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The Family Circus (originally, The Family Circle) is a syndicated comic strip by artist and comedian Bil Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from the magazine of the same name. The series has been in continuous production since 1960, and according to publisher King Features Syndicate, it is the most widely syndicated cartoon series in the world.
The comics depict the childhood antics of Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, and P.J., fictionalized versions of the author's own children (and now, grandchildren). Their parents Bill and Thel are based on Keane and his wife Thelma. The family has two dogs, Barfy and Sam, and a cat, Kittykat. Grandma makes frequent appearances.
Regular conceits include the spirits of deceased relatives observing the family, ghostly imps named "Not Me" and "Ida Know" watching while the children try to claim the person who committed a particlar misdeed was "not me" or "I dunno", a day or week when Bill turns over the strip to Billy and it is drawn in an intentionally childish style, as if Billy was actually drawing it, and an overhead map of the neighborhood where the children's paths are followed with a dotted line.
While the series remains popular in the U.S., its dated feeling and mawkish sentimentality had made a popular target of satirists, including the notorious Dysfunctional Family Circus parody. Fans defend the series as an endearing depiction of life's sweeter moments, and a reminder of simple Christian values; most of the strip's critics pan it for the same reasons.
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