Frank and Ernest (comic strip)
Encyclopedia
Frank and Ernest is a comic strip
created and illustrated by Bob Thaves
and later Tom Thaves. It debuted on November 6, 1972, and has since been published daily in over 1,200 newspapers. The humor of the comic is based almost exclusively on wordplay and pun
s.
Regardless of the topic, everything related to the topic (background and phrases) is shown in a single frame in the daily strips. Frank and Ernest has a tradition of breaking new ground. It was the first strip to use digital coloring for its Sunday strip
s and the first strip in over 1,000 newspapers to list the creator's email address. The website broke a lot of ground in 1997: first interactive comics based on strips published in the newspaper, first keyword searchable archive for a comic strip and the first 3-D characters.
, including the characters' names. Frank is both a name and a synonym for honest. The name Ernest is a homophone of the word earnest, which is a synonym for serious. Weekday strips are laid out in one long panel with one joke or pun; the Sunday strip
is similarly in one large block, with a series of rapid-fire puns pertaining to the characters (usually in character as various characters including, but not limited to, the planets, "Robotics Department," or "Malaprop Man"). Example: U.S. Postal Dept. Stamp Design Office: "The department decided to have a religious message on our next stamp. How about: 'Lord, deliver us'?"
Unlike most syndicated comic strip cartoonists, Bob Thaves did not write all of the gags for the strip (nor maintain a pretense that he did) and openly solicited for gags in publications such as Writer's Market
. Bob Thaves died on August 1, 2006. His son, Tom Thaves, has since taken over production of the strip.
's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1983, 1984, and 1986 for his work on the strip. Other awards include the Mencken Award for Free Speech and Bob Thaves' Frank and Ernest work was recognized by the American Creativity Association in 2006.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
created and illustrated by Bob Thaves
Bob Thaves
Robert Thaves was the creator of the comic strip Frank and Ernest, which began in 1972.Thaves' desire to become a cartoonist began in his childhood. He had no formal training; instead, he practised by studying and drawing the works of other cartoonists...
and later Tom Thaves. It debuted on November 6, 1972, and has since been published daily in over 1,200 newspapers. The humor of the comic is based almost exclusively on wordplay and pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s.
Regardless of the topic, everything related to the topic (background and phrases) is shown in a single frame in the daily strips. Frank and Ernest has a tradition of breaking new ground. It was the first strip to use digital coloring for its Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
s and the first strip in over 1,000 newspapers to list the creator's email address. The website broke a lot of ground in 1997: first interactive comics based on strips published in the newspaper, first keyword searchable archive for a comic strip and the first 3-D characters.
Characters and story
In a non-sequential story, the main characters are seen not just as humans but as animals, vegetables, minerals and more. A constant element has been word playWord play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
, including the characters' names. Frank is both a name and a synonym for honest. The name Ernest is a homophone of the word earnest, which is a synonym for serious. Weekday strips are laid out in one long panel with one joke or pun; the Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
is similarly in one large block, with a series of rapid-fire puns pertaining to the characters (usually in character as various characters including, but not limited to, the planets, "Robotics Department," or "Malaprop Man"). Example: U.S. Postal Dept. Stamp Design Office: "The department decided to have a religious message on our next stamp. How about: 'Lord, deliver us'?"
Unlike most syndicated comic strip cartoonists, Bob Thaves did not write all of the gags for the strip (nor maintain a pretense that he did) and openly solicited for gags in publications such as Writer's Market
Writer's Market
Writer's Market is an annual resource book for writers who wish to sell their work. The publication is released by Writer's Digest Books and usually hits bookstores around June of each year...
. Bob Thaves died on August 1, 2006. His son, Tom Thaves, has since taken over production of the strip.
Awards
Thaves won the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1983, 1984, and 1986 for his work on the strip. Other awards include the Mencken Award for Free Speech and Bob Thaves' Frank and Ernest work was recognized by the American Creativity Association in 2006.