Line #143 ComicStrip/Nancy


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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3	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nancy_and_sluggo.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:325:Nancy and Sluggo.]]
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6	''Nancy'' is a long-running American SurrealHumor NewspaperComic strip originally created by Ernie Bushmiller. It centers around the title character, a precocious 8-year old girl, along with her Aunt Fritzi and her best friend Sluggo.
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8	Nancy first appeared in 1933 in ''Fritzi Ritz'', a strip created in 1922 by Larry Whittington (Bushmiller took over in 1925) which depicted Fritzi as a dizzy {{flapper}}. Nancy quickly proved to be so popular as a character that, in 1938, the daily strip was retitled to her name, with Fritzi--who was now portrayed as a stern parental figure for her presumably-orphaned niece--largely shunted to the background. ''Fritzi Ritz'' did continue as a SundayStrip centered around Fritzi and her boyfriend Phil Fumble (with ''Nancy'' as a "topper"), until it too was permanently replaced with ''Nancy'' in 1968.
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10	Bushmiller continued to draw the strip until his death in 1982. It was subsequently taken over by Al Plastino (on the Sunday strips) and Mark Lasky (on the dailies), [[DiedDuringProduction only for Lasky to pass away just one year later at age 29.]] Jerry Scott, later known for ''ComicStrip/BabyBlues'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'', took over in 1984, drawing the characters in a much more broad, cartoony style. Scott also modernized the world of ''Nancy''. Scott's run lasted until 1995, when he was replaced by the sibling team of Guy and Brad Gilchrist, who used a hybrid art style that was part Bushmiller and part superhero comic. After a few years, Guy Gilchrist became the sole artist, continuing until early 2018. ''Nancy'' was then taken over by Olivia Jaimes, who thus became the first woman to draw the strip. Jaimes returned to a style that was more reminiscent of Bushmiller's work in some ways (including re-inserting his famous fourth wall breaks) while further modernizing the comic's narrative sensibility.
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12	The comic was also the subject of an in-depth analytical essay (and later book) called ''Literature/HowToReadNancy'', which breaks down the various elements of Bushmiller's comics--and comics in general--in exhaustive detail.
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14	----
15	!!This work contains the following tropes.
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17	* AbortedArc: A 2020 storyline about Nancy competing in a robotics tournament [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/04/11 gave way]] to a storyline about the quarantining of Nancy's hometown. April 2021 features a storyline where to make up for the cancellation of the robotics tournament, a new remote robotics event will be held.
18	* AnimatedAdaptation:
19	** Done in the 40s by Creator/{{Terrytoons}}, with very little success; only two shorts were made.
20	** Done in the 70s under ''WesternAnimation/ArchiesTVFunnies'', where other comic strips were animated. These segments were recycled into ''Fabulous Funnies'' a similar show without the Archie branding.
21	** For a brief few seconds in the special ''Fantastic Funnies'' in 1980, where notably, ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' made his animated debut. Garfield returned the favor by having Nancy and Sluggo [[TheCameo appear]] in ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' (albeit in Jerry Scott’s incarnative designs) in episode 16, when Garfield opens the doors.
22	** As noted in an article celebrating one year of OJ creating Nancy, it’s said to be rumored that a new Nancy animation series is planned for a “major streaming service”, with which Andrews-[=McMeel=] is finishing the deal.
23	* ArtShift: The Gilchrist era notably has a more [[ComicBook/ArchieComics Archie-esque]] character design style and colouring. Other post-Bushmiller artists added their own eccentricities but never deviated from his original artstyle so extremely.
24	* AudienceParticipation:
25	** A strip published before Election Day 2018 has Nancy ask Aunt Fritzi where and when she'll cast her vote, and which ice cream parlor they could visit afterwards. Aunt Fritzi's word balloons remained blank, to help readers keep track of where and when ''they'' would cast their votes; the last panel also provided a space inside Aunt Fritzi's word balloon to stick an "I voted!" sticker.
26	** The board book ''Nancy's Genius Plan'' encourages the reader to help Nancy sneak into the kitchen and grab some fresh-baked cornbread.
27	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/07/26 This comic]] provides one "fun activity" in each of the last four panels, each of which follows the theme, "Help the LazyArtist finish the strip!"
28	* BackToFront: [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/02/07 This comic]] reversed the panels to simulate a video rewinding.
29	* BehindTheBlack: Nancy describes her dog, Poochie, as, "[[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/09/23 exactly as tall as the bottom edge of every panel]]", hence why her teacher never saw her before September 2019.
30	* BigEater: Nancy. Especially in the Jerry Scott run, but it's a trait that's definitely present in other runs as well.
31	* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[ConversationalTroping Agnes decides not to use the standard plot twist of "a kind, supportive character turning out to be a bad guy" in her graphic novel]], arguing that it's not as common in real life. When Lucy says she'll support her no matter what she does, Agnes is immediately suspicious.
32	* BookDumb:
33	** Nancy's not the greatest student ever, but [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/05/14 proves to be a clever problem-solver when she can actually be motivated]].
34	** Sluggo claims he's more street-smart than book-smart seconds before [[InstantlyProvenWrong tripping and falling due to walking with his eyes closed]].
35	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
36	** Ernie Bushmiller ''loved'' doing this, usually adding in a bit of MediumAwareness on the characters' part. There were also many times that Bushmiller would use the first panel to proclaim that he was taking a day off, and the panels that followed leaned hard on the fourth wall.
