meet the artist
Darby Conley
Cartoonist, "Get Fuzzy"
Friday, November 7, 2003; 1:00 PM
Welcome to the Washington Post Style section comics discussion, hosted by Comics page editor Suzanne Tobin. This week, Tobin is joined by "Get Fuzzy" cartoonist Darby Conley.
Tobin and Conley were online Friday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss 'Get Fuzzy' and the art of cartooning.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Suzanne Tobin: Welcome, comics fans and welcome to another edition of "Comics: Meet the Artist." Today our guest is Darby Conley, creator of 'Get Fuzzy,' who is joining us from his home studio in Boston, Mass. I just want to welcome you, Darby, and say that you've set a new record for number of questions on this chat. We had nearly 300 of them even before we've started. So, right off the bat, I want to warn all your fans out there that their question may not get on, but it ain't for lack of trying. I'll be typing Darby's answers for him because he has a lousy Internet connection, so please be patient. My little fingers are going as fast as they can.
Darby Conley: Hi, thanks for having me. I'm positively giddy with anticipation and/or sleep deprivation.
Yeah, actually I'm pretty sure it's sleep deprivation.
Who are you again?
Pittsburgh, Pa.: As a Pittsburgher I did not find the Pittsburgh comic to be offensive. The city has been completely made over and the steel processing long gone but the reputation will take a century to lose. Pittsburghers are extremely proud of the past steel industry and the hard work that brought wealth to the city, but can't accept the fact that it used to be terribly dirty and unhealthy as a result.
Every city has it's pro's and con's, reputations, and stigma's. Pittsburghers need to accept the past and take a joke. Laugh at yourself and learn for the future.
If we continue to rely on fossil fuels every city is going to be as dirty as Pittsburgh once was....that's no joke.
Darby Conley: I couldn't have said it better. Well done and thank you.
San Francisco, Calif.: I read that there was some controversy, and even a few death threats issued against Mr. Conley in reference to a recent strip where the ambient odor of Pittsburgh was maligned. My question is: why did you choose Pittsburgh, when there are far stinkier cities (my native San Francisco, and next-door neighbor Oakland among them) you could have chosen?
Suzanne Tobin: Wrathful Pittsburghers Fail to See Humor in Comic, (Post-Gazette, Nov. 4)
Darby Conley: I've given interviews over the past few days ad nauseum about this. A quick search on Google news will bring up many of the articles, if you want to read them further.
North Bend, Ore.: Where did the idea of GET FUZZY come from and when is the second treasury coming out?
Darby Conley: Get Fuzzy is really just an organic growth of having worked on a cartoon concept for a couple of years and animals are the creatures I like working with. A new book collection just came out and this weekend will debut at No. 5 on the New York Times bestseller list. (My publisher would kill me if I didn't say that!)
Irvine, Calif.: Why did you name the comic 'Get Fuzzy'?
Darby Conley: My brother was in a rock and roll band called the Fuzzy Sprouts. One day I did a concert poster for them where I wrote on it "Life's too short to be cool. Get Fuzzy." And I thought it was a better name for the comic I was working on than the one I had.
San Francisco, Calif.: Hi Mr. Conley,
I love Get Fuzzy. I feel like you know my cat and dog perfectly. I would like to know who or what Lowe Tech, the company on Rob's shirt, is named after. My friends say that Lowe Tech is as opposed to high tech. I thought that the company was named after a person, more specifically Derek Lowe of the Boston Red Sox. What is the real answer? Thanks so much.
Darby Conley: You're both right. I originally came up on the name Lowe Tech as a play on the opposite of high tech. But I have since learned that there was an actual college in Ontario named Lowe Tech. I don't think it exists anymore, but it did and I get a lot of e-mail about it. Derek Lowe didn't have anything to do with the name originally, but I keep meaning to send him a Lowe Tech T-shirt.
Bloomington, Ind.: Darby,
Do you plan on Rob being a bachelor through out the life of the strip or is there a plan for a family later on?
Darby Conley: The short answer is I haven't decided yet. But my gut tells me that I'll need to introduce some kind of relationship for him at some point.
Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Darby,
You've had so many wonderful series of strips in Get Fuzzy. What is your favorite series of strips?
Keep up the great work!
Darby Conley: Thanks very much. That's very flattering. I would say the series that still makes me laugh the most thinking about it is where Bucky sued the ferret, his arch-enemy next door, and they went on the Judge Judy show.
St. Louis, Mo.: I read that you have participated in rugby in the past. I was wondering what team(s) you played for, and how competitive they were.
