Top Dog: Marmaduke at 50

by Brad Anderson

“My daily panel is like a gag, but the Sunday strip is like a little adventure. . . . And with Marmaduke, anything can become an adventure.”
–Brad Anderson

America’s most playful pooch has been delighting fans since 1954. The lovably rambunctious Great Dane currently appears in more than 660 newspapers, in 20 different countries worldwide. Now, in honor of this top dog’s 50th anniversary, Brad Anderson has hand picked his favorite cartoon strips from the last five decades for this beautifully designed volume that will have everyone drooling.

Marmaduke epitomizes the overgrown lap dog, with an irascible streak and a penchant for mischief that is tempered with a deep sense of love and responsibility for his family. In stature and in character, this horse-sized hound stands head and shoulders above the rest. Marmaduke strikes a chord because, quite simply, he is a real dog. Creator Brad Anderson modeled Marmaduke on his parents’ boxer, Bruno. Originally just a big dog, Marmaduke immediately appealed to newspaper readers in part because the emotions he expressed were so very human. The cartoon canine’s antics and mishaps are both hilarious and remarkably familiar to anyone with a dog.

Marmaduke is also instilled with Anderson’s own deep commitment to community and family. Marmaduke and Anderson have long been supporters–and Marmaduke, their “spokesdog”–of the Delta Society’s Pet Partners Program, in which volunteers and their pets visit sick and elderly in hospitals and care centers. The comic strip is not only a welcome respite, it’s also a helping hand, connecting people in hospitals and care facilities with animals, both real and drawn.

This wonderful collection proves that whether Marmaduke is rescuing a stray kitten, seeing the kids off to school, or visiting senior citizens in the park, he always does it in a way that makes millions of fans smile. Nothing’s bigger than Marmaduke’s heart, including those giant paws.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Comic Strips

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2003

About the author

Brad Anderson is an American cartoonist. He graduated from Brocton Central School in Brocton, New York in 1943. He is best known for creating the comic strip Marmaduke in 1955, which he continues to draw to this day. One of his favorite inclusions in his comics was the old Cave's Meat Market in Brocton, NY. There were several cartoons dedicated to Cave's and to Marmaduke running away from the store with items he had retrieved. He was also involved in the comic strip Grandpa's Boy, which ran from 1955 through 1980. He received the National Cartoonists Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for Marmaduke in 1978.

The repetitive nature of the themes in Marmaduke was recently parodied in the satirical paper The Onion.

Reviews

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a collection of the 'best' of Marmaduke. It is worth the time because the panels are stocked with humor and simplicity. I enjoyed this collection.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute collection of Marmaduke cartoons, interspersed with commentary from the artist.

[A H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Marmaduke strips. I very much enjoyed seeing Marmaduke’s evolution and the Q and A at the end!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh that marmaduke...what will he do next?

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy seeing how long-established comics have developed over time. Marmaduke is more innocent these days, but earlier strips depict him as deliberately mischievous and occasionally fierce.