A Reader's Guide To The Comic

You may have been reading the comics all your life. You know the faces, recognize the artwork. You can recite family names, even down to the pets.

But you haven't been reading the comics all their lives. Some began before you were born: "Gasoline Alley," for example, spans several generations of fans. And some strips began before they appeared in The Times, or whatever newspaper you first saw them in. There's more history to those panels than you might know.

Test yourself:

What was Mary Worth's original occupation?

In "Peanuts," whatever happened to the little girl named Truffles?

Why does "Robotman's" roommate Monty think his mom is a lava lamp? And where do Capt. Fluffy and Mr. Spot come from?

As we introduce a new strip today, "The Duplex," we thought it would be fun to reintroduce you to the other comics, some you've been reading for decades and others that have sprouted up in the past few years.

Here's a look at the characters whose adventures you follow day after day:

"Adam," by Brian Basset. The daily and Sunday strip written and drawn by The Seattle Times' own political cartoonist made its national debut in 1984. Adam is in his 30s, married with three children (Clayton, Katy and baby Nick). His wife Laura is a stockbroker, and day care cost more than he made, so he became a house-husband. Adam has learned a lot of domestic skills in his nine years, but he still sometimes finds himself in over his head: He recently lost a diet derby with the local moms' group and wound up owing all the other members free baby-sitting.

"Apartment 3-G," by Alex Kotsky. In May 1961, Tommie Thompson and her roommates Lu Ann Powers and Margo Magee set up housekeeping on the funny pages. Lu Ann's husband Garth, a teacher, is an MIA in Vietnam. The only constant male character is Professor Papagoras, a Hemingway look-alike who lives in their building and is their trusted friend and adviser. During the mid-1970s, the strip was called "The Girls of Apartment 3-G" for a time, hardly a politically correct title for a story about three career women.

"Arlo and Janis," by Jimmy Johnson, began in 1985. Arlo and Janis Day are former flower children of the '60s now faced with careers and parenting. Arlo is working his way up the corporate ladder and Janis is a successful engineer. Their son Gene was named Eugene McCarthy Day - and Johnson says Arlo and Janis "are meant to evoke names of the '60s: Arlo Guthrie and Janis Joplin."

"Baby Blues," by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott, who had been friends for 15 years before they began this strip in 1989 (joining The Times in January 1990). The comic deals with the daily lives of Darryl and Wanda MacPherson, new parents in their 30s, as they cope with their daughter Zoe. At the time the strip made its debut, Scott, who is childless, said "It may seem strange to people that I'm the one that writes the strip, but I think that not having children gives me the opportunity to stand back and see the humor in situations to which parents are sometimes too close to appreciate. All I have to do is observe the Kirkmans and the other 40 million first-time parents out there and write what I see."

"Betty," by Gary Delainey and Gerry Rasmussen, which made its debut in December 1991, features the Slug family - Betty, her husband Bub and son Junior. Canadians Delainey and Rasmussen originated "Bub Slug" for the University of Alberta campus newspaper, which then ran in The Edmonton Journal 4 1/2 years, beginning in 1985. The comic evolved from "Bub" to "Betty" when the strip came to United Feature Syndicate. Part of the action takes place where Betty works as a data input and retrieval processor, in the office and at coffee with her girlfriends Alex and Bea. At home, Betty wields power tools and a mean paint brush - a true woman of the '90s.

"Cathy," by Cathy Guisewite, made its debut on The Times comics pages in February 1978. "Cathy's" world is peopled with her mom, whose singular goal is to see Cathy become a wife and mother; her father; her girlfriend Charlene who recently married Cathy's ex-suitor Simon; her on-again-off-again boyfriend Irving; and her girlfriend Andrea who left a $60,000-a-year job as head of a systems-analysis department to raise her two children Zenith and Gus. Andrea's husband recently lost his job and Andrea now is working as a $6.50-an-hour temp.

