Phil Frank (1943–2007)

This charmingly quirky strip rapidly became a favorite of mine. Farley is an itinerant, affable, jack-of-all-trades and master of none who meets a variety of folk, human and beast, who leave him slightly befuddled, bemused and bewildered. Phil Frank also occasionally trots out the awful pun, which further endears the strip to me. And the bears, especially Hilda, who is in love with Farley to the point of shaving her legs, are a hoot.

In 1986 the late Phil Frank, one of my favorite cartoonists, gave up national syndication of his two comic strips to concentrate on local issues in the San Francisco Chronicle. This book is a collection of his "Farley" strips featuring "His Williness", San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who was an iconic figure (at least in his own mind) in San Francisco for many years. Some wickedly funny and pointed strips here that must have been even more so for the local readers. And always with Frank's show more trademark horrible puns between the panels. show less

In 1985 Phil Frank took the unusual step of taking his successful strip, "Travels With Farley", out of syndication to focus on the local San Francisco mileau through the "San Francisco Chronicle". This allowed Frank to make the strip more topical, frequently responding to breaking events with a strip the following morning. And the strip still retains its charm, gentle humor and quirkiness. The bears are still around, and Farley actually manages to get into one or two relationships. This is a show more funny, affable, intelligent strip, and I only regret that Frank's decision has taken a wonderful work further from the public eye. Our loss, San Francisco's gain. Do not miss the horrible puns Frank has inserted before the last panel of every strip. show less

This used to be a nationally syndicated strip, "Travels With Farley", until 1985 when Phil Frank made the unorthodox decision to write the strip exclusively for the San Francisco Chronicle, dealing with local issues, and concentrating mainly on Yosemite National Park. Not sure what the strip is called these days, but it's still a great one, with good loosely-drawn art, an offbeat humor, and a side-panel pun in every strip (watch for them - they're hilarious). If I had to make a list of my 10 show more favorite strips, this would most likely make the cut. My only quibble is that Farley himself only makes a few appearances in the book. I really like the guy. show less