Happy 20th… milestones like that are always worth noting. Frazz has been on my rotation for only a couple of years, but it’s pretty timeless in it’s humor, and I do enjoy diving the archives on occasion.
Halloween is a mish-mash of All Holy’s Eve (Hallow’s Eve old style); modern would be All Saints Eve before All Saints Day (for those saints not otherwise recognized with their own day). I would say it means we have too many saints to recognize, or maybe we are setting the bar for sainthood too low.
Congratulations Jef. The strip is fun, it raises interesting issues and as someone pointed out in the recent past, the comments section is as entertaining as the strip.
Congratulations, Jef. Your comic is truly one of the best out there. I’d put it on par with Calvin & Hobbes, Pearls Before Swine, 9 Chickweed Lane, and, on a good day, aaaaaaalmost as good as Garfield. :)
… and a mere ten days later, he hits it out of the park. Mallett likes to acknowledge Watterson, but I really think the spirit of Walt Kelly whispers to him.
Happy birthday to Frazz, Caulfield (he sure doesn’t look 20!), Miss Plainwell, Mrs. Olsen, Mr. Burke, Mr. Spaetzle, and (apologies for pulling a Gilligan’s Island) all the rest.
Congratulations, Mr. Mallett, and long may you enjoy doing the cartoon!
Congrats and thanks for the laughs. I don’t remember if I met Frazz in the Flint Journal or the Detroit Free Press, but I’ve been with you from the start. (the Assenmachers lived just around the corner from us).
Frazz · Twenty years ago today, I watched Frazz episode #1 roll off the presses at the Saginaw News. It was a proud moment until it was a horrifying one, when I looked at the actual strip on the actual still-damp newsprint and realized that the lettering was way too small. It had looked fine on its own in the materials I had submitted to the syndicate, but shrunk to newspaper-publication size on a page full of strips that had already figured out the right ratio, it was, well, readable. But it wasn’t inviting. I celebrated my debut by going home and scrambling to redo six weeks worth of upcoming strips, and I’ve been wondering ever since if I’m screwing up one thing or another.
But that’s comics. You’re never quite sure you’re getting it right, never quite sure you belong there, and if you find a problem, it’s too late to do anything about it directly because you’re seeing it weeks after you drew it and weeks before your corrected approach will appear. That’s the nature of daily deadlines and lead times.
Because you can essentially do everything yourself, drawing a strip is a great job for a control freak. But because of the production pace, it’s a horrible job for a micromanager. I don’t know where that puts me for suitability, but apparently it’s a job that works for a guy who’s better at looking forward than dwelling on what’s behind. Or someone who’s too good at dwelling on what’s in front of him and needs a deadline to say, “it’s DONE, dammit. Turn it in.” [continued below]
It must be the perfect job for someone who is willing to accept being kinda sorta good at a few things but not really good at any one, and willing to grind it out and never quit. I suppose it’s no surprise that I was pulled into triathlon’s gravity for so long. Which I got into after quitting bike racing. Until I moved to where the cycling sucks and quit triathlon to go all in on running, then almost immediately quit running to go all in on marathon swimming, where my skills seem to have maxed out at a disappointing level, and so thanks to that and the pandemic, I have quit quitting running, although I won’t quit swimming. All in the time I have not quit drawing Frazz. Maybe I should quit being so smug about not quitting. At least I chose the right thing not to quit.
And that will do it for today’s Frogg, because I have to quit and get some strips turned in. When they’re DONE, dammit.
I met Jef several years ago when a local business invited him to make a presentation on cartooning. We lent him a bike, went for a ride, and he had a flat tire. Dang! But a great guy! I subscribe to My Comics primarily to read his work, since our local paper has never seen fit to include Frazz.
RAGs about 3 years ago
Which cartoon strip is that?
eromlig about 3 years ago
Happy Anniversary, Jef! It’s amazing you’ve been able to keep it up at that level for so long.
pschearer Premium Member about 3 years ago
Pearls before swine. No, I just felt like saying “pearls before swine”.