37	** Olivia Jaimes takes the trope up to eleven in her strips. Apart from Bushmiller's MediumAwareness, she's specifically used fourth wall breaks and leans to poke at critics, including the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/04/16 change in]] [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/05/27 art style]], [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/04/28 commenters]] and [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/04/17 trolls]], as well as [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/04/30 the strip being rebooted]] in the first place.
38	* BreakoutCharacter:
39	** Nancy is one of the quintessial examples. The strip originally focused on Fritzi (Nancy's aunt/legal guardian), but Nancy gradually took over and became the titular character -- even to the point where Fritzi [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome completely vanished from the strip for a time]].
40	** Sluggo, too, became a major character in the strip after his introduction. While he never took over Nancy's role as main character the way Nancy had for Fritzi, he was soon established as the strip's second main character, with several adaptations and translations even taking the name ''Nancy and Sluggo.''
41	* BrilliantButLazy: Nancy shows talent in robotics club, but skips practice before a big tournament to play video games.
42	* BullyHunter: Nancy and Sluggo first met when the latter defended the former from a group of older boys that were pelting her with snowballs.
43	* TheBusCameBack: Aunt Fritzi's boyfriend, Phil Fumble, was a recurring character when Fritzi was still the star of the strip. He eventually vanished. He ended up returning near the end of Guy Gilchrist’s run of the strip ending with him and Fritzi getting married. He's yet to appear in Olivia Jaimes's run of the strip.
44	* CanonImmigrant: Oona Goosepimple, a character who appeared in the "Nancy" comic books from 1959 to 1963, didn't appear in the newspaper strip until 2013.
45	* CharacterDevelopment: Nancy started learning robotics during Jaimes' run. Jaimes said that with phones and tablets taking the place of toys (which would have been a great source of gags in previous decades), making Nancy interested in STEM would allow her to write a greater variety of material.
46	* ChekhovsGag: In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/05/11 2020-05-11 strip]], Sluggo throws a water balloon at Nancy, then starts to worry that she's planning some elaborate revenge. Nancy denies it. In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/06/23 2020-06-23 strip]], [[spoiler:Nancy drops an entire tub of water balloons on Sluggo's head]]. Nancy appears to be sitting under the same tree in both strips.
47	* ChristmasCreep: Parodied in [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/11/30 this strip]], where a bystander criticizes Nancy and Sluggo for putting up Christmas decorations on November 30th, 2018.[[note]]Which is ''after'' Thanksgiving. Compared to most stores, they're putting these decorations up rather ''late''.[[/note]] [[spoiler:The next panels reveal the decorations are actually for New Years. ''[[SerialEscalation New Years 2021.]]'']]
48	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome:
49	** Most famously, Fritzi Ritz was gradually phased out when Jerry Scott took over the strip in the mid-1980s. She subsequently returned in 1995, when the Gilchrists took over.
50	** Happened twice to Phil Fumble. He was a recurring character in the Sunday strip until getting written out in 1968. He later reappeared in 2012, only to disappear again when Olivia Jaimes took over in 2018.
51	** In fact, apart from Nancy, Sluggo (and his uncles), Fritzi, Pee-Wee and Poochie, Olivia Jaimes' run has thrown out ''all'' the previous recurring characters.
52	* ClingyJealousGirl: Nancy tends to be like this towards Sluggo.
53	* ClipShow: The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/09/07 Labor Day 2020]] strip promises to "revisit some of the stand-out panels from the last year of ''Nancy''." The joke is that this is done in the laziest way possible, with each panel "revisiting" the one ''immediately before it''.
54	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/09/19 Nancy can't tell if Esther is mad at her or not.]]
55	* ComicBooks: In addition to the newspaper strips, there were several of these for both ''Fritzi Ritz'' and ''Nancy'', the latter most notably in a Creator/DellComics series written by John Stanley in the late 1950s and early '60s.
56	* ComicBookTime: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the AprilFoolsDay 2020 [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/04/01 strip]], which jokes that the characters have not aged in 80 years because they are all "immortal, {{daywalking vampire}}[s]".
57	* CompanionCube: When Esther suspects Nancy of using her as a replacement for Sluggo when he's not around, Nancy is quick to point out her ''actual'' replacement for Sluggo (a water bottle with a face drawn on it).
58	* CompetitionFreak: Everybody at the Magnet School, best exemplified by Mildred.
59	-->''"Pretty'' competitive over weird things? [[IResembleThatRemark I think we're less competitive than]] ''[[IResembleThatRemark that]]."''
60	-->"Well, ''I'' think we're even ''less'' competitive."
61	-->"I don't think we're competitive at ''all."''
62	* ComplexityAddiction:
63	** Olivia Jaimes's [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/12/31 step-by-step instructions for drawing fireworks]] involve drawing Nancy, then erasing everything but her hair spikes, multiple times.
64	** Similarly, her [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/12/22 step-by-step instructions for drawing snowflakes]] involve repeatedly drawing Nancy from the collar up, then erasing everything but the collar.
65	* ContinuityReboot: After Guy Gilchrist retired from the strip, Olivia Jaimes' run was a completely new take on the series, with a much more modern twist. Of the large cast the comic had attained, only Nancy, Sluggo and Fritzi remain, and new supporting characters were to be introduced.
