Frazz
Encyclopedia
Frazz is a syndicated
comic strip
by Jef Mallett
that, on the surface, is about school custodian
Edwin "Frazz" Frazier and the school where he works, but which, according to Mallett, is really about discovery. The strip debuted on 2 April 2001.
to Hiaasen to bike racing magazines, he writes, he races, he’s an athlete, and he’s a songwriter, discovering the value of a day job. When songwriting started going well, he kept his custodian job because it was the perfect environment for discovery through the energy and interest of the students. Many of the characters are based on his childhood experiences at school, and at home as the child of an educator. Frazz is, at least attitudinally, based on Mallett himself. During a 1996 book tour of schools to promote a children's book he wrote and illustrated, Mallett noticed that the kids wouldn't quiet down for their teachers or principals, but would for the school janitor; he or she was "the man", existing on a separate plane between the students and adults.
, Frazz is always ready to teach children and adults more about the world around them. Because he doesn't look down on them, the students look up to him, and he also has the respect of the adults (with the possible exception of Mrs. Olsen, who remembers what a handful he was when he was in third grade.) Drawing inspiration from his daily school life, his songs soon become extremely popular. Frazz loves triathlons, bicycling, jogging, swimming, basketball, songwriting, and talking with the students. However, among the students, he seems to have a spot in his heart for Caulfield especially, as he is always spurring him to mischief (often unintentionally), and makes excuses for Caulfield's "bored genius" behavior. He also seems to always clean the detention room where Caulfield spends a good bit of his time. He has a pet guinea pig which he rescued from Mrs. Olsen's classroom and named it "Lyle" after Lyle Lovett
. It is revealed that Frazz has a sister who is a nurse. It is also revealed that he wore sweaters all through high school, and he says that they were reminiscent of Bill Cosby's often-colorful and oddly-patterned sweaters. This is part of his streak of bad fashion savvy, as he also would have bought a Hawaiian shirt with a pattern of dogs playing poker on it.
Caulfield — An eight-year-old named by his parents after J. D. Salinger
's Holden Caulfield
, Caulfield tried to convince Mrs. Olsen that he was from a disadvantaged background, but his father is finishing his PhD in pharmacology, and his mother is a civil engineer. Mallett regards Caulfield as "the hero of the strip... He won’t give up that joy of learning for the sake of a test score, for quiet approval, for the easy A". Caulfield is a handful. He is a genius, but hates school because it fails to challenge him. He spends a lot of time in detention for speaking out in class, but whiles away the hours discussing books or logic with Frazz. His fresh perspective on the world brings interesting, often startling revelations to the comic. Caulfield chooses a literature-themed costume every Halloween
, often stumping most of the teachers, but which Frazz invariably gets. Mrs. Olsen decides one year to glean all of the books Caulfield has checked out over the year from the library. She says it's a good plan until Frazz mentions that it "narrows it down to triple digits." She refines the statement, saying it's a good plan, not a foolproof one. Caulfield's costumes have included:
Miss Jane Plainwell — The first-grade teacher at Bryson Elementary, and Frazz's romantic interest. The students all think they'd be a perfect couple, and the two often go on jogs together while talking about life and love. Like Frazz, Miss Plainwell is also an athlete, running in 5K charity races. She inspired Mr. Burke to exercise more often, and trained and ran with him in the Detroit 5K. She majored in journalism, and worked at the sports department of a newspaper, before she decided to teach at Bryson Elementary, wanting to work with a "more mature audience." Miss Plainwell is modeled on Mallett's wife. She has a pet greyhound
named "Mario", which she adopted after it retired from racing.
Mr. Burke — Mr. Burke is the fourth-grade teacher at Bryson Elementary, the best teacher there and Frazz's best friend. His one-on-one basketball
matches with Frazz are filled with brilliant discussions—and very little scoring. Burke started out obese, but has slimmed down due to a Frazz-inspired exercise program. He is revealed by the students to have had an Afro during high school.
Mrs. Olsen — Mrs. Olsen is the third grade teacher at Bryson Elementary, and the teacher from hell. She is frequently the object of tricks and practical jokes by Frazz and Caulfield., and Caulfield's questions/comments in class often drive her to distraction. She had enough of Frazz when he was her student years ago, and would just as soon he leave for good. Another side of her character is seen when Caulfield gets a summer job in her garden (a summer 2005 sequence in Frazz) and they come to have a sense of respect for each other. She is a composite of several of Mallett's teachers and one of Mallett's wife's teachers. She has a brother or sister, as she also has a niece. She is also of Scandinavian (probably Norwegian) descent, as she once cooked lutefisk
for her class, in much the same way that Mrs. Trevino cooks gorditas on Cinco de Mayo.
Mr. Spaetzle — The principal of Bryson Elementary. He craves the adoration the students heap on Frazz, and wants to be just like him. He wore nerdy glasses all throughout high school.