DangerBunny about 3 years ago
Happy Anniversary!
Concretionist about 3 years ago
So you’re paying us (a compliment) so we won’t complain about the self-congratulation?
Hmm.
Well… OK.
Kind&Kinder about 3 years ago
Caulfield is just a smidgen too sharp here. Maybe just a behind-the-hand chortle would do.
pauljmsn about 3 years ago
Happy anniversary!
rekam Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy Anniversary, Jef!
socalvillaguy Premium Member about 3 years ago
Congrats on the big 2-0, Jef!
rshive about 3 years ago
Just for info — Halloween is a corruption of All Hallows Eve, All Hallows being the old rendition of All Saints.
thad.humphries about 3 years ago
Pearls Before Swine is 20 years old?
Sanspareil about 3 years ago
Scherzo will have commentary on this I believe!
tzid about 3 years ago
Yuck, yuck, yuck. Do he mean Frazz?
Jim Laskey Premium Member about 3 years ago
Congratulations on 20 years. Frazz is the arc in sarcasm. Cheers.
Johnnie Polo Premium Member about 3 years ago
So Get Fuzzy has been around 20 years! Congrats Darby!
The Old Wolf about 3 years ago
Congratulations on 20 years of having the smartest readers and commenters! :P
Meg: All Seriousness Aside about 3 years ago
That’s ridiculous. Pogo is way older than 20!
Ceeg22 Premium Member about 3 years ago
I love the way y’all are trying to insult Frazz by suggesting other comic strips. I guess “smartest” doesn’t apply to everybody
Doctor Toon about 3 years ago
I remember Frazz as a new strip in the Rocky Mountain News
That has been a long time ago
MD Bear Premium Member about 3 years ago
Are the smart readers the ones who believe Frazz is the adult Calvin? (And Miss Plainwell is Susie Derkins, and Mrs. Olsen is Mrs. Wormwood?)
Yes, I know, officially it’s not true, but it’s true in my head.
WilliamWilliam about 3 years ago
Great comic. Look forward to reading it a every day. Thanks for all the hard work and keeping it fresh. Happy Twentieth.
Tigrisan Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy 20th, Jef! I love this comic!
pony21 Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy Anniversary! You know what a great gift would be? A published compilation of the first 20 years!
gnorth22 Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy 20th… milestones like that are always worth noting. Frazz has been on my rotation for only a couple of years, but it’s pretty timeless in it’s humor, and I do enjoy diving the archives on occasion.
harshco about 3 years ago
I’d venture to guess this one… Congrats Mr Mallett
Old Girl about 3 years ago
Being 19-1 is nothing to be ashamed of.
moguy Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy Birthday! Thank you for raising the bar!
Tony Fletcher Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy anniversary! Frazz is one of the best comics out there! Keep up the great work Jef!
a2zed99 about 3 years ago
Happy 20th anniversary Jef and Frazz…keep ’em coming!
cybercreek about 3 years ago
Halloween is a mish-mash of All Holy’s Eve (Hallow’s Eve old style); modern would be All Saints Eve before All Saints Day (for those saints not otherwise recognized with their own day). I would say it means we have too many saints to recognize, or maybe we are setting the bar for sainthood too low.
atajayhawk about 3 years ago
Happy Birthday, Frazz! Long may you continue: I like a strip that frequently sends me to the dictionary!
Kalkkuna about 3 years ago
Who is going to lift the cat’s tail if not the cat himself?
Bill The Nuke about 3 years ago
Congratulations!
Serial Pedant about 3 years ago
Aaaaccckkk!
Jeffin Premium Member about 3 years ago
You started this strip when you were 12 ??! Keep going!
well-i-never about 3 years ago
Please! It’s “Mr. Frazier.”
April 2, 2001
lagoulou about 3 years ago
Felicitations!
cervelo about 3 years ago
Congratulations Jef. The strip is fun, it raises interesting issues and as someone pointed out in the recent past, the comments section is as entertaining as the strip.
