About R.F.D.
R.F.D. was a weekly comic strip that was syndicated for 30 years with King Features Weekly Service.
The strip features the Poole Family; Sim, May and their daughter June, and the goings on at their farm and in their small rural town, Woodfield.
The strip features the Poole Family; Sim, May and their daughter June, and the goings on at their farm and in their small rural town, Woodfield.
Sim is an quirky, easygoing small-time farmer, which means he works more than he plays. He loves gardening and hates winter.
May is the quintessential independent rural woman. In addition to her roles of SuperMom and SuperWife she can do all of her work on the farm as well as most of Sim's.
June is a country girl tomboy. She's wicked smart but bored by school and can't wait until she's old enough to take over the farm.
Tinker is Sim's brother. He has a firewood business and an aversion to marriage.
Millie Cooper is May's best friend and she also runs the local diner.
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A Little History...
R.F.D. began in 1982 with a short run as a weekly comic strip in my hometown newspaper
The Littleton Courier (Littleton, NH). The strip featured rural humor starring The Poole Family -
Sim, May, June and Uncle Henry.
In 1983 The Union Leader (Manchester, NH) took the strip on a trial basis. A reader poll was used to
determine the strips fate. The response was less than overwhelming but it survived and was moved
to the comics page where it ran as a daily (six times a week) from May 1983 to May 1986, went on a
hiatus and ran again from March 1988 to April 1992. The New Hampshire-flavored strip garnered a
larger, statewide readership with The Union Leader and became a reader favorite.
Over the years I had been submitting R.F.D. every couple of years to the comics syndicates.
Success was finally achieved in 1992 when King Features added R.F.D. to their Weekly Services
package. The strip was back to being a weekly and the Pooles had to lose their New Hampshire
accents but now they were being read all around the country. It began running with King Features in
May of 1992 and became one of the most popular features in the Weekly Services
lineup.
May is the quintessential independent rural woman. In addition to her roles of SuperMom and SuperWife she can do all of her work on the farm as well as most of Sim's.
June is a country girl tomboy. She's wicked smart but bored by school and can't wait until she's old enough to take over the farm.
Tinker is Sim's brother. He has a firewood business and an aversion to marriage.
Millie Cooper is May's best friend and she also runs the local diner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Little History...
R.F.D. began in 1982 with a short run as a weekly comic strip in my hometown newspaper
The Littleton Courier (Littleton, NH). The strip featured rural humor starring The Poole Family -
Sim, May, June and Uncle Henry.
In 1983 The Union Leader (Manchester, NH) took the strip on a trial basis. A reader poll was used to
determine the strips fate. The response was less than overwhelming but it survived and was moved
to the comics page where it ran as a daily (six times a week) from May 1983 to May 1986, went on a
hiatus and ran again from March 1988 to April 1992. The New Hampshire-flavored strip garnered a
larger, statewide readership with The Union Leader and became a reader favorite.
Over the years I had been submitting R.F.D. every couple of years to the comics syndicates.
Success was finally achieved in 1992 when King Features added R.F.D. to their Weekly Services
package. The strip was back to being a weekly and the Pooles had to lose their New Hampshire
accents but now they were being read all around the country. It began running with King Features in
May of 1992 and became one of the most popular features in the Weekly Services
lineup.
About Mike... I had a rural, small-town upbringing around farms in the North Country of New Hampshire. A mostly self-taught artist, I've been drawing all my life and cartooning since high school. I worked in factories, newspaper production and print shops before becoming a full-time cartoonist in 1988. |