''The Dinette Set'' is a single-panel newspaper comic by artist Julie Larson. Set in the fictional Midwestern suburban community of Crustwood, the comic satirized middle-class culture; its main characters are 50-ish sisters Verla Darwin and Joy Penny. The comic poked fun at middle-class perceptions (and misperceptions) of common, everyday issues.

Publication history

Larson's comic began as ''Suburban Torture'' in the ''

Los Angeles Reader ''Los Angeles Reader'' was a weekly paper established in 1978 and distributed in Los Angeles, United States. It followed the format of the (still-active) ''Chicago Reader''. The paper was known for having lengthy, thoughtful reviews of movies, p ...

'' and other alternative newspapers on November 16, 1990.Astor, David (November 30, 1996). "Middle Class Is Satirized In 'Set''". ''

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...

''. Pg. 22 It was then syndicated daily by

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial c ...

from September 9, 1997, to 2003, when it moved to

Creators Syndicate Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...

. In January 2010, Larson announced ''The Dinette Set'' was leaving Creators for self-syndication. In 2003, however, Larson signed on with

United Feature Syndicate 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 wit ...

. The strip continued until November 29, 2015, after which Larson retired from drawing.Staff
"‘The Argyle Sweater’ replaces ‘Dinette Set’ as comic’s creator retires,"
'' Journal Star'' (Nov. 28, 2015)

Format

The strip is a single panel comic that usually has two panels in most Sunday papers. It usually takes place in the Pennys' dining room or in their living room, or in the summer months, at their backyard pool. Much of the humor in the strip comes from the shirts the characters are wearing and signs hanging in the background. The characters are usually wearing T-shirts that have the name of a popular book or movie or TV show and then the saying, "on ice" (e.g., "''

The Jerk ''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The fil ...

'' on ice") . Usually these pop-culture references have never been performed on ice. A lot of times at least one of the characters have a coffee mug that says "shut up" on it. In the scenes in the dining room, there is a to do list hanging in the background for humor. The strip usually has an object hidden in the picture for the reader to find known as a "find it". The main characters are Burl and Joy Penny; Joy's sister and mother, Verla and Ma; neighbors Marlene and Dale and their grandson Timmy; and occasional friend with a bad toupeé, Jerry.

References

External links

''The Dinette Set'' at GoComics.com
- old site, no longer updated American comic strips 1997 comics debuts Gag cartoon comics 2015 comics endings {{comic-strip-stub