10 Things You Probably Already Know About F Minus

F Minus has now been appearing in newspapers daily for 10 years! I thought it would be appropriate to present a 10-point listicle of facts that you, the die-hard F Minus fans, are no doubt already well aware of, but will probably scroll through anyway just to make sure.

1. F Minus #1: Business Raccoon



Ten years ago, the top song was Bad Day by Daniel Powter. The Academy Award for Best Picture went to Crash. Iran announced it had enriched uranium. It was a big year for negativity. But despite the name F Minus, I like to think my comic reflects an overall positive outlook on life. The comic above was the first F Minus published in syndication way back on April 17, 2006. It shows a young raccoon, ill-prepared for life in the wild by some well-meaning animal lovers. Nevertheless, he's got a cup of joe and a spring in his step, and I'll bet he did all right for himself. 

2. F Minus Has Hidden Art History References



Once in a while, I will incorporate a subtle salute to my favorite artists in F Minus, just to amuse myself and see if anyone will notice. A sharp-eyed reader observed that the little girl eating a pizza man in the comic above bears a striking resemblance to Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya. Maybe I'll start giving out prizes to readers who spot a reference. Not that anything I could give out could be better than the self-satisfaction you'll feel by being right. 

3. F Minus Enshrined In Tattoo Form



Beloved F Minus character Tea-Time Clown has been permanently stabbed into the flesh of at least two sensible fans. There are rumors of two other F Minus based "tats" (as they would prefer you not call them) but I'm still waiting on photo verification. Please contact me if you'd like some reference art for your F Minus tattoo. (Tattoo above by Cohen Floch.)

4. F Minus Locations Are Real Places



Most of F Minus seems to be based in my hometown of Tempe, Arizona. Nello's Pizza, Arizona State University, Fiesta Mall, and Ted's Hot Dogs have all made appearances. Most F Minus comics were created at Gold Bar Espresso, which became my office away from home. A few years ago I moved to California, and while there are now more beach comics than before, in my mind, Arizona is still the center of the F Minus universe. 

5. F Minus Is All Digital



For years now, F Minus has been 100 percent digitally produced, with the help of a Wacom tablet. The first few years of F Minus were pen and paper, which I would then scan and edit with Photoshop. Eventually I felt comfortable enough using the tablet to make the switch. When I'm asked if I regret not having original drawings on paper anymore, I respond with an exaggerated shrug. Try it sometime! I find it's a great way to end a conversation you're not enjoying. 

6. St. Louis Feud 



I once drew a comic that featured a "Visit St. Louis" mug. A resident of St. Louis felt I was making fun of his great city, and wrote me a long email explaining how wrong I was. Naturally, any time I need a city to make fun of, I now choose St. Louis. I've never been there, and I'm sure it's a great place. Please don't take it personally, St. Louisans. This is really just about that one guy. You probably know who he is. 

7. Veejay For A Day



When F Minus won the mtvU Strips contest over a decade ago, I was invited to MTV's college network studios to be interviewed on air and and to introduce a new Gorillaz music video. They gave me a VHS copy (Google it, kids) of my performance which is now buried somewhere in my storage. I no longer own a VCR, but no one needs to see that tape anyway. Let's just say, I'm no Pauly Shore. 

8. F Minus Was Hacked!



Earlier this year, the F Minus website was hacked and redirected to a pornographic website. In a way, I'm flattered they thought this would increase their traffic enough to be worth the effort. I'm using it as a reason to give the site a much needed update. In the meantime, fmin.us will now take you to the F Minus Facebook fan page. Like it or lump it. 

9. An End to Hate



Longtime fans may recall I used to publish hate mail I received along with my responses. It was all in good fun, but eventually, antagonizing random unpleasant people on the internet started to wear on me. I decided to quit, for my own well-being. Not that I don't still get jerky emails now and then, but now I ignore them or just send my trusty auto-reply, seen above.  

10. F Minus Surpasses Seinfeld



Hitting the 10-year mark, F Minus has now been published a full year longer than the run of the hit TV series Seinfeld, which capped out at nine seasons. Even more impressive, F Minus achieved this with only a tiny fraction of the popularity and notoriety of the celebrated show. Look out, Two and a Half Men, we're coming for you next!

