It seems only appropriate, in Merrie England, that the lighthearted humor of a very British cartoon canine brightens the mornings of newspaper readers each day. Fred Basset first appeared in the Daily Mail on July 9, 1963. The philosophical basset hound, his nameless middle-aged owners, and supporting cast of characters were conceived by the Scottish cartoonist Alex Graham. Graham had created several other comic strips, including Wee Hughie (1945) and Our Bill (1946), and his 1953 New Yorker cartoon of two aliens addressing a horse (“Kindly take us to your President!”) is widely believed to be the starting point of the popular catchphrase “Take me to your leader.”

Commissioned for a six-month period, Fred Basset has far exceeded expectations. The strip is syndicated in more than 200 newspapers. It was regularly read on the radio by the Australian comedian Hamish Blake. An animated television series of five-minute shorts, created by Bill Melendez Productions of Peanuts fame, briefly ran on the BBC in 1976. There are also widely anticipated annuals, compilations, one-off volumes and calendars.