66	* ContinuityPorn: The Guy Gilchrist run often references or outright continues plot threads that hadn't been seen in the strip for decades, even bringing back old characters like Phil Fumble.
67	* DepthDeception:
68	** Nancy learns about ForcedPerspective at art camp, and [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/08/09 immediately tries using it to con her friends out of their lunches]].
69	** In [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/02/17 this strip]], Sluggo is afraid that Nancy is plotting a revenge scheme because he hit her with a snowball yesterday, but as he watches her she only seems to be building a snowman. The last panel of the strip reveals that the moderately-sized snowman that appears to be in the yard is actually a tiny one sitting on Sluggo's windowsill, and that Nancy has built a stockpile of snowballs that the tiny snowman is obscuring from his view.
70	** Instead of picking up her toys, Nancy drapes cloth over them so that, from the outside of the house, [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/01/10 it looks like window curtains]].
71	* DistinctionWithoutADifference: While she's with her robotics team, Nancy notices a boy she's never seen before, and wonders if the letter S on his shirt stands for "spy". He explains that it's nothing like that; the S stands for the name of the ''school for which'' [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2022/03/19 he's spying.]]
72	* DrosteImage:
73	** The penultimate panel of the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/09/03 "Sluggo is lit"]] strip shows a phone in Nancy's hand, which is displaying a picture of a phone in Nancy's hand, which is displaying a picture of a phone in Nancy's hand, which is displaying...
74	** Each panel of the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/09/07 Labor Day 2020]] strip "revisits" the panel immediately before it, wrapping a blue border and a caption around it. This means that each succeeding panel has more and more layers, becoming increasingly Droste-like.
75	** The penultimate panel of [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/05/27 this strip]] has Nancy reading the strip itself.
76	* EmpathicEnvironment: When Nancy skips a Robotics Club practice, [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/01/30 even the building gets mad at her]].
77	* EstablishingSeriesMoment: Each artist more or less took some time to re-tune ''Nancy'' to fit their particular style of writing. After the GrandFinale of the Gilchrist run, Jaimes spent the entire first week making episode jokes that re-established Nancy herself as the precocious JerkWithAHeartOfGold, as well as setting up the tone and the other characters.
78	* ExactWords: In [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/12/05 this strip]], Aunt Fritzi's happy to see Nancy didn't empty out the new cookie jar before a big party, to which Nancy responds "I simply couldn't do such a thing". The next four panels show her multiple failed attempts to break open the cookie jar over the last 3 days, casting the word "couldn't" as referring to Nancy's lack of success rather than her good morals.
79	* ExploitingTheFourthWall: Nancy hatches [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/01/20 an ingenious scheme]] to claim the TemptingCookieJar by tossing it to herself in the next panel. Of course, it wasn't exactly foolproof: her aunt Fritzi happened to be [[NoFourthWall reading that very strip in the paper]].
80	* TheFlapper: Fritzi, back in the 1920s when she was the star of the strip, and in her own comic book. It was toned down after Nancy gradually took over the strip, but Fritzi remained a MsFanservice.
81	* FunetikAksent: In Sluggo's early years, his dialogue was written with a Bronx accent (e.g. "goil" instead of "girl"). Bushmiller largely phased this out by the 1950s, but returned to it occasionally if a gag required it. %%See [[https://www.hoganmag.com/blog/the-importance-of-being-ernie-an-interview-with-the-authors-of-how-to-read-nancy this article]] for more context, including an [[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/5a7e1b57017db2560eebc2e1/1518241260598-B3HR9J4ETK5MCMUUXAE4/Nancy-640913-H.jpg?content-type=image%2Fjpeg example strip]].
82	* FunWithAcronyms: Twice in the basketball storyline.
83	** When Nancy [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/07/12 asks]] Mildred's cohorts from the Magnet School why they showed up to challenge her at basketball when Mildred couldn't make it, one tells her that they don't need an ulterior motive for helping out a friend: [[ImmediateSelfContradiction that is]], a '''F'''uture '''R'''esource '''I'''n '''E'''ventual '''N'''etworking and Professional '''D'''evelopment.
84	** Nancy appears to turn her ItsAllAboutMe attitude around when [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/07/23 she gives the credit]] to "Team '''N'''ancy, '''A'''gnes '''N'''' Lucy, '''S'''luggo and '''E'''specially '''E'''sther": "[[EgocentricTeamNaming Team N.A.N.S.E.E.]]" for short.
85	* GivenNameReveal: Olivia Jaimes finally reveals the name of Nancy's homeroom teacher/gym coach ([[spoiler:Melissa]] Bangles) in the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/05/29 most fourth wall breaking way possible.]]
86	* GoldenMeanFallacy: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/09/21 2019-09-21 strip]]. Nancy declares there is always some truth to both sides of an argument. Agnes points out that someone arguing in bad faith could deliberately exaggerate their side, so that their ''actual'' viewpoint becomes the new "middle ground".
87	* GoodAngelBadAngel:
88	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/10/27 Here]], Nancy wants Sluggo's last gummy worm, then wonders "Yet how can I, as his friend, take it from him?" A tiny angel and devil appear to Nancy, [[spoiler:but instead of arguing for or against taking the candy, the devil just gives Nancy her tiny pitchfork, and Nancy uses that to reach the gummy worm.]]
