''For the Chinese TV drama series, see Baby Blues (TV Series) .''
''For motherhood baby blues, see Maternity Blues .
'' is a Comic Strip series produced by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott since January 7 1990 .
The strip is mainly about the trouble the parents go through while raising their annoying children from the time they are babies until they turn into even more irritating toddlers. The children are depicted as being unaware of their parents' difficulties in raising them, whilst at the same time fearing punishment for what they do wrong. The parents often meet a Dilemma caused by their children, become frustrated with their offspring or one another, and ultimately seethe in anger and aggravation and believe that their children are "not worth it".
There was a short-lived ''Baby Blues'' Animated Series which aired from June to August of 2000 on The WB .
The strip mainly consists of three families:
- : The mother. Although she originally had a professional career, she chose instead to stay at home to look after her children. Due to the endless demands and responsibilities that come with being a mother, gets frustrated very easily. At the same time, she is capable of being jealous of any mothers who seem to do better than she can. Wanda Wizowski-MacPherson was born March 23 1965 . She stands 5' 5" tall. She has black hair and brown eyes.
- : The father. A manager, noticeable by an extremely big Nose . Sometimes unaware of his wife's exhausted state, always one to spoil the kids, Darryl is remarkably patient with his children. He seems to frequently change his level of knowledge on certain sports.
- : The first sibling ("born" January 7 1990 – her birth started the strip). She is a very fussy girl and tends to talk non-stop. Likes to Tease or scare her brother, Hammie. Self-proclaimed 'queen', and real good at putting blame at anyone else apart from herself.
- : The son, usually called '''Ham''' or '''Hammie''' ("born" April 29 1995 ). He has great fondness and uninhibited enthusiasm for Truck s, and can tell their model on sight, as proven in several strips. Likes to tell his mom when his big sister teases or Bullies him, but generally he gets mad less often than Zoe. He also likes driving Zoe mad or watching Zoe get into trouble (without doing anything himself). He was named after his great-great-grandfather, who was called "Ham".
- : The last sibling ("born" at the time of this writing, and is characterized by two large emotionless and unaware eyes. Although she does not seem to be as much of a nuisance as her elder siblings, recent strips implies that she might have a tendency of tasting (or even eating) wasted items on the ground.
This family joined the strip around March 1991 .
- : The mother and the main character of this family. She is the target of any possible Jealousy from Wanda, because Bunny outdoes Wanda by being perfect in many aspects (such as body, life-style, etc ) all the time. Nearly all main adult characters don't like her and have, on occasion, tricked her. Bunny does seem oblivious towards the way she irritates Wanda, or anyone else for that matter. She is also oblivious, at times, to the convenience or needs of others in contrast to her own. She still has moments of near-human quality, especially concerning motherhood, despite her fairly obtuse personality. Is often compared to Martha Stewart .
- : Bunny's husband. Generally unaware of his wife's behavior towards the neighbors. Tends to spoil Bunny, a point which Bunny herself enjoys discussing in detail with her neighbors.
- : The elder son. He's the greatest victim of Zoe's teasing and bullying (because he doesn't cope with teasing as well as ''Hammie''), she calls him a "crybaby". Named after movie star Humphrey Bogart , since he was conceived while his parents were watching '' The African Queen ''. It is evident, based on some dialogs, that Bogart is not as fond of his extra-curricular life as Bunny might think he is.
- : Twin boys born s. They were conceived whilst their parents watched '' Dumb And Dumber ''. Zoe has said that she shuffles them whenever Bunny isn't looking, making it unlikely that Bunny knows the difference between the two. Before they were named, they were called " Puce " and " Teal " based on the colors of their wrist bands.
- : is the mother of this family and a long-time supporter of Wanda, usually quiet when Wanda quarrels with Bunny.
- : Yolanda's husband, as much of a guy as Darryl. Tends to support Darryl's point of view, though not as subtly as he might think.
- : Eldest daughter, Zoe's close friend.