And that makes 10 things. Whew! Writing lists is hard. Glad I don't have to do that again for 10 more years. I probably should have made that tenth item a link to the F Minus Instagram account at fminuscomics or the F Minus twitter page @fminus. *shrug

Most of all, I want to thank all you amazing people for reading F Minus all these years and for putting your favorites on the refrigerator or your Facebook wall. I hope you continue to enjoy F Minus and use it as a compatibility test with new potential friends. 

Ten more years! Ten more years! Or maybe less! We'll just see! 

We did it! Sort of!

ASU is now asking students and alumni to vote on four slightly different versions of the new Sparky mascot now through May 5th. Based on the comments I'm seeing online, this is the version getting the most votes: 

Look familiar? 

It may never be official, but I heard through some contacts on the inside that my Sparky may have had some influence on the results. Either way, I'll be calling him "My Sparky" from now on. 

By the way ASU, if I receive an anonymous package containing a Sparky mug, T-shirt, and maybe one of those foam fingers, we'll call it even. 

F Minus Nominated for NCS Award

F Minus has been nominated for a National Cartoonist Society Award in the Newspaper Panel category! This is for comics published during 2012. The winners will be announced Saturday May 25th at the Reuben Awards dinner. 

Take a trip down Memory Boulevard with this sample of F Minus comics from 2012: (There's a major pileup on Memory Lane, gonna take hours to clear, use Memory Frontage Road if necessary)

New Sparky Update

I have received a nice response to my new Sparky design, but decided to give you a cape-free version, since a few vocal commenters (who may not have read the entire post) are violently against the cape. The cape was always intended to be formal wear option, so I don't mind showing you Sparky's everyday active-wear look. I might also design a business casual Sparky, or even a beach-time fun Sparky.

Michael Keaton Sparky

There's a major controversy boiling over at my alma mater, Arizona State University. A contemporary redesign by Disney of our beloved mascot Sparky has received outrage from students and alumni alike, prompting a re-redesign.

 From left to right: Disgruntled old Sparky, cocky new Sparky

Since the university is now asking for input from the public, I felt obligated to offer a design concept. And since I got my Fine Arts degree from ASU, if they don't like it, they have no one to blame but themselves.

First of all, I don't totally hate the new Sparky the way most people seem to. Yes, he looks like something you might pull out of the claw game at a bowling alley. Yes, he looks like he just got back from the optometrist for an eye dilation. But some aspects of the new design are pretty cool.

We may not be ready for this futuristic Sparky, but let's not forget to turn a critical eye to the old Sparky. We can all agree that Christian Bale's Batman is miles ahead of Adam West, but we still needed Michael Keaton to get us there. (This will not be my last Batman reference) So what I did is take a little bit of old Sparky, mixed in some new Sparky, and set it at a low broil for about eight hours.

I present to you, Michael Keaton Sparky:

Let me take you through this.

Something Old: I think everyone likes Sparky's face. He's a devil, and he's up to some mischief, but he's got a twinkle in his eye that says stabbing you was all in good fun. However, the old face does have some weird elements.

The leeches on my face are medicinal.

Those maroon slugs are meant to represent eyebrows, mustache, dimples, and whatever is going on with his chin. It creeps me out. The eyebrows and mustache are important to his character, but I think we can play down the dimples a little, and let the chin beard just add a subtle point to his heart-shaped face. Also, coloring the facial hair maroon suggests his horns are just a wolverine-style hairdo. Let's go with black.

Come on! Let's get nuts!

Old Sparky's teeth look like they are about to slide open horizontally like Star Trek doors. With one line I suggest the hint of a second row, giving Sparky a gnashing grin.

Something New: I think new Sparky's costume is pretty cool. For too long he's been trotting around in those warm-up sweats. Now it looks like he's in the game. From a practical standpoint, those shoulder pads are important. If Wilbur the Wildcat comes sneaking around our water coolers, Sparky just might have to take him out. The last thing we need is for Sparky to struggle through dozens of push-ups with a dislocated shoulder.

Also, I like the gauntlets. Batman has gauntlets. Besides, at some point he's going to need to throw them down. Yes, there is a chance they might take out a cheerleader's eye, but that's the risk you take when you dance with the devil.

