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King Features Syndicate via AP
"Family Circus" was never the hippest newspaper comic strip out there, but hearing that cartoonist Bil Keane had died was very sad news. He felt like the uncle you were always fond of, even if you didn't see him much anymore.
I still remember owning a much-read and loved collection of battered "Family Circus" paperbacks. I don't remember buying them or asking for them, but they showed up anyway, because "Family Circus" was definitely a mom-approved read. No, it wasn't the place for sharp social commentary, but like "The Brady Bunch," it was a simple look at a family that loved each other and never went to bed angry.
In its small round panels we were reminded that what's important isn't what the rest of the daily newspaper chronicled. It doesn't really matter in our lives if Kim Kardashian stays married, or if Tim Tebow throws an interception. What matters is family, parents who care enough to love each other and raise their kids to be decent people, too.
The constants in the strip are well known. "Not Me" and "Ida Know," the little ghosts responsible for the actions that get Dolly, Billy, Jeffy and P.J. in trouble. Dotted lines show a kid's path through the house or neighborhood. Occasional strips are "drawn by Billy," who doesn't quite have his dad's artistic skills yet. Grandpa's ghostly spirit watches benevolently (and a little creepily) over the family. The consistency is so beloved that it was even big news when mom Thel updated her hairdo (fans definitely need to read how that came about.)
"Family Circus" also carved out its own place in pop culture. A now-removed website called The Dysfunctional Family Circus mixed "FC" panels with raunchy captions. The Nietzsche Family Circus places quotes from philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche under the familiar panels. The 1999 movie "Go" delivered a harsh judgment of the strip, with a character saying "It's always there, in the lower right hand corner, just waiting to suck." For a while, Amazon.com reviews of the "Family Circus" books were hilarious too -- readers would write reviews comparing Keane to Shakespeare and other literary lions and piling elaborate praise on the simple books.
That was kind of the whole point. "Family Circus" never wanted to be Shakespeare, but thank the heavens, it wasn't a one-note-joke like "Garfield." (Did you know that cat likes him some lasagna?) The kids goofed off, they even got in innocent kinds of trouble, but in their little world, everything would always be OK. Today we need that stability just as much as we ever did.
Rest in peace, Bil Keane. Thanks for making us part of the "Family."
Did you read "Family Circus"? Tell us in the comments.
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Leave a Comment:
Rest in peace Bil... your Family Circle cartoons entertained us, enlightened us, and sometimes put a lump in our throat or a tear in our eye.
Seeing your user name under this article make me wonder if you're Bill Keene's real nephew Kevin? We told me stories about his uncle Bill over 30 years ago. Not cutting edge, but wonderful insights to daily life. RIP, we need more like you in today's world.
Always enjoyed your perspective on the complexity of family. The ups and downs.
The intricateness and subtlety of the family dynamic. May you find a large family where you can enjoy those same qualities and bring joy to all in a better place.
Thank you for bringing joy to my life. Continue your dream my friend, in a softer place.
Worst. Comic. Ever. I suppose they'll re-hash it for years to come...
cold. why comment on something like this if you don't like it. Or, perhaps you're a failed cartoonist.
cbrown...clearly, you needed a little family circus in your life or you'd never post rude comments. Get a life off the computer - a little human interaction might teach you a little sensativity! even your sing on name is rude!
Actually, I think cbrown is well suited to throw crap around the politic threads on this site. Perfect combination of hyperbole and poor taste.
I'm with you CBrown. It was woefully unfunny. Like Marmaduke, Cathy and Ziggy.
Anyway, he obviously appealed to many folks less jaded than me.
Rest in Peace Mr. Keane.
@ cbrown - Maybe the reason you thought it was the worst comic ever is because you never had a "family" life? It may not have been cutting edge humor but anyone with a family could easily relate to the humor being presented.
There's lots of comics that weren't "cutting edge" humor (Calvin and Hobbes, for one) that succeeded spectacularly at being both mom-approved AND funny. Why does being "mom-approved" mean having all laugh out loud humor stripped away from it? Oh, wait...it doesn't.
Yes, there are lots of people who feel the same way as Cbrown...I am among them. This comic strip hasn't been funny for a long time, if ever.
Really Cbrown was that necessary?
cbrown, your name rocks and you are dead-on. It is always down there on the page just waiting to suck....
For all of you that like it, no offense. And all this said, I can only hope I am as prolific in my career as Keane was in his (I don't want creepy Grandpa coming to haunt me...).
Love and innocence from a time gone by.
LaLaLinda: "Love and innocence from a time gone by."
Cosign.
I won't bad mouth the man. He did what he felt was right but it just wasn't a good comic. It may not have been a one trick pony but it was pretty close. Not to mention that his criticism of Bill Watterson was out of line.
All the same I hope the best for his family.
Comics is a style, not always meant to be funny...though family circus was....I can't even read the comics anymore - too much drama!
I wouldn't say his criticism was out of line. He was entitled to his own opinion and I welcome it. However, because Watterson chose to try to bring art back to the Sunday comics and chose to end the strip before it became a hollowed out shell of its former self (such as other long running comic strips, not just FC) wasn't a bad thing. I appreciate Keane for what he was saying, even if I disagree with it. At least he practiced what he preached! And I WILL respect him for that!
