Writing FoxTrot

[Shinmaru]

I was musing a bit on my love for FoxTrot, when I noticed that I had never seen a FoxTrot thread during my stay at OB. I did a quick search and didn't pick up on a single thread...so, I decided to make one ^_^

For those who might not know, FoxTrot is a comic strip drawn and created by Bill Amend. FoxTrot began running in newspapers since April 10th of 1988 and has grown to be, in my opinion, one of the best comic strips of all time (I think it's certainly up there with standouts like Calvin and Hobbes (my second favorite behind FoxTrot), Peanuts, Garfield, etc.).

What makes FoxTrot so different from other strips is that it doesn't try to do anything especially quirky or special...there's no central character in the strip (each member of the Fox family pretty much gets their time to shine, though the spotlight is on Jason more than everyone else, heh) and there's no person or animal just there to shoot off sardonic comments and make everyone else look silly. What FoxTrot does is present the misadventures of the Fox family, who could easily be mistaken for just about any average family, I think.

What I love about FoxTrot is that the family members are so identifiable. I see a lot of my mom in Andy Fox (without the need to include vegetables or healthiness in every meal, thank God :p) and I see myself as a mixture of Peter and Jason (Jason being the extreme nerdiness and Peter being the [strike]silly green duck[/strike] wannabe jock with the ego the size of Cleveland). I think it would be pretty tough for someone to read FoxTrot and not really see one aspect of themselves in any one of the characters.

Another thing I really love about FoxTrot is how the supporting characters are used, especially people like Marcus, Eileen (both friends of Jason's) and Nicole (a friend of Paige's - Paige being the sister of Jason and Peter). It just pleases me to see that after all these years, these characters have not just been relegated to the background...they really do have distinct personalities of their own. And that's what really impresses me about FoxTrot - it's by no means just about the Fox family.

I know other people around here read FoxTrot - what are your opinions on it? Anything else that you love that I neglected to mention? How long have you been reading FoxTrot? And so on...I hope to see a bevy of replies from fans of FoxTrot :)

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][font=century][size=1]Do I count as a "bevy"? Hope so...

FoxTrot is one of the gems of the comics page. It's the one family I feel most closely relates to my own. The characters are eaily defined and idetifiable, yet complex enough to make them compelling. The art is pretty solid, and there are several minor jokes thrown into the strip. (Always check the reading material the characters have.)

I suppose I identify myself mostly with Jason, although I have the same girl troubles as Peter.

The strip is topical without dating itself too easily, and the humor isn't dumbed down or based solely on puns. Me likee. ^__^

The only thing I occassionaly dislike is Jason's amount of screentime. During some of the summer camp strips, I was just so sick of that kid... I much prefer the family excursions to the campgrounds. Good readin'.

Fox rocks my socks.[/color][/size][/font]

[Shinmaru]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by DeathBug [/i]
[B][color=indigo][font=century][size=1]The only thing I occassionaly dislike is Jason's amount of screentime. During some of the summer camp strips, I was just so sick of that kid... I much prefer the family excursions to the campgrounds. Good readin'.[/color][/size][/font] [/B][/QUOTE]

Yeah, this is one of the [i]few[/i] problems that I have with FoxTrot, heh. Jason is pretty much the most popular character in the strip, and for good reason; he's a really funny character. However, the strip sometimes spends way too much time focused on Jason lol. The stuff at Camp Bohrmore was pretty funny, but even Jason can get a bit old after a while. FoxTrot is really at its best when each family member "gets their time to shine" so to speak.

And, yes, you count as a "bevy." :p

[Sara]

[size=1]I love Foxtrot, heh. ^_^

My brother had a daily comic calendar last year, and I'd go into his room each day to read it. Every once in a while I had to steal (well trade...my Dilbert for his Foxtrot) a page. Those are tacked up on my bulletin board. (This year, [i]I[/i] got the Foxtrot calendar. Heh.)

Jason is the most-seen character, but he's also got a lot of variety, so it's not really that bad. It's almost sickening how much he reminds me of my brother, heh. (He's taking sophomore-level math classes as an eighth grader. Ergh.) I think a lot of it has to do with how the popular things right now--Lord of the Rings, for example--are nerdy things that really only Jason qualifies to obsess over. Or something to that effect.

I love both Marcus and Eileen, heh. They play off Jason perfectly. I wish I had had friends like that in grade school. :p[/size]

[OtakuSennen]

[color=midnightblue]Ah, Foxtrot. The greatest daily comic strip since Calvin and Hobbes.

I first started appreciating this comic about a year ago, when I first came to terms with the fact that I'm a nerd-esque person, when stereotyped. The fact that this series often focuses primarily on satire of.. Not always "popular" culture, really, as much as the most recent nerd flicks or a video game-related issue. The segment where Paige got to beta test a game Jason had been highly anticipating for a long time still holds a place in my heart.

I haven't gotten too tired of Jason, honestly. The recent "space colony" thing is getting extremely corny, though. I haven't really laughed at one of those strips with Jason wearing an astronaut helmet. They seem rather cheesy and predictable.

The Christmas strips are always good, though. The situations the Fox family goes through around that time is very similar to what happens around most American nuclear families, it would seem.

Yes, I too bought the 2003 daily Foxtrot Calendar. That little tablet of paper brought me many a laugh. I, however, had flipped through each page of that thing at least five times by January twenty-fifth, and after that my dad and brother read it daily.

Here's to you, Bill Amend. May you go down through the ages as a great comic strip writer.. Wow, what an honor.[/color]