THE SMITH FAMILY COMIC ARCHIVE PROJECT

We preserve and share the work of cartoonists George and Virginia Smith.

The Smith Family Comic Archive Project is a 501(c)(3) public charity. We collect, preserve, and make accessible the original artwork, magazine roughs, and syndicated strips of The Smith Family, which George and Virginia Smith created from 1950 to 1997. The archive supports research, teaching, and public appreciation of mid-century American cartoon art.

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Monday, October 12, 2026

Geo Smith — Saturday Evening Post, December 20, 1947

"It's quite a story. First my hat blew off . . ."

Cartoon by George Smith, signed "Geo Smith"

The Saturday Evening Post, December 20, 1947 (Vol. 220 No. 25), page 73

Geo Smith — Saturday Evening Post, August 9, 1947

"You're holding your breath, aren't you?"

Cartoon by George Smith, signed "Geo Smith"

The Saturday Evening Post, August 9, 1947 (Vol. 220 No. 6), page 74

Geo Smith — Saturday Evening Post, August 30, 1947

"We'll have to omit the grand entrance . . . I can't budge you."

Cartoon by George Smith, signed "Geo Smith"

The Saturday Evening Post, August 30, 1947 (Vol. 220 No. 9), page 86

Geo Smith — Saturday Evening Post, September 6, 1947

"Why, I've been hoodwinked, you dirty, deceitful, cunning, insidious, delusive, tricky . . . h'm-m-m . . . how would you like to work for me?"

Cartoon by George Smith, signed "Geo Smith"

The Saturday Evening Post, September 6, 1947 (Vol. 220 No. 10), page 68

Geo Smith — Saturday Evening Post, November 22, 1947

"Okay, okay! I'll be in to dinner in a minute!"

Cartoon by George Smith, signed "Geo Smith"

The Saturday Evening Post, November 22, 1947 (Vol. 220 No. 21), page 153

Geo Smith — Saturday Evening Post, November 8, 1947

"Would anybody care for some peanuts?"

Cartoon by George Smith, signed "Geo Smith"

The Saturday Evening Post, November 8, 1947 (Vol. 220 No. 19), page 161

The Gummint, the Fourth of July, and Boom Boom vs. Yum Yum

Two Smith Family strips about government spending and war. In the 1981 strip (June 20), the kids hear the "gummint" spends the average American's income every split second, on fireworks, so how far off is the Fourth of July? In the second, Grandpa calls the world's botch a "moronic preference for Boom Boom rather than Yum Yum."

The Smith Family comic strip by Mr. & Mrs. George Smith, June 20, 1981. Two Smith kids learn the government spends the average American's income every split second on fireworks and ask how far off the Fourth of July is.

The Smith Family comic strip, June 12. A child asks Grandpa why the world is such a botch; Grandpa blames a preference for "Boom Boom" over "Yum Yum," and the child wonders how long it takes to grow from one into the other.

Friday, October 9, 2026

Plutonium Made Me Do It

A Smith Family strip on pollution and temper. A Smith kid muses that our woes may come from diet and ruined air, that the ill are grouchy and prone to rage, and that plutonium oxide in our future won't help, then delivers the punchline: "Plutonium made me do it."

The Smith Family comic strip by Mr. and Mrs. George Smith. A boy in a big hat reflects on ruined air and plutonium oxide over four panels and ends by saying "Plutonium made me do it."

Everybody Loves the Comics: The Courier-Journal Classroom Display

A Newspaper in the Classroom display from The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times featuring The Smith Family. It pairs a Smith Family strip (Washington Star Syndicate) with a photo of George and "Hon" Smith and their eleven children, and tells George's story from his first Saturday Evening Post cartoon in 1941 through WWII service as chief artist for the 58th Signal Battalion.

Color portrait of George and "Hon" Smith seated with their children gathered around them.

The Smith Family classroom display panel with a four-panel strip about Georgie slamming the car door "on my dad's leg," a family photo, and a short biography of Mr. and Mrs. George Smith.

"Everybody Loves the Comics" display header from The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times, with Peanuts characters by Schulz and other comic strip characters.

The Smith Family Learns About Modern Weapons (Detroit Free Press, 1962)

A full newspaper comics page from the Detroit Free Press showing The Smith Family by Mr. and Mrs. George Smith, with the strip beside Blondie, Pogo and The Phantom.

Detroit Free Press comics page with The Smith Family by Mr. and Mrs. George Smith, next to Blondie, Pogo and The Phantom.