1.
Malden, Massachusetts
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Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2010 United States Census, the population was at 59,450 people, in 2009, Malden was named the Best Place to Raise Your Kids in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek. Malden, a woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on land purchased in 1629 from the Pennacook tribe. The area was called the Mistick Side and was a part of Charlestown. It was incorporated as a town in 1649. The name Malden was selected by Joseph Hills, a settler and landholder. The city originally included what are now the adjacent cities of Melrose, Malden High School has the second-oldest continuous high school football rivalry in the United States with Medford High School. The first Thanksgiving Day Game dates back to 1889, in 1984, Malden came to national renown as the location of the controversial Fells Acres Day Care Center preschool trial. In 2004, a same-sex Malden couple was the first to marry in Massachusetts at precisely 9,15 AM on May 17,2004 at Cambridge City Hall, Massachusetts was the first state in the United States to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Malden is bordered by Melrose on the north, Stoneham on the northwest, Medford on the west, Everett on the south, Revere on the east, and Saugus on the northeast. Boojum Rock located in the north west corner of Malden inside the Middlesex Fells Reservation is the highest point in Malden with an elevation of approximately 275 feet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 5.1 square miles. Bordered on the northwest by the cliffs of Middlesex Fells, Malden is drained by the Malden River, as of the 2010 United States Census, there were 59,450 people,25,161 households, and 13,575 families residing in the city. The population density was 11,788.6 people per square mile, there were 23,634 housing units at an average density of 4,657.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 52. 5% White,14. 8% African American,0. 14% Native American,20. 1% Asian,0. 06% Pacific Islander,2. 10% from other races, and 3. 46% were multiracial. 8. 6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,32. 2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was out with 19. 9% under the age of 18,8. 5% from 18 to 24,36. 9% from 25 to 44,20. 8% from 45 to 64
2.
Cartoonist
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A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is created for entertainment, political commentary, or advertising. The English satirist and editorial cartoonist William Hogarth, who emerged In the 18th century, has credited with pioneering Western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic series of pictures called modern moral subjects. Much of his work poked fun at politics and customs. Gillray explored the use of the medium for lampooning and caricature, calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account, while never a professional cartoonist, Benjamin Franklin is credited with having the first cartoon published in an American newspaper. In the 19th century, professional cartoonists such as Thomas Nast introduced other familiar American political symbols, during the 20th century, numerous magazines carried single-panel gag cartoons by such freelance cartoonists as Charles Addams, Irwin Caplan, Chon Day, Clyde Lamb, and John Norment. These were almost always published in black and white, although Colliers often carried cartoons in color, the debut of Playboy introduced full-page color cartoons by Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini, and others. Single-panel cartoonists syndicated to newspapers included Dave Breger, Hank Ketcham, George Lichty, Fred Neher, Irving Phillips, comic strips received widespread distribution to mainstream newspapers by syndicates such as the Universal Press Syndicate, United Media, or King Features. Sunday strips go to a company such as American Color before they are published. Some comic strip creators publish in the press or on the Internet. Comic strip artists may also work in book-length form, creating graphic novels. Both vintage and current strips receive reprints in book collections, the major comic book publishers utilize teams of cartoonists to produce the art. When a consistent artistic style is wanted among different cartoonists, character model sheets may be used as reference, animated cartooning is created for short films, advertising, feature films and television. It is also used in live-action films for dream sequences or opening titles. An animation artist is referred to as an animator rather than a cartoonist. They create motion pictures as well, Animation studios such as DreamWorks Animation, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Blue Sky Studios create CGI or computer-animated films that are more three-dimensional. There are many books of cartoons in both paperback and hardcover, such as the collections of cartoons from The New Yorker, prior to the 1960s, cartoons were mostly ignored by museums and art galleries
3.
