Kudzu (comic strip)
Kudzu was a daily comic strip by Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette about rural Southerners. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, the strip ran from June 15, 1981 to August 26, 2007.
The title came from the kudzu vine which was introduced to the Southern United States as a soil erosion control plant, but soon became an out-of-control invasive species.
Publication history
The daily strip was launched on a Monday, June 15, 1981. At its peak, it was syndicated in 300 newspapers.Marlette was killed in a car accident on July 10, 2007, in Marshall County, Mississippi. Kudzu is no longer in syndication; the last daily was published on August 4, 2007. The Sunday strips ran until August 26, 2007.
Characters and story
The cast included Kudzu Dubose, Nasal T. Lardbottom, Rev. Will B. Dunn, Ida Mae Wombat, Veranda Tadsworth and NASCAR Dad. Comics historian Don Markstein described the strip's characters:Will B. Dunn, was modeled, at least in clothing and appearance, on Will D. Campbell, a preacher, director of religious life at the University of Mississippi, civil rights activist and author. Following Campbell's death in 2013, Marlette's son, Andy, honored Campbell with a final comic strip featuring Will B. Dunn, holding the Holy Bible at Campbell's grave.