The Katzenjammer Kids

The Katzenjammer Kids was a comic strip created in 1897 by the German U.S. immigrant Rudolph Dirks. It is probably the world's second oldest comic strip, after "The Yellow Kid", which ran from 1895 to 1898. Katzenjammer Kids is today distributed by King Features Syndicate, making it the oldest comic strip still in syndication.

Its two main characters, the twin boys Hans and Fritz, are based on the characters "Max and Moritz" by Wilhelm Busch. They get into so much trouble that a spanking is almost always sure to follow in every episode, usually given by the "Captain", a cantankerous old seaman who acted as a surrogate father. The "Katzenjammer Kids" comic strips are one of the best-known examples of (M/B and occasionally F/B) spanking in comics.

Several of the characters spoke in stereotypical German-accented English. "Katzenjammer" means contrition after a failed endeavour or hangover in German.