FoxTrot: A FoxTrot Collection

FoxTrot (B&W) #1

by Bill Amend

Bill Amend uses a keen sense of family dynamics to distill present-day life in this comic collection. A look at living through the eyes of the Fox family and their pet iguana.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comic Strips, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Cartoon, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Bill Amend is an American cartoonist, best known for his comic strip FoxTrot.
Born as William J. C. Amend III, Amend attended high school in Burlingame, California where he was a cartoonist on his school newspaper. Amend is an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. He attended Amherst College, where he drew comics for the college paper. He majored in physics and graduated in 1984.
After a short time in the animation business, Amend decided to pursue a cartooning career and signed on with Universal Press Syndicate. FoxTrot first appeared on April 10, 1988.
Amend currently lives in the midwestern United States with his wife and two children, a boy and girl.

Reviews

[James Swenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even in the first strips, the characters seem fully formed -- a lot of their interests and defining characteristics are present from the beginning.

[Valerie]

Being chronologically the 1st collection, naturally this starts with the genesis strip. Several semi-regular characters (Marcus and Denise are all I've seen so far) are introduced in this book.

Amend's style develops into recognizable form fairly early on. The first strips are fairly rough, as he experiments with movement patterns, etc. Then he gets comfortable (familiar, really) with the setting and characters.

Oddly, I recognized the first strip. It would have come out about 1988. I may very well have seen it in the newspapers. Or maybe I've just read this collection before.

[Mita · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's no other way of saying it except that FoxTrot is made of awesome. Amen!

[Jack Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite comics from my childhood, and it still is today. I really like all of the characters, and some of the joke and scenarios are hilarious.

[Ray Dunsmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the few family sitcom newspaper comics that never really falls into dull retread and cliche - the rarest one that stays interesting and entertaining because the characters are so well-fleshed out and relatable, so realistic. If you spent a significant amount of time in America in the last thirty years or so, you've probably met this family. You've probably been this family. One of the brightest stars in the often-dim newspaper comic industry (then and now).

[Bryan Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book , while funny and a good start on Bill Amend's " Fox Trot " Comic Strip , is obviously a first effort !! Here , we have Roger ( The Dad " character !! ) actually WIN a game of chess, references to Bruce " The Boss " Springstein , and Jason , ( The geeky youngest child , ) is trying to devise various plans in order to NOT go to school !! This is in COMPLETE contrast with the much more interesting Jason of today !! Plus , the artwork is much cruder than it is today !! ( Naturally !! )

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introducing a marvelous central family who are defined right from the start, and slowly filling in the world with delightful side-characters, Foxtrot is a celebration of those hysterically funny moments that feel impossible to capture from the outside, because of their seeming normality. Upbeat, funny, and charming, this is a great beginning to my favorite strip.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten how good this is.

[Mock Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as a kid. Enjoyable for back then

[Ragini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mowgli rates

[Lucinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

lots of fun

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read it 4 times, I think I like it.

[Jesse Keeter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early stuff. Pretty good, but nice to know it gets even better. I started with the later stuff and fell in love. Fun to see where it all started.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

(includes 10th anniversary poster)

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing our recent fascination with all things Foxtrot, we all zipped through this early anthology of the popular comic strip by Bill Amend.

I really enjoy this comic strip, but after reading several different anthologies, the jokes are starting to feel a bit worn out. Still, I really enjoyed seeing older versions of the characters. Like my beloved Garfield strip from my childhood, it's interesting to see how the artist's drawing style changes over time.

Since the book features strips from about more than two decades ago, quite a bit of the pop culture references are very dated, and our girls didn't get all of them. And I had to really laugh at the technology (computers, phones, VHS videos (and movie rental stores!), typewriters, etc.), since it's so ancient, yet I remember what life was like back then.

On the whole, it's an entertaining book with many witty observations about family life in America. I loved Bill Watterson's foreward, especially his commentary on the sincerity of this strip and its humorous and truthful observations of human nature. We all enjoyed reading it.

[Narariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start of the Fox family's adventures is an excellent light read & has touches of nostalgia, both within the comic (Andy's haircut that last throughout the rest of the comic) & in the details of life "back then" (such as the newspaper headlines featuring the models & sports stars of the 90s.) My favorite strips of the book include Peter meeting Denise & the two of them learning to be in a relationship, Roger dealing with the computer, & Jason as a were-iguana.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This introduction to the Fox family is notable also for the view of Amend's early cartooning style, which has become more polished and sophisticated over the years. There's plenty of sibling rivalry among Peter, Paige and Jason, and an early look at how strange their father, Roger, can be.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an older comic strip. The faces aren't all developed like they are now. Kinda like when the Simpsons were on the Tracy Allman show. They looked less defined then they do now.

[Warren Sartor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The foxtrot books are SO awesome and funny! Would recommend the series to anyone

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome collection of the original foxtrot comic strips.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

great graphic novel about the comci stip(the name is the same as the book)

[Hayden Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it and try not to laugh.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always made me smile.

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are still early strips and they're a little rough. That being said, they're funny and they're setting the stage for the good things to come.

[Vader · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran out of books to read so I grabbed this golden oldie off the bookshelf. It was fun!

It's pure 80s (1987 to be exact). Loved it!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The usual Foxtrot family hilarity. I think this is the first collection, so the art is kind of weird, but the humor is on-point as always.

[Book Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The very start of Fox Trot. Quite enjoyable and lovely to see Denise and Marcus for the very first time in this book.