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Non Sequitur's Sunday Color Treasury
Non Sequitur creator Wiley Miller truly broke the cartoon mold when he first published his strip in 1992. This hugely popular cartoon is chock-full of witty observations on life's idiosyncrasies. The name of the comic strip comes from the Latin translation of "it does not follow." Each strip or panel stands on its own individual merits. Strips do not follow in a sequence and are not related. Non Sequitur's characters are not central to the plot; the humor is.
Before it was even a year old, Non Sequitur was named the Best Newspaper Comic Strip of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society. With an ever-expanding cult following, this quirky cartoon is set in no specific time period or place. It is a whimsical yet flippant look at everyday life.
Before it was even a year old, Non Sequitur was named the Best Newspaper Comic Strip of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society. With an ever-expanding cult following, this quirky cartoon is set in no specific time period or place. It is a whimsical yet flippant look at everyday life.
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2005
42 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Wiley Miller
37 books16 followersI began my career in art illustrating educational films. But my interest was always in print and cartooning, so in 1977 I moved from film in Southern California to work as a staff artist and editorial cartoonist for the Greensboro Daily News and the Greensboro Record (they were the morning and evening papers at the time and have since merged into one).
In 1979 I moved on to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Ca.), as doing the staff art for one paper instead of two gave me more time to do editorial cartoons.
My editorial cartoons then went into syndication with Copley News Service in 1980.
Unfortunately, I was laid off in the recession of 1981, which, fortunately, led me to create my first comic strip, "Fenton", which was syndicated by Field Syndicate. It had moderate success, but my love was still with editorial cartooning.
When the position came open at the San Francisco Examiner in 1984, I went for it and somehow got it. I enjoyed a good run there until the recession of 1991 hit in the wake of the Gulf War.
Learning from my previous experience with recessions and the lack of job security for anyone in art, I decided to make my way out before the ax fell and created Non Sequitur, which went into syndication with the Washington Post Writers Group in 1992. It was met with immediate success, but it's growth with a small syndicate was limited.
When I reached that limit, I moved over to Universal Press Syndicate in 2000, where the strip now appears in 800 papers world wide.
Now, of course, I taken a new turn in my career, taking a story I did in the Sunday editions in 2005 called "Ordinary Basil" and made it into my first children's book with Blue Sky Press (a Scholastic imprint).
The second book in the series, "Attack of the Volcano Monkeys", came out a year later, with a third book now in the works.
In 1979 I moved on to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Ca.), as doing the staff art for one paper instead of two gave me more time to do editorial cartoons.
My editorial cartoons then went into syndication with Copley News Service in 1980.
Unfortunately, I was laid off in the recession of 1981, which, fortunately, led me to create my first comic strip, "Fenton", which was syndicated by Field Syndicate. It had moderate success, but my love was still with editorial cartooning.
When the position came open at the San Francisco Examiner in 1984, I went for it and somehow got it. I enjoyed a good run there until the recession of 1991 hit in the wake of the Gulf War.
Learning from my previous experience with recessions and the lack of job security for anyone in art, I decided to make my way out before the ax fell and created Non Sequitur, which went into syndication with the Washington Post Writers Group in 1992. It was met with immediate success, but it's growth with a small syndicate was limited.
When I reached that limit, I moved over to Universal Press Syndicate in 2000, where the strip now appears in 800 papers world wide.
Now, of course, I taken a new turn in my career, taking a story I did in the Sunday editions in 2005 called "Ordinary Basil" and made it into my first children's book with Blue Sky Press (a Scholastic imprint).
The second book in the series, "Attack of the Volcano Monkeys", came out a year later, with a third book now in the works.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 10, 2024
Witty, acerbic, and informative
Comic anthology, political and social commentary
Wiley Riley has many pithy observations about life and social trends in this collection of his early work. The short narratives about his frustrations due to technology and how much work doing color in the early days of newspapers were enlightening. When computers and software made the the process easier, yet tradition-bound editors refused to change, Wiley pushed the envelope, and pressure from other cartoonists forced change, making the process less of an ordeal and gave more time for creativity.
For those who whine about nostalgia, that "we have lost our way, bring back the good old days" and Flo brings out the sign that says "Whites Only" in rebuttal? A gem! Nostalgia has its place, but not as a political or social critique; the people doing so often believe they are shortchanged by social change, while the rest of us buckle down and get back to work.
The collection covers the early years of Riley's cartoons, with most of them covering the 1990s through 2004. Some of the observations still bite, but some of the players may be unknown to the newest readers, especially those without a solid grounding in history. And that is sad. The only odd bit was the page numbers didn't always advance consistently, and it's likely that being able to switch to landscape view might have fixed that issue, but the Kindle didn't adjust when turned. Software limitations?