Coach Hacker — The physical education teacher, interested only in team sports, with no interest in participatory athletics. Coach Hacker was an All-Big 10 defensive end in the 1970s, but now is out-of shape and has been married five times. In college his nickname was "Man-O-War", but now it is "Jellyfish". According to Mallett, he "doesn't understand Frazz any more than he understands how to work a combination lock". He is said to have eaten at Burger Bunker every single day for years. He is often very competitive with Frazz, comparing sports such as football and hockey against running and cycling.
Mr. Uhrmann — A substitute teacher for Mrs. Olsen who is unflustered by Caulfield. He is described by Frazz as the only one of Caulfield's substitute teachers not to "throw up his hands and quit by 9:30". Caulfield calls him "The Uhrmanator".
Mrs. Trevino — The second-grade teacher at Bryson Elementary. She cooks gorditas for her class every Cinco de Mayo
. She also had "Tamale Day" to use cooking as a teaching tool (although she apparently didn't know that the corn husk was not to be eaten). This causes her to garner quite a bit of jealousy from Mrs. Olsen, who thinks that her native country's food is just as interesting as gorditas. Mrs. Trevino has been phased away from the strip, as has Clutch, now that Ms. Plainwell (Mrs. Trevino's former best friend) and Frazz are now in a relationship.
Clutch — Frazz's friend & fellow runner/cyclist. Works as an emergency room nurse.
, speculation arose that Mallett was actually Bill Watterson
, or that Frazz was an unauthorized sequel
to Watterson's strip and that Frazz is Calvin as an adult. Some other characters that are similar are Miss Wormwood and Rosalyn in Watterson's strip to Mrs. Olsen and Miss Plainwell in Mallett's strip. In a May 2006 series of strips, Frazz and Caulfield invent a game called "Bedlamball" that, like "Calvinball", has no apparent rules or scoring.
Mallett acknowledges Watterson's influence, but denies that he is Watterson or that Frazz is intended as a copy or replacement of, or sequel to, Calvin and Hobbes.
In his online column, "Chatological Humor", Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten
published a response by Mallett to the speculation that Frazz was a grown-up Calvin. In the foreword to Live at Bryson Elementary, Weingarten writes, "They're [critics are] focusing not only on hair (Frazz's frizz), but also on his station in life: a brilliant underachiever. Well, Jef assures me that any similarity is unintentional."
Los Angeles Times
columnist Charles Solomon said, "The humor and calligraphic drawing in “Frazz” reflect Watterson’s influence, but the strip doesn’t feel like a pallid imitation."
Mallett has alluded to the speculation several times in the strip. In a September 2003 Sunday strip an introverted student tells Frazz that she wants to be famous, and believes it is possible to be famous for one's work, without exposing your private life to the public eye. Frazz says, "Good point. Like J.D. Salinger or Bill Watterson." She says she's never heard of them. As part of a brief story arc in November 2006, Frazz tells Caulfield "I also used to be Bill Watterson's personal assistant."
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
by Jef Mallett
Jef Mallett
Jef Mallett is the creator and artist of the comic strip Frazz. He attended nursing school for a period of time before leaving to pursue his artistic interests. He has a longtime interest in the thrill and excitement of bicycling...
that, on the surface, is about school custodian
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
Edwin "Frazz" Frazier and the school where he works, but which, according to Mallett, is really about discovery. The strip debuted on 2 April 2001.
Style and theme
Mallett has explained that the strip is about discovery, and not merely learning. Frazz's job is just the surface. He reads everything from MiltonJohn Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
to Hiaasen to bike racing magazines, he writes, he races, he’s an athlete, and he’s a songwriter, discovering the value of a day job. When songwriting started going well, he kept his custodian job because it was the perfect environment for discovery through the energy and interest of the students. Many of the characters are based on his childhood experiences at school, and at home as the child of an educator. Frazz is, at least attitudinally, based on Mallett himself. During a 1996 book tour of schools to promote a children's book he wrote and illustrated, Mallett noticed that the kids wouldn't quiet down for their teachers or principals, but would for the school janitor; he or she was "the man", existing on a separate plane between the students and adults.
