Frazz by Jef Mallett follows the adventures of an unexpected role model: an elementary-school janitor who's also a Renaissance man. While he's sweeping the hall, he's whistling Beethoven. Or Lyle Lovett. He paints the woodwork in the classrooms; he paints a Da Vinci on the cafeteria wall. He's a trusted authority figure who is every kid's buddy. He took the janitor's job while he was a struggling songwriter, and when he finally sold a hit song, he decided to stay on at school. Frazz appears in 200 newspapers worldwide, including the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune and Detroit News. "A few years back, I wrote and illustrated a children's book," says Mallett. "When I was traveling around reading it at school assemblies, I noticed that often, the most respected, best-liked grown-up in the building was the janitor. And I thought, 'Hmm, there's a comic strip in that.'" Often praised for its intelligent wit, gentle spirit and effortless diversity, Frazz won a Wilbur Award from the Religion Communicators Council in 2003 and 2005 for excellence in communicating values and ethics.
© Jef Mallett - All Rights Reserved.
Frank & Ernest by Thaves
Fred Basset by Alex Graham
Comments (24) (Please sign in to comment)
zeemagic said, about 1 year ago
The longer I read this comic, the more this kid comes off as an idiot-savant. It’s like he’s autistic with a literature interest.
Tacopielvr said, about 1 year ago
@zeemagic
Yea, I know, Jeff can step over the line a little bit (and make my head hurt too early in the day, lol), but its just a comic and he is one of the better ones.
Manhunter808 said, about 1 year ago
Read it a while longer and you’ll learn “the kid” is named Caulfield — An eight-year-old named by his parents after J. D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield,9 Caulfield tried to convince Mrs. Olsen that he was from a disadvantaged background, but his father is finishing his PhD in pharmacology, and his mother is a civil engineer.10 Mallett regards Caulfield as “the hero of the strip… He won’t give up that joy of learning for the sake of a test score, for quiet approval, for the easy A”.1 Caulfield is a handful. He is a genius, but hates school because it fails to challenge him.11 He spends a lot of time in detention for speaking out in class, but whiles away the hours discussing books or logic with Frazz. His fresh perspective on the world brings interesting, often startling revelations to the comic. Caulfield chooses a literature-themed costume every Halloween, often stumping most of the teachers, but which Frazz invariably gets. Mrs. Olsen decides one year to glean all of the books Caulfield has checked out over the year from the library. She says it’s a good plan until Frazz mentions that it “narrows it down to triple digits.” She refines the statement, saying it’s a good plan, not a foolproof one.
Manhunter808 said, about 1 year ago
Guess I should add: “Thank you, Wikipedia”
jessegooddoggy said, about 1 year ago
Caufield, Frazz, Mrs. Olsen – Jef is absolutely brillant to create this entire cast. Frazz and Mutts are my daily break into a nearly perfect world.
don57 said, about 1 year ago
Edward Gory is great – check it out some time, especially if you love the macabre
fritzoid
said, about 1 year ago
@zeemagic
“The longer I read this comic, the more this kid comes off as an idiot-savant. It’s like he’s autistic with a literature interest.”
If you’re going to have a freakish facility with one skill to the exclusion of others, the ability to read (and comprehend, and retain) endless books is the one to have. I don’t recall that he’s delved much into non-fiction, but even by confining himself to novels (and the occasional poem) Caulfield already knows more stuff about more subjects than most 40 year-old professionals. He’ll be great at cocktail parties, since he can carry on a conversation in any subject.
He’s also gregarious and extroverted, which pretty much rules out anything on the autism spectrum. But he could be a high-functioning sociopath.
8ball said, about 1 year ago
@Manhunter808
I’ve never seen a comment on Comics.com that came with footnotes. I tip my hat to you, sir. ;-)
sonorhC said, about 1 year ago
Wait, I thought that Caulfield’s dad was a historian. I seem to recall something about him specializing in the Spanish-American War, with his thesis being on the explosion of the [i]Maine[/i].
And Caulfield isn’t an idiot savant. There have been a few times in the strip where he’s done some pretty advanced (for a third grader) algebra, too. He just doesn’t like doing it when he’s required to (which, for that matter, also applies to his love of literature).
dramac333 said, about 1 year ago
I’m a huge Gorey fan, so today’s strip is a favorite!
Big Sister said, about 1 year ago
@fritzoid
Great come back! Made me laugh. :) Are you one of my sisters?
Lynne B
said, about 1 year ago
I actually have a Gashleycrumb Tinies lunchbox, which I carry my lunch in to work. It makes my co-workers with children (well, all my co-workers, really) look at me funny, but I’m ok with that.
Big Sister said, about 1 year ago
@Big Sister
Just kidding. My sisters have really odd-ball sesnes of humor, great come-backs, and make me laugh. But, I don’t think any of them would chose the pseudonym “Fritzoid”.
Big Sister said, about 1 year ago
@Big Sister
Sorry, ODDBALL, didn’t mean to take your name in vain.
fritzoid
said, about 1 year ago
@Big Sister
I’m glad to have made you laugh, but I’m nobody’s sister. :-)
And what do you mean, “pseudonym?”