The San Francisco Examiner
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The San Francisco Examiner is a longtime daily newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California. The Examiner is one of the pioneers in the industry and has published continuously since 1863. The San Francisco Examiner was sold to Black Press Group, a Canadian media publisher, as of 2014, The San Francisco Media Company LLC is held under, Oahu Publications Inc. a subsidiary of Black Press Group Ltd. In 1880, mining engineer, entrepreneur and US Senator George Hearst bought the Examiner, seven years later, after being elected to the U. S. Senate, he gave it to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who was then 23 years old. The elder Hearst was said to have received the paper as partial payment of a poker debt. William Randolph Hearst created the masthead with the Hearst Eagle and the slogan Monarch of the Dailies. After the great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed much of San Francisco, the Examiner and its rivals — the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Call — brought out a joint edition. The Examiner offices were destroyed on April 18,1906, but when the city was rebuilt, a new structure and it opened in 1909, and in 1937 the facade, entranceway and lobby underwent an extensive remodeling designed by architect Julia Morgan. Ultimately, circulation battles ended in a merging of resources between the two papers, the Examiner published the Sunday papers news sections and glossy magazine, and the Chronicle contributed the features. Circulation was approximately 100,000 on weekdays and 500,000 on Sundays, in its stylebook, the Examiner has traditionally referred to San Francisco as The City, capitalized, both in headlines and text of stories, and continues to do so. San Francisco slang has traditionally referred to the Examiner in abbreviated form as the Ex. When the Chronicle Publishing Company divested its interests, the Hearst Corporation purchased the Chronicle. However, on July 27,2000 a federal judge approved the Fangs assumption of the Examiner name, its archives,35 delivery trucks, from their side, the Fangs paid Hearst $100.00 for the Examiner. On February 24,2003, the Examiner became a daily newspaper and is now printed Sunday through Friday. On February 19,2004, the Fang family sold the Examiner and its printing plant and his new company, Clarity Media Group, launched The Washington Examiner in 2005 and published The Baltimore Examiner from 2006 to 2009. In 2006, Anschutz donated the archives of the Examiner to the University of California, Berkeley Bancroft Library, under Clarity ownership, the Examiner pioneered a new business model for the newspaper industry. Designed to be read quickly, the Examiner is presented in a compact and it focuses on local news, business, entertainment and sports with an emphasis on content relevant to local readers. It is delivered free to select neighborhoods in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, and to single-copy outlets throughout San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties, California
4.
Mad (magazine)
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Mad is an American humor magazine founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, launched as a comic book before it became a magazine. As of January 2017, Mad has published 544 regular issues, as well as hundreds of reprint Specials, original material paperbacks, compilation books and other print projects. The magazine is the last surviving title from the EC Comics line, offering satire on all aspects of life and popular culture, politics, entertainment and its format is divided into a number of recurring segments such as TV and movie parodies, as well as freeform articles. Mads mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is typically the point of the magazines cover. Mad began as a book published by EC, debuting in August 1952. In the early 1960s, the Mad office moved to 485 Madison Avenue, the title is trademarked in capitals as MAD. The first issue was written almost entirely by Harvey Kurtzman, and featured illustrations by Kurtzman, along with Wally Wood, Will Elder, Jack Davis, Wood, Elder, and Davis were the three main illustrators throughout the 23-issue run of the comic book. To retain Kurtzman as its editor, the comic book converted to magazine format as of issue #24, the switchover only induced Kurtzman to remain for one more year, but crucially, the move had removed Mad from the strictures of the Comics Code Authority. The magazines circulation more than quadrupled during Feldsteins tenure, peaking at 2,132,655 in 1974, when Feldstein retired in 1984, he was replaced by the team of Nick Meglin and John Ficarra, who co-edited Mad for the next two decades. Since Meglins retirement in 2004, Ficarra has continued to edit the magazine, Gaines sold his company in the early 1960s to the Kinney Parking Company, which also acquired National Periodicals and Warner Bros. by the end of that decade. Gaines was named a Kinney board member, and was permitted to run Mad as he saw fit without corporate interference. Following Gaines death, Mad became more ingrained within the Time Warner corporate structure, eventually, the magazine was obliged to abandon its long-time home at 485 Madison Avenue, and in the mid-1990s it moved into DC Comics offices at the same time that DC relocated to 1700 Broadway. In 2001, the magazine broke its long-standing taboo and began running paid advertising, the outside revenue allowed the introduction of color printing and improved paper stock. In its earliest incarnation, new issues of the magazine appeared erratically, by the end of 1958, Mad had settled on an unusual eight-times-a-year schedule, which lasted almost four decades. Gaines felt the timing was necessary to maintain the magazines level of quality. Mad then began producing additional issues, until it reached a monthly schedule with the January 1997 issue. With its 500th issue, amid company-wide cutbacks at Time Warner, though there are antecedents to Mads style of humor in print, radio and film, Mad became a pioneering example of it. Bob and Ray, Kovacs and Freberg all became contributors to Mad, Mads consciousness of itself, as trash, as comic book, as enemy of parents and teachers, even as money-making enterprise, thrilled kids
5.
