Cathy (comic strip)

Infobox comic strip
title=Cathy


creator=Cathy Guisewite
current=
status=Running
syndicate=Universal Press Syndicate
comictype=print
genre=Humor, Women, Family
first=1976
last=

Cathy is a comic strip drawn by Cathy Guisewite. Featuring a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life — food, love, mom, and work — the strip gently pokes fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. Cathy's characteristics and issues both make fun of and sometimes feed into negative stereotypes about women. The strip debuted in November 1976, and currently appears in over 1,400 newspapers. The strips have been collected into more than 20 books. Guisewite received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award in 1992 for the strip [ [http://www.reuben.org/ncs/members/biogs/guisewite.asp Cathy Guisewite profile at National Cartoonist Society Awards (Reuben) Web site] ] .

Initially, the strip was based largely on Guisewite's own life as a single woman. However, Guisewite had Cathy's longtime boyfriend Irving propose marriage on Valentine's Day 2004. The two characters married in the [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2005/2/5&name=Cathy February 5, 2005] strip. That same year, Cathy appeared in the 75th anniversary party of Blondie and Dagwood.

Main characters

* Cathy Andrews Hillman — the protagonist of the strip and the only one not shown with a nose (although a small one has occasionally been seen in side views).
* Andrea — initially Cathy's ultra-feminist foil and best friend, Andrea's role has been reduced in recent years. Andrea is married to Luke whom she met "during an on-line chat and has two teens, Zenith and Gus. (Zenith and Gus growing from infants to uninhibited teens (not seen in the strips) illustrates – "especially" Zenith – that the characters do age, albeit very slowly.)
* Electra — Cathy's dog - rescued from the animal shelter as a puppy.
* Vivian — Irving's dog - also a rescued dog from the shelter; Irving decided on an "older" dog to rescue. Both Cathy and Irving say that the dogs rescued them.
* Anne Andrews — Cathy's mother. Just as likely to provide frustration as inspiration. Refuses to throw anything out, even online. In the 80's Anne was shown going to her 50th High School reunion meaning that she's probably in her late 60s
* Bill Andrews — Cathy's father. More often than not, a helpless bystander to Cathy's Mom. Cathy goes to him when she needs advice about work; something Cathy's mom (even though she's created jobs - M.O.Ms = Mother's on the Move or the daycare center in Flo's house)says she knows little about.
* Charlene (nee) McGuire — one of Cathy's best friends, receptionist at her office. Charlene's role expanded greatly once Andrea got married. Charlene announced her pregnancy on Sunday, May 20 2007. [ [http://www.gocomics.com/cathy/2007/05/20/ "Cathy"] , May 20 2007, from www.gocomics.com]
* Simon — Charlene's husband who formerly dated Cathy. He and Cathy dated three times before she decided that he wasn't for her. But (at first) Cathy was adamant that Charlene should have adhered to the "woman's rules" one of which is never date a woman's old boyfriend; another was never break another woman's lipstick.
* Irving Hillman — former on-again-off-again love interest, golf and electronics addict and now her husband as of February 5, 2005. [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2005/2/5&name=Cathy] The more complex the machinery, the better he likes it - even if he doesn't understand how to set it up.
* Mr. Earl Pinkley — Cathy's boss, who often manages to make what little control he actually has of his work environment, go a very long way. At one point he sexually harassed Cathy by coming on to her in her apartment. Cathy solved the problem by telling Charlene what really happened and the gossip about her boss "spending the night" (he forgot to mention it was due to the fact that he was knocked out when Cathy punched him in the nose for trying to come-on to her). "Its always good to have the receptionist on your side." (Cathy to Andrea's question of how she handled it.)
* Mrs Hillman— Irving's mother who treats him like a "king." Does everything in her power to aggravate Cathy, especially regarding the 2007 Hillman Family Reunion.
* Mr. Hillman— Irving's father. He seems content to let his wife do all the talking.
* Mabel represents multiple people (she is usually seen as the salesperson at any given store). She seems to work at every single store/bank/travel agency etc. that Cathy goes to. She always has a pencil in her hair. She is easily aggravated by Cathy and vice versa. She sometimes has a co-worker with her.
* Emerson was one of the first boyfriends introduced (Irving was first) when the strip debuted. He pursued Cathy who figured she could do better and irritated Irving. He was eventually dropped in favor of Irving, but often mentioned in Cathy's list of those she dated.
* Many, many men that Cathy dated brieflyIn the now-discontinued Bloom County comic, one of the characters – Steve Dallas – is shown as being in a Cathy strip, after (along with all of the other characters) being "fired" from Bloom County. While that strip only appears within the "Bloom County" world, Steve is shown as being one of the many men Cathy would consider dating ("ack!" she is seen exclaiming).]

The four basic guilt groups

Defined by Cathy Guisewite, the four basic guilt groups are four types of temptation that the character Cathy faces in her daily life.

Food

Cathy has a love/hate affair with food (especially carbs). She loves it, but hates what it does to her thighs. She is often shown in a department store fitting room trying to stuff herself into a bathing suit. She is constantly on a diet, weighs herself obsessively and many mornings fears to get up, believing that she has ballooned overnight. Cathy is particularly fond of chocolate.

Love

Cathy has dated extensively, but was unable to find "Mr. Right". Although a number of love interests have come and gone over the years, none has come back like Irving, who is now her husband.

Mom

Although well-meaning, Mom's advice often frustrates Cathy, especially when Mom is right. Cathy and her mother are from two different generations, of course. Cathy grew up in the era of feminism, women's rights and the sexual revolution. Mom is from an earlier, simpler time. Although an equal in her marriage to Cathy's Dad, Mom holds many old-fashioned ideas.