Overall, this collection and Riley's narratives were enjoyed.
Comic anthology, political and social commentary
Wiley Riley has many pithy observations about life and social trends in this collection of his early work. The short narratives about his frustrations due to technology and how much work doing color in the early days of newspapers were enlightening. When computers and software made the the process easier, yet tradition-bound editors refused to change, Wiley pushed the envelope, and pressure from other cartoonists forced change, making the process less of an ordeal and gave more time for creativity.
For those who whine about nostalgia, that "we have lost our way, bring back the good old days" and Flo brings out the sign that says "Whites Only" in rebuttal? A gem! Nostalgia has its place, but not as a political or social critique; the people doing so often believe they are shortchanged by social change, while the rest of us buckle down and get back to work.
The collection covers the early years of Riley's cartoons, with most of them covering the 1990s through 2004. Some of the observations still bite, but some of the players may be unknown to the newest readers, especially those without a solid grounding in history. And that is sad. The only odd bit was the page numbers didn't always advance consistently, and it's likely that being able to switch to landscape view might have fixed that issue, but the Kindle didn't adjust when turned. Software limitations?
Overall, this collection and Riley's narratives were enjoyed.
October 15, 2020
Good collection of Sunday strips with the stories and inspiration behind them.
July 8, 2025
Too many election comics
May 27, 2024
If you like NS, this is a fun treasury full of fun and insightful comments from Wiley.
The digital format I read it in? Not the best way to read it.
The digital format I read it in? Not the best way to read it.
January 4, 2008
This is a collection of selected Sunday color comic strips.
Like the title of the strip alludes to (if you know latin) the subject of the strip can change at any time. He varies between full-on political satire, to random funnies, to related strips with a collection of characters-my favorites of those kinds are Off Shore Flo (a Maine bar, with fantastically made up fishing stories), Danae and Lucy (a cynical and bitter little girl and her horse), and Homer (a soul who keeps getting reincarnated and dying quickly because he enjoys heaven so much...and he's too dumb to stay alive).
The political satires are my least favorite. First, because I'm not politically minded enough to seek out that subject to read for enjoyment purposes, and second, because he seems to bash both parties in turn. Politics seems like an easy target, and a lot of the humor in his political comics seems like pot shots.
Other than the political comics, I enjoyed all the rest, and there were several flat-out hilarious ones. He's very creative, and each one of his related strips has enough in it to make a long running strip, so it's always sad for fans of a certain strip when he moves on to the next thing.
Also, it must be said that his coloring is amazingly inventive and gorgeous. Also, he usually does vertical comic strips, and he uses the format to his advantage. They're beautiful comics to look at, and you can tell that effort has been put into them.
As for the actual book, I feel like more comics could have easily fit. There are several pages with only 1 comic, leaving a lot of blank space. There was good variety, and covered comics throughout his entire career, I just wished there were more!
Like the title of the strip alludes to (if you know latin) the subject of the strip can change at any time. He varies between full-on political satire, to random funnies, to related strips with a collection of characters-my favorites of those kinds are Off Shore Flo (a Maine bar, with fantastically made up fishing stories), Danae and Lucy (a cynical and bitter little girl and her horse), and Homer (a soul who keeps getting reincarnated and dying quickly because he enjoys heaven so much...and he's too dumb to stay alive).
The political satires are my least favorite. First, because I'm not politically minded enough to seek out that subject to read for enjoyment purposes, and second, because he seems to bash both parties in turn. Politics seems like an easy target, and a lot of the humor in his political comics seems like pot shots.
Other than the political comics, I enjoyed all the rest, and there were several flat-out hilarious ones. He's very creative, and each one of his related strips has enough in it to make a long running strip, so it's always sad for fans of a certain strip when he moves on to the next thing.
Also, it must be said that his coloring is amazingly inventive and gorgeous. Also, he usually does vertical comic strips, and he uses the format to his advantage. They're beautiful comics to look at, and you can tell that effort has been put into them.
As for the actual book, I feel like more comics could have easily fit. There are several pages with only 1 comic, leaving a lot of blank space. There was good variety, and covered comics throughout his entire career, I just wished there were more!
April 2, 2016
Wiley Miller is the rare cartoonist who makes me laugh aloud more often than not. Although his work can be highly political, he varies his material among a wide assortment of characters, which so far has kept him from getting into a rut. This collection features his Sunday strips, and his interest in improving color quality in the comics pages.
September 8, 2011
this bookhas the most interesting description of color seperation in comic strips you're likely to read. lots of wonderful characters and their origins ie Lucy, the Gravesytes, Eddie and Flo. not enough of my favourite characters, Kate and Brenda
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews