2. Introduction
By Brett A. Fisher
Greetings! My name is Brett Fisher, and I’ve been drawing cartoons since I
was ten years old.
I’ve been published in a few small publications over the years, including
my high school and college newspapers, local weeklies, and even a local
online news page.
I earned a bachelor of arts degree in liberal studies/social sciences from
Oregon State University in 1999, and I spent a decade performing various
para-professional tasks in newspaper journalism; including time spent as a
reporter and an editor.
I also worked nearly nine years in state government as a low-level
bureaucrat.
My wife and I have been married for going on ten years. We have one
adopted child, two god-children, and one grand god-child. We served as
foster parents for four years as well.
The comic strip you will read about on the following slides represents the
culmination of a lifelong pursuit of mine. It has taken me 20 years to
summon the courage to submit this story for publication, primarily
because a good comic strip relates well to the lives of readers. I wanted to
make sure I had garnered enough life experience to know what I was
talking about when telling a story that people can appreciate.
The story of “Utopia” is about family, work and careers, middle-aged
crises, parenthood, retirement, the golden years, and any number of
subtle nuances that life of the average “rat racer” entails.
I spent over 20 years in the rat race myself, trying hard to work my way up
a ladder to no where special. I realized a couple of years ago what I had
been doing, and how much of my time had been wasted focused on the
proverbial brass ring of success.
One of the main characters of this strip, Jim Bob Ratson, is loosely
modeled after me and work I did for state government. He is frequently
lamenting his job, his career, and ponders how pointless his work seems.
He wants more out of life than three hots, a cot, and a pension. But he
feels obligated to suffer through the rat race for the sake of his family,
including the expectations of his elderly parents.
In truth, life is indeed more than that, as I have been learning. And, so Jim
Bob will be learning as the story goes along.
My goal with this comic strip is to tell a story that appeals to a broad
audience of readers: from professionals with young families and aging
parents, to retirees having entered their golden years, to co-workers
having to co-exist in the dog-eat-dog world of the rat race.
I hope you enjoy reading this strip as much as I have enjoyed authoring it.
I look forward to your feedback.
Sincerely,
Brett A. Fisher
3. Story Synopsis
By Brett A. Fisher
Welcome to Utopia, not exactly the perfect place on Earth but it’ll have to
do. This is the story of the “rat race,” as told by three generations of—you
guessed it—rats. Utopia is the story of the “rat race” told by those who
have run their race, those still running it, and those yet to run it.
Meet The Ratson family. There’s J.R. and Stella, the parents who live in a
retirement community called Utopia Senior Living.
J.R. Ratson (James Robert Ratson, Sr.) is a retired city sewer technician and
Stella is a retired homemaker. J.R. is sociable in the community, but a bit
cantankerous. He likes to complain about pretty much everything; but
especially about his health, the food at the facility, and the temperature,
which is often too cold for him. Stella is more mellow than her spouse, but
even she can take to complaining about Utopia; especially the younger
female staff. Both enjoy the company of their friends and peers, as well as
regular visits from their son and his family. They also interact regularly with
staff, from the cafeteria servers, the janitor, and the activities director.
J.R. particularly enjoys sitting in the lounge and discussing a variety of
subjects with his friends, including the stogie-loving George Ratburn; cynical
and pessimistic Archie Ratzke; the vain bachelor, Rayford Ratgood; Elmer
Ratworm, a retired librarian and book aficionado; Dudley Ratweed, an old
hippie; and Claude Ratberry, a disembodied rat brain in a jar and the oldest
resident of Utopia.
Stella stays busy with her knitting while chewing the fat with her girlfriends,
Gracie Ratburn, Eunice Ratzke, and bachelorettes Ines and Gloria.
J.R. and Stella have finished their rat race, and are contentedly watching the
rest still run theirs, including their son, James Robert Ratson, Jr., a mid-
career bureaucrat working at the Bureau of Everything and Nothing Specific
(BEANS) as a Client Support Specialist.
Jim Boy, or Jimbo, as Stella and J.R. affectionately refer to him, actually
prefers to be called Jim Bob. He hates it when his parents call him Jim Boy
and Jimbo.
Jim Bob is married to Wanda, and together they have a three-year-old
toddler son named James Robert Ratson III, whom they call Jimmy, and a
new baby girl named Roberta, or “Bertie.”
While Jim Bob dithers away at his job, Wanda juggles full-time motherhood
and homemaking with a cosmetology business that she runs out of the
home. She frequently calls Jim Bob at work to report their children’s latest
behaviors, which keeps their lives interesting, to say the least.