Michael Jackson
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Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor, and philanthropist. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music, dance, the eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music, the popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jacksons 1987 album Bad spawned the U. S and he continued to innovate with videos such as Black or White and Scream throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and his distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres. Thriller is the album of all time, with estimated sales of 65 million copies worldwide. Jacksons other albums, including Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and he is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. Jackson won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when Love Never Felt So Good reached number nine on May 21,2014. Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism, and, in 2000, aspects of Jacksons personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of child sexual abuse allegations. While preparing for his concert series, This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25,2009. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician, Jacksons death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world. Forbes ranks Jackson as the dead celebrity with earnings of $825 million in 2016. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958 and his mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovahs Witness. She played clarinet and piano and once aspired to be a country-and-western performer, michaels father, Joseph Walter Joe Jackson, a former boxer, was a steelworker at U. S. Steel
6.
Impersonator
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An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. Especially popular objects of impersonation are Elvis, Michael Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, entertainers who impersonate multiple celebrities as part of their act, can be sorted into impressionists and celebrity impersonators. Crime, As part of an act such as identity theft. This is usually where the criminal is trying to assume the identity of another, in order to commit fraud, such as accessing confidential information, also known as social engineering and impostors. Decoys, used as a form of protection for political and military figures and this involves an impersonator who is employed to perform during public appearances, to mislead observers. Sowing discord, causing people to fight, or dislike each other for social, celebrity impersonators are entertainers who look similar to celebrities and dress in such a way as to imitate them. Impersonators are known as look-alikes, impressionists, imitators tribute artists, the interest may have originated with the need or desire to see a celebrity who has died. One of the most prominent examples of this phenomenon is the case of Elvis Presley, there are claimed to be more Elvis impersonators and tribute artists in the world than for any other celebrity. Edward Moss has appeared in movies and sitcoms, impersonating Michael Jackson, the ruling hinges on whether there was harm to the other person. Impressionist Look-alike Personation Police impersonation Soundboard, victim soundboard Tribute act Wannabe Shi, in the Chinese ancestor ritual, a figure impersonating ancestors
7.
Hip hop music
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It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
8.
Police brutality
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Police brutality is one of several forms of police misconduct which involves undue violence by police members. Widespread police brutality exists in countries and territories, even those that prosecute it. Although illegal, it can be performed under the color of law, the term police brutality was in use in the American press as early as 1872, when the Chicago Tribune reported on the beating of a civilian under arrest at the Harrison Street Police Station. Cases of police brutality appear to have been frequent then, with the bludgeoning of citizens by patrolmen armed with nightsticks or blackjacks. Portions of the population may perceive the police to be oppressors, in addition, there is a perception that victims of police brutality often belonging to relatively powerless groups, such as minorities, the disabled, the young, and the poor. After facing federal trial, two of the four officers were convicted and received 32 months prison sentence, the case was widely seen as a key factor in the reform of the Los Angeles Police Department. According to data released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, between 2003 and 2009 at least 4,813 people died in the process of being arrested by local police. Of the deaths classified as law enforcement homicides,2,876 deaths occurred of which 1,643 or 57. 1% of the people who died were people of color, Police brutality entails serious violations of the human rights to life and physical security. In accordance with human rights law, victims have a right to forcibly resist police brutality where absolutely necessary to prevent serious and irreparable harm. Notably, police brutality entailing extrajudicial killings, torture and inhuman treatment may be resisted, incidents of police brutality in Austria seem to be largely influenced and triggered by racism and prejudice against foreign nationals and ethnic minorities within the community. This underlying issue has continued to be present and relevant when examining cases of police brutality within Austria, for example, in Vienna there tends to be an association made between Viennas drug problem and the citys African migrants. This has led to the existence of cultural stereotypes which have then led to the racial profiling of African migrants. There have been a number of highly publicised incidents in Austria where police have either tortured, publicly humiliated, the most notorious of these incidents occurred in the late 1990s, however recent reports in 2015 show that police are still treating civilians in this way. 24 April 1996, Mr Jevremovic, a Serbian Romani man and he escaped, and later a large group of police came into his home without a warrant, and violently beat him and his wife before taking them both into custody. May 1996, Marcus Omofuma, an Illegal Nigerian immigrant, was being deported from Vienna when the officers taped him to his chair like a mummy and he suffocated whilst in police custody. November 1998, Dr C, a black Austrian citizen, was stopped by police after reversing his car into a street and was asked Why are you driving the wrong way. He was beaten unconscious and handcuffed, Police continued beating him after he regained consciousness. After he was arrested, he spent 11 days in hospital recovering,28 July 2015, A 27-year-old man, suspected of being a pickpocket, was handcuffed and violently thrown into the ground whilst under police custody
9.
