Korky the Cat
| Korky the Cat | |
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| First appearance | The Dandy, Issue 1, 1937. |
| Created by | James Crighton |
| Species | Bicolor cat |
| Family | Nip, Rip and Lip (Nephews) |
Korky the Cat is a fictional character in a comic strip in the UK comic The Dandy. It first appeared in issue 1, dated 4 December 1937, except for one issue, No. 294 (9 June 1945) when Keyhole Kate was on the cover. In 1984, after 47 virtually continuous years, Korky was replaced on the front cover by Desperate Dan.
The strip's simple premise follows the adventures of a black male cat called Korky, a cat who behaves like a human and is accepted in a world of humans as only a comic character can be. Originally a mute character, he started speaking in No. 149, 5 October 1940 (see image for his first words as he tries to help some hungry dogs). The 1950s saw the introduction of his 'Kits', Nip, Lip, and Rip.
Artists were:
After 1984, Korky still continued inside the comic, however, and a picture of him remained next to the Dandy logo until 1998. When Robert Nixon took over drawing in the Dandy issue dated 1 November 1986, some changes were made. Korky, whose look had remained virtually the same since the 1940s, now looked noticeably different, particularly in the case of his eyes (though the picture of him next to the Dandy logo was never changed). The focus of the strip also switched more to the Kits, who had been promoted from their originally minor role. So much so, that at one point the strip had been renamed Korky the Cat and the Kits. When Nixon went into semi retirement at the beginning of 1999 (relinquishing Beryl the Peril at the same time) several different artists took up the pen, including David Sutherland (who also draws The Bash Street Kids from The Beano, and used to draw Dennis the Menace) at first, Steve Bright,Lesley Reavey, Dave Windett later on (who introduced a mouse called Squeak and his friends to the cast), and, by 2003, Henry Davies, who was creating hybrid strips from Charles Grigg's classic Korky strips and new elements drawn by Davies.
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