List of FoxTrot family members

This page contains information on the fictional Fox family, the central characters in the American comic strip FoxTrot, created by Bill Amend.

Roger

Roger Fox is the father of Peter, Paige, and Jason and the husband of Andy. According to the strip, he is forty-five years old and was born in Chicago, Illinois. Roger has also stated that he majored in English studies [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|author link=Bill Amend|title=Death By Field Trip (p. 73)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2001|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-1391-4] at the fictional Willot College. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|author link=Bill Amend|title=FoxTrot: The Works (p. 70)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=1990|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-8362-1848-5]

His hobbies include golf, [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (p. 70)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6] camping, and chess, though he has talent at neither. He's notorious for shooting barbecue flames up so high that it reaches space and incinerate everything from satellites to explorer vehicles. (Citations [http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ft/2008/ft080831.gifhere] ) [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (p. 90)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6] He often tries to involve his family in his interests, usually by taking them on vacations and taking them to golf courses where once Andy and Roger played 72 holes with a 6am tee off time . [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=FoxTrot: The Works (p. 8)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=1990|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-8362-1848-5] He is also portrayed as being highly out of step with modern technology, especially computers. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (p. 239)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6] Many strips also show that he is overweight and in poor physical condition; despite his wife's attempts to get him to eat healthy foods and exercise, he rarely does so. Rogers biggest vice is probably his addiction to coffee. In one strip, Roger is seen filling an enormous novelty coffee cup, holding several pots of coffee, given to him by his kids. He at least once wrote an absurd thriller novel, parodying James Bond. Of all his kids, Roger seems to have a special soft spot for his youngest, Jason. He is often shown buying Jason toys that are not necessarily suitable for him (examples include, but are not limited to, a GI Joe dart bazooka, a GI Joe rapid fire dart helmet, and a snow cannon), much to Jason's excitement and the rest of the family's agony (as they are often Jason's targets). This may be because Roger was a lot like Jason when he was a kid (in one strip, Roger shows Jason how to remove a Darth Vader helmet, and when asked how he knew how to remove it, Roger revealed, much to Jason's horror, that he himself was a Star Wars fan as a child who wore the same helmet to the premiere of The Empire Strikes Back).

Andy

Andrea "Andy" Fox is the mother of Peter, Paige, and Jason and the wife of Roger. She is portrayed in the strip as a forty-two-year-old mother. According to the strip, she was also an English major in college. While earlier strips portrayed her as a freelance writer and columnist for a newspaper; [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=FoxTrot: The Works (pp. 234-5)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=1990|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-8362-1848-5] however, most strips since the late 1990s have shown her to be a work-at-home mother.

Sadly for her children, Andy seems to have no tolerance for them having any kind of fun, and that she's a near-criminal-level cheapskate. Indeed, one Christmas morning when all three kids are upset over not receiving the one gift they each wanted most, she muses "Santa read MY list this year"(No such luck, Roger bought the gifts and was saving them for last!) Andy often prepares exaggerated vegetarian or vegan meals for her family, almost always containing tofu and once was seen reading a book called "The Joy of Tofu". She often criticizes her children for what she sees as their bad habits, such as procrastination [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Take Us To Your Mall|publisher= Andrews Mcmeel Publishing|date=(1995)|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-8362-1780-2] [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Encyclopedias Brown and White (p. 105)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2001|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-1850-9] and use of improper grammar, which Jason used to taunt her. Andy also is obsessed with the movie "Titanic" sometimes seeing it twice per day. In addition, she tends to show disapproval towards the children's insistence on watching television or playing video games (she has been mentioned as saying prayers at church for them to stop playing), and has been shown to prod and even bribe them into playing outside or doing household chores instead. However, she sometimes becomes obsessed with the same video games that she will not allow her children to play. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (p. 57)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6]

Andy's un-named mother (the grandmother of Paige, Peter and Jason) has occasionally appeared in the strip as well. The grandmother is often referred to as "perfect"; as a result, Andy often feels inferior around her, and will try to prove herself by competing against her mother (usually by trying to cook a meal as well as her mother can).

