''Adam@home'' (previously titled ''Adam'') is an American
syndicated
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
gag-a-day
A gag-a-day comic strip is the style of writing comic cartoons such that every installment of a strip delivers a complete joke or some other kind of artistic statement. It is opposed to story or continuity strips, which rely on the development of ...
comic strip created by
Brian Basset
Brian Basset is an American comic strip artist ('' Red and Rover''). Previously, he worked as an editorial cartoonist for the Seattle Times from 1978 to 1994, as well as being the creator and artist behind the syndicated comic strip ''Adam'', ...
and currently drawn by
Rob Harrell. Started in 1984, it follows the life of Adam Newman, a
stay-at-home dad
A stay-at-home dad (alternatively, full-time father, stay-at-home father, house dad, househusband, or house-spouse) is a father who is the main caregiver of the children and is generally the homemaker of the household. The female equivalent is ...
, as he juggles his family and career. Originally focusing on office-place humor, the comic's tone shifted when Adam became a stay-at-home
consultant
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servi ...
.
Publication history
Basset drew the daily strip from its inception until February 21, 2009, when he decided to focus on his other
daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays.
Bud Fisher's '' Mutt and Jeff'' is commonly regarded as the first dail ...
, ''
Red and Rover
''Red and Rover'' (often styled ''Red & Rover'') is a daily syndicated comic strip by Brian Basset that debuted in 2000. Autobiographical in nature, ''Red & Rover'' is a retro-feel comic strip about the unconditional love between a dog and his bo ...
''. Since February 23, 2009 Harrell, formerly of ''
Big Top'', has drawn ''Adam@Home''. Strips drawn by Basset continued to appear on Sundays until March 15, 2009, with Harrell's first
Sunday strip
The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in most western newspapers, almost always in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies.
The first US newspa ...
appearing the following week. Basset is still credited as the artist in many papers and in the some of the Sunday strips' title boxes.
Characters and story
;Adam Newman: Adam Newman is a
stay-at-home dad
A stay-at-home dad (alternatively, full-time father, stay-at-home father, house dad, househusband, or house-spouse) is a father who is the main caregiver of the children and is generally the homemaker of the household. The female equivalent is ...
. He is
self-employed
Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return ...
, running Adam Newman Enterprises from his home computer. A
caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...
addict, he spends his days at his computer, occasionally slacking or using his baby son Nick as an office assistant. He dreads summertime when his older children will be home tearing up the house and begging him to take them out. When not at home, Adam is usually at his favorite
coffee shop, typing away at his
laptop. He single-handedly keeps practically everyone in his neighborhood in business, especially the
barista
A barista (; ; from the Italian/Spanish for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.
Etymology and inflection
The word ''barista'' comes from Italian where it means a male ...
s.
;Laura Newman: Laura is Adam's wife and works at a bookstore. She is Adam's salvation each day when she comes home from work to take the kids off his hands. She is astonished at how addicted he is to
channel surfing
Channel surfing (also known as channel hopping or zapping) is the practice of quickly scanning through different television channels or radio frequencies to find something interesting to watch or listen to. Modern viewers, who may have cable ...
and coffee shop fare: "''one''
espresso
Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans an ...
addict in the family is expensive enough," she warns Clayton.
;Clayton and Katy Newman: Clayton and Katy are Adam and Laura's
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
children; Clayton is eight years old and Katy is six years old. Clayton, mischievous and energetic, takes great joy out of tormenting his little sister (and sometimes
vice versa
References
Additional references
*
*
{{Latin phrases
V
ca:Locució llatina#V
da:Latinske ord og vendinger#V
fr:Liste de locutions latines#V
id:Daftar frasa Latin#V
it:Locuzioni latine#V
nl:Lijst van Latijnse spreekwoorden en ui ...
). Together, they enjoy bugging their dad to do things with them or break up their constant (and noisy) arguing, much to his annoyance when he's trying to get some work done.
;Nick Newman: Nick is Adam and Laura's baby son. An energetic but not always happy kid, he keeps his dad company and serves as an occasional assistant to Adam, sometimes as a paperweight or an answering machine.
Andy Van Hellemond
Former
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
referee
Andy Van Hellemond
Andy Van Hellemond (born February 16, 1948) is a Canadian former National Hockey League referee and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1999. He is also a former municipal politician, serving on city council for the City of Guelph, Ontario ...
served the creators of ''Adam@home'' with a notice of intention to sue for
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
over a comic which used the word "evil" in referring to Van Hellemond as "the worst and most evil ref ever". Newspapers carrying the strip on May 28, 2011 were also served, such as the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...
'' and ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''.
The Toronto Star published an opinion acknowledging the strip's content as a "cheap shot" and unfair to Van Hellemond, who had not officiated since 15 years prior and had a reputation for fairness.
References
Sources
*
Strickler, Dave. ''Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index.'' Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995.
External links
''Adam@home'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:AdamatHome
American comic strips
1984 comics debuts
Gag-a-day comics
Workplace comedies
Workplace comics
Comic strips set in the United States
Male characters in comics
Fictional businesspeople
Comics characters introduced in 1984