BABY BLUES is a comic strip written by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott that follows a family of five during their day to day lives, highlighting the small moments in life that lead to the creation of cherished memories- and some not-so-cherished memories! The comic strip was originally inspired by the “remarkable” happenings that occurring in the Kirkmans’ household after the birth of their first baby daughter. They were transitioning from living a life of a young couple to parenthood. They took an interest in examining the exciting, scary, confusing, comical, and amazing moments that come with being a new parent and turned it into a comic strip that most every parent in the world could relate to on some level. After much rejection, edits, re-edits and an enormous amount of persistence, BABY BLUES finally gained enough popularity among its readers to be featured in various Sunday papers all over the world. The relatability of the work is what lead to its popularity, in fact, my parents even have this (below) comic strip taped to their refrigerator.
Again, the reason that most people find joy in the Baby Blues comics is because they can relate, and therefore, know that they are not alone as they struggle through parenthood. Parents find relief in the fact that others are experiencing the same stressful, exhausting, yet simulataneously joyous moments that happen as their children grow older.
Below is one of my favorites. It exhibits the humorous and memorable parts of life, that are also downright disgusting. The mother is complaining about the messiness of the van floor, meanwhile the daughter passes on the “trailmix” onto her father and flees the scene to avoid any further nagging. Then the father eats the “trailmix” when in reality, it is old, hard, and possibly moldy food left to age at the bottom of the van under the car seats.
The beauty of BABY BLUES comics is that they are simply honest. They are honest about even the nasty and more difficult parts of life, while simulatneously adding humor to the situation. In fact, it is not just parents that find humor in the comics, but really anyone who spends time around family. Generally, most families will produce some sort of a dramatic or chaotic lifestyle, but that is how memories are made.
Here is a link to the Baby Blues website! It has an archive of all of the comics they have ever made. Enjoy!
(This website also provided me with my data above)