Hi and Lois


Hi and Lois is an American comic strip about a suburban family. Created by Mort Walker and illustrated by Dik Browne, the strip is currently run by Walker's sons Brian and Greg and illustrated by Eric Reaves. It debuted on October 18, 1954, distributed by King Features Syndicate.
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Publication history

The Flagstons first appeared in Walker's Beetle Bailey. They spun off into their own strip, written by Walker and drawn by Browne. Lois Flagston is Beetle Bailey's sister and the two strips make occasional crossovers. One of these occurred on the strip's 40th anniversary in 1994, when Beetle visited his sister Lois and her family. Chip resembles his Uncle Beetle in attitude and appearance, especially the eyes.
The strip made efforts to keep up with the times, such as housewife Lois Flagston taking a career in real estate in 1980. In previous decades, the strip was acclaimed; in 1962, it earned Browne a Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society.
The strip faced some controversy given the changes in content restrictions since its debut in the 1950s. Once, editors insisted that belly buttons could not appear; in protest, Browne included a box of dimpled navel oranges.
Now produced by the sons of the original creative team, the strip is written by Brian and Greg Walker and drawn Eric Reaves. Reaves became the sole illustrator after the death of Robert "Chance" Browne in 2024.
As of 2016, Hi and Lois appears in 1,000 newspapers around the world.

Comic books

Hi and Lois was occasionally featured in Dell Comics' Four Color Comics series in the 50's.
The feature also had its own short-lived series from Charlton Comics. Eleven issues were produced from November 1969 to July 1971. The cover price was fifteen cents.

TV animation

Hi and Lois were featured prominently in the animated television film Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter, which debuted on ABC on October 7, 1972, as part of the network's anthology series The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.

Characters

  • Hi and Lois Flagston: Hi and Lois are typical middle-class American suburbanites. Their names are a pun on the "opposite" terms of "high and low". Hi is a sales manager, Lois is a realtor and is sister to Beetle Bailey. They have four children.
  • *Chip: a slovenly, indolent, teenaged high school boy; a running gag has Chip dating new girlfriends. Eight years old at the time the strip started, Chip grew into his teenage years by sometime in the 1960s, where he has stayed.
  • *Dot and Ditto: rambunctious twins Dot and Ditto, four-year-olds when the strip began, now grade school-aged; Dot is the better student of the two.
  • *Trixie: the Flagstons' freckled, blonde infant daughter, who loves "talking" to Sunbeam, a ray of sunlight. While the other children have aged, Trixie has not.
  • Dawg: the Flagstons' large, lazy, shaggy sheepdog.
  • Thirsty Thurston: the Flagstons' fat, lazy, and frequently tipsy next-door neighbor; Hi's co-worker and golf buddy.
  • Irma Thurston: Thirsty's thin, weary, and long-suffering wife.
  • Abercrombie and Fitch: the friendly neighborhood garbage collectors. Their names are taken from the elite outfitter of sporting and excursion goods of that era.
  • Mr. Foofram: Owner and president of Foofram Industries, where Hi and Thirsty work. Diminutive and at times short-tempered, but not a tyrant like J.C. Dithers from Blondie.
  • Mr. Wavering: An elderly neighbor of Hi and Lois; he served as a corporal in the United States Marine Corps.

Reception

Ron Goulart praised Dik Browne's artwork for the strip, stating "Browne made Hi and Lois one of the most visually interesting strips on the comics page." In an article for Entertainment Weekly reviewing then-current comic strips, Ken Tucker gave Hi and Lois a B+ rating, and added that it had the "gentlest humor" of all the Mort Walker comic strips.

Collections and reprints

  • Trixie Avon
  • Hi and Lois Tempo Books
  • Hi and Lois in Darkest Suburbia Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: Beware! Children at Play Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: On the Grill Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: Family Album Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: Family Ties Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: Mama's Home Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: Suburban Cowboys Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: Father Figure Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: American Gothic Tempo
  • Hi and Lois: Dishwasher, Lawnmower or Snowplow? Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Home Sweat Home Tor
  • Hi and Lois: "Is Dinner Ready?" Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Saturday Night Fever Tor
  • Hi and Lois: "Hi Honey, I'm Home!" Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Mom, Where's My Homework? Tor
  • Hi and Lois: The Bright Stuff Charter
  • Hi and Lois: "How Do You Spell Dad?" Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Trixie à la Mode Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Good Housekeeping Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Dawg Day Afternoon! Tor
  • The Best of Hi and Lois Comicana
  • Hi and Lois: Sleep-Can Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Say "Cheese" Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Sleepbusters! Tor
  • Hi and Lois: House Calls Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Modern Chaos! Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Croquet for a Day Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Couch Potatoes! Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Wheels of Fortune Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Happy Campers Tor
  • Here Comes the Sun: A Hi and Lois Collection Avon
  • Hi and Lois: Mister Popularity Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Play Ball! Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Up Two Late Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Baby Talk Tor
  • Hi and Lois: Sunday Best by Brian and Greg Walker and Chance Browne ECW Press