There was some talk of a tail. Now listen, I spent some time as a costumed character in my college days, and tails are non-stop trouble. The tail is out. Let's just say he tucks it down a pant leg.

Something Borrowed: Bear with me on this. Several years ago I got to see James Brown perform live. At some point during the concert he looked like he just couldn't go on, and his MC draped a cape over his shoulders and led him away. Suddenly, he turned and threw the cape away and BAM! Sex machine. The crowd went wild. I think Sparky should employ this at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Keep in mind, he would not wear the cape most of the time. He needs freedom to move. But he could enter the stadium wearing it like Rocky Balboa. The outside of the cape should be golden like the nuclear fires of the sun from which Sparky was born.

Batman wears a cape. 

CLICK HERE FOR CAPE-FREE OPTION

Nothing Blue: Because that wouldn't make sense.

So there you have it. My contribution to the Arizona State legacy. Since F Minus got its start there, and is still published in the student newspaper, The State Press, I'm hoping it will get some consideration. And because of our history, if they want to use it, I will only charge half of whatever they paid Disney.

F Minus: The First Ten Years

 A decade-old F Minus

This month marks the ten year anniversary of the very first appearance of F Minus in The State Press, the student newspaper at Arizona State University. Ten!

It was a very different world back in 2003. We didn't have the fancy iPhones or Facebook you kids enjoy today. We had Myspace. And our cell phones had real buttons! It was miserable.

But there were some bright points. Eminem taught us to lose ourselves in the music. Jennifer Aniston took home a hard-earned Golden Globe for her work in the hit TV series Friends. I started wearing aviator sunglasses like my hero Jack Bauer. North Korea formally withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (They were jerks anyway.)

 Pictured above: Aviators

Thanks to all the F Minus fans who have been around since the very beginning. Some of you may still have your F Minus Fan Club laminated ID cards, or a copy of my self-published comic book. Someday those things are going to be real collector's items. I know, I say that every decade.

Team Cul De Sac Auction

When Richard Thompson (the cartoonist behind the comic strip Cul De Sac) was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, his friend Chris Sparks launched the fundraising effort Team Cul De Sac. They asked cartoonists across the country to draw Richard's characters. Hundreds of cartoonists responded. The artwork was compiled into a book available now, and the original artwork is being auctioned to raise additional money to benefit Team Fox, the fundraising arm of the Michael J. Fox Foundation that is working to find a cure for Parkinson's disease.

The contributing cartoonists include Stephen Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Sergio Aragones (Mad), and even Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes. (Wait, really?) Yep.

Below is my own contribution. A charcoal portrait of the Cul De Sac characters Alice and Petey Otterloop.  

Go here to bid on the original 12X12 artwork.

TSA Express Lane

Yesterday I posted this comic from 2010 on the F Minus Facebook page for F Minus Day. (6 years in syndication!)

Meanwhile, in Oregon, a disgruntled traveller named John E. Brennan brought this comic to life.

Read the full story at the Huffington Post. Best F Minus day ever!

Love F Minus Style

Several weeks ago I got an email from a guy named Kevin:

"Hello Tony,

The Butter Up:
Everyday my girlfriend, Cierra, and I read aloud the comics in the Sacramento Bee. We've progressed to the point where each character has a specific voice. Specific enough that we know which strip the other is reading without being told. And loud enough that our neighbors probably hate us. Each day she says to me, "F Minus is my favorite one!" She loves your humor and she loves how short each strip is. She might even stop reading the paper if they nixed your strip. (Unconfirmed. Study pending)

The Point:
I'm going to ask her to marry me. I was wondering if it would be possible to have one strip in one days paper be the proposal. Something simple like your strips already are and something funny. Before you ask, no, I don't have any idea what I want. This is really just me wondering if it's possible. If you decide to respond to this email then all I'm really asking is this: Would you be willing? And what would be the price?

The End:
Thank you very much for the daily entertainment. It's always a pleasure heading down the line of comics and seeing F Minus lined up for the next reading.

Sincerely, Kevin"

So I wrote back:

"OK Kevin, I'm in. But if we're going to do this, we're going to do it my way.