In early strips, Andy's hair was similar to her daughter Paige's until she decided to change it after meeting up with an old friend who was, in most respects, more successful than Andy.

Andy also has somewhat of an addictive personality, portrayed when she saw "Titanic", viewing matinées twice a day for 10 days straight, when Jason got a nintendo video game, and when she started collecting bitty babies, a parody of beanie babies, driving her to sell her car (although it has been seen again in strips after the one revealing so.)

Peter

Peter Fox is the eldest child of the Fox family. A sixteen-year-old high school junior, he is regularly shown wearing a blue/purple and white baseball cap with the letter A on it (standing for Amherst College, Bill Amend's Alma Mater), as well as a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. He is also depicted as having an exaggerated appetite, but is frustrated that no matter how much he eats, he cannot seem to gain any weight, like 20,000 calorie milkshakes. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=How Come I'm Always Luigi? (p. 16)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2005|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-5683-4] [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (p. 197)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6] Peter competes with his father at Thanksgiving to see who can eat more with his ultimate goal to be able to eat his age in platefuls of food. He is also shown as a reckless driver, [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Death By Field Trip (p. 125)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2001|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-1391-4] once claiming to have "flirted" with four-digit speeds. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Death By Field Trip (p. 43)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2001|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-1391-4] He has stereotypical teen-aged male interests, i.e. junk food, football, and scantily-clad women. Peter is also portrayed as a procrastinator; one of the running gags of the strip is the many ways he dreams up to avoid doing his homework or household chores. Like his father Roger, Peter is also addicted to coffee or in his case caffeine, proclaiming to his sister Paige once that he is "like the king of caffeine", having frequently gone to the local Coffeebucks, a parody of Starbucks, and having even created a super-caffinated drink known as "coffee-tea" by combining both coffee and tea for maximum caffine.

As of the strip's first year, his girlfriend, Denise Russo, is a blind girl whom he met at school. They are very close, and would kiss constantly (to the horror of Denise's parents), and Paige and Jason have been known to black-mail him with photos of the two. Denise would ask him often to take her out to a restaraunt called 'La Maison Rogue', the most expensive of all. Denise has not appeared in the strip in recent years for some reason, though nothing suggests that Peter has broken up with her.

Steve Riley, another friend of Peter's, has also appeared in the strip occasionally. Peter and Steve are often seen watching sports or playing video games together; on occasion, the two play their electric guitars together as well. (Peter has often expressed dreams of becoming a rock star, idolizing Bruce Springsteen and Guns N' Roses.)

His cell phone ringtone is Brick House.

Paige

Paige Fox is the middle child of the Fox family. A 14-year-old high-school freshman, she is always portrayed with her hair in a pony-tail. She enjoys shopping and will often demand that Peter drive her to the mall, much to his chagrin.

Like the rest of the family, she has interests expected of her age group. Her obsessions include fashion, pop music, modern fads and trends, and attractive teenage boys. Although persistent in her pursuit of a boyfriend, she has almost never dated in the strip. Paige has tried learning to cook to attract boys, but the food she makes is often inedible or burnt. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (p. 6)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6]

Paige makes average grades in school due to her poor study habits. She will often ask Jason for help in homework, usually in mathematics. However, he often gives her intentionally incorrect answers, or charges her money in exchange for the correct answers. She has been shown to fall asleep in class (often due to staying up too late), and regularly takes naps at home as well. In some early strips, Paige would dream of a fictional Frenchman named Pierre. She is also regularly annoyed by Jason

Paige's friend, Nicole, has made several appearances in the strip as well. Unlike other characters, her last name has not been revealed. Nicole is also a high school freshman. When she and Nicole went shopping one day they were both nearly arrested for shoplifting altough Paige put the shoplifted item back before leaving.

In addition, Paige has an admirer, Morton Goldthwait, a math and science geek. Though Paige has ignored him mostly, he still has a crush on her.

She also mentioned a crush on "hunky John Glynn".