CMScouser about 3 years ago
Foxtrot?
benfulton2 Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy birthday Frazz!
ilovecomics*infinity about 3 years ago
“Mr. Frazier”…I had no idea until right now. Happy 20th!
jtburgess Premium Member about 3 years ago
The comic may be 20, but Caulfield is still in 3rd grade. We love it that way!
Jbarker1956 Premium Member about 3 years ago
Affurmation of my more gooder smartness! Yay!
Schrodinger's Dog about 3 years ago
Arlo and Janis is 20???
zootoid about 3 years ago
Wow, 20? Seems like it was like yesterday… Congratulations Jeff!
Denise DeSerio about 3 years ago
Same birthday as me!! Glad Frazz and I share a birthday! :)
Uncle Bob about 3 years ago
Cheap grace? I’ll take it! Congratulations!
Ignatz Premium Member about 3 years ago
I thought around here every day was All-Full-of-Himself Day. (And just to out-pompous you, the compound adjective needs hyphens.)
Happy anniversary, Jef.
grandparent Premium Member about 3 years ago
Hey this is MY 82nd birthday. FRAZZ has been a gift to me.
mourdac Premium Member about 3 years ago
Congratulations, Jeff, and thanks for entertaining us for all these years.
Solarbear Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy birthday/anniversary! Thanks for the awesome strip. Love it!
leigh.leclair Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy 20th, Jef!!!!
RhodeKille Premium Member about 3 years ago
Congratulations, Jef. Your comic is truly one of the best out there. I’d put it on par with Calvin & Hobbes, Pearls Before Swine, 9 Chickweed Lane, and, on a good day, aaaaaaalmost as good as Garfield. :)
joshschr Premium Member about 3 years ago
Congrats on 20 years! The strip is aging well.
cornshell about 3 years ago
Gee, I thought Ziggy was older than that!
tsk5565 about 3 years ago
way to hit me over the head with a Mallett there Jeff
Aviatrexx Premium Member about 3 years ago
… and a mere ten days later, he hits it out of the park. Mallett likes to acknowledge Watterson, but I really think the spirit of Walt Kelly whispers to him.
The Brooklyn Accent about 3 years ago
Happy birthday to Frazz, Caulfield (he sure doesn’t look 20!), Miss Plainwell, Mrs. Olsen, Mr. Burke, Mr. Spaetzle, and (apologies for pulling a Gilligan’s Island) all the rest.
Congratulations, Mr. Mallett, and long may you enjoy doing the cartoon!
Plods with ...™ about 3 years ago
Grats. Well done
Cozmik Cowboy about 3 years ago
Not so – The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers will be 53 next month.
poppacapsmokeblower about 3 years ago
Thank you for the fun, and learning. On the down side, since it’s been twenty years, I am no longer callipygian.
SofaKing about 3 years ago
Happy Anniversary Jef! I still see Calvin and Susie Derkins in Frazz and Jane Plainwell.
P51Strega about 3 years ago
Congrats and thanks for the laughs. I don’t remember if I met Frazz in the Flint Journal or the Detroit Free Press, but I’ve been with you from the start. (the Assenmachers lived just around the corner from us).
gobosox about 3 years ago
Congrats Jef!! And thanks for all the smiles.
mmkennedy about 3 years ago
Congratulations! I have enjoyed the last 10 and hope to continue with you in the future
Emgro about 3 years ago
Congratulations from a reader (enjoyer) in Huntington Woods.
ChazNCenTex about 3 years ago
I enjoy your strip, it’s low-key humor is unique. I hope you enjoy doing it enough to keep drawing it another TWENTY years.
swremn about 3 years ago
Thanks for 20 years of pleasure! Looking forward to 20+ more.
Mel-T-Pass Premium Member about 3 years ago
Congratulations and happy anniversary, and just think, next year Frazz can legally have a beer to celebrate!
Scott S about 3 years ago
Actually, Dilbert was launched over 30 years ago!
MITZI about 3 years ago
Congratulations, Jef Mallett, on 20 years of delightful discovery!