Darby Conley: My playing experience is limited to one team which was the Amherst College Lord Jeffs (worst nickname in collegiate athletics). Except for Williams College, the Ephmen. That was our rival. We competed in Division I, even though it's a small school and I broke six of my ribs in my third season and that ended my playing career.
Ithaca, N.Y.: What's with you and the French?
Darby Conley: Nothing, why, what have you heard?
New York, N.Y.: Hi Darby. Could you describe the process by which you became syndicated? I had read somewhere that the syndicates guided you and suggested 'Get Fuzzy' as a feature for you to create, as opposed to you deriving the concept and cast. Is that true? Thanks.
Darby Conley: That is so not true I think you're making that up. I have never heard that. It took me four rounds of submissions to get syndicated.
What is your motive in asking this question?
Oakland, Calif.: Any advice for us cartoonists collecting rejection letters?
Darby Conley: Get a strong bookcase. They'll come in for years usually. But don't give up because all it takes is one editor, one time, to really like your stuff.
Washington, D.C.: I like the way you place reference to some of your favorite artists, reading material, and teams in the strip (Leo Kottke, Yankee magazine, the All Blacks). Part of the fun is understanding them because it's like getting an inside joke and because they are usually pretty obscure. But what the heck is Pow! cola? And what's the logo on Rob's hat with what looks like a feather or fern leaf?
Without gushing, I'm a big fan; a month ago I bought two of your books.
Darby Conley: Gush away, baby. Seriously though, thanks very much.
Pow! cola isn't a real cola that's just something I made up, and you actually already answered your second question without knowing it. The symbol on Rob's hat is a silver fern, which is the symbol of the New Zealand All Blacks, which is a rugby team for those of you who don't know. And if you don't know, shame on you!
Knoxville, Tenn.: I know Bucky got his tooth knocked out by Squiggles and it was replaced. My question is how did Bucky lose his first tooth and is that related to his name?
Darby Conley: Yes, when I came up with the name Bucky it did seem to fit his buck-toothedness. But I haven't figured out yet how he lost his first tooth. I'm sure that will be revealed at some point. By the way, the ferret's full name is Fungo Squiggly, and greetings to Knoxville, my old hometown.
Turku, Finland: A Get Fuzzy album was recently published here in far away Finland, translated to Finnish, entitled "Vastakarvaan", the word meaning "the wrong way" in English. Some of your jokes have proved to be untranslatable into the Finnish language. How much freedom would you give to the translator, or do you mind if none of the Finnish readers find your comics funny? And another question, since I haven't been following the plot from the beginning -- what happened to Bucky's other canine?
Darby Conley: Second part first, I just answered that. First part second, this is the first I've heard about this. I would hope that the translators would be able to do something with it, but I do appreciate that 'Get Fuzzy' isn't the most easily translatable comic strip. But I love the fact that it's being read in Finland. Thanks so much for clueing me in. I'll ask my syndicate about the foreign translations.
New York, N.Y.: Dear Mr. Conley,
'Get Fuzzy' is consistently one of the best strips in the newspaper! I have loved it from the first panel my paper picked up, and each day it gets better.
I'd also like to say that your treatment of the 9/11 tragedy was just about the most touching and classiest one I've seen. I still get misty-eyed thinking about Bucky decorating the house and waiting for Rob & Satchel to come back from donating blood with the "Welcome Heroes. Have U Cookie" sign.
Thank you for making such an entertaining and fun comic strip.
Darby Conley: Wow, thank you very much. That means a lot to me. Those strips were the hardest strips I've ever had to write. It is particularly gratifying when New Yorkers comment on them.
Atlanta, Ga.: Mr. Conley, where do you get your inspiration? Rob looks like a slob. Do you look like him?
Darby Conley: Right now I do. I've been up all night meeting my weekly deadline. But in general the punchlines just pop into my head, they're not based on anything or anyone in my life. Thanks a lot, Atlanta, for exposing the fact that I'm a slob.
Sao Paulo, Brazil: I love your work -- started reading it at comics.com. I check it out every day, in my lunch break.
When did you start working as an illustrator/cartoonist and how?
Darby Conley: Excellent to hear from Brazil. I've been drawing all my life and I've been cartooning since fifth grade or so. It's probably what I always wanted to be. "Get Fuzzy" is my first actual "job" involving cartooning or illustration, but I did do cartoons for both my high school (Doyle High Trailblazer in Knoxville, Tenn.) and the excitingly named Amherst College Student newspaper, which no longer runs cartoons, even though not only myself but Bill Amend of "FoxTrot" and John Cullen Murphy of "Prince Valiant" are both fellow alumni. Stupid Student!
Calgary, Canada: You have a very unique shading style. How much do you use computers to generate your varied greys? What kind of computer, if any, do you use?
