Consulting the map: Bil Keane’s dotted-line drawings in The Family Circus and comics cartography

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay gives much-needed attention to what are commonly known as ‘the dotted-line’ comics in Bil Keane’s popular newspaper series, The Family Circus. These beloved instalments traced the pathway of one of the child characters – usually Billy but occasionally Jeffy – as they travelled through the house, around the yard, or across the neighbourhood to complete some task. Together with being a delightful Sunday feature, Keane’s dotted-line compositions contain complicated critical, cultural, and creative operations. From their largely unknown historical touchstone to their complex narratological, temporal, and semiotic workings, these instalments both merit and reward close critical analysis. The dotted-line drawings are noteworthy for another reason, though: they call attention to the role of maps and mapping in comics as a whole. Visual charts, topographic drawings, and schematic diagrams have a long, rich, and important history in sequential art in the United States. The Family Circus offers both a poignant example of this tradition and an equally productive entry point for examining it. The dotted-line drawings in the series ostensibly document Billy or Jeffy’s pathway around the neighbourhood. As this essay demonstrates, however, what these drawings ultimately do is chart a pathway into new critical territory: comics cartography.