Liō

American comic strip by Mark Tatulli

Liō is a daily comic strip created by American artist Mark Tatulli and distributed by Universal Press Syndicate/Universal Uclick/Andrews McMeel Syndication since May 15, 2006. As a pantomime strip, it has an international appeal. In 2008, the strip brought Tatulli a National Cartoonists Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award.

The strip debuted on May 15, 2006, in more than 100 newspapers which included The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Dallas Morning News, Detroit Free Press, Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Denver's Rocky Mountain News, Raleigh News and Observer, The Seattle Times, St. Petersburg Times and The Washington Post. The strip is mostly wordless, therefore it can easily be marketed worldwide; one paper, De Morgen, a Brussels based Flemish newspaper, introduced the strip on the day it debuted. As of August 2007, Liō runs in more than 330 newspapers worldwide.

While it may seem that all the strips are from Liō's imagination, Tatulli has stated that all events in the strip actually happen to Liō (although on the back cover of an AMP! Kids Liō book, Liō: There's a Monster in My Socks, they say all the monsters and robots are from his imagination), though most of the time others turn a blind eye to it, unlike the other worldly situations in Calvin and Hobbes. Another notable aspect of Liō (reminiscent of such strips as The Little King, Henry and Ferd'nand) is its general lack of dialogue, though there are occasional vocalizations (such as "Eeck!" or "Aggh!") and there are labels on certain objects to make the gags more obvious. One time characters have sometimes spoken, and characters in some of the parodies have had dialogue even when Liō himself is silent. Tatulli has credited Gahan Wilson, Charles Addams and U. S. Civil War era caricaturist Adalbert J. Volck as influences on the visual style of Liō.

Liō strips were collected in seven volumes from August 2007 to May 2013. One omnibus volume, containing the strips from the first two collections, was released in August 2009. Since the release of Liō: Making Friends in 2013, no other print or electronic collections of the daily strip have been released. TitlePublication DateISBNContentsHappiness Is a Squishy CephalopodAugust 1, 2007Strips from 2006, including a foreword by Stephan Pastis of Pearls Before Swine. Silent but Deadly: Another Liō CollectionAugust 1, 2008 Strips from 2007, including a foreword by Wiley Miller of Non SequiturLiō's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown HorrorsAugust 18, 2009Treasury volume containing the contents of the first two collections, along with some author/artist commentary and a small amount of new material. Includes the origins of Liō. There's Corpses Everywhere: Yet Another Liō CollectionAugust 10, 2010Strips from 2008. Title and cover are an obvious parody of a Calvin and Hobbes book. Reheated Liō: A Delicious Liō Collection Ready to DevourOctober 11, 2011Strips from 2009. Zombies Need Love Too: And Still Another Lio CollectionMay 1, 2012Strips from 2010. Liō: There's a Monster in My SocksOctober 2, 2012Strips from 2011. Liō: Making FriendsMay 14, 2013Strips from 2012.