Dagwood Bumstead
- First appearance: September 8, 1930 (daily), January 1, 1933 (Sunday)
- Anime Hair: He is known for his unorthodox haircutnote .
- Big Eater: Being the Trope Namer for Dagwood Sandwich, this comes with the trope, as mentioned in that entry below.
- Boss's Unfavorite Employee: While Dithers is grumpy and impatient to most of his employees, Dagwood has received tirades, been physically kicked, and once thrown out an office window.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Compare Dagwood at Dithers with Dagwood making a sandwich.
- Dagwood Sandwich: Trope Namer, although Dagwood originally created a ridiculously long sandwich rather than a ridiculously tall one by using a long loaf often called a French Loaf. Later, he began to build tall sandwiches as well. The term has entered the English language, as per the Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
. He was once shown using a hand drill to take out the center of one of these... and then inserting a frankfurter into the center as a dowel. - Disinherited Child: In the earliest days of the strip, Dagwood is revealed to be the son of very wealthy parents who detest Blondie. When he marries her anyway, his parents disinherit him.
- George Jetson Job Security: He is constantly teetering on the brink of being fired.
- Happily Married: To Blondie, although he is occasionally henpecked.
- The Klutz: His constant run-ins with Postman Beasley are one of the strip's more iconic moments.
- Not a Morning Person: He has a tendency to doze off at home or at work.
- Rail Enthusiast: Dagwood is a big model railroad nerd. Justified since he was an heir to a railway engineering company before he was disinherited after marrying Blondie.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: With Blondie. It doesn't help that his wardrobe is quite dated.
- Upper-Class Twit: Mostly averted in his early years, although he pathetically tried to act like a playboy to impress Blondie.
Blondie Boopadoop-Bumstead
- First appearance: September 8, 1930
Dagwood's beautiful and sweet-natured wife, now owner of a deli store and a catering service.
- Alliterative Name: Her first and surnames start with "B".
- Brainless Beauty/Dumb Blonde: While she tends to act a little ditzy from time to time, this is nothing compared to the airheaded flapper she was in the beginning.
- Character Title: Blondie is (nominally) the star of the strip.
- Deadpan Snarker: Becomes this whenever she's annoyed.
- Dude Magnet: The early Sunday strips featured her being the prime target to a long list of suitors. Dagwood wouldn't appear on a Sunday page until a couple of years on.
- Dumbass No More: She still has some ditzy moments, but she's nowhere near as much of an airhead as she was in the past.
- The Flapper: Originated as this until she married Dagwood. Her maiden name was even "Boopadoop", a play on the then popular expression "Boop-oop-a-doop".
- Gold Digger: Began as this until she underwent some healthy Character Development once she got married.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's blonde who's a real sweetheart.
- Housewife: She was this for decades of the strip's run, before starting a catering business with Cookie in 1991.
- In-Series Nickname: Not even Dagwood seems to remember her actual name.
- Non-Standard Character Design: One of the few characters who is drawn realistically.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: With Dagwood, as, in her flapper days, one would wonder if as to how they ended up together. This was an Enforced Trope — prior to their marriage, Blondie was portrayed as a fun-loving single woman with a few suitors lined up... then the stock market crashed, at which point she picked Dagwood because he was the most stable (or rather, most relatable) of her beaus.
Mr. (Julius Caesar) Dithers
- First appearance: 1933
Dagwood's hot-headed boss, who often threatens to sack him.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Choleric, being a hothead, who goes off on little things.
- Henpecked Husband: He's clearly dominated by his wife.
- Jerk Ass Has A Point: Yes he can go overboard with his punishments for Dagwood at times but since Dagwood is lazy, his rage is understandable.
- Mean Boss: And how. But this can be justified by the fact that Dagwood is a lazy lout
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Dagwood. They might have their spats at the office but he often turns to Dag for help.