Jason

Jason Fox is the youngest child of the family. A 10-year old boy who wears glasses, he is shown to be intelligent, and is often relied on to help Roger with taxes, or Peter and Paige with homework. Unlike his siblings, Jason "wants" to do his homework, and often receives incredibly high marks as a result. He sometimes is disappointed when he has no homework because he did all the homework for the year in the first week of school. He tends to aggravate the teachers with his overly complicated answers [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (pp. 166)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6] and is frequently in trouble for disrupting class.

Portrayed as a stereotypical nerd (he once expressed mild disappointment after getting 72 math problems out of 20 correct), he has an interest in science fiction, particularly Star Wars and role-playing games, as well as a high level of knowledge in mathematics and science. Jason is also a frequent user of the family computer, and has repeatedly constructed his own computer programs and viruses, which he often sends to the other computers in the house. In addition, he plays video games regularly -- either by himself, with Peter, or with his friend Marcus Jones, the only recurring African-American in the strip, who is similarly nerdy.

Jason also shows a fear of girls, most notably Eileen Jacobson, one of his classmates. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (pp. 23-4)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6] He acts queasy when he sees Eileen and once admitted he liked her, only to spend two weeks of the strip trying to undo his statement using time travel. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Assorted FoxTrot (pp. 29-30; 35-6; 41-2; 44-5)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2000|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-0532-6] Eileen and Jason are "just friends" at the moment, although they still definitely have feelings for each other, as evidenced by Jason's persistent agitation in her presence and her deriving great entertainment out of aggravating Jason (such as beating him at video games, and teasing him in various ways). Eileen and her friend Phoebe Wu are depicted as the only people in the strip who can outsmart Jason and Marcus. Phoebe appears to be Marcus's answer to Jason's Eileen, and Marcus once remarked that Phoebe was likable (to the horror of Jason).

Jason is also a huge fan of "The Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars", among others, often dressing up in costumes to watch the movies. He is annoyed by the fact that Paige is a fan of Orlando Bloom and that many other girls watch "The Lord of the Rings" just because of that. He is afraid of it being mainstream.

He frequently attempts to recreate the work of cartoonists while they are on hiatus, usually as an excuse to make fun of Paige. These have included "The Boondocks", "The Family Circus" [http://www.familycircus.com/files/takeoffs/foxtrot1.html] , "Pearls Before Swine", "Zits", "Cathy", "Garfield",and "Calvin and Hobbes", among others, and wanted to take over permanently as artist for "The Far Side" upon the retirement of Gary Larson.

Jason's first teacher was an elderly woman by the name of Miss Grinchley. Three years after the strip debuted, she retired. In 1991 the bold, young, intelligent, and encouraging Miss O'Malley became Jason's new teacher. Sadly, she had been seen to face the same problems with Jason that Miss Grinchley did.

He is friends with Billy of "The Family Circus".

Quincy

Quincy is Jason's pet iguana. Jason regularly uses him to tease Paige, either by waving the iguana in front of her, or throwing him on her; other times he will let Quincy into her room so he can chew up her belongings. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=FoxTrot: The Works (p. 9)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=1990|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-8362-1848-5] He has been known to eat anything he can get his hands on, including paper, clothing, and even pieces of chess games. Also, keeping with the running gag of knowing they're in a comic strip, Quincy has spoken once when Jason tried to recreate Spider-Man's web shooter, with all his attempts backfiring and trapping him in large amounts of artificial webbing. His mom told him that comics aren't always the same as real life, and Quincy said "Listen to your mother, Jason." (It should be noted that Quincy spoke to Peter at least once, saying "Hold me. Kiss me. Love me.". However, considering how it was a dream sequence orchistrated by Peter involving The Odyssey, with Quincy portraying Penelope, it's debatable as to whether it should count or not. [cite book|last=Amend|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Amend|title=Who's up for some Bonding? (p. 103)|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2003|location=Kansas City|id=ISBN 0-7407-3806-2] ) He actually is just a cute innocent iguana.

References