89	** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/06/09 2019-06-09 strip]], Nancy's shoulder angel appears to give her some advice. No devil to be seen.
90	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/02/22 This strip]], in which Nancy wonders whether or not to blame Poochie for spilling some porridge, also gives angels and devils to Aunt Fritzi, who ponders exactly how harsh a punishment Nancy deserves, and Poochie, [[spoiler:whose angel and devil just roll around in the porridge]].
91	* GrandFinale: The Guy Gilchrist run, which was very continuity-heavy, came to a definite end in 2018 --
92	** Phil Fumble finally proposes to Fritzi and the two of them get married.
93	** Sluggo's uncles return to Three Rocks (the name of Nancy's hometown) to stay with Sluggo on a more permanent basis.
94	** The final strip of the Gilchrist-run ends with a "they all lived HappilyEverAfter" note.[[note]]A few months later, the series saw a modernized, much less continuity-heavy ContinuityReboot by Olivia Jaimes, where there is no mention of Phil and Sluggo's uncles do not appear. In fact, Sluggo's family and living situation weren't even mentioned for the first two years of Jaimes' run. The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/04/27 2020-04-27 strip]] had Sluggo's uncles on the phone "from the road", but they remained off-panel.[[/note]]
95	* GuileHero: Jaimes' Nancy is constantly employing strategy to make things go her way.
96	* HalloweenCosplay: [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/10/27 A 2019 strip]] has Nancy and her friends cosplay as [[Anime/KikisDeliveryService Kiki, Jiji]], [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], Music/{{Prince}}, and [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Garnet]].
97	* HandsInPockets: [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/03/04 Parodied and lampshaded in one strip,]] where the comic goes to ridiculous lengths to avoid showing Nancy and Agnes's hands.
98	* HandWave: PlayedForLaughs in the Jaimes run:
99	-->CARTOONIST NOTE: Any questionable art from now on is because Nancy and Sluggo are using a Snapchat filter.
100	* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: Nancy attempts this in class. It doesn't work, because the "no phones in class" policy means they're blatantly not plugged into anything.
101	* HeatWave: Crosses over with TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou when [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/08/19 one Jaimes strip]] takes place on a day so hot, that neither Nancy, Aunt Fritzi, Jaimes, nor the editor can come up with a proper ending.
102	* HereditaryHairstyle: One of Jaimes' strips has Fritzi deciding to let her hair go natural, only to be frustrated when it spikes out like Nancy's.
103	* {{Homage}}: For [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/09/02 Labor Day 2019]], Olivia Jaimes made a ''Nancy'' strip in [[BlatantLies her "natural style."]] The result evokes ''ComicStrip/PrinceValiant'' in appearance, narration, and pacing.
104	* HypocriticalHumor: Common in the Jaimes era, where Nancy's egotism and lack of self-awareness drive a lot of the jokes.
105	** In [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/10/14 the 2019-10-14 strip]], Nancy ponders a few self-help slogans, along the lines of "you shouldn't care what other people think" or "you don't need to be famous to be happy"...because she is trying to figure out which slogan will make her blog more popular and propel her to stardom.
106	** In [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/02/02 the 2020-02-02 strip]], Nancy badgers Sluggo into giving her a long string of compliments. When Sluggo ends by mentioning Nancy's "great taste in friends", Nancy decides that ''Sluggo'' is "full of himself".
107	** In [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/04/27 the 2020-04-27 strip]], Nancy criticizes Aunt Fritzi and Sluggo for "yelling across the house"...while she's upstairs and they're downstairs.
108	* IgnoringBySinging: Nancy does it to Sluggo when he tries to lodge a counterpoint to her suggestion that [[HypocriticalHumor there's no point in being friends with people who make no effort to understand you]].
109	* IHaveThisFriend: Esther turns this around on Nancy by telling her that she'd tell Nancy's "friend" to ask Nancy for help.
110	-->'''Nancy:''' Let's hypothetically imagine I'm not my normal extremely generous self in this scenario.
111	* ImagineTheAudienceNaked: Esther advises Nancy to imagine the audience at the robotic club competition in their underwear. Nancy [[ComicallyMissingThePoint questions why they would be]] and gets annoyed at the idea that they might be trying to steal the spotlight from her.
112	* IResembleThatRemark: Olivia Jaimes' run makes a running gag out of this.
113	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/05/15 The teacher thinks Nancy has the makings of a natural engineer.]] Nancy, who's eavesdropping on the conversation with a spying device she rigged up herself, comments "That sounds like something I would ''hate''."
114	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/07/13 Sluggo comments that people don't forget grudges easily when Nancy says she plans on waiting until people forget about her mistakes.]] Nancy thinks about how Sluggo's saying she's wrong, just like he did on October 6th, June 6th, March 30th, November 11th, September 7th, August 21st...
115	* ItsAllAboutMe: Self-centeredness is a major flaw of Jaimes's Nancy.
116	** Even when Nancy tries to apologize for being too selfish, [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/09/21 she'll go off on a tangent and just ramble about herself.]]
117	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/10/05 When she tries to do something nice for Sluggo]], she immediately follows up by demanding a response from him.
118	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
119	** Nancy. She's selfish, greedy, and self-centered, but she's got a good heart. The Gilchrist run heavily emphasized the "heart of gold" part, with the Bushmiller and Jaimes runs, and to some extent the Jerry Scott run, emphasizing the "jerk" part.
