Blondie (comic strip) over all he surveys, with one notable exception—his formidable and domineering wife, Cora. Blondie and Dagwood's best friends are their next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley, although Dagwood and Herb's friendship is frequently volatile. Lou is the burly, tattooed owner of Lou's Diner, the less-than-five-star establishment where Dagwood often eats during his lunch hour. Other regular supporting characters include the long-suffering mailman, Mr. Beasley; Elmo Tuttle, a pesky neighborhood kid who often asks Dagwood to play; and a never-ending parade of overbearing door-to-door salesmen. There are several running gags in "Blondie", reflecting the trend after Chic Young's death for the
Comic strip syndication Syndicate. King Features had a series of hits during the 1930s with the launch of "Blondie" (1930–present), "Flash Gordon" (1934–present), "Mandrake the Magician" (1934–2013), and "The Phantom" (1936–present). United Feature Syndicate (founded in 1919) became a dominant player in the comic strip syndication market in the early 1930s. In March 1930, United Features acquired the Metropolitan Newspaper Service (ostensibly from the Bell Syndicate). And in late February 1931, Scripps acquired the "New York World", which controlled the syndication arms of the Pulitzer company: World Feature Service and Press Publishing Co. (which unlike other syndicates were owned by the paper rather