''Rip Haywire'' is an American
serial comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
written and illustrated by
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
artist Dan Thompson.
It is a comics version of action/adventure entertainment like
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
,
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
, and ''
Steve Canyon
''Steve Canyon'' is an American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, '' Terry and the Pirates'', ''Steve Canyon'' ran from January 13, 1947, until June 4, 1988. It ...
'' for the ''
Dilbert
''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office with engineer Dilbert as the title characte ...
'' generation.
Publication history
United Feature
United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along wi ...
launched the strip in
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
s beginning 5 January 2009.
North Carolina's
''The Times-News'' has published the ''Rip Haywire'' comic strip since March 2, 2009.
Main characters
There are four main characters: Rip Haywire, his
cowardly talking
collie
Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many ...
TNT, his wife Breezy and his
ex-girlfriend Cobra Carson.
[
In a one strip, they are joined by an orphan kid they dub R.J.
Rip marries Breezy Easy, a young lady with fiery red hair, on August 27, 2016.
In an interview with ''Times-News'', Dan Thompson described his Rip, Cobra and TNT characters as the following:
* Rip Haywire is "a combination of classic action heroes such as ]James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
, Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
and Jason Bourne
Jason Bourne () is the title character and the protagonist in a series of novels and subsequent film adaptations. The character was created by novelist Robert Ludlum. He first appeared in the novel '' The Bourne Identity'' (1980), which was a ...
."
* Cobra Carson is "always out for herself ... She's like all the James Bond girls rolled into one."
* TNT is "the opposite of Lassie
Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fic ...
."
Reception
According to Madison Taylor, an editor of ''Times-News'', the serial has detractors and fans among the paper readers. Some dislike serials, some desire more humor and less intrigue. Some like it because "it’s different than anything else" Times-News publishes and "it's also got an quirky sense of humor."
References
External links
*
*
{{United Media Comics
American comic strips
2009 comics debuts
Action comics
Adventure comics
Gag-a-day comics