Pluggers

Pluggers is a comic panel created by Jeff MacNelly in 1993 that relies on reader submissions (referred to as "Pluggerisms") for the premise of each day's panel. Editorial cartoonist Gary Brookins took over in 1997, three years prior to MacNelly's death from lymphoma in 2000.

It is syndicated by Tribune Media Services in 60 newspapers, mostly in the Southern, Mid-West, Plains, and Rocky Mountain states.

Content

In the context of this strip, "pluggers" are defined as blue-collar workers who live a typical working-class American lifestyle, accompanied by a mentality characteristic of the veteran and Baby Boomer generations. In the comic, pluggers are portrayed in the form of anthropomorphic animals, most often a plump bear, dog, chicken, or rhinoceros, sometimes a kangaroo or a cat.

Current characters

• Andy Bear is a father of three who works as a foreman and estimator at construction company. He is married to Sheila Roo.^[1]
• Sheila Roo is an aerobics instructor from Australia and the wife of Andy Bear.^[1]
• Carl Rhinowski, a rhinoceros construction worker.^[1]
• Earl Houndstooth, a dog, married to Henrietta Beak.^[2]
• Henrietta Beak, a hen, married to Earl Houndstooth.^[2]

Past characters

• Hamilton Ivory, Andy's technophobic employer.^[1]
• Ginger, a canine café owner.^[1]
• Alan Litigator, a lawyer and alligator.^[1]
• Moose K. MacMoose III, a wealthy, retired moose.^[1]
• Dingo, a bear cub.^[1]
• DeeDee Doo, a hair stylist who, being a bird, actually has no hair of her own.^[1]
• Arthur Goldwyn, a salesman lion.^[1]

Criticism of strip

The blog Comics Curmudgeon often pokes fun at the comic and its implied populist stance,^[3] referring to it as a "folksy bit of lower-middle-class reactionary agitprop." ^[4]

Dave Eggers from Salon.com criticized the strip for lionizing the working class, despite being written by a committee of "current and former CEOs" and objected to "the self-important and vaguely jingoistic way the creators promote the cartoon".^[5]

Gary Brookins himself argues that "Pluggers are self-deprecating and have a healthy sense of humor about themselves. They represent the majority of us who don't live for the latest trend, who keep plugging along without fanfare and try to balance work, play and family life." ^[6]

References

External links

• Pluggers on GoComics