Line #19 ComicStrip/SamsStrip


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d77892e1_e728_4940_9af8_61ab3c062eb5.jpeg]]
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3	''Sam's Strip'' was a NewspaperComic strip created by Mort Walker (of ''ComicStrip/BeetleBailey'' fame) and Jerry Dumas. It originally ran from 1961 to 1963, but was later retooled and brought back in 1977 (more on that later).
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5	During its original run, the strip concerned itself with businessman Sam and his nameless assistant, trying to make a living. At first, this might not sound all that remarkable... until you consider what business they were in: running a comic strip. No, they didn't write or draw one. They were cartoon characters who openly acknowledged that they were cartoon characters, and their "business" consisted of them owning and operating the strip they inhabited. In other words, it was one of the most blatant cases of NoFourthWall in the history of newspaper comics.
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7	Their running the strip consisted of things like keeping dust clouds and angry thought bubbles in storage closets, spats with their artist, spats with ''each other'', meeting with other famous comic strip characters, and (above all else) unsuccessfully trying crazy schemes to increase readership.
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9	Sadly, life imitated art. Although loved by cartoonists and comics aficionados, ''Sam's Strip'' was just ''too'' experimental to catch on with the general public; the series was cancelled after three years.
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11	In some ways, this was where the strip ended; in some ways, it ''wasn't''. In 1977, Dumas and Walker relaunched the strip as ''Sam and Silo''. While it kept the two main characters, it abandoned the original concept. Sam and Silo were now a pair of bumbling police officers in a [[Series/TheAndyGriffithShow Mayberry]]-like town. While this wasn't nearly as imaginative or unique, it proved far more popular; as of 2017, ''Sam and Silo'' is ''still'' being produced and published.
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13	Although the original incarnation is long gone, it's left enough of an impression on its readers to be remembered fondly and earn itself a page on this wiki (woo hoo!).
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15	----
16	!!These two Strips contain examples of:
17	* AlliterativeTitle
18	* ArtEvolution: The art got a lot more polished as the strip went on.
19	* TheCameo: Tons of famous comics characters would show up.
20	* ContinuityReboot: ''Sam and Silo.'' It takes the two main characters of ''Sam's Strip'' and puts them in a new, more mundane setting.
21	* CrossOver: Sam and Silo both appeared in ''ComicStrip/BeetleBailey'' as a pair of beggars. This was in between the cancellation of ''Sam's Strip'' and the launch of ''Sam and Silo''.
22	* DemotedToExtra: An AuthorAvatar of cartoonist Jerry Dumas originally appeared as a regular in the strip, but showed up less and less over time and finally vanished entirely.
23	* TheDeterminator: Sam's most endearing feature is arguably the fact that he never gives up trying to find new ways to improve business.
24	* DiscussedTrope: Let's just say that any tropes used in the original version would have at least a 50/50 chance of falling under this.
25	* DisembodiedEyebrows: Discussed. Annoyed that his guest-star, Happy Hooligan, is overreacting to everything, Sam suggests a more subtle response, such as raising an eyebrow. Happy complies by raising the eyebrow so high that it pops off his forehead and floats in mid-air. Sam is ''not'' amused.
26	* DownerEnding: The last strip famously ended with Sam [[DrivenToSuicide about to commit suicide]]. Luckily, he appeared alive and well in a cameo in ''Beetle Baily,'' and then later in the retool ''Sam and Silo.''
27	* DreadfulMusician: Pixy, whose singing could drive Sam to tears with its awfulness.
28	* FatAndSkinny: Sam and his Assistant, respectively.
29	* HenpeckedHusband: The Assistant.
30	* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Pixy the Pixie, who was very shapely and only ever wore a bikini, but had a very childlike and mischievous personality. She was very small, though, and didn't get a lot of close-ups, so the effect was somewhat downplayed.
31	* LargeHam: Discussed. Sam criticizes Happy Hooligan for being one of these.
32	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Usually averted. Whenever another comic strip character showed up, Dumas and Walker never tried to hide who it was.
33	* MauveShirt: While most of the cameos were one-time appearances, [[ComicStrip/KrazyKat Ignatz the Mouse]], Happy Hooligan and [[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland Humpty Dumpty]] showed up so often that they all qualify as this.
34	* MetaFiction
35	* {{Mundanization}}: After it was brought back as ''Sam and Silo''.
36	* NoFourthWall
37	* NoNameGiven: Sam's Assistant, but he was renamed Silo after the strip was retooled.
38	* [[NoRespectGuy No Respect Guys]]: Sam and Silo in their role as small town cops. Granted, they didn't get any respect in ''Sam's Strip'' either.
39	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: The cameos. Dumas always drew them in their original style rather than in his and Walker's style. Replicating the styles of other artists was allegedly one of the most time-consuming tasks associated with the strip.
40	* OneSteveLimit: Averted. [[UncleSamWantsYou Uncle Sam]] made the occasional appearance. The fact that he shared the same name as the main character was never even brought up.
41	* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Pixy the Pixie was the classic "tiny winged girl with a magic wand" variant.
42	* PrintLongRunners: Averted with the original strip, but the ''Sam and Silo'' version has run continuously for over four decades.
43	* RageAgainstTheAuthor
44	* {{Retool}}: When it became ''Sam and Silo''.
45	* SmallNameBigEgo: Sam frequently flaunts his status as the star of the strip, though it's repeatedly shown that he isn't anywhere near as popular or successful as he thinks.
46	* SelfDeprecation: Dumas's supposed lack of drawing ability was poked fun at at least twice during the original version's run.
47	* StraightMan: The Assistant insists that he is one, but he's got several {{Cloudcuckoolander}} traits. In the retool, when he got the name "Silo," he became [[{{Flanderization}} much more of a Cloudcuckoolander.]]
48	* {{Stripperiffic}}: Pixy's regular outfit was a bikini.
49	* SymbolSwearing: Given the nature of ''Sam's Strip'', this was often lampshaded, but there were occasions where it was used and no lampshading was involved.
50	* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: Happy Hooligan, who kept hanging around the strip and trying to beg money of Sam, even if Sam repeatedly tried to get rid of him.
51	* ThoseTwoGuys: The comic strip kops.
52	* ToonPhysics
53	* {{Uncancelled}}
54	* TheUnseen: The Assistant's Wife is frequently discussed, but never shows up even once.
55	* ViewersAreGeniuses: Arguably the original version's FatalFlaw.

Context ComicStrip / SamsStrip