I have always wanted to say that.
First we need to have a serious talk before I can give my blessing. Marriage is a big step. I need to know you two are the real deal before I put the F Minus stamp of approval on the marriage certificate. (Yes, I had a stamp made at Staples) Are you going to stick it out in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for Baby Blues or For Better or For Worse? I'm going to need a synopsis of your relationship. Keep it succinct, I don't have all day.

By the way, are you sure she'll say yes? If not, that could be embarrassing. For both of us. The comic proposal is not entirely unlike the Jumbo-tron proposal at a sporting event, most of which start with a "yes" in front of the crowd, but end with a "No, how could you do this to me?" eight minutes later out by the Dippin' Dots stand. I just want to be sure she's going to dig this plan.
Let's assume you two are good for each other and you're at least 70% sure of a "yes" answer. I have only two more stipulations. The comic has to be funny (or at least make sense) to anyone uninvolved in the proposal. That means only you, me, Cierra, and possibly your paperboy should realize something is up. I don't want to knowingly publish a comic that will confuse my readers, even though I unintentionally confuse most of them every day. I didn't even use the comic to propose to my girlfriend. But that was because I wasn't sure if she read F Minus anymore.
Besides, I don't like it when comics break character to deliver a message, even if it's a good one. That's why when you see other comic strips making a coordinated effort to get you to care about the environment or something, F Minus never participates. It's not that I don't care about the environment, Kevin. No one cares about the environment more than me. No one.

Anyhoo, stipulation two (or four, or whatever) is that after all is said and done, you allow me to publish your story and our correspondence on the F Minus blog. Up until now I have used my blog mainly to share the hate mail I receive, and I think my readers have earned a positive story for once, don't you?
If this seems acceptable to you, then we can start brainstorming some ideas. Right now I have to go to bed because my wife is trying to sleep and I can tell my typing is annoying her. (sigh) Wives! Am I right?

Best,
Tony Carrillo"

Kevin wrote back and filled me in on their relationship:

"We met two weeks ago on World of Warcraft. We haven't officially met, but I know she's the one! OK, that was a lie, I'm sorry. Let me start with saying this: I love her. I have never loved anyone more. I have stopped watching episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Firefly for her. That's hard to do. Anyway, we've known each other for about five years. We met at work. I was into her, she...was not. We reconnected after a 3 year hiatus about a year ago and have been dating ever since. She's 23 and I'm 26. We aren't religious but we are waiting to get married before living together. Statistics and all that. We did the long-ish distance (3 hours away) relationship for 5 months and came out unbruised. We've never had a fight (yet), her family loves me and mine her, and she stuck around after seeing a three foot long Lego Star Destroyer reverently placed on my dresser.
That is also why I know she's in this for the long haul. If that doesn't send a girl running then nothing will. She is cheesy, tacky, intelligent and beautiful. And now, thanks to a little help from me, a raging nerd. She will say yes, of that I am 100% certain. Otherwise, all the engagement ring link's she's been sending me are very, very cruel.
I am completely on board with making the strip funny and not in the least bit confusing for those not in the loop. We can discuss how to make it obvious to her while leaving the unaware reader, well, unaware.
As for putting our story in your blog, I would be offended if you didn't! Well, not offended. Perhaps mildly put out for an hour or so. But yes, of course you may."

I was sold.

"Kevin, if there's one thing I support, it's nerd love. I'm in a nerdy relationship myself. Let's make this happen."

Kevin and I wrote back and forth a few times, hammering out the details. I sent him the comic ahead of time for approval:

He gave it the thumbs up, so I sent it in. When the big day came I waited to hear how it went. That night he contacted me:
"She said yes, of course! She also loved the comic, laughed out loud and everything!"

Success!

Congratulations to the happy couple! I wish them a long and happy life together, built on a solid foundation of offbeat single-panel cartoons. Check out the story about them today in the Sacramento Bee.

Hate Mail! Art Attack

"Tony Currillo, I have long thought that “F Minus” was too high a grade to assign to your one-panel comic drawings. But it occurred to me just today that the ideas may be great (e.g. husband wants erotica-themed funeral) but the impact is greatly diminished by the almost juvenile art work. Alas, there’s probably nothing you can do about that now – but it’s a shame to have those good concepts go to waste."
-(Jackwagon)


Dear Jack, How's this for juvenile art?Sincerely, -Tony Carrillo

I might be overusing this image, but it's useful in so many situations.

