Aack! Wedding Bells Saturday for Cathy and Irving

By: Dave Astor Cathy and Irving finally got married on Saturday after becoming engaged last Valentine's Day.

"Cathy" creator Cathy Guisewite played the dialogue of Saturday's comic fairly straight, having Cathy and Irving exchange the traditional "I do" vows. But she drew the couple as increasingly nervous until, in the third panel, Cathy and Irving looked positively panic-stricken. They kissed in the last panel,however, as each of their dogs went: "Aack."

The title character in "Cathy" -- which appears in about 1,400 newspapers via Universal Press Syndicate -- had been single since the comic's 1976 debut.

Guisewite told E&P last year that she decided to have Cathy get married for several reasons. The cartoonist was no longer single herself, so she was finding it harder to create situations for an unmarried character. "And I
felt like I was cheating on my husband whenever Cathy went out on a date," she quipped. Guisewite added that many longtime "Cathy" readers had gotten married, and that she wanted to "re-energize" the strip with different plot
lines.

Eventual parenthood for Cathy and Irving? "Maybe," replied Guisewite.