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 (46) (Please sign in to comment)
Richard S. Russell said, 4 months ago
Invert this lad before he multiplies.
Editer63 said, 4 months ago
@Richard S. Russell
That’s awfully divisive.
Varnes said, 4 months ago
Meanwhile, in science class, cells are multiplying by dividing……
masterskrain said, 4 months ago
@Varnes
Somehow it all adds up…
Pacopuddy said, 4 months ago
Funny – it must be something to do with Hard Sums – I knew a mathematician and he invariably used a 4H pencil because “it didn’t need sharpening very often”. However, you couldn’t read what he’d written – fortunately, it sliced through the paper like a blade leaving indentations on the esk that could then be read by putting a sheet of paper over and rubbing gently with a very soft pencil (a la CSI).
(This story is only mildly exaggerated)
Notsoastute said, 4 months ago
If it can’t be read, it can’t be graded. Will that be scored as an incomplete or a failing grade? Hmmmm, such a dilemma for Ms Olson.
TheSkulker
said, 4 months ago
And nobody caught the pun??? …very sneaky! Pastis would be proud.
zoidknight said, 4 months ago
@Notsoastute
And then she can explain to his parents why she failed him when he did his work and she did not.
prrdh said, 4 months ago
Scan Caulfield’s paper and goose the contrast.
GorgoloChick said, 4 months ago
How can you not love a kid that can play with words so delightfully?
GorgoloChick said, 4 months ago
Then again, I use Edison Lee as my avatar! He makes Caulfield seem extremely average and cooperative.
jessegooddoggy said, 4 months ago
@Chaze126
Awww, Caufield is brilliant! We need MORE Caufields in this dumbed down society.
bigpuma said, 4 months ago
Wait, 98% of the time, this kid spouts stuff that would go over the heads of most postdocs. He’s at genius level in every discipline. And yet today, we are to accept that he has a hard time with third grade math? All in the service of a clever joke, I’ll admit, but still. Another clumsy set-up.
Captain Kiddeo
said, 4 months ago
@bigpuma
Given your stated taste in humor, you might consider dropping “Frazz” and looking for reprints of classic “Nancy” by its original artist Ernie Bushmiller. He has been quoted as saying that whenever he thought one of his jokes might go over somebody’s head, he would just “dumb it down.” And before anyone jumps to conclusions, I like both “Frazz” and “Nancy”.
bigpuma said, 4 months ago
@Captain Kiddeo
Not once have I stated my taste in humor here, only my DIStaste for the rampant intellectual elitism of “Frazz”. Just because I agree with the proverb, “Nobody likes a know-it-all”, that is not the same as saying I want to see everything dumbed down. Seems a very difficult concept for most to grasp, but I’m all for smart. What I’m against is show-offs.
In any event, what does your comment have to do with today’s strip, or my comment on it? I was remarking that the set-up is dumb. If anything, I wanted today’s strip to be smarter!