[Publius]

I can’t speak for the comic strip today, but back when Harold Gray was drawing it, it was a highly conservative comic strip.

[Dr. Sivana]

back when Harold Gray was drawing it, it was a highly conservative comic strip.

Despite that, the guy who turned it into a play decided to make it a celebration of FDR and liberal values. (The closing number literally compares FDR to Sanata Claus with his cabinet members as the reindeer. There is also an anti-Hoover number in the show.)

When it was made into a movie, the closing number was dropped, and a number of original Harold Gray elements (Punjab, Wild-eyed anarchists) that didn't make it into the play, made the movie more like the comic strip.

It was never a favorite strip of mine, but it represented a lot of what was the best in the era it was created and matured. Historically, comic strips are the most conservative entertainment, because people scream when changes are made in characters. Unfortunately, that is no longer so much the case, as the audience shrinks.

[LostInBayport]

The Gray strips have recently been collected as part of The Library of American Comics series by IDW Publishing. In addition to the strips in a large, well-crafted set of volumes, there are all kinds of 'extras'. Really good stuff, and yes, very conservative.

(and apparently Annie had something in common with BHO)