Jim Bob dislikes his job and his career. He has come to lament having
heeded his father’s advice to start building a pension. He really wants to be
a novelist, to the chagrin of his parents, and spends what little free time he
has writing his thoughts down. But his father, J.R., frequently reminds him
that starving artists don’t eat.
At work, Jim Bob complains to co-workers about life in general. His
lamentations fall on the ears of Rhoda, a cranky but savvy senior bureaucrat
on the eve of her own retirement; Art, a connoisseur of other peoples’
lunches; and Maurice, the temp and new guy. Then there is Jim Bob’s
itinerant supervisor Selma, a keen micromanager. Jim Bob often tries to find
ways to avoid her, because she tries to persuade him to work overtime and
to take on other peoples’ work, including her own. Sarcastic supervisor Tony
interacts with Jim Bob on occasion, too, just to annoy his subordinate.
4. Character Profiles
J.R. Ratson: The Ratson patriarch, who resides with his wife, Stella, at Utopia
Senior Living. J.R. enjoys sitting in the parlor with his best friend, George
Ratburn, sparring over words and complaining about pretty much everything. He is
a retired sewer technician that now draws from his full pension. He lectures his
son on the virtues of working for a pension.
Stella Ratson: J.R.’s wife and better half, Stella is often found in the sitting room
or den, crocheting or knitting. Stella enjoys spending time with her best friend,
Gracie Ratburn, thinning the wallet at the local shopping center, “jawzersizing,” or
“chewing the gristle,” as her husband puts it.
Jim Bob Ratson: J.R. and Stella’s middle-aged son, who is also a mid-career
bureaucrat working at the Bureau of Everything and Nothing Specific (BEANS).
Jim Bob hates his job and his career, but he feels stuck in it. Secretly, he wants
to be a novelist, but everything he brings it up to J.R. and Stella, he gets the old
“starving artist” shtick. Even Jim Bob’s wife, Wanda, encourages him to stick it
out until retirement so that they can qualify for a full pension. Jim Bob is often at
odds with his immediate supervisor, Selma, a master micromanager.
Wanda Ratson: Jim Bob’s wife and mother of their only child, a son named Jimmy.
Wanda is a homemaker who also operates her own cosmetology business out of the
home. Some of her best customers are the ladies at Utopia Senior Living. When
not selling her cosmetic products, Wanda is often chasing after Jimmy, and
reporting her son’s antics to Jim Bob. Although she is sympathetic to her
husband’s dream of becoming a novelist, she encourages him to stick it out until he
can retire on a full pension.
Jimmy Ratson: Jim Bob and Wanda’s oldest child. A three-year-old who likes to
play on mommy’s smart phone.
Roberta “Bertie” Ratson: Jim Bob and Wanda’s new baby girl.
George Ratburn: The stogie loving best friend of J.R. Ratson. His sarcastic sense
of humor leads to spirited spars with his bud. The two specialize in complaining
about everything. The only person besides J.R. targeted as much by George’s
sarcasm is his wife, Gracie. The two relish in roasting one another.
Gracie Ratburn: George’s wife and Stella’s best friend. Gracie’s wit is a match
for her husband’s sarcasm. Gracie enjoys roasting her husband, George, almost
as much as he does her.
Claude Ratberry: The oldest resident at Utopia Senior Living, Ratberry exists
these days as a disembodied brain in a jar. Although he is bodiless, Ratberry is
not brainless. He still has his wits about him, and his IQ is probably the highest
in the place. He credits this to the formaldehyde, which has swelled his brain to
three times its normal size. Ratberry has aspirations of running for President.
Rayford Ratgood: Vain bachelor and technology aficionado. He is always sporting
the latest, though sometimes not so greatest, fashion accessories for
bachelors. He enjoys fraternizing with the bachelorettes of Utopia.
Elmer Ratworm: Retired librarian, avid reader, book collector, and Utopia’s
resident encyclopedia of trivia.
Dudley Ratweed: Utopia’s resident ex-hippie complete with dreadlocks.
Archie Ratzke: Cynical and insulting friend to J.R.
Eunice Ratzke: Good friend to Stella, and the usual target of her husband’s
insults. But she can dish out as well as he does, too.
Ines and Gloria: Two makeover-loving bachelorette residents of Utopia.
Activities Director: Often at odds with the residents over everything from
games to grub, food fights and dining room protests.
Supervisor Selma: Jim Bob’s micro-managing office supervisor.
Supervisor Tony: Another one of Jim Bob’s office tormentors.
Rhoda: Jim Bob’s colleague and late-career bureaucrat whose simplistic desire
to eat, sleep and soon retire irks Jim Bob to no end.
Art: Jim Bob’s colleague and aficionado of eating other peoples’ lunches.
Maurice: Office temp and naïve new guy.
