Comic capers
1 Cuban expat Antonio Prohias was a cartoonist first noticed for his anti-Batista cartoons. Originally lauded by Fidel Castro, he soon ran afoul of the communist government in Cuba and sought refuge in the US. In 1961, he started a series in Mad as a parody of the Cold War which still features in the magazine. Name the strip.
4 In cartoons, Lucky Eddie, a short, skinny weakling, is the best friend and lieutenant of which mighty warrior?
5 The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is an annual contest sponsored by San Jose State University in San Jose to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. It’s inspired by novelist Edgar Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Paul Clifford , which starts with, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Which cartoon character usually starts his novels with the same line?
6 Which cartoonist, the only one to feature in the epic national interest video Mile Sur Mera Tumhara , also drew the murals of the legendary Café Mondegar in Colaba, Mumbai?
7 Which hugely influential film-maker from Kerala started his professional life as a cartoonist for Mathrubhumi , with his series Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum about the travails of its central characters Ramu and Guruji?
8 Which political party announced its existence with a drive for membership in the June 5, 1976, edition of the cartoon weekly Marmik ?
9 This real life person was born in 1946, lost his mother when he was 12, served in Vietnam and was estranged from his father. His father created a comic strip inspired by him in 1951 that is one of the most syndicated cartoons worldwide. Just name the character and its creator?
10 According to the creator, Scott Adams, which character in the Dilbert cartoons does not have a proper name so that all the people reading the cartoons can imagine him as their boss?
Answers
1Spy vs. Spy where an agent dressed in black and one dressed in white keep trying to destroy each other.
2 Usagi is a rabbit ronin. Usagi is Japanese for ‘rabbit’.
3The Common Man , by RK Laxman. You can also see his statue in Mumbai and Pune.
4 Hagar the Horrible, in the stories of Dik Browne.
5 Snoopy in Peanuts .
6 Mario Miranda.
7 G Aravindan.
8 The Shiv Sena; Marmik was run by cartoonist Bal Thackeray and his brother Srikant.
9Dennis the Menace created by Hank Ketcham.
10 Pointy-haired boss, the manager of the engineering division of Dilbert.
Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster;
Twitter: @joybhattacharj