Celebrate 'No Pants Day' this Friday with some of your favorite comic strips

Dennis the Menace — (Image credit: Marcus Hamilton (King Features Syndicate))

This Friday, join together with some comic book greats and don't wear pants - for a good cause.

This irreverent initiative is 'No Pants Day,' a pandemic weariness-induced special day organized by cartoonists from the comic strip community to raise awareness (and money) for charities that help get clothing to those who need it.

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Shoe — (Image credit: Gary Brookins (King Features Syndicate))

"It's been a tough year for so many people, and we know that everyone could use a good laugh as well as a helping hand," says King Features' comics editor Tea Fougner in the announcement. "No Pants Day felt like the perfect opportunity to use a bit of irreverent humor to share a laugh while also shining a spotlight on nonprofits across the country that are getting much-needed clothing items into the hands of people facing financial hardships."

The cartoonists are encouraging readers to donate new and gently used clothing to charities like Dress for Success and Room to Grow, and/or local thrift stores.

At the current count, 29 comic strips will be taking part in 'No Pants Day' on May 7. They are:

Rhymes with Orange by Rina Piccolo
Zippy the Pinhead by Bill Griffith
Gearhead Gertie by Mike Smith
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith by John Rose
Mallard Fillmore by Bruce Tinsley
Arctic Circle by Alex Hallatt
Dennis the Menace by Marcus Hamilton
Blondie by Dean Young and John Marshall
Pardon My Planet by Vic Lee
Rae the Doe by Olive Brinker
Mark Trail by Jules Rivera
Intelligent Life by David Reddick
Macanudo by Liniers
On the Fastrack by Bill Holbrook
Bizarro by Wayno
Sally Forth by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe
Hi and Lois by Brian Walker & Chance Browne
Marvin by Tom Armstrong
The Lockhorns by Bunny Hoest
Shoe by Gary Brookins
Political Cartoons by David Hitch
Spats by Jeff Pickering
Prince Valiant by Hal Foster (Social media only)
Dick Tracy by Joe Staton and Mike Curtis
Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard
Barney & Clyde by Gene Weingarten, Dan Weingarten & David Clark
Loose Parts by Dave Blazek
Off The Mark by Mark Parisi
Mount Pleasant by Rick McKee and Kent Sligh

Rae the Doe — (Image credit: Olive Brinker (King Features Syndicate))

To date, Hallmark hasn't enshrined 'No Pants Day' as an official holiday ... but give it some time.

Virtually all the major comic book strips are available digitally. Check out our list of the best digital comic readers for Android and iOS devices.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)