get fuzzy keeps humans on short leash
By: Daniel P. Finney Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
July 6, 2004 Tuesday Five Star Late Lift Edition
Rob, the human from Darby Conley's 'Get Fuzzy' comic strip, has it rough.
His cat Bucky steals his credit cards to furnish the house. His dog Satchel hosts dog conventions in the living room. And, according to Conley, none of the readers really cares much about Rob anyway. Post-Dispatch readers picked the strange adventures of Rob, Satchel and Bucky as their fourth-favorite comic in the comics poll. Conley, 34, spoke to us from his home in Boston about his tales of mixing cats and dogs.
Q. Bucky, the cat, is evil. Satchel, the dog, is a simpleton. Rob, the human, plays referee. Are you a dog man or a cat man or do you just hate everybody?
A. I see dogs and cats as people. I have issues with every human being in the world that I meet, so that makes sense that they're equally as repulsive and stupid at times. I guess I have fewer issues with dogs. I had a great dog as a kid, which was a cruel joke because I'll never have an animal that good again. I have a cat now, and I never realized how completely self-centered cats are until I had one.
Q. With the insanity Bucky and Satchel create in Rob's house, is this guy ever going to get a girlfriend?
A. Well, he had one early on, but I was basing that on my girlfriend at the time. They broke up when I broke up, and I learned quickly the perils of autobiographical material in the strip.
Q. Why doesn't Rob just take one of these bizarre animals to the shelter?
A. Because then there would be no strip. I can't even do a story line that focuses on Rob because people write in and say, "Dude, the strip is called 'Get Fuzzy.' It's about the animals, you idiot. We don't care about Rob."
Q. Besides your own strip, what comics do you have taped to your drawing board for inspiration?
A. Well, ('Pearls Before Swine' creator) Stephan Pastis is my best friend, and that guy is a real special kind of twisted. I don't read comics a lot, but, being in this business, you get to know people as people. Pastis kind of bugs me enough that I read his strip.
Q. OK, time for this week's edition of "Comic Strip Celebrity Deathmatch." In a battle to the death, who would win: Satchel vs. Snoopy?
A. Oh, tough call. I'd have to give that one to Snoopy. Snoopy at least has daydreams of war stuff and violent visions on occasion. I think Snoopy could probably outsmart Satchel, and Snoopy occasionally gets into vicious fights with that cat next door.
Q. Bucky vs. Garfield?
A. I'm going to give that one to Bucky. I think Garfield relies on his victims being too stupid. Bucky's not going to get distracted by lasagna. The real challenge is finding someone who Rob could fight.
Q. I thought you said nobody cared about Rob.
A. Right, good point.BACK TO TOP