Monroe (comic strip)

Monroe was an American comic strip which appeared exclusively in Mad Magazine.^[1]

The strip was first published in "Mad" in their April 1997 issue, #356.^[2] Originally "Monroe" was a pure black-and-white comic strip, written by Tony Barbieri and originally drawn by Bill Wray.^[3] In April 2006 ^[4] Wray left the magazine and the strip was continued from October 2006 on by Tom Fowler.^[5] Barbieri still wrote the scripts, occasionally assisted by Ryan Flanders. The last "Monroe" strip was published in issue #502, January 2010.^[6]

Concept

Monroe is a teenage boy with two antennae-like hairs on his otherwise bald head. Originally he was a preteen, but as the series progressed he became a teenager. Most gags center around Monroe failing to impress his schoolmates, the girls he adores and/or his parents. He often ends up being mocked or even beaten up by the local bullies. The style of humor can be described as black comedy and gross-out humor.^[7]

Characters

• Monroe: A young, gawky^[8] teenage boy who usually wears a striped sweater, baggy pants and an earring. He is a well-meaning, but often naïve teenager who often daydreams on improving his depressing state of life. He thinks up schemes to become more popular at school, especially among the girls he fancies, but these plans usually go disastrously wrong. While the circumstances are often not in Monroe's favor, he sometimes fails because he overestimates his own abilities or didn't think things through. Many gags end with Monroe being beaten up or threatened by local bully Dylan and his gang.
• Dylan: Dylan is a classmate of Monroe. He is a somewhat older and taller teenage boy who typically wears a black shirt and a tuque. He often taunts, threatens and bullies Monroe. A running gag in the series is that Dylan often makes pestering comments at Monroe's expense, causing his classmates to laugh: "Good one, Dylan!"
• Jolynda: A teenage girl at Monroe's school and the love of his life. Unfortunately, she is completely disinterested in him and even flat out looks down upon him. In some gags she manipulates Monroe into doing stuff for her. She is frequently seen in the presence of other teenage boys, especially Dylan.
• Monroe's mother: Monroe's mother is depicted as a chain-smoking woman who frequently comes on to other men, which often embarrasses Monroe. She divorced Monroe's father early in the strip, but the two reconciled and had another child.
• Monroe's father: Monroe's father is sleazy con artist who openly mocks and looks down on his son. He and his wife have a somewhat open relationship, looking at their spouse's infidelity with amusement.
• Monroe's grandfather: Originally he lived together with his wife, but she died in the course of the series, forcing him to move in at Monroe's house. He is depicted as a senile and aggressive man.
• Walter: Monroe's best friend. A hideously ugly though very intelligent kid, he looks up to Monroe and often tries to help him with his frequent troubles.
• Perry: Monroe's neglected baby brother.
• Tripod: Monroe's three-legged dog.

Sources