SUNDAY FUNNIES POSTAGE STAMPS

The Sunday Funnies postage stamps went on sale July 16. On panes of 20, the stamps carry on their flip sides the following descriptions (or, if not these, exactly, something similar):

Offering an idealized portrait of American adolescence, Archie existed only in comic-book form before debuting in newspapers in 1946. A typical small-town teenager with a knack for goofing things up, 17-year-old Archie Andrews is often torn between haughty brunette Veronica Lodge and sweet, blonde Betty Cooper.

A military strip with universal appeal, Beetle Bailey first appeared in September 1950. Possibly the laziest man in the army, Private Beetle Bailey is an expert at sleeping and avoiding work. His chronic indolence antagonizes Sergeant Orville P. Snorkel, who is tough on his men but calls them “my boys.”

Dennis the Menace follows the antics of Dennis Mitchell, a good-hearted but mischievous little boy who is perpetually “five-ana-half” years old. His curiosity tests the patience of his loving parents and neighbors, guaranteeing that their lives are anything but dull. The comic debuted in March 1951 as a single-panel gag.

Garfield first waddled onto the comics page in June 1978. Self-centered and cynical, the crabby tabby hates Mondays and loves lasagna. He lives with Jon Arbuckle, a bumbling bachelor with a fatally flawed fashion sense, and Odie, a dopey-but-devoted dog.

Calvin and Hobbes explores the fantasy life of six-year-old Calvin and his tiger pal, Hobbes. The inseparable friends ponder the mysteries of the world and test the fortitude of Calvin’s parents, who never know where their son’s imagination will take him. The strip ran from November 1985 to December 1995.

The Dennis image, by the way, is one of several thousand drawn by his creator, Hank Ketcham. The current renderers of the strip — Ron Ferdinand on Sundays; Marcus Hamilton on dailies — decided not to flip a coin for the privilege but to pin it on their one-time boss. No doubt Ketcham was highly practiced in drawing Dennis, but it seems to me that in the rendering that appears on the stamp, the pestiferous five-ana-half year old’s left arm is growing out of his back. Anatomically impossible, but mayhap effective cartooning: this arrangement conveys the kid’s hyperactive energy, legs pounding, arms flailing from wherever they are haphazardly atached. The First Day Cover production  featured the entire cast drawn by Ketcham, all their arms in comedic array no doubt.