Below are a couple of character sheets from the original version of the strip circa 1981. As you can see the characters have evolved quite a bit over the years. There were a lot more of them also: Puck ran a bar, Eggs & Maxine ran the general store - that's their pet chicken Jasper - Clive was editor of the local paper, Burp ran the gas station, Oswald was the town dump attendant, Bull was the town cop, Burke was written out early on - don't really even remember him! - Millie is there - she had a husband back then. Over the years I've whittled it down to fewer characters, focussing mainly on Sim, May & June.
The logo has pretty much remained unchanged.
Character Tidbits
• That thing on Sim's hat is a fishing license holder that you pin to yourself - a nod to my foster father who always had one on his hat.
• Jasper is based on the pet rooster my brother had when he was around 5 years old - Jasper followed him everywhere and used to love having his comb stroked.
• Clive is based on an editor I worked with at the local weekly newspaper.
• Tinker is based on my brother Ed - he wore that toque year-round for awhile. Originally Tinker was not Sim's brother, his last name was Jones.
• I gave Millie and Phil a resemblance to my foster parents.
• Henry was originally named Bart (don't remember exactly why I changed it) and he was not Sim's uncle, just a neighbor.
The logo has pretty much remained unchanged.
Character Tidbits
• That thing on Sim's hat is a fishing license holder that you pin to yourself - a nod to my foster father who always had one on his hat.
• Jasper is based on the pet rooster my brother had when he was around 5 years old - Jasper followed him everywhere and used to love having his comb stroked.
• Clive is based on an editor I worked with at the local weekly newspaper.
• Tinker is based on my brother Ed - he wore that toque year-round for awhile. Originally Tinker was not Sim's brother, his last name was Jones.
• I gave Millie and Phil a resemblance to my foster parents.
• Henry was originally named Bart (don't remember exactly why I changed it) and he was not Sim's uncle, just a neighbor.