Rugrats (comic strip) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rugrats |
|
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Scott Gray and Steve Crespo (Originators) Others later. |
| Website | Official site: http://www.creators.com/comics/rugrats.html?comicname=rug |
| Current status/schedule | Concluded daily strips; reruns |
| Launch date | April 5, 1998 |
| End date | May 3, 2003 |
| Syndicate(s) | Creators Syndicate |
| Genre(s) | Humor ("Funny kid") |
The Rugrats comic strip was a fun daily cartoon series. It was based on the popular Nickelodeon TV show called Rugrats. Just like the TV show, the comic strip aimed to be funny for both kids and grown-ups. This comic strip appeared in newspapers from April 5, 1998, until May 3, 2003.
Contents
Who Created the Rugrats Comic Strip?
Many talented people worked on the Rugrats comic strip. Scott Gray, Gordon Kent, Lee Nordling, and others wrote the stories. The first artist was Steve Crespo, who drew and inked the pictures.
Steve Crespo left early on. Then, Will Blyberg took over inking the comic. Other artists like Gary Fields and Kyle Baker drew the pictures. Scott Roberts was special because he both wrote and drew for the strip. By the end, Scott Roberts was the main artist, and Will Blyberg continued inking until the very last strip. Stu Chaifitz added color to the Sunday comics. Tim Harkins and Gary Fields also did the lettering, even after they stopped drawing.
Storylines and Reader Reactions
At first, the comic strips were mostly single, funny stories. They did not connect to each other. Later on, the comics started to have short storylines that lasted a few days.
The comic strip was not as popular as the TV show. For example, readers of The Washington Post newspaper did not rate Rugrats very highly. Because of this, many newspapers soon started printing the comic only on Sundays.
Where the Comic Strip Appeared
About 130 newspapers printed the Rugrats comic strip. These newspapers were in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and Canada.
Interestingly, newspapers in Orlando, Florida, where Nickelodeon Studios is located, never carried the comic. Also, papers in New York and Los Angeles stopped printing Rugrats early. These cities are home to the companies Viacom and Klasky Csupo, which are involved with the Rugrats TV show.
Scott Gray and Tim Harkins also created two special comic strips. These were made for Mott's Flavored Applesauce.
How the Comic Strip Connected to the TV Show
Sometimes, the comic strips told stories that were different from the TV show. They might bring back characters in new ways. However, some comic strips did use ideas from TV show episodes.
For example, from November 26 to December 9, 2000, the comic strips were all about the movie Rugrats in Paris: The Movie. The comics assumed that readers had already seen the film. They did not fully explain the movie's main plot points. In the November 30 strip, a new character named Kimi appeared without any introduction. The week after the movie-themed strips, the comics showed Chuckie being excited about having a new sister.