CynthiaLeveque Premium Member about 3 years ago
Glad you are here, and I’ve enjoyed 20 years worth!
ADNERB Premium Member about 3 years ago
Happy Anniversary!!
Charlie Tuba about 3 years ago
You are wrong. That strip turned 70 years and 6 months today!
Dreamcat about 3 years ago
Happy Anniversary!!! May you have many more!
Charlie Tuba about 3 years ago
This makes Jeff Mallett a narcissist.
asrialfeeple about 3 years ago
Congratulations on your 20th!!
asrialfeeple about 3 years ago
Caulfield should also know it’s World Autism Day.
Back to Big Mike about 3 years ago
Wha? Who? Hmm…
wsedrel Premium Member about 3 years ago
Yeah, but don’t you just love this little kid (Caulfield’s his name, I believe)?
JerryBryson about 3 years ago
Congrats!!!I came in late and everybody’s already said everything else
soaringblocks about 3 years ago
Happy 20th Birthday of a wonderful comic strip! Thanks for all your good work, good drawing, goodness! May you be blessed abundantly!
oakie817 about 3 years ago
HIPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] about 3 years ago
Jef Mallet’s Blog Log 4/2/2001-2021
Frazz · Twenty years ago today, I watched Frazz episode #1 roll off the presses at the Saginaw News. It was a proud moment until it was a horrifying one, when I looked at the actual strip on the actual still-damp newsprint and realized that the lettering was way too small. It had looked fine on its own in the materials I had submitted to the syndicate, but shrunk to newspaper-publication size on a page full of strips that had already figured out the right ratio, it was, well, readable. But it wasn’t inviting. I celebrated my debut by going home and scrambling to redo six weeks worth of upcoming strips, and I’ve been wondering ever since if I’m screwing up one thing or another.
But that’s comics. You’re never quite sure you’re getting it right, never quite sure you belong there, and if you find a problem, it’s too late to do anything about it directly because you’re seeing it weeks after you drew it and weeks before your corrected approach will appear. That’s the nature of daily deadlines and lead times.
Because you can essentially do everything yourself, drawing a strip is a great job for a control freak. But because of the production pace, it’s a horrible job for a micromanager. I don’t know where that puts me for suitability, but apparently it’s a job that works for a guy who’s better at looking forward than dwelling on what’s behind. Or someone who’s too good at dwelling on what’s in front of him and needs a deadline to say, “it’s DONE, dammit. Turn it in.” [continued below]
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] about 3 years ago
It must be the perfect job for someone who is willing to accept being kinda sorta good at a few things but not really good at any one, and willing to grind it out and never quit. I suppose it’s no surprise that I was pulled into triathlon’s gravity for so long. Which I got into after quitting bike racing. Until I moved to where the cycling sucks and quit triathlon to go all in on running, then almost immediately quit running to go all in on marathon swimming, where my skills seem to have maxed out at a disappointing level, and so thanks to that and the pandemic, I have quit quitting running, although I won’t quit swimming. All in the time I have not quit drawing Frazz. Maybe I should quit being so smug about not quitting. At least I chose the right thing not to quit.
And that will do it for today’s Frogg, because I have to quit and get some strips turned in. When they’re DONE, dammit.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] about 3 years ago
I need to go back and catch up on all the ones I missed.
ssalter Premium Member about 3 years ago
congrats!
poimen about 3 years ago
We are the smartest readers
pamela welch Premium Member about 3 years ago
CONGRATULATIONS, Jef!!
chromosome Premium Member about 3 years ago
Congratulations, Jef!
rgcviper about 3 years ago
Congratulations on twenty years, Jef/Frazz. Here’s to your (at least) next twenty!
AlfonzoSmith about 3 years ago
Congratulations!
wsrichards64 Premium Member about 3 years ago
I met Jef several years ago when a local business invited him to make a presentation on cartooning. We lent him a bike, went for a ride, and he had a flat tire. Dang! But a great guy! I subscribe to My Comics primarily to read his work, since our local paper has never seen fit to include Frazz.