroe earned a degree in physics and worked as a NASA engineer before moving to full-time comic author in 2006. Munroe has authored other web comics and sells merchandise such as t-shirts featuring his work on "xkcd" and other projects.
7. Opus
Answer: Berkeley Breathed
Berkeley Breathed (b. 1957) began cartooning as a student at the University of Texas in 1978 with a strip titled "The Academia Waltz". Breathed's next strip was "Bloom County" in 1980, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1987. "Opus" began in 2003 with lead character Opus the Penguin who also appeared in "Bloom County". "Opus" ended in 2008, at the same time that Breathed said he was leaving political cartooning.
8. Dilbert
Answer: Scott Adams
American Scott Adams (1957-2026) first published a "Dilbert" cartoon in 1989 for United Features Syndicate and new cartoons appeared until 2023. Adams worked in corporate offices until 1995 when he became a full-time cartoonist.
9. Rocky & Bullwinkle
Answer: Jay Ward
Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. was born in 1920, and his middle school records show his name simply as "J. Ward". "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends" ran as a television cartoon from 1959 to 1964. "Rocky and Bullwinkle", appeared in newspapers from 1962-1963, with over 400 daily comics produced.
10. Doonesbury
Answer: Garry Trudeau
American cartoonist Garry Trudeau (b. 1948) first inked a "Doonesbury" comic strip in 1970. The title character, Michael Doonesbury, was a typical 1970s college student to start, and the strip continued for over fifty years when Michael and his compatriots were senior citizens.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
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