Friday Foster

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American comic strip

title: "Friday Foster" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["african-americans-in-comic-strips", "american-comic-strips", "drama-comics", "adventure-comics", "1970-comics-debuts", "1974-comics-endings", "comics-about-women", "female-characters-in-comics", "american-comics-adapted-into-films", "african-american-characters-in-comics", "fictional-models", "fictional-photographers", "comics-characters-introduced-in-1970", "comic-strips-formerly-syndicated-by-tribune-content-agency"] description: "American comic strip" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_Foster" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American comic strip ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox comic strip"]

FieldValue
titleFriday Foster
imageFriday Foster comics.jpg
captionFriday Foster, the title character of the comic strip
authorJim Lawrence
currentJorge Longarón
statusConcluded daily & Sunday strip
first
last
syndicateChicago Tribune Syndicate
publisherDell Comics
genreSoap opera
::

|title= Friday Foster |image= Friday Foster comics.jpg |caption= Friday Foster, the title character of the comic strip |author= Jim Lawrence | current = Jorge Longarón |url= |rss= |atom= |status= Concluded daily & Sunday strip |first= |last= |syndicate= Chicago Tribune Syndicate |publisher= Dell Comics |genre= Soap opera |rating= |preceded by= |followed by= Friday Foster is an American newspaper comic strip, created and written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Jorge Longarón. It ran from January 18, 1970, to February 17, 1974 and was notable for featuring one of the first African-American women as the title character in a comic strip. Jackie Ormes' Torchy Brown predated it, although it saw a more limited release in the Afro-American newspaper Pittsburgh Courier.

History

Jim Lawrence had been the writer of the London Daily Express comic strip, James Bond, when he became interested in creating a comic about a black character. Spanish cartoonist Jorge Longarón was chosen as the illustrator, and the strip was syndicated by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. The comic focused on the glamorous life of its title character, a former fashion model who became an assistant to a top fashion photographer, as described by comics historian Dave Karlen:

A 1970 issue of Jet reported on the debut of Friday Foster. The magazine stated that writer Lawrence lived in Summit, New Jersey and illustrator Longarón lived in Spain. Lawrence, a veteran of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War had specifically sought a Spanish illustrator for the strip, at least in part because at the time Spanish illustrators were much cheaper than comparably skilled American illustrators. The two communicated via postal mail and telephone calls.

Because of the slow speed of the mail, Longarón mailed his drawings three weeks before they were scheduled to appear.

Longarón, from Barcelona, had never been in New York until he made a brief trip there to sign the contract to do the comic. Even then, he never actually set foot in Harlem, though he did pass through it taking photos from a taxi for future reference. He drew the comic using a technique he had already established, with a sharpened pencil dipped in ink. He worked in part from photographs. He based Friday's general appearance on a particular African American model from Playboy, but also used his own mother and aunt (both artists themselves) as models.

Dell Comics published a single issue of a Friday Foster comic book (October 1972), written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Jack Sparling.

In 1975, Friday Foster was adapted into a blaxploitation feature film of the same name, starring Pam Grier.

In September 2019, the Friday Foster character appeared in a Dick Tracy story drawn by Andrew Pepoy.

The comic was the subject of a temporary exhibit "Longaron i Friday Foster. L'heroïna inesperada" which ran from 20 March 2024 through 24 June 2024 at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.

References

References

  1. (2012). "American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide". The University of Michigan Press.
  2. [http://www.toonopedia.com/friday.htm Friday Foster] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://archive.today/20150821040922/http://toonopedia.com/friday.htm Archived] from the original on July 30, 2016.
  3. Friday Foster, ''The New Yorker'', page 33, March 21, 1970
  4. Karlen, Dave. (June 19, 2009). "Buried Treasure: Lawrence & Longaron's Friday Foster". DaveKarlen Original Art Blog.
  5. Journalism - Black Career Girl Comic Strip Debuts in Cleveland, ''Jet'', page 19, February 12, 1970
  6. (2024-03-26). "'Black power' del Guinardó". La Vanguardia.
  7. Best. (January 10, 2008). "Looking Back with Frank Springer". 20th Century Danny Boy.
  8. (21 February 2024). "Longaron i Friday Foster. L'heroïna inesperada".

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african-americans-in-comic-stripsamerican-comic-stripsdrama-comicsadventure-comics1970-comics-debuts1974-comics-endingscomics-about-womenfemale-characters-in-comicsamerican-comics-adapted-into-filmsafrican-american-characters-in-comicsfictional-modelsfictional-photographerscomics-characters-introduced-in-1970comic-strips-formerly-syndicated-by-tribune-content-agency