Tyler & Fred

The original cartoon that inspired today's Tyler and Fred was started in 1994. It was called simply "Tyler." It was centered completely around Tyler, who origianlly looked like Garfield's "Odie." Fred was there too, but he just wasn't as important as he is today. I originally intended Fred to be a relatively minor character, but his character developed, and he became a bigger part of the comic. Other characters included Fret, Tyler's dog girlfriend, and Shadow, Tyler's twin brother. Fret was a yellowish-colored dog whose brother left Tyler part of his basement which he had transformed into an entertainment facility, with a big-screen TV, a bar and a pool table. They all had fun times fooling the humans with the room, because, of course, humans could not know that it existed. It went on like this, and eventually the look of the dogs changed, from the Odie-ish appearance to a more dog-like look. I have used this look ever since then. Fred did not change for a while later. Another Tyler character was Fufu, a genius inventor who happened to be a cat. The fact that he was a cat did not detract from Tyler's admiration of him, and he appeared quite frequently. Frita, or, as she was called in Tyler, "Frito," was intended to be a student of Fufu, despite the fact that she was a mouse. This led to her being in "Industrial Mice" magazine, to which Fred fell in love with her. He finally got a date with her, and her character immediately eliminated the need for Fufu. One inventor in a comic strip is enough, and Frita's character provided more material, because of Fred, than Fufu ever could have. Jimmy was much different in Tyler. I intended him to have an amazing bedroom that was detatched from the rest of his house, with every possible gadget and high-tech device anyone could ever want. This never really flew, and I realized it was better to draw a kid character I could relate to better, one without all the stuff, hence creating today's Jimmy.

In 1998, I decided to restart the comic completely. I did not like how most of the characters were developing and I thought it was best to redo them completely. I had also created a character that year whom I wished to make a permanent character. I had just been introduced to the comic, Dilbert and I sketched some animals as if they were "berts," such as Dogbert and Ratbert. One of these was "Chickenbert," who was basically a chicken with glasses. I loved this character and with a few refinements, such as sneakers and a duck-bill shaped beak, he became part of the Tyler and Fred cast. I have not included many of the characters that appeared in the original Tyler, such as Fret and Shadow, for I feel there are almost too many characters as it is. Besides, one love story (Fred and Frita) is enough, and I don't need to complicate things with a new Fret. For Tyler, as well as for Jimmy, the pursuit will have to be good enough. When creating Tyler and Fred, I realized that this fantastic world that I wish I could somehow be a part of should be limited to the animal's world. I decided that Jimmy should be more average, and Tyler and Fred's world should be the more imaginary one. One thing about Jimmy that I kept above average was his ability to talk to Tyler, which nobody else could do, or know about. One of the first stories I did for "Tyler and Fred" was about the restaurant they founded together. There was not such restaurant in "Tyler," but I fell it will be a good addition to their world.

Tyler's ability to talk to Jimmy makes him the bridge between the imaginary animal world and the more realistic human world. I have hoped that Tyler could have been more than that, and maybe some day he will be, but the way his personality is now, I haven't been able to make him more of an interesting character. In Tyler and Fred, I have concentrated mostly on the life of Fred, which I am trying not to do. I think in most good cartoons, there is always an eccentric character, and always a more neutral character. In Calvin and Hobbes, for example, Calvin was the eccentric character, while Hobbes was the neutral character. In Tyler and Fred, Tyler is the neutral one, while Fred is the eccentric one. It is infinitely more fun to write stories on the eccentric characters, although I am now trying to bring the more neutral Tyler farther into the spotlight.

© 2003 Tyler and Fred LTD.

> about the comic : : :
: History : Artwork : Influences : Rob Rogers
The History of Tyler & Fred
> The original "Tyler" The original cartoon that inspired today's Tyler and Fred was started in 1994. It was called simply "Tyler." It was centered completely around Tyler, who origianlly looked like Garfield's "Odie." Fred was there too, but he just wasn't as important as he is today. I originally intended Fred to be a relatively minor character, but his character developed, and he became a bigger part of the comic. Other characters included Fret, Tyler's dog girlfriend, and Shadow, Tyler's twin brother. Fret was a yellowish-colored dog whose brother left Tyler part of his basement which he had transformed into an entertainment facility, with a big-screen TV, a bar and a pool table. They all had fun times fooling the humans with the room, because, of course, humans could not know that it existed. It went on like this, and eventually the look of the dogs changed, from the Odie-ish appearance to a more dog-like look. I have used this look ever since then. Fred did not change for a while later. Another Tyler character was Fufu, a genius inventor who happened to be a cat. The fact that he was a cat did not detract from Tyler's admiration of him, and he appeared quite frequently. Frita, or, as she was called in Tyler, "Frito," was intended to be a student of Fufu, despite the fact that she was a mouse. This led to her being in "Industrial Mice" magazine, to which Fred fell in love with her. He finally got a date with her, and her character immediately eliminated the need for Fufu. One inventor in a comic strip is enough, and Frita's character provided more material, because of Fred, than Fufu ever could have. Jimmy was much different in Tyler. I intended him to have an amazing bedroom that was detatched from the rest of his house, with every possible gadget and high-tech device anyone could ever want. This never really flew, and I realized it was better to draw a kid character I could relate to better, one without all the stuff, hence creating today's Jimmy.

