Mark Kausler’s CatBlog

Felix and the Dooits

Howdy Folks, Here’s the Felix strip from 12-4 to 12-17-1932. Felix is settling in to the Dooit home in the dailies, which results in gags featuring Felix trying to keep his status as the Dooits’ house cat. The 12-5 was a timely joke as FDR was planning on taking the USA off the monetary gold standard and finally accomplished this on 4-20-1933. Look at poor Felix in the last panel of the 12-8. He is really thrashed from his fall down the steps trying to save Mrs. Dooit’s thousand year old vase. He looks so wacky with his scars and right arm in a sling, that he seems like a different character. The cat in the “Laura” topper for 12-11-1932 looks like a cross between Felix and Krazy Kat, minus Krazy’s neck ribbon. In the 12-13, Felix confuses a mailbox with a fire alarm box, which have all but disappeared in our age of i-phones. Felix goes into frenzy looking for the Venus De Milo’s arms in the 12-16. The gag is predicated on the cat’s fear that he will lose his home for any mistake, even an artistic one. The Doctor in the 12-17 recommends that Felix get “the Air”, meaning he should be thrown out of the Dooits’ home. Felix has labor trouble with a group of window washers in the Sunday page of 12-13-1932, he just wants them to clean a pair of spectacles. Check back soon for the concluding chapter of Felix’s Greatest Year, 1932!  Our header this time is once again by my favorite cartoonist and artist, Cathy Hill! She thought the old Catblog could use an Easter Seasonal touch, and here it is, “Bunnies and Potatoes”, sprouted Japanese Sweet Potatoes, that is! Mark

Felix and Danny

Howdy Readers, As our introduction to this post, we present “Felix On His Stick Horse”, drawn by my most beloved cartoonist, Cathy Hill. I love the chunky feeling of the wooden horse and Felix’s joyful attitude at being on board for a ride! In our post, here’s Felix in more from his finest year in comics, 1932, specifically 19321106 to 19321119. A lot of pathos this time out, with Felix leaving his new friend Danny Dooit, because Danny’s mother doesn’t understand their friendship. Felix and Danny keep missing each other, until Felix stays up all night to protect Danny, calling himself “a no-count cat” in the 11-18. Felix makes another sacrifice in the 11-19 as he takes Danny home to his Mother and saves the boy from a freezing snow storm. I love the poignancy in the last panel of the 11-19 as Felix  exits Danny’s window saying, “Well, that’s that.” I am fond of the last panel in the 11-10, demonstrating that Otto Messmer could draw 9 different black cats, all funny and not like Felix (along with funny people to boot). The last panel of the 11-11 is also nicely designed, with 9 forest animals surrounding the dozing Felix, “…sleeping here in the woods—and all ALONE.” Otto must have favored the number nine, since both panels contain 9 different animals. The Sunday pages, 11-6 and 11-13, both feature a moose, which Felix saves from cold weather and hunters. Happy New Year everyone. Mark and Itza

Felix Can Dooit

Howdy Readers and Merry Christmas! Here’s Felix from 10-23-32 to 11-5-32. Danny Dooit is introduced and becomes one of Felix’s best friends. Danny becomes a principal player in the Felix strip for years to come. His Mom doesn’t spare the corporal punishment for Danny’s devotion to little Felix, does she?. In the Sundays, Felix enjoys reading Mother Goose and tries to be “Puss In Boots”. My favorite strip in this batch is the 11-5, where Danny sends the homeless Felix a bottle of milk which he in turn gives to a poor little girl. “You Don’t Know How Good It Feels To Give Until You Do It”, in the last panel, sums up the whole Christmas season to me. Cathy Hill, has graced the Catblog with her header design, the “Cherry Chocolate Mouse”, I love the colors of the cherry sauce and the red lights on the fir tree branches. Makes me feel like grabbing a cup of cocoa and writing some Christmas cards. It’s been fun posting these 1932 Felix strips this year, back soon with more! Your Pals, Mark Kausler and Cathy Hill

Felix Arrives in the Sunny South

Howdy Readers! First off we have a color drawing by Cathy Hill, my favorite cartoonist. She’s celebrating Halloween night this year and many years past in “Halloween Cat and The Ghost of Halloween Past”. She can design her own cats besides channeling Otto Messmer’s Felix. These cats were inspired by shadows on the bedroom walls.  The Felix strips this time are from 19321009 to 19321022. Felix continues his “100 Smiles” trek to the Sunny South. He meets a real Georgia Peach in the 10-10, and some good natured black folks in the 10-17 and 10-18 strips. Felix gets a bad sunburn in the 10-21 and meets Danny Dooit for the first time, at least I think it’s Danny, since it looks like an early version of him. I wonder if cats can really get sunburned through their coats? I think their noses would be most vulnerable to sun exposure. In the 10-9 Sunday, Felix pulls a Tom Sawyer and paints the Farmer’s fence. Felix just manages to paint the farm animals with stripes and spots and himself 100% white! In the 10-16 Sunday Felix saves the Farmer’s feet from the pinch of new shoes by accidentally fishing the Farmer’s old shoes out of the brook! The old shoes are worth a million to the Farmer, so he rewards Felix with a big feed! I hope you are continuing to enjoy the comics from Felix’s best year, 1932! Mark