120	** The Jaimes run adds Esther, a kindred spirit to Nancy with a much harder exterior and a far more sensitive core.
121	* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Assuming that "Sluggo" is just a nickname, no one knows what his real name is.
122	* LaboriousLaziness: When told that she needs to start thinking hard about the upcoming robotics competition, [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/10/08 Nancy instead thinks hard about how to avoid thinking hard]].
123	* LasciviousBeautyMark: Parodied in an early strip which sees Nancy reading a magazine with beauty tips that states having a mole increases a woman's attractiveness by 10%. So she starts marking her face with dots until she's full of them.
124	* LazyBum: Sluggo has been called the only person in the world who's lazier than Nancy. He doesn't even bother with the LaboriousLaziness the way she does.
125	* LazyArtist: Bushmiller, Nancy, and Sluggo would often lampshade the shortcuts he'd take in drawing, especially when they'd celebrate Labor Day by putting as little work as possible into the comic.
126	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: [[NoFourthWall When there's one to lean on at all]], that is.
127	* LimitedSocialCircle: Jaimes' run specifically {{Lampshades}} the fact that Nancy and Sluggo don't seem to have any friends outside of each other and goes on to expand Nancy's social circle with Esther, Lucy and Agnes.
128	* LimitedWardrobe:
129	** Bushmiller set the basic pattern for both Nancy and Sluggo's outfits.
130	*** Nancy almost invariably wore the same outfit of red hair bow, white blouse, black pullover vest and red skirt with black dots. There was an attempt to hang a lampshade on that in one strip, in which Nancy is examining her closet full of identical outfits, but one newspaper that did its own coloring in its daily comics section knocked the lampshade off when a clueless colorist gave each outfit a different color scheme.
131	*** Sluggo wore a flat cap, a striped shirt, and a black jacket with patches on the elbows (to indicate his PerpetualPoverty).
132	** Jerry Scott kept Nancy's outfit the same, but got rid of Sluggo's jacket and eventually replaced his flat cap with a backwards baseball cap.
133	** The Gilchrists returned to the Bushmiller formula for Sluggo. They mixed things up ''ever-so-slightly'' by adding new patterns for Nancy's skirt (plaid, anyone?) and patches to the knees of Sluggo's pants.
134	** Within the first year or two of the Jaimes run, Nancy shifted from wearing a skirt to wearing pants full-time. The pants are still red with black dots. The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/07/05 2020-07-05 strip]] shows a pile of Nancy's identical outfits.
135	* LiteralMinded:
136	** Punchlines in Bushmiller's and Jaimes's runs frequently involve Nancy or Sluggo interpreting metaphors literally. For example, the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/08/03 2018-08-03 strip]] shows a teacher telling students to "try to draw from your elbow or shoulder instead of your wrist," meaning they should mainly be moving their forearm or entire arm. Nancy tries to hold the pencil in her armpit, Sluggo attempts to draw with it in his elbow, Agnes puts paint on her elbows and tries to paint with them, and Lucy writes out "from your elbow or shoulder instead"
137	** This is such a common trait with Pee-Wee that Nancy has to be careful with how she words her statements whenever he's around.
138	* LoopholeAbuse:
139	** Classic Nancy is the absolute master of this trope. Whatever rule or order you throw at her, she’ll always find a clever way to disobey it while respecting the strict letter of it. Some examples:
140	*** In [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/06/61/f0/0661f056da4d775724b11ef452e5a3ae.jpg this strip]], there's vase with a sign that says "Hands Off", so Nancy instead touches it her feet.
141	*** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2018/12/08 rerun for 2018-12-08]], Nancy wants to eat some crackers. Aunt Fritzi won't allow it, but she does accept Nancy's request to have just the crumbs. Nancy decides to smash the whole box into crumbs.
142	*** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2019/02/06 rerun for 2019-02-06]], a cop accosts Nancy for being in an area marked "Keep Off the Grass". Nancy points out he can't arrest her; since she's sitting on the "Keep Off the Grass" sign itself, she's technically not stepping on the grass. Sluggo even helps out by bringing her a long board, so she can get off the sign without touching the grass.
143	*** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2019/08/13 rerun for 2019-08-13]], Nancy asks Aunt Fritzi if she can have some jellybeans. Fritzi replies that Nancy can have only "one." Nancy does indeed have "one"--that is, several jellybeans arranged to spell out "one."
144	*** The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2019/12/03 1950-02-27 strip]] has a candy store that promises "All The Jelly Beans You Can Hold In One Hand" for just one cent. Nancy brings in a giant hand sign.
145	*** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2019/05/22 rerun for 2019-05-22]], Aunt Fritzi tells Nancy to stop reading comic strips on the floor and use her table and chair instead. Nancy does use her table and chair...by putting her feet on the table and her arms on the chair, so she can read comic strips laying on the floor.
146	*** A television in the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2019/10/23 1950-01-17 strip]] asks the viewer if they see their dentist twice a year. Nancy replies that she has, because she's looked at him through binoculars twice.
147	*** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2020/02/10 1950-05-06 strip]], Aunt Fritzi tells Nancy she can have just one slice of cake. Nancy slices the whole top off, horizontally. After all, she said nothing about ''how'' to slice it.
148	*** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/1948/02/05 1948-02-05 strip]], Mr. Sputter tells Nancy to crack her knuckles in another room. She does so...and then starts cracking them while behind a megaphone.
