The Lockhorns

The Lockhorns is one-panel syndicated comic strip about a married couple, Leroy and Loretta Lockhorn, who bitterly hate each other and yet do not divorce. It was first syndicated in 1968 by creator William Carrell. The characters in the strip demonstrate their mutual ire by unwaveringly making fiendishly-witty sarcastic comments on one another's failings as a spouse, including their unattractiveness.

This strip was first entitled The Lockhorns of Levittown, and was the creation of Carrell through 1972. In 1971 Bill Hoest, along with his wife Bunny Hoest started their run on the strip. That same year, the strip's name was shortened to The Lockhorns. Bill Hoest died in 1988, but Bunny continued the strip with the help of her good friend John Reiner.

Bill Hoest received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for the strip for 1975 and 1980.

"Marital Mirth", part of the "Super-Fun-Pak Comics" in Tom the Dancing Bug, is a parody of the Lockhorns.

Criticism

"The Lockhorns" has been criticized for its sexist humor, depicting Loretta Lockhorn as a shopping addict and stereotypically poor driver. Similarly, Leroy is often depicted as a lazy ne'er-do-well, often seen lusting after buxom blonde women to his wife's dismay.

The strip has also been heavily criticized for being generally terrible.

References

• Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.

External links

• NCS Awards