Rudy Park
Encyclopedia
Rudy Park is a syndicated comic strip created by Darrin Bell
and Theron Heir that is distributed by United Media
.
The strip started in early 2001, when its principal character was laid off from his job at a dot-com company
but eventually found a new job as a barista in a coffee shop/internet cafe, the House of Java Cybercafe. Because of its early allusion to the dot-com bust, the strip occasionally takes on current events but in a more lightweight manner compared to Bell's other creation, Candorville
. The strip usually focuses on Rudy and his nemesis Sadie Cohen, a frequent customer and octogenarian who disdains Rudy's love for new technology
. Other characters include: Armstrong Maynard, Rudy's cheapskate boss; Randy "The Rock" Taylor, a neurotic ex-athlete that frequently hangs out around the bar; and Rudy's Uncle Mort, an aging social liberal
prone to protesting in the bar with his trusty bullhorn.
In January 2007, the strip's creators had Mort die of a heart attack, just weeks after his wedding to Mrs. Cohen. He died during a heated argument with Donald Rumsfeld
, who had begun visiting the cafe after his ouster as Defense Secretary
. For reasons yet to be revealed, Mort came back to life in February of 2009.
Two collections of the strip have been published. Rudy Park: The People Must Be Wired (2003) and Peace, Love, Lattes: A Rudy Park Collection (2004).
Darrin Bell
Darrin Bell is an American cartoonist who writes and illustrates the syndicated comic strip Candorville , in addition to illustrating the comic strip Rudy Park...
and Theron Heir that is distributed by United Media
United Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
.
The strip started in early 2001, when its principal character was laid off from his job at a dot-com company
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
but eventually found a new job as a barista in a coffee shop/internet cafe, the House of Java Cybercafe. Because of its early allusion to the dot-com bust, the strip occasionally takes on current events but in a more lightweight manner compared to Bell's other creation, Candorville
Candorville
Candorville is a syndicated newspaper comic strip written and illustrated by Darrin Bell, a former editorial cartoonist, and the first African-American cartoonist to have two different comic strips in syndication concurrently. Candorville, launched in September 2003 by The Washington Post Writers...
. The strip usually focuses on Rudy and his nemesis Sadie Cohen, a frequent customer and octogenarian who disdains Rudy's love for new technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. Other characters include: Armstrong Maynard, Rudy's cheapskate boss; Randy "The Rock" Taylor, a neurotic ex-athlete that frequently hangs out around the bar; and Rudy's Uncle Mort, an aging social liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
prone to protesting in the bar with his trusty bullhorn.
In January 2007, the strip's creators had Mort die of a heart attack, just weeks after his wedding to Mrs. Cohen. He died during a heated argument with Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, who had begun visiting the cafe after his ouster as Defense Secretary
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
. For reasons yet to be revealed, Mort came back to life in February of 2009.
Two collections of the strip have been published. Rudy Park: The People Must Be Wired (2003) and Peace, Love, Lattes: A Rudy Park Collection (2004).