"Calvin and Hobbes," by Bill Watterson. Childhood imagination is the fertile canvas for Calvin's adventures with his stuffed tiger Hobbes, who is completely alive unless there's a third person around. The strip, which began in The Times in November 1985, takes place mostly at home and at school and is peopled with Calvin's parents, his classmates, his teacher Mrs. Wormwood, and an array of under-the-bed monsters and dinosaurs that only Calvin and Hobbes see.

"Crankshaft," by Tom Batiuk and Chuck Ayers. August 1987 marked the beginning in The Times of the daily doings of curmudgeonly school-bus-driver Ed Crankshaft and his daughter Pam, her husband Jeff Murdoch, and their two children Max and Mindy. Ed's daughter Chris was seen only in flashbacks until March 1991 when she came to visit after years of separation from her dad. A professional photographer who works in New York, she returned this past Christmas, also, with a live-in boyfriend in tow - much to Ed's consternation. Chris came back in February, too, when Ed was hospitalized with pneumonia and had a near-death experience.

"Dave," by David Miller, began this past September. The strip takes aim at the post-boomer generation, detailing the life of a twentysomething male as he balances work, leisure and his relationship with his girlfriend, Darla. Much of the story line occurs where Dave works, examining his laterally immobile career track.

"The Duplex," by Glenn McCoy, began yesterday in the Sunday Times and makes its debut today on our daily Comics pages. One side of the duplex is occupied by a bachelor named Eno and his dog Fang. The new residents of the other half are Gina and her poodle Mitzi. The contrast in their lifestyles is pretty much summed up in this pair of scenes: Gina to Mitzi: "Does my purse go with my shoes?" Eno to Fang: "Does my left shoe go with my right one?" McCoy, 27, is art director and editorial cartoonist for The Belleville, Ill., News Democrat. His editorial cartoons have appeared in The New York Times, USA Today and the international edition of Newsweek.

"Family Circus," by Bil Keane, has been around since 1960; it began in The Times in March 1986. The single-panel cartoon details the adventures and sayings of Billy, Dolly and P.J. as noted by Mommy and Daddy and Grandma. A while back, Keane took a "vacation" and little Billy drew the comic. Inspired by that, young Jason Fox of "Fox Trot" spent several days drawing his strip.

"The Far Side." Gary Larson began his newspaper-cartooning career in 1978 with "Nature's Way" in The Times. He came to the attention of then Executive Editor James B. King through Times reporter Marjorie Jones. "Nature's Way" ran for a year as a weekly feature. Larson then sold "The Far Side" to The San Francisco Chronicle and it went into syndication in 1980. The cartoon has no ongoing characters and even if it did, they'd be unexplainable.

"For Better or For Worse," by Lynn Johnston who was a Manitoba housewife when her comic strip began to be syndicated in 1979. The Pattersons are the central family: John and Elly and their teenagers Mike and Liz, and the baby April. Also featured are their neighbors Greg and Connie, Greg's daughters Molly and Gayle, and Connie's son Lawrence. Johnston's story lines always are topical. Past strips have dealt with child abuse; Elly's concern for her aging parents and her adjustment to having a baby after so many years; hers and John's conflict over disciplining the children. One of Liz's favorite teachers is in a wheelchair. Earlier this month, Lawrence told his family that he is gay.

"Fox Trot," by Bill Amend started in 1988. The Fox family features dad Roger, an overworked cog in a corporate wheel; mom Andy Fox; their children Peter, Paige and Jason, and Jason's pet iguana, Quincy. Other characters are Jason's friend Marcus; Peter's girlfriend Denise, who is blind; and Paige's friend Nicole. Household mayhem revolves around sibling skirmishes, parent-child negotiations, and Quincy eating Paige's favorite sweater.

"Frank & Ernest," by Bob Thaves, son of an Iowa newspaperman. He began the strip in 1972; it came to The Times in February 1974. Frank and Ernest are park-bench philosophers, who also appear from time to time as planets, angels, even bugs. A typical comment: "I don't know whether I'm politically right or left, but everybody seems to think I'm definitely off center."

