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are a variety of strips from the first incarnation of Hippy and Pop.
Note: Hippy is unshaven with slit eyes and Pop has a worm shaped head.
These were later changed in the final strip. Maybe if I'd kept Pop's
head wormed shaped the strip would of ended up in more papers.
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This strip was edited out of the the final batch
of cartoons used for the launch. It was deemed to portray the
police a bit too negatively. I was advised to wait until I was
established in a huge number of newspapers before trying concepts
that could antagonize a large unionized workforce. In reality
I'm quite supportive and respectful of cops and was poking fun
at the idea of "sensitivity training".
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This idea was also nixed because it's not considered
a good form to show any of your characters having drinking problems.
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This strip was changed from a daily idea to a Sunday. Take a
look at the difference.
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The joke here was that coach Parcells, who then
coached my favorite team,The New England Patriots, was nicknamed,
"The Big Tuna". He had a reputation of being belligerent
and tough on the press. I liked the interplay of a visual pun
with the concept of what we project onto our pet's thoughts. This
idea was considered too provincial for the general reader.
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One syndicate editor thought this strip put Pop
in too "mean" a light, another said this was his favorite
strip. I liked it because I enjoyed drawing Pop's car.
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One of my strip concepts was to have Hippy watch a lot of shows
on PBS, giving me the opportunity to satirize them. This was a jab
at the "Art History Nun," whose show I loved.
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