Editing Monty (comic strip) (section)

==''Robotman''==
The comic strip began as ''Robotman'' on February 18, 1985.<ref name=Holtz>{{cite book |last1=Holtz |first1=Allan |title=American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide |date=2012 |publisher=The University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor |isbn=9780472117567 |page=333}}</ref> It originally depicted the exploits of a small [[robot]] from outer space visiting Earth, living with the ordinary Milde family.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

''Robotman'' originated as a character created by British musician [[Peter Shelley]]. Shelley later worked with [[United Feature Syndicate]] in an attempt to push Robotman via [[marketing co-operation|cross-marketing]] toys, records, videos, and other merchandise.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ignatz.brinkster.net/rman/ritems.html |title=Robotman Items}}</ref> In 1985, [[DIC Enterprises]] produced a 90-minute television special called ''Robotman & Friends''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |access-date=6 June 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816038312/page/317/mode/2up |page=317}}</ref>

The syndicate desired to have a comic strip featuring the character; they had asked [[Bill Watterson]] to incorporate the character into ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'' as a condition of syndication, but Watterson refused.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Christie |first=Andrew |date=1 January 1986 |title=Bill Watterson |url=http://lattaland.com/ultra-rare-bill-watterson-interview-from-honk-magazine/ |magazine=[[Honk!]] |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=28–33}}</ref> The job was then passed on to Jim Meddick, who created the family setting and the other characters. As the strip progressed the design of Robotman changed considerably as Meddick's style evolved.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Within about 18 months after the strip debuted, the merchandising of the Robotman character had declined, and eventually the comic strip was left as the only active license for the character.<ref name="hogan"/>

In the 1990s, Meddick changed the strip so that instead of the Mildes, Robotman began living with a geeky inventor named Monty, introduced in the January 20, 1993 strip.<ref name=toonopedia>[http://www.toonopedia.com/monty.htm ''Monty''] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://archive.today/20240527185350/https://www.webcitation.org/6fruSD1pG?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/monty.htm Archived] from the original on March 8, 2016. [http://toonopedia.com/robotman.htm Robotman (1984)] at Don Markstein Toonopedia. [https://archive.today/20240528012109/https://www.webcitation.org/6nlc2IDm1?url=http://toonopedia.com/robotman.htm Archived] from the original on January 24, 2017.</ref>

During contract negotiations, the syndicate approached Meddick with a request to change the name of the strip to ''Monty'' and to deemphasize and remove the Robotman character from the strip. This was due to an ongoing difficulty in marketing the strip with the name ''Robotman''. (For a brief period, the strip was rechristened ''Robotman and Monty''.)<ref name="hogan">{{cite web |url=https://www.hoganmag.com/blog/man-and-robotman-the-jim-meddick-interview |title=Man and Robotman: The Jim Meddick Interview |access-date= 2020-12-01|work=Hogan's Interviews |publisher= Hogan's Alley}}</ref>

Robotman was gradually phased out of the strip through a farewell storyline in 2001 in which he left Earth to find love on the planet Diskelion. The series continued as ''Monty'' in April 2001, with Robotman's place in the strip being taken by space alien Mr. Pi.<ref name=toonopedia />