Recurring characters
Frazz — The eponymous character, Edwin Frazier is a 29-year-old songwriter who took a job as janitor of Bryson Elementary (He mentions that he got out of third grade 21 years previous to the strip's beginning). Later, he says that he is barely thirty, probably meaning that he ages in real time. Mallett describes him as "the voice of reason, the voice of experience and, frequently, the voice of temptation." He took the job because his songwriting career wasn't going well, but then several of his songs became major hits. Now independently wealthy, he keeps his job as janitor because he can. His daily interactions with the students and faculty reveal insight into an unimaginable number of topics: books, music, pop culture, art, history, and many more. A true Renaissance manPolymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
, Frazz is always ready to teach children and adults more about the world around them. Because he doesn't look down on them, the students look up to him, and he also has the respect of the adults (with the possible exception of Mrs. Olsen, who remembers what a handful he was when he was in third grade.) Drawing inspiration from his daily school life, his songs soon become extremely popular. Frazz loves triathlons, bicycling, jogging, swimming, basketball, songwriting, and talking with the students. However, among the students, he seems to have a spot in his heart for Caulfield especially, as he is always spurring him to mischief (often unintentionally), and makes excuses for Caulfield's "bored genius" behavior. He also seems to always clean the detention room where Caulfield spends a good bit of his time. He has a pet guinea pig which he rescued from Mrs. Olsen's classroom and named it "Lyle" after Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett
Lyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...
. It is revealed that Frazz has a sister who is a nurse. It is also revealed that he wore sweaters all through high school, and he says that they were reminiscent of Bill Cosby's often-colorful and oddly-patterned sweaters. This is part of his streak of bad fashion savvy, as he also would have bought a Hawaiian shirt with a pattern of dogs playing poker on it.
Caulfield — An eight-year-old named by his parents after J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
's Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
, Caulfield tried to convince Mrs. Olsen that he was from a disadvantaged background, but his father is finishing his PhD in pharmacology, and his mother is a civil engineer. Mallett regards Caulfield as "the hero of the strip... He won’t give up that joy of learning for the sake of a test score, for quiet approval, for the easy A". Caulfield is a handful. He is a genius, but hates school because it fails to challenge him. He spends a lot of time in detention for speaking out in class, but whiles away the hours discussing books or logic with Frazz. His fresh perspective on the world brings interesting, often startling revelations to the comic. Caulfield chooses a literature-themed costume every Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, often stumping most of the teachers, but which Frazz invariably gets. Mrs. Olsen decides one year to glean all of the books Caulfield has checked out over the year from the library. She says it's a good plan until Frazz mentions that it "narrows it down to triple digits." She refines the statement, saying it's a good plan, not a foolproof one. Caulfield's costumes have included:
- Scout from To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
- Santiago from The Old Man and the SeaThe Old Man and the SeaThe Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway and published in his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it centers upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who...
- Dorian GrayDorian GrayDorian Gray is the main character of Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.It may also refer to:* Dorian Gray , an Italian film starring Helmut Berger...
- The Frog from The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras CountyThe Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain, his first great success as a writer, bringing him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"...
- The Greek god ZeusZeusIn the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
- Chief Bromden from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon asylum, the narrative serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind, as well as a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Written in 1959, the novel was adapted into a...
- A Tralfamadorian from Slaughterhouse Five
- Mildred Montag from Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury. The novel presents a future American society where reading is outlawed and firemen start fires to burn books...
- Lt. Mudd a/k/a "the dead man in Yossarian'sYossarianThis article is about a "Catch-22" character. For the meerkat from "Meerkat Manor", see List of "Meerkat Manor" meerkats - Yossarian.Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time...
tent" from Catch-22Catch-22Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century... - The DevilDevilThe Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
from FaustFaustFaust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
, specifically Randy Newman's FaustRandy Newman's FaustRandy Newman's Faust is a 1993 musical by American musician and songwriter Randy Newman, who based the work on the classic story of Faust, borrowing elements from the version by Goethe, as well as Milton's Paradise Lost, but updating the story to the modern day, and infusing it with humorous cynicism...
Miss Jane Plainwell — The first-grade teacher at Bryson Elementary, and Frazz's romantic interest. The students all think they'd be a perfect couple, and the two often go on jogs together while talking about life and love. Like Frazz, Miss Plainwell is also an athlete, running in 5K charity races. She inspired Mr. Burke to exercise more often, and trained and ran with him in the Detroit 5K. She majored in journalism, and worked at the sports department of a newspaper, before she decided to teach at Bryson Elementary, wanting to work with a "more mature audience." Miss Plainwell is modeled on Mallett's wife. She has a pet greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
named "Mario", which she adopted after it retired from racing.
Mr. Burke — Mr. Burke is the fourth-grade teacher at Bryson Elementary, the best teacher there and Frazz's best friend. His one-on-one basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
matches with Frazz are filled with brilliant discussions—and very little scoring. Burke started out obese, but has slimmed down due to a Frazz-inspired exercise program. He is revealed by the students to have had an Afro during high school.