149	** Classic Nancy is also occasionally on the receiving end. For example, in the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/1948/01/17 1948-01-17 strip]], Nancy gets Sluggo to promise not to throw any snowballs at her. Unfortunately for her, their agreement said nothing about launching them with a lever.
150	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/05/07 Here,]] Nancy's new teacher doesn't allow phones in her classroom--so Nancy tries to use her phone while holding it out an open window. But the teacher has an ObviousRulePatch to cover that, as well.
151	* MetafictionalDevice: In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/06/13 2021-06-13 strip]]. Unbeknownst to Nancy and Sluggo, their SpeechBubbles are physically deflecting the sticks and stones that are about to fall down on their heads.
152	* {{Minimalism}}: Bushmiller's artstyle is renowned by critics like Creator/ScottMcCloud for clean, simple lineart that employs the bare minimum of details to convey an idea or gag. In ''Literature/HowToReadNancy'', Mark Newgarden and Paul Kerasik favorably compare the strip to the minimalist architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
153	* MirrorCharacter: Mildred to Nancy, during the Jaimes run. Both are conceited, competitive, and hate being wrong. Their clothes are similar too: both wear vests over white blouses with pointy collars.
154	* MsFanservice: Up until Olivia James took over the strip, Fritzi was definitely this (especially during the Gilchrist run), being very beautiful (something which was commented on numerous times by the strip's readers, and by its other characters in-universe) and typically seen in clothing that was form-fitting and/or skimpy.
155	* {{Nephewism}}:
156	** Nancy lives with her MaidenAunt, Fritzi Ritz--while it's never been explained what happened to Nancy's parents (one of whom must be Fritzi's sibling), they are confirmed to be dead (thus making Nancy an orphan). Nancy's also been confirmed (and shown) to have relatives outside of Fritzi, including other aunts as well as grandparents and various uncles and cousins.
157	** Just like Nancy, Sluggo's an orphan--he's (technically) under the guardianship of two uncles, both of whom work as truckers. However, Sluggo's uncles have to travel a lot for work, so they're not always with him in person. As a result of that, Sluggo's often by himself but he also spends a lot of time at Nancy's house, including staying with her and Fritzi if the situation calls for it. And over the years, Sluggo's been shown to have other relatives outside of his two uncles, which includes other uncles as well as various aunts and cousins.
158	* NewSeasonNewName: The strip (which started in 1922) was originally called ''Fritzi Ritz''--but once Nancy came along, she ended up becoming so popular that she ultimately took over as the lead character and the daily comic was retitled to ''Nancy'' in 1938. The same thing also happened with the SundayStrip, albeit three decades later.
159	* NoIndoorVoice: The April Fool's Day 2024 [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2024/04/01 strip]] claims that everyone has CapsLock dialogue because they need to yell in order to break their voices out of the SpeechBubbles.
160	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
161	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/10/22 Nancy asks Aunt Fritzi to make her stay home and study.]] Nancy's hatred of schoolwork is well-established by this point, so Fritzi's baffled and frightened by the request.
162	** Aunt Fritzi detects Nancy isn't taking the robotics cancellation well when Nancy [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/04/17 passes up]] a chance to steal from the TemptingCookieJar.
163	* OperationJealousy:
164	** A Bushmiller-era strip had Sluggo offering to carry Nancy's books, only to give them back to her when they're no longer in range of the girl he was trying to make jealous.
165	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/09/18 Here]], Nancy wants her other friends to "laugh like I just said something devastating and hilarious," just to make Sluggo jealous.
166	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: In [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/10/24 this Halloween comic]], Lucy dresses as "a classic ''slow'' zombie", while Agnes dresses as "a ''fast'' zombie from the movies of the modern era".
167	* OutOfCharacterMoment: With much LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
168	-->'''Nancy:''' [[ConversationalTroping Nothing's worse than when characters act out of character]] just so [[RuleOfFunny the writer can make a joke]].
169	-->'''Sluggo:''' ''[[JerkassBall Whatever, who cares?]]''
170	-->'''Fritzi:''' Gee, Nancy!! Think I might agree with Sluggo!!
171	-->'''Nancy:''' [[KindnessBall Well, you're both entitled to your opinions, and I respect that]].
172	* OutOfFocus: Fritzi was originally the lead character (the strip itself was originally called "Fritzi Ritz"), but after Nancy was introduced, she became so popular that she eventually became the new lead character, and the strip was renamed to "Nancy." Though Fritzi is still a major character, she's a secondary character.
173	* PaintingTheMedium:
174	** The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/07/07 2019-07-07]] strip is in the style of a {{Gamebook\|s}}, inviting the reader to look at the panels in the order of their choice. Meanwhile, the characters are discussing how having too ''many'' choices can make people unhappy.
175	** In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/05/03 2020-05-03]] strip, Nancy and Sluggo discuss [[AchievementSystem Achievement Systems]] in video games, while the artwork is filled with achievement notifications that reward the reader for the act of reading the strip (e.g. "3 Panel Streak! Nice!").
176	** The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/08/14 2020-08-14]] strip is about Nancy doing a jigsaw puzzle and forcing some of the pieces into the wrong positions. The strip itself is drawn as a jigsaw puzzle with pieces of the word balloons in the wrong places, to make it look like Aunt Fritzi is agreeing with Nancy instead of criticizing her technique.
