Fisher (comic strip)

"Fisher" is a Canadian comic strip, which runs daily in "The Globe and Mail".

The strip, written and drawn by cartoonist Philip Street, first appeared in the "Globe and Mail" on June 26, 1992. The strip's central character is Tom Fisher, an advertising copywriter. The other main characters are Fisher's housemates Alison, a former art student who currently draws her father's comic strip "The Snugglebunnies", Ruth, a school teacher, and Eugene, a business consultant.

Tom and Alison married in June, 2002, and Ruth and Eugene followed suit in August. It wasn't long after that Tom and Alison moved into a home of their own, and recently they've had a baby, Paul. After the move the comic strip changed focus from the four in the household and shifted it to Alison, Tom, and their new family.

Ruth and Eugene were also trying to have a baby, but ran into some difficulties. As a result, while they're still friends with Alison and Tom, they don't seem to be as close as they used to be. This is possibly due to feelings of jealousy, but it could just be because they now live in different houses. Ruth and Eugene are an interracial couple; Ruth is black and Eugene is white.

Tom's established career at Waverly & Mogul came to an abrupt end recently when J.B. Mogul informed Tom of his dismissal. Tom theorizes he was terminated because he'd "lost touch" with today's youth.

Recurring characters include Fisher's former ad agency boss J. B. Mogul, Fisher's sister Marion and her husband Biff, Alison and Tom's pets Newcombe (a cat) and Bixby (a sentient robotic personal assistant), a trendy beatnik-type character named Comrade Black and a panhandler/street poet named Homer with whom the characters sometimes interact with on the street.

The strip often carries a layer of social commentary. Strips set in Fisher's workplace satirize office politics and corporate bureaucracy; strips set in Fisher's home are based around relationship humour, with a strong focus put on Tom's tendency to be introspective. With Paul's arrival the wry satirical observations have an added perspective, since baby Paul seems to have wisdom beyond his years (or months, as it were).

External links

* [http://www.philipstreet.com Philip Street's homepage]