"Fusco Brothers," by J.C. Duffy, began in The Times in August 1989. The strip follows the exploits of four bachelors, Al, Rolf, Lars and Lance; and their pet, Axel, a dog that thinks it is a wolverine. Most of the action involves the brothers' ill-fated romantic relationships. The Fuscos are definitely not politically correct when it comes to women.

"Garfield," by Jim Davis. An Indiana farm boy, Davis began his cartooning career as an assistant to Tom Ryan, creator of "Tumbleweeds." The cynical fat cat Garfield began his antics in 40 newspapers in June 1978. The Times was among that group. Garfield's costars are his owner Jon Arbuckle and Garfield's second-favorite foil, the dog Odie.

"Gasoline Alley," by Jim Scancarelli. By far the oldest strip on The Times funny pages, "Gasoline Alley" first appeared in The Chicago Tribune in 1918 and then went into national syndication. There are no records of its first appearance in The Times; the earliest story that mentions the strip is from 1927. Originated by Frank King, the comic told the story of Walt Wallet, his children Skeezix and Judy (both foundlings) and Corky, and their offspring; and Walt's Alley pals Doc, Avery and Bill. Jim Scancarelli is the third artist to draw the daily strip. Richard Moores picked up the pen after King's death in 1969. Scancarelli, Moores' assistant, took it over in 1986.

"Herb & Jamal," by Stephen Bentley, began nationally and in The Times in August 1989. The strip looks at the daily lives of two men who own an ice-cream shop. Herb Johnson's mother-in-law Eula L'Ancien lives with him and Sarah Louise and their children Ezekiel and Uhuru, and she is often caught in the crossfire between husband and mother. Jamaal J. Jamaal has been best friends with Herb since high school. A former pro basketball player, Jamaal is a 7-footer and a bachelor. He also works as a sports announcer and recently made a comeback on the court.

"Luann," by Greg Evans, follows the lives of Frank and Nancy DeGroot and their teenagers Luann and Brad. It made its debut in The Times in March 1985. Brad seems to embody most of the worst male characteristics. He recently decided to write a romance novel. The title: "A Guy and 20 Babes on a Yacht." And when Luann decried the lack of information in class about women in history, he asked: "Women's history? What, cooking and washing clothes and havin' babies?" A recent story line showed him in a more serious light, however, when he agonized over whether to take a condom on a date.

"Marmaduke," by Brad Anderson, was created in 1954 and began running in The Times in June 1969. The single-panel cartoon follows the foibles of a big, over-friendly Great Dane, his owners, their neighbors, and a variety of bewildered visitors who encounter Marmaduke's enthusiastic greeting. A running gag details the inventive ways Marmaduke manages to get a ride home in the local police car.

"Mary Worth," by John Saunders and Joe Giella. In 1940 Martha Orr's Depression-era cartoon "Apple Mary," about a Runyanesque woman whom the stock-market crash had reduced to selling apples on street corners, was reworked and rechristened "Mary Worth's Family" by writer Allen Saunders and cartoonist Dale Conner. They bylined the comic Dale Allen. Connor left two years later; she was succeeded by Ken Ernst. Saunders retired in 1979 and his son John took over. Ernst was followed by Bill Ziegler and then, in 1991, Giella. Worth definitely has come back up in society. Her world today is populated by artists, actresses and glamorous executives - all in need of her advice.

"Peanuts," by Charles Schulz, was created in 1950 and made its debut in The Times in November 1956. The central characters are Charlie Brown; his sister Sally; his beagle Snoopy; Charlie's friend Linus van Pelt; Linus' bossy sister Lucy; toy-pianist Schroeder; and Pigpen, who travels in a perpetual cloud of dirt. Oh, about that little girl named Truffles: According to a 1975 interview Schulz invented her after he had begun a story line in which Linus and Snoopy went hunting for truffles. "I was four or five days into it before it occurred to me to have them find a little girl named Truffles," Schulz said. But cartoonists can be fickle. A few days later, Schulz said, he tired of her. Poof. Adios. Gone to the great eraser in the sky.

