Farley (comic strip)

Last updated
Farley
Author(s) Phil Frank
Website www.farleycomicstrip.com
Current status/scheduleConcluded
Launch date1975
End date2007
Alternate name(s)Travels With Farley
Syndicate(s) Chronicle Features (1975–1985)
Publisher(s) San Francisco Chronicle
Genre(s)Humor, Teens, Adults

Farley was an American comic strip written and drawn by Phil Frank, which appeared daily (except Saturday) in the San Francisco Chronicle .

Contents

Publication history

The strip began in 1975 as Travels With Farley, a play on John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley . [1] Farley began as a nationally syndicated strip with Chronicle Features, [2] but Frank missed the "timeliness and joy of doing local politics" and, dissatisfied with the four-to-six week lead time required of syndication, in 1985 switched to working exclusively for the Chronicle, which enabled him to quickly mine local events—usually overnight—for his satire.

Phil Frank died on September 12, 2007, [3] shortly after announcing, on September 9, that he was retiring due to illness. [4] Reprints of the strip had been running for some months before this, as he had been too ill to work. [3]

Outline

Farley is a satire of life in the San Francisco Bay Area and California. The title character is Farley, a reporter for the San Francisco Daily Requirement. The strip poked fun at current events in San Francisco, often lampooning such events as the response to Mayor Gavin Newsom's temporary legalization of gay marriage as well as national events such as the National Do Not Call Registry or Vice President Dick Cheney.

The strip also kept track of the current situation of the San Francisco Giants baseball team through the actions of Alphonse, one of the urban bears who is obsessed with the team. Alphonse was often shown leaving a hot dog and a beer at home plate in the middle of the night as an offering to the baseball gods.

Cast

The strip's cast grew so much that Farley, the title character, appeared infrequently. The usual cast was:

Books

A number of the strips have been collected and published as books.

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References

  1. Liberatore, Paul. "Cartoonist Phil Frank dies at 64," Archived 2014-02-03 at the Wayback Machine Marin Independent Journal (Sept. 13, 2007).
  2. Taylor, Michael. "Stanleigh Arnold -- Prescient Chronicle Editor," San Francisco Chronicle (May 30, 1997).
  3. 1 2 Nolte, Carl. "Phil Frank Dies - Cartoonist Who Captured Spirit of Bay Area", San Francisco Chronicle , September 14, 2007. WebCitation archive.
  4. Frank, Phil. "'Grateful Cartoonist' Phil Frank Thanks Readers for Best Ideas", San Francisco Chronicle, September 9, 2007. WebCitation archive.
  5. Wes Nisker
  6. Fog City Diner
  7. "'Farley' creator fills library". 27 March 2006.
  8. Garboden, Clif (March 3, 1981). "I Lost It in the Funnies". Boston Phoenix . Vol. 10, no. 9. Retrieved 26 February 2024.