-Cam
P.S. Love the strip... Bucky rivals Bill for best cartoon cat ever.
Darby Conley: Are you Cam Neely, I love you too! The shading in 'Get Fuzzy' is the result of flipping a black and white image from grayscale to bitmap in Photoshop. It pixelates the grayscale to give a shading pattern that newspapers can print. I'm one of the few artists or cartoonists I know who doesn't use a Mac. I really don't know that much about computers or Photoshop, so I've never really known the difference between Macs and PCs.
Boris, Sweden: Hi Darby! Me and my Girlfriend just want to say thanx for letting Bucky, Satch and Rob travel abroad! We are subscribing to a monthly comicbook that now features Get Fuzzy here in Sweden!; We love your fuzzy friends, and it?s the best comic in many many years!
Sincerely yours, Nina & Sari
Darby Conley: Again, wow! The reason you enjoy 'Get Fuzzy' so much is because we blew all our translation budget on the Swedish one. Sorry, Turku!
Very cool to hear from all parts of the world today!
Paris, France: Will you continue using the recent news as a starting point for your cartoon strip I loved the martha stewart one. I also would like to ask if Rob ever has a girlfriend? I hope your strip stays as interesting and funny as it is forever it certainly is one of my favorite things I read each day... thank you
Darby Conley: You're very welcome and thank you very much. I'm just shocked that we got a question from France (a country that I love by the way). I just happen to enjoy French jokes. In the beginning of the strip, Rob did have a girlfriend, but she was based on my girlfriend and it got too weird.
It's always difficult to incorporate current events into 'Get Fuzzy,' because so many people tell me they like it to be an escape from the news of the day. But it's very hard for me keep my big mouth shut!
Birmingham, Ala.: First let me say that I start every day with Rob and Bucky and Satchel. Some days I just chuckle. Sometimes I almost snurk coffee out of my nose. Thanks for that.
My question is, what wise and kind and totally self-centered Siamese taught you to love them so well?
Darby Conley: My girlfriend's cat is a Siamese who is extremely jealous of me. And I am probably the only person she has ever bitten. But in general Bucky is an amalgamation of every volatile cat I've ever known.
P.S. Maybe you should drink your coffee through your nose and then it might go down your throat.
Canada: Hiya,
What's the Canuck connection with you and the strip? (other than satchel being part nova scotia duck trolling retriever)
Bunny
Darby Conley: I love Canada and I love Canadians. I have some great friends there. I love going to Canada and I think Canadians have fantastic senses of humor. Plus everything is cheaper there.
Wheaton, Ill.: The monkey eating fetish thing with Bucky is simply hysterical. What, if anything, was the inspiration for that comedic gem?
Darby Conley: It is a closely guarded secret that the word and concept of "monkey" is comedy gold. Monkey anything is funny. In general Bucky wants to eat every living creature he sees. But I find it particularly funny, myself, when he fixates on monkeys. Plus they taste good, have you ever tried a lemur--not technically a monkey, but delicious.
Chicago, Ill.: I've noticed some really great Harry Potter allusions in your strip over the years. Who is your favorite Harry Potter character, and whose is Bucky's, Satchel's, and Rob's?
Darby Conley: I wouldn't be able to answer who their favorite characters are without thinking about it, but I would assume Satchel would like Neville and my favorite characters are the Weasley twins.
I'm glad you like the Harry Potter references. I'm already waiting for Book 6.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Will you be doing any book signings?
Darby Conley: None are scheduled. I sign random books in Boston area bookstores much to the horror of the bookstore employees who think I'm defacing them.
I should probably start only signing my own books, but I've got the special pen and everything.
Seattle, Wash.: You recently did a guest artist appearance on Dilbert. How did that come about and what did you think of the experience?
Suzanne Tobin: Dilbert Mystery Artist Week (Darby's is the second one on the page).
Darby Conley: That was a lot of fun. Scott just asked me to do it. I'll forward your e-mail address to him. He's getting really lazy these days and if you buy him a burrito he'll probably let you do it too.
Southborough, Mass.: Hi Darby -- Love the Boston references, especially with the fact that Bucky is a Yankees fan. Do you feel that you have to limit the references for audiences in the rest of the country?
Darby Conley: Great to hear from a local. At first I did feel that I did need to keep the Boston references to a minimum, but then I figured out that Bucky was a Yankees fan and Satchel is a Cubs fan and I think those play off each other enough that they're not too terribly boring for everyone else.
Maynard, Mass.: Hey Darby! To this day, the "Dirt Devil" costume for Halloween is still my favorite (I was happy to see it resurface on my desk calendar this year). Do you have a particular favorite?
Darby Conley: Thanks. I like chocolate.
