Originally pitched as Spot, O'Hare's idea was to do an odd couple comedy.[1] Printed nationally from 1995, Citizen Dog ended on May 26, 2001. O'Hare decided to stop the comic because he felt he was not able to put in the work that the comic deserved, but noted that he would be willing to bring the comic back if given the chance. Daily reruns of the strip resumed on June 28, 2008, on GoComics.[2]
Characters and story
The strip is focused on the antics of a humanmale, Mel, and his male canine companion, Fergus. The lines between master and companion are extremely blurred: Fergus frequently asserts his rights as equal, or perhaps superior, partner in the friendship. In an early strip, Mel labors for three panels to install a pet door, only to have Fergus stroll in via the doorknob. Of course, this works both ways; several strips later, Mel flounders with his order at a fancy restaurant, only to be saved by Fergus, who orders for both of them in fluent French. All in all, Mel and Fergus's friendship is similar to that of the title characters in Calvin and Hobbes, sharing both adventures and frequent arguments about the silliest things.
Animals in Citizen Dog can talk, and most of them (particularly dogs and cats) walk upright, chatting with each other and their owners. Furthermore, many dogs look similar to their owners: a slender, bookish man may find his eyewear paralleled on his dachshund. Almost all characters feature O'Hare's distinctive large nose and candy corn-shaped body, even the women—with the sole exception of occasional nubile females, who are rendered with large bosoms and caricatured hourglass figures.
Mel – The primary human in the series, completely average and unremarkable in every way. He is "suburbia" incarnate, often content to sit and watch TV for long hours at a time and working a middle-class desk job for a nondescript company. He has an unusually large nose, likened at one point to a casaba melon, and rarely ever attracts attention from the opposite sex.
Fergus – Mel's dog who is arguably the more intelligent of the two, although this also leads to a massive ego. He and the other canines of the strip make frequent observations about the state of affairs in human society and how silly it is. Technology alternates between boring and frightening him.
Arlo – Another dog and Fergus's best friend, rarely ever seen on his own, so it can be said that he's strictly a follower and "yes-man" for Fergus.
Cuddles – The voice of reason in a dog's world, Cuddles is a cat who enjoys fine dining and reading Jane Austen novels. He frequently gets fed up with Fergus's lackadaisical attitude to life, and has a well-known hatred of winter ("SAY NO 2 SNO!" is written on a button he tries to give various people). Often uses baby-talk when conversing with his owner, an unnamed little old lady.
Bruno – A large, strong sheepdog who never speaks and is often depicted as being rather mangy. He harbors a friendship with Cuddles which would be considered highly out-of-place by "regular" people, but is accepted as normal in the comic when other people see him with the unfortunate cat hugged up under his armpit.
Mario – A fish who Mel often spends time trying to catch in later strips, but who he usually ends up discussing current events with. Almost landed a part in Free Willy, but was denied the role for being a trout.
Maggie – A dark-haired little girl who Fergus and Arlo follow to and from school, amusing them with her tales of what she has to study in elementary school. She dislikes this attention intensely, especially after Fergus accidentally eats her homework on one occasion.
^The Journalix (13 June 2020). "Mark O'Hare Interview at The Journalix". Retrieved 13 July 2021.
^Morgan Conklin (2001-05-25). . The Exponent. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
External links
Citizen Dog at goComics.com
March 14, 2023
citizen, comic, strip, citizen, 1995, 2001, newspaper, comic, strip, mark, hare, distributed, universal, press, syndicate, citizen, dogauthor, mark, harewebsitewww, gocomics, citizendog, reruns, current, status, scheduleconcludedlaunch, datemay, 1995end, datem. Citizen Dog May 15 1995 May 26 2001 is a newspaper comic strip by Mark O Hare distributed by Universal Press Syndicate Citizen DogAuthor s Mark O HareWebsitewww wbr gocomics wbr com wbr citizendog reruns Current status scheduleConcludedLaunch dateMay 15 1995End dateMay 26 2001Syndicate s Universal Press SyndicatePublisher s Andrews McMeel PublishingGenre s Humor Contents 1 Publication history 2 Characters and story 3 Collections 4 References 5 External linksPublication history EditOriginally pitched as Spot O Hare s idea was to do an odd couple comedy 1 Printed nationally from 1995 Citizen Dog ended on May 26 2001 O Hare decided to stop the comic because he felt he was not able to put in the work that the comic deserved but noted that he would be willing to bring the comic back if given the chance Daily reruns of the strip resumed on June 28 2008 on GoComics 2 Characters and story EditThe strip is focused on the antics of a human male Mel and his male canine companion Fergus The lines between master and companion are extremely blurred Fergus frequently asserts his rights as equal or perhaps superior partner in the friendship In an early strip Mel labors for three panels to install a pet door only to have Fergus stroll in via the doorknob Of course this works both ways several strips later Mel flounders with his order at a fancy restaurant only to be saved by Fergus who orders for both of them in fluent French All in all Mel and Fergus s friendship is similar to that of the title characters in Calvin and Hobbes sharing both adventures and frequent arguments about the silliest things Animals in Citizen Dog can talk and most of them particularly dogs and cats walk upright chatting with each other and their owners Furthermore many dogs look similar to their owners a slender bookish man may find his eyewear paralleled on his dachshund Almost all characters feature O Hare s distinctive large nose and candy corn shaped body even the women with the sole exception of occasional nubile females who are rendered with large bosoms and caricatured hourglass figures Mel The primary human in the series completely average and unremarkable in every way He is suburbia incarnate often content to sit and watch TV for long hours at a time and working a middle class desk job for a nondescript company He has an unusually large nose likened at one point to a casaba melon and rarely ever attracts attention from the opposite sex Fergus Mel s dog who is arguably the more intelligent of the two although this also leads to a massive ego He and the other canines of the strip make frequent observations about the state of affairs in human society and how silly it is Technology alternates between boring and frightening him Arlo Another dog and Fergus s best friend rarely ever seen on his own so it can be said that he s strictly a follower and yes man for Fergus Cuddles The voice of reason in a dog s world Cuddles is a cat who enjoys fine dining and reading Jane Austen novels He frequently gets fed up with Fergus s lackadaisical attitude to life and has a well known hatred of winter SAY NO 2 SNO is written on a button he tries to give various people Often uses baby talk when conversing with his owner an unnamed little old lady Bruno A large strong sheepdog who never speaks and is often depicted as being rather mangy He harbors a friendship with Cuddles which would be considered highly out of place by regular people but is accepted as normal in the comic when other people see him with the unfortunate cat hugged up under his armpit Mario A fish who Mel often spends time trying to catch in later strips but who he usually ends up discussing current events with Almost landed a part in Free Willy but was denied the role for being a trout Maggie A dark haired little girl who Fergus and Arlo follow to and from school amusing them with her tales of what she has to study in elementary school She dislikes this attention intensely especially after Fergus accidentally eats her homework on one occasion Collections EditThree paperback compilations were released Citizen Dog ISBN 0 8362 5186 5 Dog s Best Friend ISBN 0 8362 6751 6 D is for Dog ISBN 0 7407 0457 5References Edit The Journalix 13 June 2020 Mark O Hare Interview at The Journalix Retrieved 13 July 2021 Morgan Conklin 2001 05 25 Cartoonist says farewell to Citizen Dog comic The Exponent Archived from the original on 2011 07 27 Retrieved 2007 01 09 External links EditCitizen Dog at goComics com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Citizen Dog comic strip amp oldid 1062187242, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
