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Bill Holbrook (born 1958) is an American cartoonist and
webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be ...
writer and artist, best known for his syndicated comic strip ''
On the Fastrack ''On the Fastrack'' is a comic strip drawn by Bill Holbrook about the curious characters employed at the fictional data storage firm Fastrack, Inc. Launched March 19, 1984, it was initially distributed by King Features Syndicate to 50 newspapers ...
''. Born in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, Holbrook grew up in
Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
, and began drawing at an early age. While majoring in illustration and visual design at Auburn University, Holbrook served as art director of the student newspaper, doing editorial cartoons and a weekly comic strip. At the same time, his work was being published in the '' Huntsville Times'' and the ''
Monroe Journal ''The Monroe Journal'' is a weekly newspaper from Monroeville, Alabama serving the city and surrounding area. History ''The Monroe Journal'' is the oldest and the longest-running newspaper in Monroe County, Alabama Monroe County is a count ...
''. After graduation in 1980, he joined the ''
Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' as an editorial staff artist. During a 1982 visit to relatives on the West Coast, Holbrook met ''
Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...
'' creator,
Charles Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wid ...
. Following his advice and encouragement, Holbrook created a strip in the fall of that year about a college graduate working in a rundown diner. It did not stir syndicate interest, but what he learned on the strip helped him when he created ''On the Fastrack''. Eleven days before ''On the Fastrack'' made its syndicated debut (March 19, 1984), Holbrook met Teri Peitso on a blind date. They were married on Pearl Harbor Day, 1985. They have two daughters, Chandler and Haviland. Peitso-Holbrook's novels have been nominated for both Edgar Awards and
Agatha Award The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expli ...
s. She is currently an assistant professor in literacy education at
Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...
. The family lives in the
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
area. On October 3, 1988, Holbrook began his second strip, '' Safe Havens'', and his third strip, '' Kevin and Kell'' was launched in September 1995.


Comic strips

Every week Holbrook writes the story line for the next three weeks for one of his strips and draws the next three weeks' worth of strips for another. In 2010, characters from ''On the Fastrack'' and ''Safe Havens'' began appearing in both strips. * ''On the Fastrack'' - About the misadventures at Fastrack, Inc., ''On the Fastrack'' has been distributed by
King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
since 1984. It now appears in 75 newspapers nationwide. * ''Safe Havens'' - Initially about a day care center, this strip evolved into the adventures of Samantha Argus and her friends and is now syndicated nationally to over 50 newspapers. * '' Kevin and Kell'' - Originally an online-only strip but was also published in the ''
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' for some years, ''Kevin and Kell'' centers on the mixed marriage between a rabbit, Kevin and a grey wolf, Kell Dewclaw. The plot revolves around species-related humor, satire, and interpersonal conflict. *
Duel In The Somme
' - Holbrook illustrated a story by
Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fac ...
and
Rob Balder Robert T. Balder is a professional cartoonist and singer-songwriter. He graduated from Roanoke College with a major in English in 1993 and, after a variety of jobs, entered a seven-year career in IT, starting as a manager of database development ...
in this strip about a romantic rivalry between a computer-simulation designer and his boss.


References


External links

* * 1958 births American comic strip cartoonists American webcomic creators People from Los Angeles Artists from Alabama Auburn University alumni Living people Writers from Huntsville, Alabama {{webcomic-author-stub