In the genre of cartoon collections the need for a fresh face, whether occasioned by death or retirement, has never been lost upon the publishing world. Indeed, whether the mighty Casey has struck out, retired, or perished, the result is the same, some one else needs to step up to the plate if the prospects of joy’s return to Mudville is to be considered in any way sanguine. In the case of Bill Watterson’s retirement seven years ago, despite there being no lack of young cartoonists eager to assume his mantle, there has been no successor there has been no successor to Calvin and Hobbes. As with anything worthwhile a great cartoonist makes something exceedingly difficult look fluid and easily accomplished. If the crafting looks easy and is in fact difficult, the determination of a successor appears difficult to those searching for it but is in fact easily determined once the genuine article arrives. As we know the sword in the stone presented no problem for Arthur, while other aspirants exhausted themselves without effect, so too can genuine success in cartooning be incontrovertibly established by the laughter of children. This being the case we must acknowledge that the next big hit in the cartoon world is Darby Conley’s Get Fuzzy. Though not appearing yet in local newspapers the first two book length collections of Get Fuzzy, upon exposure to a young person of my acquaintance, gave prompt and immediate evidence of the cartoon’s bona fide appeal. Perfect contentment on a seven hour car ride, frequent, regularly spaced bouts of raucous laughter, the desire to read aloud all the funny parts, the consuming of Get Fuzzy 2 with dessert like efficiency, and the performance of a "get fuzzy 3" chant upon its completion, all gave stark evidence to the fact that the successor to Calvin and Hobbes had arrived. Conley’s strip follows a household containing a young bachelor, Rob Wilco, and his two pets, a cat named Bucky and a dog named Satchel. There is nothing original in this scenario of course, this is the same cast as Garfield boasts. The uniqueness of Get Fuzzy depends on the clear definition it maintains in both art and characterization. Bucky’s malignance, and Satchel’s passivity, are both entertainingly and subtly drawn. Bucky and Satchel actually talk, everyone can hear them talk and no one finds this surprising. This shift from the usual cartoon norm in which animals think like humans but are perceived by humans as animals, has a crispness to it that gives Get Fuzzy’s humor more immediacy. Conley’s propensity for precision is even more apparent in his artwork, which has a clarity and detail extremely rare in a cartoon, and which gives each panel a gravity that also accentuates its humor. Get Fuzzy certainly lacks Calvin and Hobbes’ dynamic breath and inventiveness, thus losing some of its adult appeal, but its simple compact nature is very appealing to younger readers, while there is still sufficient depth and narrative humor to entertain adults.
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