FoxTrot is a comic strip centered around the chaotic Fox family with its three kids, two parents and a perpetually hungry pet iguana. While just about any topic is possible fodder, the humor in FoxTrot tends toward the geeky, with occasional forays into the super geeky. FoxTrot began its published life April 10, 1988 as a seven-day-a-week newspaper strip. It started with about 70 client papers and creeped up to about 1000 at its peak. In 2007, I cut the strip back to Sundays-only in order to free up time for other things and to generally preserve what sanity I had left.
THE PRIMARY CAST
Jason Fox
10-year-old little brother from hell. Loves math, computers, annoying his sister.
Paige Fox
14-year-old miserable freshman. Loves clothes, shopping, hunky boys.
Peter Fox
16-year-old self-absorbed junior. Loves food, sports, loud music.
Andy Fox
Mother and part-time writer. Usually the wet-blanket sensible one in the family.
Roger Fox
Father and corporate cog. Clueless to his own cluelessness.
Quincy
Jason’s iguana. Trained since birth to puke in Paige’s bed.
ABOUT ME (BILL AMEND)
I was born in Massachusetts in 1962. Somewhere around fourth grade I discovered I could draw cartoons pretty well and began entertaining myself and friends with homemade comic books. We moved west to California in 1974. In high school I contributed cartoons to various school publications but was more interested in computers, “Star Wars” and Dungeons and Dragons than anything. I also played tuba in the school band, made science-fiction themed super-8 movies, and served a brief stint as president of the math club until I was impeached. I attended Amherst College where I majored in physics and served as editorial cartoonist for the twice-weekly school paper. As graduation loomed and career panic set in, I decided to give comic strip syndication a shot. Though my early efforts were rejected, I kept at it in my spare time while working in the San Francisco film and animation industries. After about three years of submitting cartoons, Universal Press Syndicate offered me a contract in the fall of 1987, and I’ve been at this ever since. I currently live in the Midwest with my wife, two children and a perpetually hungry german shepherd.