177	** The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/10/18 2020-10-18]] strip is about Agnes introducing Nancy to [[{{Manga}} "Japanese comics"]] and employs many JapaneseVisualArtsTropes that are not normally part of the strip. These include CrossPoppingVeins, SweatDrop, etc. Oh, and the strip must be read from right to left.
178	** The [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2022/02/03 2022-02-03]] strip has Nancy and Lyle arguing about movie previews, and is framed as a preview for the next day's strip. This includes InAWorld-style narration, "clips" (i.e. panels) that really are from the next day's strip, and a "coming soon" ending.
179	*** And then the strip [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2022/02/12 nine days after that]] features end credits (apparently all the characters [[AsHimself played themselves]]) and an after-credits scene.
180	* PenName: "Olivia Jaimes" is one for a webcomic artist who has managed to keep her identity secret (so far).
181	* PerpetualFrowner: Esther.
182	-->'''Nancy:''' You know, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.\
183	'''Esther:''' That's why it's important to never skip frown day.
184	* PerpetualPoverty: Sluggo lives alone in a tumbledown shack and never has any money. This aspect of his character was very heavily toned down in later years.
185	* PerspectiveMagic: In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/06/09 2019-06-09 strip]], Nancy can't reach the cookie jar on top of the fridge. What does she try next? [[spoiler:She steps into the foreground so that her [[GoodAngelBadAngel shoulder angel]] has a chance to reach it.]]
186	* PlayingHardToGet: In this 1950 [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy-classics/2020/02/29 strip]], Nancy tries what she has just read in a ''Charm Book''. [[spoiler:She interprets it literally; the last panel shows her at the top of a tree.]]
187	-->Lesson one --- Always play '''hard to get'''
188	* PuppyLove: Played to varying levels with Nancy and Sluggo DependingOnTheWriter. While they've been more or less an OfficialCouple (or two kids acting their idea of what one looks like) since Bushmiller's era, that aspect of their relationship is {{Downplayed}} in Jaimes' run, which tends to emphasize their friendship, Nancy's ClingyJealousGirl behavior notwithstanding.
189	* PutOnABus: Fritzi’s boyfriend, Phil Fumble, was phased out of the strip when Nancy rose in popularity. [[TheBusCameBack he was brought back towards the end of Guy Gilchrist’s run of the strip,]] and in the end, he and Fritzi got married. He’s yet to appear since Olivia Jaimes took over the strip.
190	* RecursiveReality: In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/05/16 2021-05-16 strip]], Nancy lays ''the panel she is in'' out on her kitchen table, bends it, and tapes all its opposite edges together (forming a kind of doughnut shape). This allows her to [[WrapAround wrap around]] from one edge of the panel to the other, so she can reach a TemptingCookieJar without crossing Fritzi's line of sight.
191	* {{Retcon}}: The Guy Gilchrist run changed Sluggo's previously established history and family situation, revealing that while he ''did'' live alone in a badly maintained house, he actually had two adoptive uncles who stayed with him whenever they could, and the entire neighborhood was secretly helping him out (such as paying for his bills). Might count as a CerebusRetcon, as it viewed Sluggo's poverty and living situation through a much more serious lens.
192	* RunningGag: The Jaimes run very often features HypocriticalHumor where a character gives some sort of advice to herself or to others but fails to follow it. For instance, somebody might tell herself to be less competitive, and decide that she's gonna be the best in the entire world at not being competitive. Recognized in [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2023/08/26 this strip]]:
193	-->'''[[AuthorAvatar Olivia Jaimes]]''': Ha! I'll write a joke that ''isn't'' [Character A says something] [Character B disagrees while simultaneously proving A's point]. Later.
194	* SelfDeprecation: Bushmiller and Jaimes' runs make frequent cracks at the expense of the artist. One Bushmiller strip has Sluggo attempting to buy celebrity autographs from Nancy only to find that they're all fairly expensive; when he asks her if she has any for "about a nickel," she cuts Bushmiller's signature out of the bottom of the panel.
195	* SeriesFauxnale: Guy Gilchrist's final issue ends on a note that gives the impression that [[GrandFinale Nancy was coming to an end]] with Aunt Fritz getting married to her long-time boyfriend Phil and the final panel even stating that all the characters lived HappilyEverAfter. All of this, only for the next issue to more or less SoftReboot the comic.
196	* ShallIRepeatThat: In [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/11/18 the November 18th, 2021 strip]], Nancy [[ConversationalTroping complains about this trope's appearances in video games]] to Sluggo and Pee Wee. Then she asks the two "Did you get all that this time?", [[HypocriticalHumor and repeats herself]] when Pee Wee says he didn't.
197	* ShoehornedAcronym: Agnes creates one in the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/10/13 10-13-2020 strip]], when attempting to write a moving poem about her loneliness:
198	-->'''Agnes:''' "L is for Lonely, the way that I feel\
199	O is for... Octopus... [[PainfulRhyme banana peel]]..."\
200	''(beat)''\
201	'''Nancy:''' ''(crying TearsOfAwe)'' Keep going!
202	* ShoutOut:
203	** In Jaimes' run of the comic, [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/04/23 Nancy's online username]] is "[=Nancee22=]", a nod to the original ''Fritzi Ritz'' comic strip, which debuted in 1922.