F Minus on GoComics.com

Be sure to check out the new home of daily F Minus comics at GoComics.com. If you have the old Comics.com site bookmarked, it will redirect to the new page, saving you valuable seconds. Enjoy!

Mell's Piano

I recently got to visit the home of legendary cartoonist Mell Lazarus (Momma, Miss Peach) who basically invented cartooning, I think. I'm not sure because I kept getting distracted from his stories by this piano covered in cartoons!

It has doodles and signatures from hundreds of cartoonists, including Charles Schultz and Garry Trudeau. When Mell wasn't looking I grabbed a pen.

He caught me.

I drew a small self portrait between Dave Berg (Mad magazine) and Tom Gammill (The Doozies). Tom did a video about the piano you really should see.

Mell let me finish, then explained that this was why he only keeps dry-erase markers in this room.

Thank you to Mell and Sally for a great night.

(These last photos are from Tom Richmond's Blog)

Bed Bunnies

Today's comic was inspired by a real-live event. I was staying in the second-worst hotel I've ever seen (the first being a hotel in Mexico where I stayed as an international hostage in a commercial fishing dispute; true story) and I was laying in the bed, which I noticed was kind of lumpy. I got up to investigate, and between the mattress and the box-spring I found this: A few scenarios ran through my mind as to how a plastic, light-up bunny ornament got under my mattress. None of them made me feel any better about the thoroughness of the hotel maids.
I've always wondered, how do bed bugs know to set up shop in a bed? I think an insect that can differentiate beds from other types of furniture deserves more research.

Everybody likes dune buggies!

I got my caricature done today by the great Tom Richmond!

Stench Blossoms: Naming My Comic

Earlier this week I posted a link to my Frequently Asked Questions on the F Minus Facebook page, and asked if anyone had questions to add. There were several good ones, but one question inspired this post. Casey asked: "Did you have any other ideas for names of your comic besides F-?"
I hadn't thought about it in years, but I distinctly remembered sitting down and brainstorming names for my comic when I decided to apply to my college newspaper. I went to my closet and started going through the stacks of old sketchbooks. Sure enough, I found it:
I know it's hard to read. It was done with a light pencil and has faded over the years.

Naming your random panel comic requires a lot of consideration. There are no main characters to name it after, so it has to somehow convey the attitude of the comic. Three of the ideas are nods to some of my comedy heroes.

New Phonebooks- From a great scene in one of my favorite movies of all time, The Jerk.

Hello Tetanus!- Funny line from a Seinfeld episode.

Tremendous Sex Appeal- Somewhat obscure line from a Woody Allen movie.

I'm glad I didn't go with any of these. They had the right feel, but I think going with something original was the right idea. Plus, no nervous newspaper editor would buy Tremendous Sex Appeal. But remember, there are no bad ideas when brainstorming.

Slightly Imperfect- This was the front-runner for a while. It's from a sticker on a discount T-shirt I bought. My girlfriend made fun of me for it, so I had the sticker made into a button I would wear occasionally. Even though it had a good story behind it, I had some problems with it. My main issue was that it sounded a little TOO "offbeat screwball comic", if that makes any sense. I wanted something a little more distinctive and memorable, and even I had trouble remembering Slightly Imperfect without the button.

F Minus- F Minus won because I felt it best conveyed the attitude of the comic. Kind of pessimistic with a sarcastic edge, and silly at the same time. I thought the concept of somehow doing worse than failing was funny. Plus, it was succinct and memorable. I got a big red pen and wrote it on a piece of paper and scanned it. I've been using that as a logo ever since. It's right there at the top of this blog.

Incidentally, I later found out about a Southern California punk band called F-Minus, but they broke up in 2005. The way to tell us apart is the band uses a hyphen and I don't. Also, they have a female vocalist and I don't. One of their albums is called Wake Up Screaming, which I think would also make a good name for a comic.

In an episode of The Simpsons, Principal Skinner exclaims, "What the F Minus?" I doubt he was referring to my comic or the band, but it's still cool.

Speaking of The Simpsons:
Lisa: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
Bart: "Not if you call them Stench Blossoms."

Wanted

I make a special cameo appearance in F Minus once in a while, usually as a criminal of some kind.
I do the same thing for the local news.