You might think Dagwood Bumstead's idea of a 75th-anniversary celebration would be to eat a sandwich that includes four tomatoes, six wedges of cheese, a head of lettuce, two slices of pizza, a bottle of Tabasco sauce and a leg of lamb.

Then lie down on the sofa for a nap.

You might think Blondie Bumstead's idea of an anniversary celebration would be to try on dresses all afternoon at Tudbury's with Tootsie Woodley.

But for their anniversary, they've got bigger plans.

Dean Young, "Blondie's" writer (and son of Chic Young, the strip's creator, who died in 1973) has arranged for the strip's All-American stars to celebrate a 75th-anniversary party on Sept. 4 in the pages of its 2,300 client newspapers. Leading up to that moment will be an unprecedented three-month story line; there'll also be a month-long post-party cruise to Hawaii.

In the comic-strip world, this is the party against which all others will one day be measured. At various points, the Bumsteads will join and be visited by dozens of characters from other strips, including "For Better or for Worse," "Gasoline Alley," "Beetle Bailey," "Hagar the Horrible" and "Curtis."