This Day in Drabble History: April 7th (Characters that have disappeared)

1983, 1987, 1989, 2016

Hi everybody!

I’ve mentioned before that sometimes characters just disappear from the strip without explanation. I’ve never intentionally decided to drop a character, it just happens. Before I know it, it’s been a year or more since the character has appeared, and the strip may have moved in a different direction. It’s weird.

I’ve really appreciated your comments about those characters, and the suggestion that you’d like to see them again in new strips. That’s what I like about the interaction in this newsletter. Your wish is my command, and the challenges are fun!

Today we’ll see a few of those old characters that have been missing for a few years.

April 7, 1983

It’s been a LOT of years since we’ve seen Neil. Maybe over 30! Neil resembles the character that I drew in my college newspaper. He was the main character in my submission to the syndicates in the late 70’s. He morphed into Norman Drabble sometime after I signed my first contract.

Wendy has not disappeared from Drabble, but she’s been scarce lately. She was Norman’s love interest, but the feelings weren’t mutual.

April 7, 1987

Darlene appeared in the mid-80’s. She was the opposite of Wendy. She loved Norman, but Norman remained clueless. The president of United Feature Syndicate sent me a letter to say how much he liked this character. Then she disappeared. No wonder I never struck it rich.

April 7, 1989

April 7, 2016

The weird character with all the paddles is Roly Poly, the college mascot. (The college felt that other mascot suggestions were too violent, so they settled a roly poly bug.) He cheered at all the games and events. Somehow, all six of his hands worked. (You can do anything in the comics!)

Also in this strip is Norman’s fellow nerd Stu (with the pocket protector) and their friend Elgin Carp (playing ping pong). If the name Elgin Carp sounds familiar, you have probably driven through eastern Nevada on Interstate 15.

Will we ever see these characters in Drabble again? If so, just remember— you asked for it!

Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!

—Kevin Fagan

Copyright Kevin Fagan