Work

Cathy has to juggle many tasks at Product Testing, Inc. Her boss, Mr. Pinkley, often asks the impossible, and Cathy always seems to pull through in the end and give him and the client exactly what they want, albeit with quite a bit of drama.

Books

Following are books featuring Cathy, illustrated by Ms. Guisewite. The chronological strips and special collections lists are believed to be complete; the other sections are not.

"Note: capitalization appears according to the copyright page of the book."

Chronological strips

The following books are collections of strips in the order they were published.
* "Cathy Chronicles" (1979)
* "What do you mean, I still don't have equal rights??!" (1980)
* "What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing With a Double Bed" (March 1981, ISBN 0-553-01316-5)
* "I think I'm having a Relationship with a Blueberry Pie!" (1981, ISBN 0-553-01337-8)
* "Another Saturday Night of Wild and Reckless Abandon" (September 1982, ISBN 0-8362-1201-0)
* "A Mouthful of Breath Mints and No One to Kiss" (August 1983, ISBN 0-8362-1120-0)
* "Men should come with instruction booklets" (August 1984, ISBN 0836220552
* "Wake me up when I'm a size 5" (July 1985, ISBN 0-8362-2069-2)
* "Thin thighs in thirty years" (July 1986, ISBN 0-8362-2081-1)
* "A hand to hold, an opinion to reject" (August 1987, ISBN 0-8362-2092-7)
* "Why do the right words always come out of the wrong mouth?" (August 1988, ISBN 0-8362-1808-6)
* "My Granddaughter Has Fleas!" (August 1989, ISBN 0836218558
* "$14 in the Bank and a $200 Face in My Purse" (August 1990, ISBN 0-8362-1820-5)
* "Only Love Can Break a Heart, But a Shoe Sale Can Come Close" (August 1992, ISBN 0-8362-1893-0)
* "Revelations From a 45-Pound Purse" (August 1993, ISBN 0-8362-1722-5)
* "The Child Within Has Been Awakened But the Old Lady on the Outside Just Collapsed" (September 1994, ISBN 0-8362-1761-6)
* "Understanding the "Why" Chromosome" (August 1995, ISBN 0-8362-0423-9)
* "Abs of Steel, Buns of Cinnamon" (August 1997, ISBN 0-8362-3683-1)
* "I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore" (August 1998, ISBN 0-8362-6821-0)
* "I'd Scream Except I Look So Fabulous" (August 1999, ISBN 0-7407-0006-5)
* "Shoes: Chocolate for the Feet" (August 2000, ISBN 0-7407-0555-5)

pecial collections

The following books include strips already published in earlier books.
* "Reflections: A Fifteenth Anniversary Collection" (January 1991, ISBN 0-8362-1877-9)
* "Cathy Twentieth Anniversary Collection" (September 1996, ISBN 0-8362-2523-6)
* "Food" (December 2001, ISBN 0-7407-2112-7)
* "Love" (December 2001, ISBN 0-7407-2061-9)
* "Mom" (December 2001, ISBN 0-7407-2060-0)
* "Work" (December 2001, ISBN 0-7407-2062-7)
* "The Wedding of Cathy and Irving : A Cathy Collection" (July 2005, ISBN 0-7407-2668-4)

Gift books

The following books are smaller than the works above. They may have a short storyline and are intended as gifts.

Hardback

* "Commiserations" (September 1993, ISBN 0-8362-3048-5)
* "Like Mother, Like Daughter" (September 1993, ISBN 0-8362-3049-3)
* "Confessions to My Mother" (March 1999, ISBN 0-8362-8788-6)
* "Affirmations" (May 1996, ISBN 0-8362-1058-1)
* "Shop till you drop, then sit down and buy shoes" (May 1996, ISBN 0-8362-1068-9)

Paperback

Paperback gift books.
* "How to Get Rich, Fall in Love, Lose Weight, and Solve All Your Problems by Saying "No" (1983, ISBN 0-8362-1986-4)
* "Eat Your Way to a Better Relationship" (1983, ISBN 0-8362-1987-2)

Other books

The following books feature Cathy illustrations by Guisewite, but are not authored by her.
* "Dancing Through Life in a Pair of Broken Heels", written by Mickey Guisewite, Cathy Guisewite's sister (April 1994, ISBN 0-553-37377-3)
* "Lifestyles of the Trim & Healthy", written by Matthew Bennett (June 1994, ISBN 0-9629502-9-7)
* "Girl Food" written by Barbara Albright & Cathy Guisewite (1997, ISBN 0-3862-3173-2)

Miscellaneous

*The strip's content was lampooned on the popular television show Saturday Night Live, with Andy Samberg as Cathy. Samberg, dressed in a wig, repeatedly made non-sequitur-style statements such as "How am I gonna fit into all these bikinis?", "My mom drives me nuts!", and "AAACK!" (Samberg would pull his hair).

ee also

* Cathy Guisewite
* List of women in comics
* Reuben Award

External links

* [http://www.gocomics.com/cathy/ Cathy at goComics.com]
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* [http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/news/cathy_qa.htm An Interview with Cathy Guisewite: Cartoonist enters 25th year of creating nationally syndicated comic strip Cathy] from Universal Press Syndicate
* [http://www.reuben.org/ncs/members/biogs/guisewite.asp Cathy Guisewite profile at National Cartoonist Society Awards (Reuben) Web site]
* [http://achewood.com/index.php?date=05232003 Poking fun at Cathy]
* [http://widgets.yahoo.com/widgets/cathy-cartoon Cathy cartoon widget at Yahoo]

References