Mrs. Olsen — Mrs. Olsen is the third grade teacher at Bryson Elementary, and the teacher from hell. She is frequently the object of tricks and practical jokes by Frazz and Caulfield., and Caulfield's questions/comments in class often drive her to distraction. She had enough of Frazz when he was her student years ago, and would just as soon he leave for good. Another side of her character is seen when Caulfield gets a summer job in her garden (a summer 2005 sequence in Frazz) and they come to have a sense of respect for each other. She is a composite of several of Mallett's teachers and one of Mallett's wife's teachers. She has a brother or sister, as she also has a niece. She is also of Scandinavian (probably Norwegian) descent, as she once cooked lutefisk
Lutefisk
Lutefisk or Lutfisk is a traditional dish of the Nordic countries and parts of the Midwest United States. It is made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye . It is gelatinous in texture, and has an extremely strong, pungent odor...
for her class, in much the same way that Mrs. Trevino cooks gorditas on Cinco de Mayo.
Mr. Spaetzle — The principal of Bryson Elementary. He craves the adoration the students heap on Frazz, and wants to be just like him. He wore nerdy glasses all throughout high school.
Coach Hacker — The physical education teacher, interested only in team sports, with no interest in participatory athletics. Coach Hacker was an All-Big 10 defensive end in the 1970s, but now is out-of shape and has been married five times. In college his nickname was "Man-O-War", but now it is "Jellyfish". According to Mallett, he "doesn't understand Frazz any more than he understands how to work a combination lock". He is said to have eaten at Burger Bunker every single day for years. He is often very competitive with Frazz, comparing sports such as football and hockey against running and cycling.
Mr. Uhrmann — A substitute teacher for Mrs. Olsen who is unflustered by Caulfield. He is described by Frazz as the only one of Caulfield's substitute teachers not to "throw up his hands and quit by 9:30". Caulfield calls him "The Uhrmanator".
Mrs. Trevino — The second-grade teacher at Bryson Elementary. She cooks gorditas for her class every Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla...
. She also had "Tamale Day" to use cooking as a teaching tool (although she apparently didn't know that the corn husk was not to be eaten). This causes her to garner quite a bit of jealousy from Mrs. Olsen, who thinks that her native country's food is just as interesting as gorditas. Mrs. Trevino has been phased away from the strip, as has Clutch, now that Ms. Plainwell (Mrs. Trevino's former best friend) and Frazz are now in a relationship.
Clutch — Frazz's friend & fellow runner/cyclist. Works as an emergency room nurse.
Comparisons to Calvin and Hobbes
Because of similarities in calligraphic style, Frazz's physical appearance, his station in life as a brilliant underachiever, and his age relative to Calvin of Calvin and HobbesCalvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is a syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. It follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his...
, speculation arose that Mallett was actually Bill Watterson
Bill Watterson
William Boyd Watterson II , known as Bill Watterson, is an American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes...
, or that Frazz was an unauthorized sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Watterson's strip and that Frazz is Calvin as an adult. Some other characters that are similar are Miss Wormwood and Rosalyn in Watterson's strip to Mrs. Olsen and Miss Plainwell in Mallett's strip. In a May 2006 series of strips, Frazz and Caulfield invent a game called "Bedlamball" that, like "Calvinball", has no apparent rules or scoring.
Mallett acknowledges Watterson's influence, but denies that he is Watterson or that Frazz is intended as a copy or replacement of, or sequel to, Calvin and Hobbes.
In his online column, "Chatological Humor", Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten
Gene Weingarten
Gene Weingarten is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist known for both his serious and humorous work...
published a response by Mallett to the speculation that Frazz was a grown-up Calvin. In the foreword to Live at Bryson Elementary, Weingarten writes, "They're [critics are] focusing not only on hair (Frazz's frizz), but also on his station in life: a brilliant underachiever. Well, Jef assures me that any similarity is unintentional."
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
columnist Charles Solomon said, "The humor and calligraphic drawing in “Frazz” reflect Watterson’s influence, but the strip doesn’t feel like a pallid imitation."
Mallett has alluded to the speculation several times in the strip. In a September 2003 Sunday strip an introverted student tells Frazz that she wants to be famous, and believes it is possible to be famous for one's work, without exposing your private life to the public eye. Frazz says, "Good point. Like J.D. Salinger or Bill Watterson." She says she's never heard of them. As part of a brief story arc in November 2006, Frazz tells Caulfield "I also used to be Bill Watterson's personal assistant."
Anthologies
- Live at Bryson Elementary. 2005, Andrews McMeel Publishing. 128 pages. Includes foreword by Gene WeingartenGene WeingartenGene Weingarten is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist known for both his serious and humorous work...
and introduction by Jef Mallett. ISBN 0-7407-5447-5 - 99% Perspiration. 2006, Andrews McMeel Publishing. 128 pages. ISBN 0-7407-6043-2
- Frazz 3.1416. 2008, Andrews McMeel Publishing. 128 pages. ISBN 0-7407-7739-4. Includes an introduction by Charles SolomonCharles SolomonCharles "King" Solomon was a Jewish-American mob boss who controlled Boston's bootlegging, narcotics and illegal gambling during Prohibition.-Biography:...