Ireland: I'd like to know how much of you is in the strip and do Bucky, Satch and Rob represent different sides of your personality?
Darby Conley: Yeah, Ireland, Rugby World Cup quarterfinals! The Aussies were extremely lucky to get past you by 1 point.
Bucky and Satchel represent what I would call voices in my head. I'm always fighting the "Bucky" urge.
Chapmanville, W. Va.: Mr. Conley, first I gotta say that Get Fuzzy has some of the very best jokes and artwork in the comics pages (and undoubtedly the best combination of the two!). You rock. I was wondering if you're a vegetarian like Rob.
Darby Conley: Thank you for your incredibly kind comment. I try to be a vegetarian but as I stated earlier, I do eat lemur.
Scarsdale, N.Y.: Darby, recently I've been noticing that your strips have changed to have longer stories that can go on for over a month. Any reason for this change?
-Alex
Darby Conley: No.
Montreal, Quebec: Darby, when will I be able to hold a Bucky stuffie?
Amy
Darby Conley: We've been working on those for two years. I've been waiting over six months to receive the latest prototypes. So hopefully sooner than later they'll be available. I'd really love to have a couple of them myself.
Suffern, N.Y.: Is there really going to be a GET FUZZY movie? Who would you pick for the voices of Satch, Bucky and Rob?
Darby Conley: The movie rights are being shopped around, but there still isn't a studio attached as of yet.
I have absolutely no idea who could play the voices of Bucky and Satchel, or even, ironically, what their voices would sound like.
As for Rob, I've always been a Matthew Perry fan. I think he could pull it off.
Oita, Japan: How do you feel about that you have Japanese readers in half around the world away? How do you feel about non-english-native people reading your comic everyday?
Darby Conley: I love it.
The more of it the better.
Mebane, N.C.: I have rescued cats and dogs for 25 years and have read that you currently do not have any animals living with you. How is it possible for you to be so "right on" with the personalities of dogs and cats without close observation. I must tell you that the first thing I do in the morning is go to 'Get Fuzzy'. You, Rob, Bucky and Satchel MAKE MY DAY! Thanks!
Darby Conley: Yeah, you busted me. I need to update that bio on the syndicate Web site. I actually have moved and now have a psychotic cat, who I rescued from a shelter.
Watertown, Mass.: what do you think of the TV show "Family Guy" by Seth Macfarlane?
-Razmig
Darby Conley: I love it. They got away with a lot of stuff under the radar before even "South Park." I think it's a terrific show. In fact, one of the writer-producers is a friend of mine and a rugby player.
Dumfries, Va.: Man, I love your work! We have an old yellowing strip from a couple years ago, on the Fridge at home. Satch and Buck are on the floor in front of their Fridge, with a face full of spray whip cream, and the comment, "Whip Cream Rocks". Do you sell reprints of those? I'd like to buy a bigger one for my wife (actually me, but it sounds better).
Darby Conley: I'm sure your wife wants to buy you a bigger one too.
And the syndicate sells reprints of comic strips, too. Just go to comics.com
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada: I have a Siamese cat just like Bucky, in looks and temperament. Will Bucky ever find a girlfriend, and what type of cat (and attitude) would she have?
Darby Conley: What, do you hate females? I wouldn't do that to a woman.
Atlanta, Ga.: Are the Allblacks going to win tomorrow ? And more New England Patriots references, please - this displaced Yankee needs some love.
Darby Conley: Yes, the All Blacks are going to win.
Who are these Patriots of which you speak?
Washington, D.C.: Dear Darby,
What did you dress up as for Halloween?
Darby Conley: A guy in his underwear.
British Columbia, Canada: Hi,
Will you be compiling a collection of bucky-isms (perhaps like chickweed lanes moments in felinity?).
I love buckys mottos "bite harder, not faster", "when in doubt, nap". Brilliant.
- Eliz.
Darby Conley: Thanks, appreciate the compliment. And, actually, I think there will be something like that, maybe next year.
Canada: Okay, seriously dude, quit it with the lemur slurs or I'll sic John Cleese on your sorry butt. Frink!
- Bunny
Darby Conley: You don't scare me. John Cleese is not even a lemur.
Suzanne Tobin: Darby, it's been great fun, and I only wish we had more time to answer the 477 questions we received. My apologies to all of you out there who didn't get yours answered. I imagine I'm going to have a similar problem in two weeks when Berkeley Breathed will be my guest two days before his new 'Opus' Sunday strip launches. So we'll see you all back then, same time, same Bucky station.
Darby Conley: Thanks for having me, Suzanne. And for doing all the finger work. Thanks for EVERYBODY who wrote in or just lurked. I had a total blast.BACK TO TOP