Friday Foster
Friday Foster is an American newspaper comic strip, created and written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Jorge Longarón. It ran from January 18, 1970, to February 17, 1974[1] and was notable for featuring one of the first African-American women as the title character in a comic strip.[2] Jackie Ormes' Torchy Brown predated it, although it saw a more limited release in the Afro-American newspaper Pittsburgh Courier.
| Friday Foster | |
|---|---|
 Friday Foster, the title character of the comic strip | |
| Author(s) | Jim Lawrence Jorge Longarón |
| Current status/schedule | Concluded daily & Sunday strip |
| Launch date | January 18, 1970 |
| End date | February 17, 1974 |
| Syndicate(s) | Chicago Tribune Syndicate |
| Publisher(s) | Dell Comics |
| Genre(s) | Soap opera |
History
Jim Lawrence had been the writer of the London Daily Express comic strip, James Bond, when he became interested in creating a comic about a black character.[3] Spanish cartoonist Jorge Longarón was chosen as the illustrator, and the strip was syndicated by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. The comic focused on the glamorous life of its title character, a former fashion model who became an assistant to a top fashion photographer, as described by comics historian Dave Karlen:
Starting out as an assistant to high-fashion photographer Shawn North, Friday after learning the ropes, eventually moved in front of the camera to become a world traveling supermodel leaving her troubled life in Harlem behind her. Early on, Lawrence's story lines had a harder edge showing the contrast of Friday's family with her street-wise brother trying to accept her newfound success in the world of magazine publishing. But soon its episodes changed focus to showcase more soap-opera thrills of romance and travel for the gorgeous African-American. Hong Kong, Paris, London, and even Africa were all shown with equal flair from the detailed artistic masterpieces produced by Longarón from his home in Barcelona.[4]
A 1970 issue of Jet reported on the debut of Friday Foster. The magazine stated that writer Lawrence lived in Summit, New Jersey and illustrator Langron lived in Spain. The two communicated via postal mail and telephone calls.[5]
Artist Frank Springer did a small amount of uncredited work on the strip, recalling in the mid-2000s, "I knew the writer, who lived here in New Jersey, ... [and] I got a call a couple of times from Lawrence who said they hadn't gotten the material through from Spain" and asked Springer to fill in. "I guess over the years I did two Sunday pages, maybe three."[6]
Dell Comics published a single issue of a Friday Foster comic book (October 1972), written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Jack Sparling.
In 1975, Friday Foster was adapted into a blaxploitation feature film of the same name, starring Pam Grier.
In September 2019, the Friday Foster character appeared in a Dick Tracy story drawn by Andrew Pepoy.
Further reading
- The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History by Hope Nicholson, Quirk Books (2017)
See also
References
- Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 163. ISBN 9780472117567.
- Friday Foster at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016.
- Friday Foster, The New Yorker, page 33, March 21, 1970
- Karlen, Dave (June 19, 2009). "Buried Treasure: Lawrence & Longaron's Friday Foster". DaveKarlen Original Art Blog. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
- Journalism - Black Career Girl Comic Strip Debuts in Cleveland, Jet, page 19, February 12, 1970
- Springer in Best, Daniel (January 10, 2008). "Looking Back with Frank Springer". 20th Century Danny Boy. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-17.