Nancy’s makeover divides comic’s fans
For most of its 85 years, Nancy, that masterpiece of formal minimalism, has felt as much like stripped comic than comic strip — a bare-bones visual enterprise that could have been set any time in the 20th century.
Now, however, Nancy is getting an update. The feature about the precocious, red-bowed girl and her layabout ragamuffin pal Sluggo is suddenly referencing bots and apps, video games and social-media posts. Those are just some of the dramatic changes that new writer and artist Olivia Jaimes (the cartoonist’s nom de toon), has been making to the Andrews McMeel-syndicated strip since she took over April 9. The distinct stylistic shift, after Guy Gilchrist shepherded the strip for two decades, has attracted a bright spotlight of attention, as readers have hotly debated this new-look Nancy.
Jaimes embraces this swarm of fresh readers: “I’m happy to have all these new eyeballs on a classic comic strip I love.”
In the strip’s comments section on GoComics.com, the daily remarks have jumped into the hundreds, as readers react to every change — from the tone of the skin (“liver disease”? inquires one reader) to the tone of the humour.
“Olivia must be channelling her inner Bushmiller,” wrote one positive commenter on the syndicate’s website, referring to Nancy creator Ernie Bushmiller, around whom a cult of top comics professionals has formed. Another commenter noted how Jaimes nods to the comic’s tradition even while including modern touches, writing: “(It) is refreshing to see a return to its original style and humour.” And wrote another: “Nancy Goes Millennial.”
Others have not been as pleased. One commenter wrote on April 16, “This is ridiculous. You’d never catch Ernie Bushmiller doing a joke about Snap Chat. Bring back, Ernie!” And a reader said, “Since the characters have not aged in 85 years I don’t think it’s necessary to change them now.”
One thing ’s for sure: Controversy and conflict are good for business.
Prior to the change, Nancy averaged about 5,000 page views a day, says the Kansas City-based syndicate. Last week, the Jaimes version of Nancy attracted 133,000 page views on Wednesday, then spiked to 390,000 views the next day, according to Andrews McMeel.
Nancy debuted on the comics page in 1933 in the United Feature strip Fritzi Ritz, which was launched in 1922 by creator Larry Whittington. After Nancy appeared as Fritzi Ritz’s niece, the girl’s popularity increased until, by 1938, the strip’s title was changed to Nancy.
The gag comic was created for more than a half-century by Bushmiller, an Eisner Hall of Fame cartoonist, under whom Nancy’s client list grew to nearly 900 papers.
Beyond the numbers, the syndicate embraces the stylistic shift of the comic, which is now syndicated to about 75 newspaper clients.
Jaimes forewarned readers her version of the strip would bring technological change. Now, she says, “Nancy’s going to use all the social media and technology I use. People will be able to figure out exactly how behind the times I am by watching what apps she’s using,” Jaimes continues. “It took me until last month to try Spotify, so that should give you an idea of where I’m at.”
Nancy has also recently featured meta-jokes that seem to nod to the strip’s change in creator. In one strip, Nancy says her Aunt Fritzi has removed everything from the strip she doesn’t love. The effect? This makes it easier “for the cartoonist.”
So now that she’s several weeks into her Nancy, how does she feel about the massive reaction — does all the feedback affect her?
“It’s exciting, but since I’ve also been avoiding the internet a lot over the last couple weeks, it’s not changed my approach or perspective much,” says Jaimes, noting she hasn’t yet seen the reader comments since her launch.