Cruelty To Felix

Hi Readers, Here’s another two weeks worth of Felix the Cat from 19320911 to 19320924. I think you might accuse Otto Messmer of Cruelty to Animals in these comics, for Felix is butted by a goat, socked with crockery, beaten up and kicked out of the house by Snobbs the butler and has his arm fractured and body chewed up by a vicious dog! Felix brought the latter dog attack on himself by trying to placate his steady date, Phyllis. Felix decides to leave his current home after the “Mawster” proposes to import mice into the house to keep “that cat” busy. In the Sunday pages, Felix is still throwing his animal Olympic games with the Farm animals. In the 9-11 a pig with a cold propels Felix to win the marathon race by sneezing him across the finish line. The rabbit says: “..you can’t beat Felix”. In the 9-18, Felix wins the Olympic Hammer Throw by tossing a convict’s weighted ball and leg irons, thus winning the 5 Thousand dollar reward money. Felix puts himself in solid with the farmer by paying off his mortgage.

My favorite cartoonist, Cathy Hill, contributed a few of her Felix drawings for our Catblog header this time, with the theme, “Felix Eats”. She loves Felix, and draws sketches of him nearly every day. I hope you enjoy Felix on the Catblog, see you soon!

Felix Home Alone

Hi Readers, Here’s Felix from 19320828 to 19320910. The Sundays involve the farm animals rehearsing for the Summer Olympic Games, and Felix winning the shot put and broad jump. Pipe those cut-out Felix play money lucky bucks! In the dailies, Felix is left home alone by the snooty family. Snobbs the butler gets back in to the action in the 9-10 and kicks Felix out of the house again. Felix is accosted by Skidoo the Mouse in the 9-1, but defeats the rodents in the 9-6. My favorite in this batch of dailies is the 9-8, in which a strange cat is put out for the night by Felix, so he can see how if feels. I love Otto’s alternate designs for cats, they are all appealing, but never more than Felix. Speaking of appealing, Cathy Hill has contributed another header to the blog this time with her rough sketches, inspired by Otto Messmer drawings of the 1930s. I like Felix running two different ways with a puzzled version of Felix looking on. Enjoy all these wonderful comics, see you soon! Mark

Felix Goes Camping

Hi Folks, Our special header this time is by my favorite cartoonist and artist, Cathy Hill, inspired by Otto Messmer’s art, called “Felix On The Rocking Horse”. I love the Felix rug on the floor and the little duck following the rocking horse, ably rendered in Prismacolor pencils.  Thanks, Cathy! The Felix strips this time are from 19320814 to 19320827. In the dailies, Felix goes camping with the selfish wealthy man and his wife, but has a miserable time of it. Felix grows tired of being kicked and starved, so he goes home to the wealthy family’s town house in the city, and takes up residence while the couple are still roughing it. I love the 8-25 with the owl being gagged, and the giant prehistoric fish skeleton in the 8-23. Look at the beautiful stippling effect Otto tried in the 11th and 12th panels of the 8-14 Sunday as the dogs bust a vacuum  cleaner bag, thinking it’s a sausage. In the 8-21 Sunday, in panel 5, Felix gets konked with a rock, not unlike Garge Herriman’s Krazy Kat! I hope you enjoy little Felix’s 1932 adventures and keep watching for the next batch! Comically, Mark

Felix, Holiday Cat Gets a Clue

Here’s a special treat for the Holidays, my wife Cathy has done a special color drawing for the Catblog, featuring special ornaments of a steam engine and Laurel and Hardy. Laurel is an icicle design and Hardy is a nice round glass ornament. If you look a little further under the tree, Felix is here from 2-28 to 3-12-1932. I love how Messmer uses shadows in the 2-29 and 3-1. The 3-3 strip is highlighted by the “Saved by a Shiver” line in the last panel, as Felix narrowly escapes being “plugged” by a gangster. In the 3-9, a “depression in crime” robs Felix of his feast which he earned by capturing the whole bunch of criminals. Felix is mysteriously shot by large white pellets in the 3-10 to 3-12 strips. All the farm animals are knocked out in the 3-12 by the same pellets. I love the little house and the fence in the background of the last panel in the 3-12, just pure pen and ink magic!  The Catblog wishes you the best for the Holidays, be they Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanzaa. Thanks for reading and don’t forget the Catblog in 2023.