Heathcliff (comic strip)

Heathcliff is an American comic strip created by George Gately in 1973,[1] featuring the title character, an orange cat. Now written and drawn by Gately's nephew, Peter Gallagher, it is distributed to over 1,000 newspapers by Creators Syndicate, which took over the comic from McNaught Syndicate in 1988.[2][3]

Heathcliff
A drawing of the comic strip character Heathcliff.
Author(s)George Gately (1973–2001)
Peter Gallagher (2001–present)
Websitewww.heathcliffcomics.com
Current status/scheduleRunning/daily
Launch dateSeptember 3, 1973 (1973-09-03)
Syndicate(s)Creators Syndicate (since 1988)
McNaught Syndicate (former)

The strip is usually presented in single-panel gag frames on weekdays. On Sundays, though, the strip is expanded to multiple panels and titled Sunday with Heathcliff. A regular feature in the Sunday strips is Kitty Korner, where unusual cats in the real world are described.

Heathcliff daily comics can be currently read online on GoComics.[4]

Setting
Writer/artist Peter Gallagher at the 2015 East Coast Comicon in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The strip takes place in a port town called Westfinster. The title character is an orange housecat, named Heathcliff, owned by an elderly couple named Mr. and Mrs. Nutmeg and their grandson Iggy. Strips often deal with Heathcliff's interactions with the Nutmegs, the owner of a local fish market, local dog catchers, commercial fishers, or various dogs and cats throughout the neighborhood. George Gately began the strip and continued to draw it until his death.

Since Peter Gallagher took over the strip, Heathcliff comic strips often have recurring motifs like bubble gum floating, comic strip or celebrity cameos, helmets, robots, an ape called the Garbage Ape, or other such surreal gags, with readers finding it weird or mistakenly interpreting it as an inside joke.[5][6]

In other media

Comic books

Starting in 1985, Star Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, began producing comic books titled Heathcliff. The series ran for 56 issues, changing to the Marvel Comics brand with issue #23. Star Comics added an additional spin-off title in 1987 called Heathcliff's Funhouse (which also switched over to Marvel with issue #6). It was a combination of new material and reprinted stories that first appeared in the original Heathcliff title. In the comics, Heathcliff had a far better relationship with Mr. Nutmeg, and much of his adventures were done with Mr. Nutmeg's grandson. Heathcliff's reputation for adventurism was even noted by the local police, who recruited him for a sting operation against a gang of cats stealing purses, in exchange for them forgiving the fact Heathcliff swiped shellfish. Within the Marvel Comics multiverse, Heathcliff's reality is designated as Earth-85481.[7]

  • Heathcliff: The Trickest Cat in the Town (1 issue, Marvel Books)
  • Heathcliff the Fish Bandit (1 issue, Marvel Books)
  • Heathcliff Goes to Hollywood (1 issue, Marvel Books)
  • Heathcliff in Outer Space (1 issue, Marvel Books)
  • Heathcliff (56 issues, Star/Marvel)
  • Heathcliff Annual (1 issue, Star)
  • Heathcliff's Funhouse (10 issues, Star/Marvel)
  • Heathcliff Spring Special (1 issue, Marvel UK)
  • Star Comics Presents: Heathcliff (1 issue, ashcan)
  • Star Comics Magazine (AKA Star Comics Digest) (13 issues, Star)

Animated series
Main articles: Heathcliff (1980 TV series) and Heathcliff (1984 TV series)

Two animated TV series based on the strip, both simply named Heathcliff, were created. Although Heathcliff does not speak in the comic strip, both animated versions of the character were voiced by Mel Blanc.[8] Heathcliff was one of the last original characters Blanc voiced before his death in 1989.

The first Heathcliff was produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and debuted in 1980. The first season featured segments with Dingbat and the Creeps (Dingbat is the vampire dog (Frank Welker) accompanied by Spare Rib the skeleton and Nobody the jack-o-lantern who were both voiced by Don Messick), which were created by Ruby-Spears for the show, and the second season featured fellow comic strip character Marmaduke (voiced by Paul Winchell). This version is sometimes seen on Boomerang.

In 1984, the second Heathcliff debuted, which was produced by DIC Entertainment. This series featured segments with the Catillac Cats (AKA Cats and Co. by the end credits of the show), which is why this version is sometimes referred to as Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats. In 2005, Shout! Factory released a Volume 1 DVD for the show, featuring the first 24 episodes of the series. Since then, Mill Creek Entertainment has gained the license and released the show on DVD, with a ten-episode best-of compilation entitled King of the Beasts and two volumes that cover Season 1; volume 1 contains 32 episodes, while volume 2 has the remaining 33.

In 2021, the film and TV rights of Heathcliff were acquired by Legendary.[9]

Film

In 1986, Heathcliff: The Movie debuted in theaters. It was an anthology film which consisted of seven episodes from the 1984 series. The film was released on VHS by Paramount Home Video in 1988.

In the 2007 Argentine-Italian film Noah's Ark, Heathcliff made a cameo along with the other animals by Noah's attention.

Additionally, a CGI animated film has been in development for many years. A trailer called Heathcliff in Bad Kitty was released in 2010, but the movie itself was never released.[10] by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment.

As of 2021, Legendary Entertainment has plans to simultaneously develop a TV series and film based on the Heathcliff comics. Gallagher will produce the film alongside Steve Waterman.[11]

Video games

See also

References
  1. "History – Heathcliff". heathcliffcomics.com. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  2. "Heathcliff". Creators Syndicate. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  3. "HEATHCLIFF". toonopedia. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  4. "Today on Heathcliff - Comics by George Gately". GoComics. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  5. Neal, Andrew (2021-04-12). "Unrepentant, Or: How To Read Heathcliff". SOLRAD. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  6. Neal, Andrew (2021-07-06). "Let the Art Stand for Itself: A Conversation With Peter Gallagher". SOLRAD. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  7. The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
  8. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 398–400. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  9. Steven, Herrera (27 September 2021). "Heathcliff Film & TV Rights Acquired by Legendary". Screenrant. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  10. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Heathcliff's "Bad Kitty" trailer". YouTube.
  11. Borys Kitt (September 21, 2021). "Legendary Picks Up Film, TV Rights to 'Heathcliff' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
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