Kickstarter
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Kickstarter is an American public-benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The companys stated mission is to bring creative projects to life. People who back Kickstarter projects are offered tangible rewards and/or experiences in exchange for their pledges and this model traces its roots to subscription model of arts patronage, where artists would go directly to their audiences to fund their work. Kickstarter launched on April 28,2009, by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, the New York Times called Kickstarter the peoples NEA. Time named it one of the Best Inventions of 2010 and Best Websites of 2011, Kickstarter reportedly raised $10 million funding from backers including NYC-based venture firm Union Square Ventures and angel investors such as Jack Dorsey, Zach Klein and Caterina Fake. The company is based in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, andy Baio served as the sites CTO until November 2010, when he joined Expert Labs. Lance Ivy has been Lead Developer since the website launched, on February 14,2013, Kickstarter released an iOS app called Kickstarter for the iPhone. The app is aimed at users who create and back projects and is the first time Kickstarter has had an official mobile presence, and in Spain on May 19,2015. Kickstarter is one of a number of crowdfunding platforms for gathering money from the public, project creators choose a deadline and a minimum funding goal. If the goal is not met by the deadline, no funds are collected, Kickstarter applies a 5% fee on the total amount of the funds raised. Their payments processor applies an additional 3–5% fee, unlike many forums for fundraising or investment, Kickstarter claims no ownership over the projects and the work they produce. The web pages of projects launched on the site are permanently archived, after funding is completed, projects and uploaded media cannot be edited or removed from the site. Kickstarter advises backers to use their own judgment on supporting a project and they also warn project leaders that they could be liable for legal damages from backers for failure to deliver on promises. Projects might also fail even after a fundraising campaign when creators underestimate the total costs required or technical difficulties to be overcome. Asked what made Kickstarter different from other crowdfunding platforms, co-founder Perry Chen said, or, if there’s even an agreed upon definition of what it is. We haven’t actively supported the use of the term because it can provoke more confusion, in our case, we focus on a middle ground between patronage and commerce. People are offering cool stuff and experiences in exchange for the support of their ideas, people are creating these mini-economies around their project ideas. So, you aren’t coming to the site to get something for nothing, on June 21,2012, Kickstarter began publishing statistics on its projects
10.
Top Shelf Productions
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Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, originally owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. Now an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf is based in Marietta, Georgia. Top Shelf publishes comics and graphic novels by such as Alan Moore, Craig Thompson, James Kochalka, Andy Runton, Jeffrey Brown, Nate Powell, Alex Robinson, Jeff Lemire. The company was founded by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock after discussions between the pair at the 1997 Small Press Expo, the partnership evolved from combining Warnocks design skills and marketing abilities with Staros talents for editing and book-keeping. The duo started publishing under the name Primal Groove Press, the first title to be published by the new imprint was Pete Sickman-Garners Hey, Mister, After School Special, a collection of Garners previously self-published comic books along with two new tales. Staros and Warnock have aimed to give their imprint a style that is quite hip, but also quite endearing, in April 2002 the collapse of the bookstore distributor LPC caused severe financial problems for the company. A $20,000 check the distributor had issued bounced, investigation by Top Shelf revealed an LPC filing for Chapter 11, a move which left Top Shelf in a perilous state, The company had issued checks based on the LPC check clearing. The company called upon the goodwill it had established in the comics market. They asked former customers to find it in your hearts to each spend around fifty bucks and this would literally pull us through. The communication swiftly spread across the internet, with both Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis disseminating the appeal through their online presences. The move created such an atmosphere that rival publisher and fellow LPC client Dark Horse felt moved to issue a statement to the effect that they were in a profitable position, Top Shelf were unprepared for the response, with a volunteer drafted to help pack the orders. A second communication was issued a day later, declaring Top Shelf Saved by Comics Community Record 12 Hours, Top Shelf have slowly expanded their line and typically aim to launch works at conventions in order to generate a buzz. The 2004 Comic Con International saw the company launch 8 books and this has at times caused unrest with retailers, particularly when Blankets was launched at the 2003 Comic Con International. The company also followed this route with Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbies Lost Girls, the work had long been on the schedules of Top Shelf, initially intended as a three volume affair scheduled for a 2002 release. The eventual publication proved controversial, with Moore himself describing the work as pornography, before publication fears were raised that the book would prove hard to sell given its nature, and that there may be legal implications. However, the work received good reviews and the print run sold out in one day. The work has yet to be distributed in the United Kingdom, Top Shelf agreed not to distribute the work in the UK until after that copyright expired at the end of 2007. They do, however, refute that the breaches the copyrights held
11.
