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 (16) (Please sign in to comment)
Notsoastute said, 5 months ago
His shorts would be the proof. I am quite certain they would be twisted beyond repair.
AshburnStadium said, 5 months ago
@Notsoastute
He got his knickers in a knot?
vwdualnomand said, 5 months ago
always wondered how ice dancing/figure skating is a sport/olympic event?
magicwalnut said, 5 months ago
@vwdualnomand
Not a sport? Have you ever tried it?
bigpuma said, 5 months ago
Any figure skaters out there know the actual term for the jump the kid has executed? A salchow? Axel? Flip? I don’t think “twist” is a term used in that sport. I’m surprised, as the kids in “Frazz” always seem to know everything, and when they don’t, Frazz corrects them.
sonorhC said, 5 months ago
Are we certain the kid is a “he”?
Marc said, 5 months ago
@magicwalnut
Just because something requires athletic ability does not mean it’s a sport. That does not take away from those who have mastered the craft. It just doesn’t necessarily fall under the title of “sports.”
squirrelchaser said, 5 months ago
@vwdualnomand
Not ashamd to admit that I find figure skating both stunning and beutiful in its execution. Especially the women.
Zeeben said, 5 months ago
I’m a figure skater…looks like a Waltz jump to me. Only a half revolution. Forward takeoff on forward edge of one foot to backward edge of the other foot..
Figure skating at the pro level is most definitely a sport – it’s hard to make it look beautiful AND easy.
bigpuma said, 5 months ago
@Marc
Okay, then what DOES make a sport a sport?
Varnes said, 5 months ago
BigPuma, wow, dude, great question…Personally, I love ice dancing….It’s smooth and beautiful, I don’t care if it’s a sport or not. If done right it is profound…I appreciate the athleticism of figure skating, But Ice dancing is poetry in motion….
K M
said, 5 months ago
@Marc
There is a local sports editor in my area who insists that any sport that requires judging is by definition not a sport. Ignoring the presence of officiating in virtually every athletic endeavor (replacement refs, anyone?), I submit that unless a boxing match ends, as did Pacquiao-Marquez IV, with one fighter unconscious on the canvas, does that make boxing not a sport? I don’t think even this particular editor would make so stupid a claim; yet that is the reductio ad absurdam of the argument that anything that requires judging is “by definition” not a sport.
Marc said, 5 months ago
Regarding what is or is not a sport, I’m not sure I have an answer. First, I would argue that athletic skills are required to succeed (so get the spelling bee and poker off ESPN). As K M said, there is a certain level of judging that goes on in every sport. One might say that if a third party is always the formal final arbiter of the victor, it should not be considered a sport. This would eliminate diving, figure skating, and gymnastics, whose winners are solely determined by judgments; boxing remains because the participants can directly determine the winner without “going to the judges.” I would include these two items at the very minimum. From here, I don’t know what other criteria to include.
Marc said, 5 months ago
And please understand a point I made previously. Just because something is not a sport, it doesn’t lessen the accomplishments of those who have mastered their craft.
Matthew Davis said, 5 months ago
I think there are two different types of judging. Judges in fencing and boxing, and referees in team sports, are there to observe and, when consensus is otherwise impossible, decide what actually happened. This is very different from judging how “skillfully” or “beautifully” a move was executed.
In other words, it’s the difference between objective and subjective judging. Either the boxing blow landed or it didn’t, the ball was out of bounds or it wasn’t. But who was more graceful? Two people can have different answers to that question, and both be right.