"Real Life Adventures," by Lance Aldrich and Gary Wise, co-workers at a Detroit-area ad agency who decided they could do cartoons funnier than what were in the newspaper. Their one-panel comic began in March, 1991, with the mid-40s Aldrich doing the writing and the early-30s Wise the artwork. Their scope is life in general, their approach observational, with an emphasis on the ironic. A typical panel shows a man crooning into a microphone; the caption says, "Karaoke: the combining of people who shouldn't be drinking with people who shouldn't be singing."

"Robotman," by Jim Meddick, began in The Times in February 1985, when Meddick was just 23. At first the extraterrestrial Robotman lived with a family, but now he has moved to suburbia and lives with his roommate Monty, who believes he too is an alien (although Meddick says he has left the truth up to readers' interpretation). Monty also thinks his mother is a lava lamp - and Meddick says Monty may be right. Robotman's friends include two neighborhood children, Kevin and Nadine, and some space aliens who swoop in occasionally when the story line goes on a "Star Trek" tangent: Capt. Fluffy and Mr. Spot from the planet Tabby, who are battling against their nemesis, the dog warriors from K-9.

"Sally Forth," by Greg Howard and Craig McIntosh. In 1982, attorney-turned-cartoonist Greg Howard introduced this strip about a woman balancing a full-time career with a home and family - husband Ted and daughter Hilary. In 1991, he hired editorial cartoonist Craig MacIntosh to take over the artwork. Public outcry was so strong it made the national news. Fans phoned and wrote that the characters "didn't look right." In an interview with The Times, Howard said, "I'm basically just a writer who spent 10 years learning to draw on the job. I've continued to get criticism . . People would say, `Gee, it's a nicely written strip; it's too bad you can't draw.' " Fans were placated when MacIntosh copied Howard's style.

"Shoe," by Jeff MacNelly, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his editorial cartoons, began in 1977. According to MacNelly's wife Susan, who works with him, "Shoe" is largely autobiographical. MacNelly concurs - the strip is set at the Treetop Tattler Tribune, and its editor, P. (for Purple) Martin Shoemaker, is named after his first editor. Other characters (all birds) include Prof. Cosmo Fishhawk, the reporter with the piled-high messy desk ("He's Jeff," says Susan); Irv the mechanic; Loon, who delivers the mail; the Wiz, a Merlin-ish mystic who repairs computers ("Jeff thinks they're a fad," says Susan); Roz, who runs the local hangout; and Sen. Battson D. Belfry, who spouts the latest political claptrap.

"Sylvia," by Nicole Hollander. The daily observations of Sylvia began appearing in The Times in 1983, flowing from the pen of Hollander, then a Chicago graphic artist and illustrator. Sylvia is a writer and social commentator who gets much of her view of the world from TV, which puts her on the cutting edge of politics and pop psychology. She lives over Harry's Bar and her extended family includes her longtime friend Harry, her daughter Rita and her cats. Other characters pop up, too, such as "The Dogs from Hell," "The Woman Who Does Everything More Beautifully Than You," Grunella the crystal ball lady, and the Midwestern woman and her multi-lipped space-alien lover.

"Wizard of Id," by Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. In 1950 Parker discovered Hart's talent in a high-school art contest. Hart began drawing his "B.C." comic in 1958 and in November 1964, the duo created "Wizard of Id." The Times has carried the strip since its inception. The Kingdom of Id is ruled by the diminutive monarch, The King. His subjects include Bung, the inebriated jester; Sir Rodney the knight; Spook, the prisoner in the dungeon and his jailer Turnkey; and, of course, the Wizard and his nagging wife Blanch. The tone of the strip is sociopolitical and today's news often finds its way back in time to Id.