- : Wanda's younger sister. Enjoys the life of being a Single woman. She usually shows up as the Babysitter when Wanda and Darryl go out and leave their children behind. Recently, she is shown wanting to find a man and start a family. Was recently shown to have an online relationship with a person named Thom, who called her Linda and caused her to throw wine at her computer; she broke up with him.
- : Wanda's father, likes to brag about his healthy life.
- : Wanda's mother, quiet about her views on Wanda, its easy to spot a resemblance between her and her daughters. She approves of Wanda's lifestyle as a result of her three grandchildren, and would prefer Rhonda to settle down and have children as well. Drives Rhonda nuts.
- : Darryl's father, notorious for spoiling the kids in spite of their parents' wishes.
- : Darryl's mother, keeps "Mac" in line, especially concerning his spoiling the kids.
- : Best friend of Hammie since Kindergarten . He teaches Hammie to do many weird things. A child of the same name has appeared as a friend of Zoe on May 6 1997 ( see strip ).
- : First appeared teacher (maybe Keesha too). He's also frequently annoyed by Zoe.
- : A child that goes to the same school as Zoe MacPherson, who shares the same name. She is usually referred to "The Golden Haired Girl" by Zoe MacPherson, to whom she is constantly cruel, and has even called Wanda ugly and fat in one comic. She was a character who was in two short stints, and hasn't reappeared.
- : A child in Zoe's preschool class, is shown to have an obsession with Dinosaur s that stems so deep that he is in fact always a dinosaur, unless in the presence of his mother. First appeared June 30 1997 ( see strip ).
- : The MacPherson's permanent babysitter, known to have six brothers and sisters, and began changing diapers at 3 years of age. First appeared March 21 1997 ( see strip ).
- : The childless couple from down the lane, known to have a swimming pool, and problems concerning infertility. First appeared August 23 1996 ( see strip ).
- : Wanda's Obstetrician for her third pregnancy, in place of Dr. West. Dr. Beezy has had no trouble putting up with Darryl's oddness. When asked for her qualifications, she responded, "Three kids, ages 5, 7, and 10. Two natural, one C-Section , and I'm told I have very warm hands." Dr. Beezy was introduced February 11 2002 ( see strip ).
Unlike most other strips, children in ''Baby Blues'' do grow as time passes, though more slowly than in Real Time .
The authors claimed that the time ratio is 3 to 1 {Link without Title} (that is, three days in real time equals one day in the strip), but the fact is only true when a MacPherson kid is born and hasn't celebrated the first birthday. As the strip goes on, the ratio becomes about 2 to 1. Characters do ''not'' celebrate all their birthdays even in terms of comic time.
2006 ).
- In her younger years, Zoe was very fond of a cartoon franchise called the " Whistling Monkey Cowboy Band ".
- Wanda stumbles onto Hillary Clinton 's book '' It Takes A Village '', and makes a commentary on how she agrees that "it takes a village to raise a child". Hillary Clinton subsequently wrote back to the cartoonists, informing them that it was the first time she had seen her book referred to in a positive light. The original strip was framed and hung in the Clinton White House .
- When the family raises a and Beautifly . It's quite coincidental too, because the ''Baby Blues'' TV show originally aired on the WB, which is also the home of Pokémon.)
- One of Hammie's favorite toys is a military figure called " Action Man ".
- August 30 2005 - Dagwood Bumstead from the strip '' Blondie '' makes a guest appearance in the last frame ( see strip ).
- On March 27, 2006, in the first panel, Wren is chewing on a dead crocodile. This is a reference to a previous week " Pearls Before Swine " strip parodying the comic.
There was a short-lived '' by the Cartoon Network , and run as part of its Adult Swim block, also running on TBS . Comedian Julia Sweeney was the voice of Wanda MacPherson. Its theme song was "It's All Been Done" by Barenaked Ladies .
Rick Kirkman received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award for 1995 for his work on the series.
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