Strange, you said you wouldn't bad mouth the man and then went on to bad mouth the man. You should get into politics...... ;)
Growing up in small towns in the 60s and 70s with five siblings, Family Circus was often like looking in a mirror. It's one of the first strips I remember reading. I used to save it for last, like dessert. Many, many Sundays the strip was clipped and taped to the refrigerator. Thanks, Bil, for capturing the spirit of a more innocent time, for never trying to be "relevant", and for sharing your "Family" with us all those years. RIP.
I have always enjoyed Family Circus, and have enjoyed reading it everyday. I hope Jeff keeps drawing, and lets Billy draw sometimes. I aspire to be his family, and I think we have done a decent job of it. Thanks for your family, and the circus.
I really enjoyed Family Circus and especially how they handled the death of Grandpa. The use of the ghost of him watching down on the brood with Granma there always brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye, as I have now as I write this.
I agree William. He brought a perspective to life and broad questions that face all of us.
Whether anyone found him funny or just made us stop for a minute and think, he showed us his life perspective. And proudly so. I will miss him. And all his little footprints!
Thanks Bil Keane for many years of "family humor." May you rest in peace, and join with those other great cartoonists waiting for your arrival. Over there, you are the new kid on the block - and they will show you around the other side. My condolences to your family and friends, at the passing of another great legend.
My favorite "tribute" to the comic is the blog "Scott Meets Family Circus." When Jeffy and the gang get confused, Scott steps in to clear things up.
Anyway, FC is one of the comics that I always read, as a kid and as an adult, and always enjoyed. Rest in peace, Bil.
RIP, I loved reading Family Circus while I was growing up.
Growing up I liked to read the comics like every kid. I didn't like to read all of them but Family Circus was one I read every time.
Sorry to see you go Bill. You'll live on in our hearts whenever we read one of your old comics.
RIP - Gone, but definitely not forgotten. Thanks, Bil, for the laughs.
When I was a kid, it was one of my favorite strips. Those were the days of a lot more innocence, and love of family and friends wasn't sneered and snarked at. When I look at how we've devolved societally today, it's quite a contrast. I'm not being sentimental, just judgmental.
I'm probably as much a part of the problem as the rest of us, and don't proclaim to be innocent of anything (yeah, I graduated to R. Crumb's Zap Comix, smoked dope and worse at some point, but quickly outgrew it, having gotten a marriage and kids to raise in short order), but I kind of miss those days. Now that I know I don't have a hell of a lot of time left, I'm almost glad I won't have to bear witness to the continued, logarithmic decline of global "civilization". Too late for me to do much to stem the tide of devolution, but I think that the movie "Idiocracy" illustrates one strong potential outcome. I won't miss that much.
I always - always - read the funnies as a kid, 7 days a week. And while I grew to like edgier material, more ambitious art, more abstract themes (Calvin, Far Side), I never lost my soft spot for the gentle niceness of Family Circus. Bil Keane gave us something of value - at least those of us who could relate to life in the traditional nuclear family - and I'm sad that a new Family Circus each day is something - like a nuclear family of their own to grow up in - that my kids will have to grow up without.
Family Circus was, and always will be, one of my favorite comic strips. Bil caught every day life and families in a way that most of the other comic strips couldn't begin to capture. I cut out and still have some of my favorite FC moments. Why do we save them? Because we see ourselves in this family. RIP Bil.
Loved Family Circus. RIP, Bill.
So long, Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, P.J. Thanks for the laughs.
Each into eternity we shall enter at our appointed time.
Good-bye Bill
Goodbye, Bil. RIP. Thank you for giving us so many years of smiles and laughs.
Thank goodness. Now lets end this stupid strip that never reflected real life. Bring back Calvin & Hobbs instead!
I'm sorry you didn't get to grow up in a "family circus" of your own, but as you could tell if you read the comments here, a LOT of us found that Bil Keane reflected our real lives very well (even if Calvin and Hobbes did too, from a very different angle).
Come on! If Bill Waterson ever came out of his self-imposed seclusion he would be embarrassed to think someone is mocking Bil Keane w/ his column and Calvin and Hobbes would be as well. Calvin might be irreverent at times but he is never, ever mean.
Clearly the point of FC was above your comprehension level. It wasn't meant to reflect real life. It was meant to reflect a life and childhood that many of us wish we had.
Interesting that you feel a talking stuffed animal does reflect real life however.
Thank goodness he is finally gone. Worse strip I ever read! The strip never reflected real life. Bring back Calvin & Hobbs instead. This FC was about a made for TV reality that never existed and never will exist.
It wasn't meant to reflect real life. It was meant to show us a beautiful family life which many of us would aspire to. Sorry you totally missed the point.
i wonder if the other comic strips artists will write a tribute on their strips like they did with Charles Schultz's Peanuts?
I hope they do.
You'll be miss mr. Keane.
RIP
Thank you for this lovely column. I was wondering if anyone would make note of his passing. We have any number of his strips on our fridge...two favorites??
One Sunday comic of Dad talking over the fence to the neighbor - "we're growing kids, not grass"
And the signature circle after the towers fell - "911, a number we all remember, 9/11 - a date we'll never forget"
Rest in peace, Bil (love the story how you dropped the last L) and I am sure all the angel in heaven are hugging you in thanks for remembering them in your comics on occassion.
i take it back but i meant it
I enjoyed the gentle humor of Family Circle as a kid who did not have that loving home life in my own situation. RIP and thank you. May another come along and fill the void. We need role models of intact, loving homes reflecting everyday family experiences.