''Rusty Brown'' is a continuing series of comics by American cartoonist

Chris Ware Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his ''Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels '' Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (201 ...

, named after its protagonist. In the strip, Brown is shown as a young

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

n boy and as a man approaching middle age, who has a lifelong obsession with collecting

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed ...

s and similar

pop cultural Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

detritus, particularly

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her ...

. Rusty Brown's only friend throughout his life is Chalky White. White is also a collector of

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), ...

and other action figures, but gives up collecting as he grows up, gets married, and starts a family, unlike his friend Rusty, who remains locked in a permanent manchild state, always looking for elements of his lost childhood like

lunchbox A lunch box (alt. spelling lunchbox) refers to a hand-held container used to transport food, usually to work or to school. It is commonly made of metal or plastic, is reasonably airtight and often has a handle for carrying. In the United ...

es,

Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...

drink cups, and more. A recurring theme in the series is Rusty's greedy, egocentric, and bold behavior opposed to Chalky's kind, timid, and often naïve nature. Rusty is often utilizing tricks to swindle Chalky of his action figures, while Chalky, being highly gullible, is never able to see through Rusty's true nature.

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Sourc ...

published in September 2019 the first volume of ''Rusty Brown'' (collecting stories Ware began writing and illustrating in 2001).

References

Comics characters Comics by Chris Ware {{Comic-strip-stub