Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 20, 1993 TAG: 9309220320
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Beginning today, Cathy Guisewite's popular single woman will share her universal moments with readers on a daily basis. "Cathy" replaces Mike Peters' "Mother Goose and Grimm" in the daily paper. "Mother Goose" has moved to the Sunday newspaper, replacing "Andy Capp," which can still be seen in the daily comics pages.
It's been 17 years since Guisewite, 42, started "Cathy," which was conceived in drawings in letters to her mother.
"A lot of what I write about is kind of a cycle of problems," Guisewite said from her office in Los Angeles.
Like most women, "Cathy" struggles to control her relationships, Guisewite says. And once they are under control, then she has to tackle career problems. "And then in the middle of that, everything you own goes out of style," Guisewite said. "It's a lot of work being a woman."
The cartoons "just offer a sense of relief to people, especially women," says its creator.
She was encouraged by Universal Press Syndicate to name the strip "Cathy" to give it a voice of reality. But Guisewite says "it's humiliating" being thought of as the strip's character.
"If I had to do it over again, I'd never have named the main character Cathy," she says. "People think they're literally reading about last night's cheescake episode." Sometimes they are, sometimes they're not, she says.
"I like to think I'm older and wiser than Cathy, in some ways," Guisewite says. For example, in a moment of crisis "Cathy" would eat a whole pie, whereas Guisewite would eat only half.
This month, Guisewite begins her annual fall fashion theme. Each year, she plans to clean out her wardrobe and not buy expensive clothes that no one except fashion models ever wears.
Nevertheless, every year, "I get sucked into it." And ultimately, so does "Cathy."
But, Guisewite says she can rationalize anything she does as research for the comic strip.
There won't be any major changes with "Cathy," just the continual cycle of perplexities with career, mother and love. Guisewite, who is single, insists "Cathy" will never get married.
In May, Guisewite received the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award after being a finalist for three consecutive years.
by CNB