Red Bob
A tail of a milestone comic strip squirrel
6,000 squirrels
I suppose today is a milestone comic strip.
Today, March 4, 2020 marks the appearance of the 6,000th Bob the Squirrel comic strip. No bells or whistles… in fact I only started really keeping track of the number after I hit 5,000 a few years back.
But, using modern technology (and my obsessive compulsive nature of keeping good dated backup files) I’ve dug up every previous milestone comic strip.
Strip #5,000 – June 8, 2017
Not much to say about this one… I did put together a giant GREATEST Hits show for this one. Took a lot of tape and Funtac to put that show together.
Strip #4,000 – September 12, 2014
Our wedding was in October of that year and I was keeping our plans and anxiety alive and well in the strip… and pretty much in real time. It all worked out to be an amazing day…
Strip #3,000 – December 11, 2011
I was closing in on ten years of Bob the Squirrel at this point… and I questioned if I should continue doing the strip. I had a small, loyal fan base, but the likelihood of the strip being my only job was looking like a longer and longer long-shot. Should I quit and try something else that maybe would benefit me financially? Or did the squirrel talk me out of it?
Strip #2,000 – March 22, 2009
We were in our new house just under a year when I drew this. This was also when I was really into the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream pints. Lucy’s favorite was Pistachio Pistachio … I would get a spoon and feed it to her right out of the container. I tell Lez that she should have known what type of guy I was by witnessing that act. She had every opportunity to grab Lauren and run… 🙂
Strip #1,000 – June 20, 2006
I wasn’t sure if I should include this one… despite it being the 1,000th strip. This may sound horrible… well, it DOES sound horrible. I sometimes forget that I was married once before… and that I had a whole other life in a whole other city. But, I did… and I have the strips to prove it. And really, aside from a few bits of clothes and my drawing board, the strips are the ONLY things I kept from that life.
So, that’s the strip… thousand by thousand. Hope we’re all around for the 7,000th – which, barring any life complications, should be appearing November 29, 2022.
Squirrel… you’ll be an older squirrel, soon…
The Birthday address…
One score, minus two years and a few days ago… I drew something that would change my life for the rest of my life. On February 10, 2002, he made his first appearance.
I drew a squirrel. I named him Bob.
And through 18 years, address changes, life changes, physical changes, second draft changes and several oil changes… he’s been there for me. I’m not the same person that created him… but at the same time he’s not the same squirrel that I first drew.
As I’ve grown older, my relationship with the strip, and Bob, have become complicated. On at least three occasions, I’ve thought of ending the strip… to move onto something else that might have bigger rewards (financially mostly). But, part of that complication I mentioned has to do with me too scared to take any chances – which could very well be the theme of my entire life. “Don’t take chances. You may lose what you already have.” I’ve let the strip tie me down. When it all comes down to it, I still draw Bob because I flat out love the little bastard. I hate him too.
I’ve been with him so long… the longest non-relative relationship I’ve ever had.
When the strip turned 11 in 2013 I wrote: “Could I have done things differently? No doubt. Could I be making much more money with this thing? Probably. I could change this strip to make it more popular…ride the wave of the moment and benefit in the short term…It would be easy. Too easy. I won’t do that. If that means I lose out, so be it. In a world that more often than not turns its back on that which is genuine, I will not change. The strip is as perfect as it’s going to be… and I should know, I’ve invested nearly a quarter of my life into it…and I’ll probably invest even more.”
It’s like breathing now.
On March 4, 2020, I will post the 6,000th Bob the Squirrel strip. 6,000. I remember when it was 100. That was a big number to me… because it 2003, that signified a commitment I made. It also signified my desire to fulfill the dream of a big syndication deal… back when that dream still had some hope of coming true. Today is not yesterday… and tomorrow won’t be today.
I was hoping this would be a bit more sappy than it is. Happy Birthday dude…