Background
information about
is presented below for the following:
General
Information about the strip
chronicles the adventures of two "every man" characters
who are anything but ordinary! They are able to
appear in different settings, time periods - even
manifested as things and creatures other than
people. The variety in the strip extends to their
observations about a wide variety of subjects.
peaks with a unique voice that reflects the strip's
iconoclastic - but lovable - attitude combined
with timely - and timeless - humor. Wordplay often
adds extra entertainment value.
A tradition of innovation continues to sustain
the strip's vitality. When it debuted in 1972,
was the first panel presented in a strip format
and the first comic to employ variety in settings
and character manifestations, eschewing an ongoing
story in one setting. The tradition of innovation
was evident also in the introduction of e-mail
addresses to the comics pages of over 1,000 newspapers
(1994) plus in the use of detailed digital coloring
process for the Sunday strips (1995). The strip's
first web site has extended the innovative tradition
in three ways:
- First
translation of syndicated comic strip characters
to 3-D format.
- First
availability of an interactive version of a
strip first published in the newspaper.
- First
searchable database of syndicated cartoons.
Who knows what the future will offer!
is read daily by over 25 million people in1,200
newspapers in the United States andabroad.
Characters
The wordplay often evident in the strip - frankly
and earnestly! - begins with the name! Frank,
the taller of the two characters, tends to be
more open and candid. Ernest, true to his name,
typically is genuine and sincere.
What
traits do they share?
- Observers.
- Neither
right nor left, but always off-center.
- Nothing
is sacred for them. Everything is fair game
for their wit.
- Respect
society - but aren't afraid to point out its
flaws.
- Vacation
plans likely to include renting travel videos
and watching them on the couch.
- Make
fun of themselves - not others. Able to laugh
at themselves.
Frank
- the taller of the pair
- Talkative,
gregarious, uninhibited, self-centered.
- Happily
self-deluding. Fools nobody but himself, but
that's good enough for him.
- Has
a girlfriend, Francine, but can't seem to have
things go smoothly with her.
- Lampoons
pomposity.
- Has
unconscious wisdom. Has the correct answer to
everything - but for all of the wrong reasons.
- Precisely
targets pretension.
Ernest
- Happy,
lovable, innocent, easy-going, totally oblivious
to himself.
- Naively
upstages Frank.
- Pays
no mindful attention to Frank's foibles.
- Benignly
punctures self-delusions.
- Has
worse luck with women than Frank does.
- Often
turns the table on Frank but is completely free
of malice.
Creator,
Bob Thaves (1924 - 2006)
Bob Thaves' preference was to keep the focus on
the characters - not on him. But he agreed to
let us tell you this much about him:
He always knew he wanted to be a cartoonist and
began drawing as a boy. His formal art training
consisted of studying various cartoonists and
their work. In fact, as a boy, he could identify
the cartoons of different magazine cartoonists
without being able to see their signatures. His
first cartoons were published in magazines while
he was in college.
grew out of the magazine work that he did: he
liked the variety and flexibility of the magazine
format.
Towards
the end of his life, Bob's son Tom began to collaborate
on the creation and production of .
Following Bob's death, Tom took over responsibility
for the strip, working with a production team
that had also worked with Bob for many years.
Merchandise
See here for diverse
merchandise and services with
images.
Becoming
a Cartoonist
There is no right or wrong way to become a cartoonist
- but there are some things to keep in mind.
If you are lucky enough to have a successful strip,
you will be working with the characters day-in
and day-out for a very long time. So, it is critical
that you enjoy the characters and what they are
saying. If you don't like what you're doing, neither
will your readers. Also, keep in mind that the
drawing is only half of the battle. The other
part is coming up something to say. To facilitate
this, an aspiring cartoonist would be sell-served
to know a lot about a lot of different things.
When you are ready to submit your work for review
by a syndicate, you might want to start by getting
a hold of "The Annual Syndicate Directory" published
by "Editor and Publisher". It is probably in your
library. This lists the addresses and telephone
numbers of all syndicates. Contact them and ask
about their submission guidelines - and you'll
be on your way!
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