204	** [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] appears on Nancy's TV in a comic where [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/09/25 she tries to record Poochie doing tricks]].
205	* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy:
206	-->'''Nancy:''' I like drawing...maybe I should become a famous artist.
207	-->'''Ms. Bangles:''' Just because you like something doesn't mean you should make it your job. You like cake but imagine if you had to eat it every day for your job, even if you weren't hungry.
208	-->'''Nancy:''' You're right. That cake eating job would be a much better fit for me.
209	* SistineSteal: [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/08/12 Here]], Sluggo imagines an idealized version of himself, with the same pose and proportions as Adam from Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti's [[Art/SistineChapel "Creation of Adam"]].
210	* SlobsVersusSnobs: The climax of the "Nancy learns basketball" arc (April-July 2019) pits the half-trained Nancy and her equally unready friends (slobs) against a team of athletic, hyper-competitive kids from the magnet school (snobs). %%[[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/07/11 Example]]
211	* SomethingWeForgot: [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/07/10 Just before the beginning]] of the basketball game between Nancy's school and the magnet school, it's shown that due to Coach Bangles telling [[LiteralMinded Pee Wee]] that the game would be "a walk in the park", he's miles away doing exactly that. After Nancy's team wins and [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/07/27 goes out for ice cream]], Ms. Bangles suddenly remembers that Pee Wee is still in the park.
212	* SpeakInUnison:
213	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/05/21 When the teacher thinks Nancy and Esther could be friends,]] the two girls reply in unison, [[IResembleThatRemark "How dare you presume to know me."]]
214	** A variant in several strips[[note]][[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/08/11 2020-08-11]], [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/06/07 2021-06-07]], [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/10/07 2021-10-07]][[/note]], between Nancy and her enemy/rival Mildred: they ''thought-bubble'' in unison. (Usually they are thinking about [[MirrorCharacter how completely different they are from each other]].)
215	* SportsStories: Starting in [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/05/15 May 2018]], ''Olivia Jaimes'' has turned Nancy into something resembling a sports comic with competition being one of the plots; Nancy enters a robotics club and takes a [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2019/04/13 brief]] stab at basketball, where she competes both times with another school with [[ArchEnemy Mildred]] being one of her competitors.
216	* StayingWithFriends: Sluggo lives with Nancy and her aunt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
217	* StylisticSuck: Played with in [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/07/25 this strip]], where Agnes's drawing is sloppier and cruder than the rest of the comic--but Lucy's drawing is much more detailed and realistic than the rest of the comic.
218	* TemptingCookieJar: Nancy constantly schemes, but typically fails, to steal some cookies from the jar atop the fridge.
219	* TooUpsetToCreate: [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/07/29 This comic]] implies an instance of Jaimes suffering this after forgetting to draw the stripes on Sluggo's shirt. Despite Nancy's lengthy reminder that MistakesAreNotTheEndOfTheWorld, the mistakes that Jaimes makes throughout (some others include writing a double comma and drawing the wrong pattern on Nancy's skirt) eventually culminate in her not bothering to finish the last panel beyond the outlines.
220	* TotallyRadical: Parodied in the Jaimes era with the infamous [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/09/03 "Sluggo is lit"]] strip, which exaggerates all of Jaimes' changes to the comic's formula.
221	* UnsoundEffect: In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/05/16 2020-05-16]] strip, a boy bursts through the door with the sound effect "BURST".
222	* VitriolicBestBuds: Nancy with all of her friends in Jaimes's run, especially Sluggo and Esther.
223	-->'''Lyle:''' Why do you hang out with Nancy so much?
224	-->'''Sluggo:''' You wouldn't ask me that question if you were as close to her as I am. You'd ask ''yourself'' that, every day.
225	* TheVoice: During Jerry Scott’s run of the strip, Aunt Fritzi would only appear offscreen, usually to scold Nancy when she got in trouble.
226	* WhoWouldWantToWatchUs: When Lyle complains that the comments on Nancy's blog are all just bots responding to each other, he and Nancy argue over whether anyone wants to read "what two fake people caught in a loop are saying."
227	* WomenAreWiser: Occasionally played with, but averted or even inverted for the most part, in the relationship between Nancy and Sluggo, especially in OJ's run--Sluggo has his quirks, but he's generally got more common sense than Nancy, and plays StraightMan to her a lot more often than the other way around.
228	* WontTakeYesForAnAnswer:
229	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/10/11 Here]], Nancy suggests a game of catch as "research" on how to construct a robotic throwing arm, and she's disappointed when the teacher so readily agrees with her.
230	** [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/05/20 Here]], Mildred claims to have a psychological insight into how to convince Esther to join her study group. When Esther agrees because she wants to be friends, Mildred complains that she wasn't finished yet.
231	* {{Workaholic}}: Mildred is the grade-school version. [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/04/07 Her response to the old "work smarter, not harder" adage]] is that she works both smart ''and'' hard. [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2020/12/26 She sees the Christmas break]] as a good chance to "get ahead" on her schoolwork (by writing a thirty-page book report), and [[https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2021/07/05 spends her summer vacation]] "squeez[ing] practice schoolwork into [her] life at every opportunity".
232	* YouLookFamiliar: Lampshaded InUniverse in a Bushmiller strip, with Nancy booing a nice man on TV; the actor had played a villain the previous week.

Context ComicStrip / Nancy