Heathcliff, Isidoro in Spain or Rogue in Mexico and Venezuela, is a comic book created by George Gately in 1973 that stars the cat Heathcliff. It is currently written and drawn by Gately's nephew, Peter Gallagher, and is distributed to more than 1000 newspapers by the Creators Guild.
Heathcliff bears some similarities to the popular Garfield comic book, which he preceded. Both in the appearance of the protagonist cats, which are orange with black stripes, in their bad temperament; the expression "cat care" has been applied to both. However, the main difference between them is in their lifestyle. While Garfield prefers to be at home, eat and sleep all day, Heathcliff has a more active and harmful way of living. In addition, Heathcliff has a silent character while Garfield expresses his thought with words.
Heathcliff as seen in the comic strip is a cat that annoys the fishmonger's manager, falls into trash cans, annoys the milkman, and chases female cats. Heathcliff is also involved in a difficult relationship with Mr. Nut Moscada, owner of the house in which he lives. He is, in general, an adventurous comic book character, who likes fun and does not usually apologize for his misdeeds.
The strip is usually presented in a single panel for weekdays. On Sundays, the strip is expanded to multiple panels and titled the 'Sunday with Heathcliff'. A regular feature in Sunday strips is the 'Kitty Korner', where unusual real-world cats are described.
Animated series
There are two animated TV series of the same name based on the comic strip. Although Heathcliff did not speak in the comic strip, in both animated versions he was voiced by actor Mel Blanc. Heathcliff was the last of many original Blanc characters.
The first Heathcliff was created by Ruby-Spears Productions in 1980. The first season included parts of Dingbat and the Creeps, where Dingbat is the vampire dog (Frank Welker accompanied by Spare Rib, the Skeleton and Nobody, an illuminated pumpkin), which were created by Ruby-Spears for the show, and the second season featured the character Marmaduke.
The second series was made in 1984 by DiC Entertainment, with the original characters (this series is often called 'Heathcliff and the Cadillac Cats' to avoid confusion). In 2005, Shout! Factory released a DVD with the first 24 episodes of this series.