> "Tyler" becomes "Tyler and Fred" In 1998, I decided to restart the comic completely. I did not like how most of the characters were developing and I thought it was best to redo them completely. I had also created a character that year whom I wished to make a permanent character. I had just been introduced to the comic, Dilbert and I sketched some animals as if they were "berts," such as Dogbert and Ratbert. One of these was "Chickenbert," who was basically a chicken with glasses. I loved this character and with a few refinements, such as sneakers and a duck-bill shaped beak, he became part of the Tyler and Fred cast. I have not included many of the characters that appeared in the original Tyler, such as Fret and Shadow, for I feel there are almost too many characters as it is. Besides, one love story (Fred and Frita) is enough, and I don't need to complicate things with a new Fret. For Tyler, as well as for Jimmy, the pursuit will have to be good enough. When creating Tyler and Fred, I realized that this fantastic world that I wish I could somehow be a part of should be limited to the animal's world. I decided that Jimmy should be more average, and Tyler and Fred's world should be the more imaginary one. One thing about Jimmy that I kept above average was his ability to talk to Tyler, which nobody else could do, or know about. One of the first stories I did for "Tyler and Fred" was about the restaurant they founded together. There was not such restaurant in "Tyler," but I fell it will be a good addition to their world.

> "Tyler and Fred" today and in the future Tyler's ability to talk to Jimmy makes him the bridge between the imaginary animal world and the more realistic human world. I have hoped that Tyler could have been more than that, and maybe some day he will be, but the way his personality is now, I haven't been able to make him more of an interesting character. In Tyler and Fred, I have concentrated mostly on the life of Fred, which I am trying not to do. I think in most good cartoons, there is always an eccentric character, and always a more neutral character. In Calvin and Hobbes, for example, Calvin was the eccentric character, while Hobbes was the neutral character. In Tyler and Fred, Tyler is the neutral one, while Fred is the eccentric one. It is infinitely more fun to write stories on the eccentric characters, although I am now trying to bring the more neutral Tyler farther into the spotlight.

> About the Website This website was begun on October 15, 1999. The original design did not change much for almost four years, but was finally redesigned and updated on June 3, 2003. The site originally included several non-Tyler & Fred items, other parodies, etc., but I decided to make the site exclusively about the cartoon with the redesign. Click on the image on the right to see what the site looked like before the 2003 redesign.
Tyler & Fred artwork
		If Tyler & Fred were on the cover of Mad...


Influences
The following are several people and things which inspired me in one way or another, and are sometimes reflected in the strip. They include comedians, other cartoonists (some from many years ago) and other people and things that I admire.

George Herriman Almost every notable comic strip today has been influenced in some way by Herriman's work. He created several strips, including Baron Bean and The Family Upstairs. His most famous creation is Krazy Kat. The creativity of Krazy Kat is almost unbelivable. Of course, in the time it was produced, cartoonists were allowed to fill up a whole newspaper page for a single comic. Krazy Kat combines a love triangle, animals living in a personified world, and surrealism. Cartoonists such as Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Patrick McDonnell (Mutts) say Krazy Kat was a huge influence on them. After reading some of the classic strips, it's easy to see how.

Jean Shepherd "Shep" was a famous radio announcer in New York. Though he did this for many years, he is probably best known for his writings and films. His most well-known movie is the popular "A Christmas Story." Shepherd actually made several movies with the same characters, yet for some reason they have been banished to obscurity. His writings are truly magnificent, and are worth a read.

Edward Gorey The morbid drawings and writings of Edward Gorey are imaginitive and very funny in a very subtle way. His short illustrated story books seem childlike at first glance, but at closer inspection are quite grotesque and suggestive.

Bruce McCall Bruce McCall's crazy retro-style paintings often parody American excessiveness. In his book "Zany Afternoons," he portrayed such things as "Zeppelin Shoots" and airplane "wing dining." His most recent book is about failed 1950's American car prototypes. He's truly a master of satire.
Rob Rogers
		Pulitzer-Prize winning editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Rogers gave a talk at his old school, Carnegie Mellon, which is where I go to college. After his talk, he gave me this drawing.