Maakies
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Maakies was a syndicated weekly comic strip by Tony Millionaire. It began publication in February 1994 in the New York Press and it ran in many American alternative newsweeklies including The Stranger, LA Weekly and Only. It also appeared in international venues including the Italian comics magazine Linus. On December 14,2016, Tony Millionaire announced that Maakies has ended, one of the reasons he stated for discontinuing the strip was that many of the weekly papers that carried the strip were no longer in business. Maakies focuses on the comic misadventures of Uncle Gabby and Drinky Crow. According to Millionaire, Maakies is me spilling my guts, writing and drawing about all the things that make me want to jump in the river, laughing at the horror of being alive. Maakies strips typically take place in an early 19th-century nautical setting, there is rarely any continuity between strips. The comic often includes references to historic works of art, especially to the popular graphic arts such as Japanese ukiyo-e, European engravings. Like many early 20th century Sunday strips, each Maakies comic usually includes a second, tiny landscape drawings are interspersed between the panels of these strips. Also, a tugboat appears somewhere in the background of virtually every strip, Millionaire has given differing accounts of the origin and meaning of the word maakies. Maak is the name of a character in the strip, a captain who apparently is Uncle Gabbys employer. Discussing the strips development, Millionaire said I fleshed them out as best I could at the time, thats why I didnt call the strip Drinky Crow. I called it Maakies because I didnt know who would become the most important character as I went along. However, on more than one occasion he has claimed that the significance of the strips name is a strict secret. Because he or she would be extremely pissed off to even know that name was being used. In a high pitched screech every time he saw one, terrence Ross is a real-life friend of Tony Millionaire from Fort Greene who frequently appears as a character in Maakies. In the strip he is drawn as a mechanical lizard who wears a cloak and hat and has the number 147 imprinted on his forehead. Sometimes he delivers a monologue or reads a poem of his own composition, other times he introduces one of his sinister or bizarre trademarked inventions, such as a safety harness that ejects the wearers spinal column from their body using a cherry bomb and M-80s
12.
Mutts
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Mutts is a daily comic strip created by Patrick McDonnell in 1994. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it follows the adventures of Earl, a dog, and Mooch, Earl and Mooch interact with each other, their human owners, and also the animals around their neighborhood. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz praised Mutts, calling it one of the best comic strips of all time, both animals frequently express themselves through thought balloons when their owners are present. Earl is an innocent Jack Russell terrier who lives with his human companion Ozzie and they love spending time together and taking frequent walks. Earl often howls in loneliness when Ozzie is away from home, Earl spends much of his free time with Mooch, either inside or wandering around town visiting other domesticated and wild animals. He loves to eat human food and his own dog food. It is revealed in a 2011 Valentines Day strip that Earl was adopted by Ozzie from a shelter. Mooch is a curious black-and-white cat with a nose who lives next door to Earl with his human companions Millie and Frank, a goldfish named Sid. Mooch is somewhat reclusive, sometimes preferring to stay inside and nap, or play with his little pink sock and he has a lisp that causes him to insert an sh into words, such as yesh, shmilk and shmousie. He frequently snubs his cat food, much to Millies chagrin, dislikes car rides and he frequently uses a little girls Bobbie Doll toy car. For years, Mooch thought that Earl was a weird-looking cat, in 2005, Earl and Mooch appeared as guests in Blondie and Dagwoods 75th anniversary in the comic strip Blondie. In 2004, Pearls Before Swine crossed over with Mutts, in that strip, Rat goes to Comics Re-education Camp, where Earl and Mooch try to teach Rat to be a Lovable comic strip character. In another strip, Frank and Mooch are hanging out with many old comic strip characters, including but not limited to, Dick Tracy, Peanuts, and Little Nemo. Every summer, Earl and Mooch and their families visit the Jersey Shore, where they are joined by Crabby, Mussels Marinara, from time to time, Mooch drapes a towel over his head and delivers oracles or answers to chipmunks questions as The Shphinx. In the fall, Bip and Bop embark on their campaign of bonking ground-dwellers heads with nuts, occasionally Mooch can be seen playing with his little pink sock. Mooch also does the Mutts Book Club, where he sits on a rock and reads books to Chippy, in the winter, Earl and Mooch try to hibernate for the winter. At Thanksgiving, the talk about what their thankful for. On Groundhog Day Lamont talks to Earl and Mooch about seeing his shadow or not
