Antie Fritz - a photo on Flickriver

Antie Fritz

            Fritzi Ritz was an American comic strip created in 1922 by Larry Whittington. It eventually evolved into the popular Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller.

Distributed by United Feature Syndicate, Fritzi Ritz began October 9, 1922, in the New York Evening World. When Whittington left in 1925, 20-year-old Bushmiller stepped in as his replacement, modeling Fritzi after his fiance, Abby Bohnet, whom he married in 1930. In 1931, when the Evening World and the New York Telegram merged, Fritzi Ritz was one of the strips lost in the shuffle, but it returned January 10, 1932, in the New York Daily Mirror.

Characters and story
At least for the first decade or so, Fritzi Ritz was a silly, frivolous flapper, whose main concerns were men, clothes, cosmetics and money. This is a far cry from her more familiar image as Nancy's level-headed, responsible guardian).

In one 1920s strip, she says she is 19 years of age. In later decades, she appears to be in her late twenties or early thirties. The December 3, 1930, strip finds Fritzi stating she was born in New York. She worked as an actress. Her boss, Mr. Blobbs, a short plump man with glasses, was a nice guy, although sometimes cheap. Blobbs' last appearance was in May 1932.

On January 2, 1933, Nancy, Fritzi's niece, appeared as a house guest and eventually overtook the strip. During the 1930s, it is mentioned at least twice that Fritzi and Nancy live in New York City, though it is uncertain whether that means Manhattan or another borough. It is mentioned during the 1935 continuity when Nancy runs away from home and winds up at an Indian reservation. After that period, their city of residence is never mentioned again.

By 1938, Sluggo Smith had been added and the daily was renamed Nancy with Fritzi becoming a guardian and parental figure for Nancy. With these changes, Fritzi's portrayal in the main strip was, therefore, more authoritative as she took on her responsibilities as parent and disciplinarian. In her own Sunday strip (which continued for several years after the daily strip's name change), she maintained more of her original fun-natured spirit.

Taken on: January 27, 2015

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