On the Fastrack
Encyclopedia
On the Fastrack is a comic strip
drawn by Bill Holbrook
about the doings of various characters at the fictional Fastrack, Inc.
Fastrack is run by its foundress, Rose Trellis, who is portrayed as a ruthless corporate leader, but with a recently discovered but seldom seen charitable side. Most storylines involve other characters, though, such as:
The strip was originally about Bob Shirt, Melody Acapella, Art Welding, Bud Spore (their immediate supervisor, then age 17), Rose Trellis and Melody’s daughter Laurel. Bob and Melody still pop up occasionally, as Melody runs the company day care
center where Patina and Rusty spend their after-school hours.
Collections of On the Fastrack exist, but are not always easy to find.
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....
drawn by Bill Holbrook
Bill Holbrook
Bill Holbrook is an American comic strip & webcomic writer and artist. Born in Los Angeles in 1958, Holbrook grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and began drawing at an early age....
about the doings of various characters at the fictional Fastrack, Inc.
Fastrack is run by its foundress, Rose Trellis, who is portrayed as a ruthless corporate leader, but with a recently discovered but seldom seen charitable side. Most storylines involve other characters, though, such as:
- Wendy Rommel Welding — Rose Trellis’s assistant who does much of the day-to-day work of running Fastrack. She recently earned a Ph.D.Ph.D.A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
- Art Welding — Wendy’s husband, who “works” (if you can call it that) in the computer room.
- Rusty and Patina Welding, their children, who lead an online existence their parents are only dimly aware of, battling the Y2K Bug, and assisting Santa ClausSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
with their computer skills. - Bud Spore, the head of Fastrack’s Information Technology Center, a stereotypical computer geek. On April 25, 2010, he started his own blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
cleverly titled “Spore Sample” in which he comments on various aspects of Fastrack as well as his family life with:- His wife, Chelonia, the daughter of Rose Trellis.
- Their daughter, Cookie, who “takes after her [maternal] grandmother in all ways, save that she’s too young to have read Machiavelli.”
- Dethany Dendrobia, Wendy's assistant, a 25-year-old Goth who is defined by her conscientious work ethic, intelligence, talent and mainly her ability to confound other's expectations based on her appearance.
- Ada Counter — A midwife whose former career was in computers and who now consults at Fastrack. She goes out with Chelonia’s twin brother Mark Domain.
- The Moat Monster — A dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
-like creature that was spawned by Fastrack’s toxic waste dump. Currently in charge of corporate security. The Moat Monster is capable of shapeshiftingShapeshiftingShapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into the form of an attractive human woman, who uses the alias, “Candy Moatmonster.” She has an ongoing cyberspace love affair with an IRS agent (who knows her true form). - Don Argus — The safety manager at Fastrack. His daughter Samantha is the principal character in Safe HavensSafe HavensSafe Havens is a comic strip drawn by cartoonist Bill Holbrook. It was originally syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group before switching to King Features Syndicate in 1993. Started in 1988, the strip is currently published in more than 50 newspapers...
, and she works summers at Fastrack assisting Bud Spore. - Philby Fenster — Rose's ex-husband (and Chelonia’s father) is a hacker and convicted embezzler whose hacking skills are so formidable that he managed to hack his way out of prison on more than one occasion (in a continuing story arc beginning in late August, 2007, he did so using an abacusAbacusThe abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abaci are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of...
). - Thornton Saguaro — The CEO of another company. He is as flinty as Rose Trellis. After the two met she asked him to be a member of her board of directorsBoard of directorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, where he provides the challenge that she needs. He set up a charitable foundation so that they could have something to work on together. He has been described as politically liberal. Recently Rose married him. (More discussion needed here.)
The strip was originally about Bob Shirt, Melody Acapella, Art Welding, Bud Spore (their immediate supervisor, then age 17), Rose Trellis and Melody’s daughter Laurel. Bob and Melody still pop up occasionally, as Melody runs the company day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
center where Patina and Rusty spend their after-school hours.
Collections of On the Fastrack exist, but are not always easy to find.
External links
- On the Fastrack (Home)
- On the Fastrack (King Features)
- On the Fastrack (The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
)