Comics-Felix the Cat TB

This trackable has the goal to circulate more than five years and to be moved by at least 25 cachers. That is a rate of five drops per year for five years, or a drop every 73 days. As of 26-Aug-20 it had survived for 3.3 years and had been moved by 5 cachers, for an average release every 244 days.

No permission is needed to leave the U.S.  While in the U.S., please drop it in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

Trackable photos are appreciated, but do not show the tracking number. The images will be re-posted here.

My youth was in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  Drawing from that period, this is one of a series of travel bugs made to commemorate favorite characters from comic books, comic strips, movie cartoons, B-movies and animated feature-length movies.  Some of the characters had only a brief existence, some survived as radio and early TV programs and some have been digitally-modernized into some of the blockbuster movies of today.  There were many other characters, but these are the ones on which I was willing to spend my dimes (comic books) and quarters (movie and popcorn).  However, I didn’t pay for the daily comic strips or Sunday funnies that came with the newspaper.

Felix the Cat is a funny animal cartoon character created in the silent film era. The anthropomorphic black cat with his black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history.   Felix was the first character from animation to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences.

Felix's origins remain disputed.  What is certain is that Felix cartoons featuring the character enjoyed success and popularity in the 1920s popular culture.  Aside from the animated shorts, Felix starred in a comic strip beginning in 1923, and his image soon adorned merchandise such as ceramics, toys and postcards.  Several manufacturers made stuffed Felix toys.

By the late 1920s, with the arrival of sound cartoons, Felix's success was fading.  The new Disney shorts of Mickey Mouse made the silent offerings seem outdated.  In 1929, sound cartoons started being distributed.  The sound Felix shorts proved to be a failure and the operation ended in 1932.  Felix saw a brief cartoon resurrection in 1936.

In 1953, the film shorts were purechased and soundtracks added to them.  These were distributed to the home movie and television markets. Sunday Felix comic strips continued until their 1943. At that time Felix comic books for Dell were released every other month.  They continued to be released periodically for another 50 years.  However, Felix merchandise is produced to this day.