Written and drawn by Darby Conley, Get Fuzzy is an award-winning American newspaper comic strip which debuted in 1999. At that time, it ran in about 75 different newspapers across the country, and it now runs in over 200. There has been talk of a movie based on Get Fuzzy.

Taking place mostly in an apartment in Massachusetts, the strip centres around three main characters - Rob Wilco and his pet dog and cat, Bucky and Satchel - along with other minor characters and occasional one-time characters.

Darby Conley was born in 1970 in Concord, Massachusetts, but grew up in Knoxville, Tennesee. He went to Amherst College, was a cartoonist for the school newspaper, played rugby and graduated with a Fine Arts Degree. Before being a professional cartoonist he was a lifeguard, a museum art director and taught in elementary school. He lists his influences as Tintin, Peanuts, Douglas Adams, Monty Python and his childhood dog, Patch. Conley now lives in Boston.

Characters

Bucky Katt

I cough, burp, every so often I spit something out... On rare occasions it is necessary to make a gastronomic correction, but I have never thrown up! Good day, sir!

The main character is a Siamese cat who talks and stands on his hind legs. He has a white body but his head, tail, feet and paws are all black. His ears are always laid back, giving him an angry and aggressive appearance. He has a single fang protruding from the left side of his mouth. Bucky is mischievous, always hatching evil plans and taking advantage of Satchel or insulting Rob or trying to get his credit card details, which he successfully did when he planted a voice recorder while Rob was making an order over the phone. Bucky's greatest ambition is to eat a monkey. He has also wanted to run for president, have a movie made about him, and tried to write a bestselling book that is a rip-off of The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings books. He also wanted to make a stage musical which would involve a song called 'The Sound of Monkeys'¹, which would be composed in the key of 'D licious'. Apparently, Bucky has exploits outside the apartment, as he has many friends - and enemies - coming for visits.

Satchel Pooch

In 2006, I will eat more pie!

A dim-witted yet innocent and lovable Labrador Retriever and ex-guard dog with strange eating habits, Satchel has large, often sad-looking dog eyes and wears a wristwatch, named Handy, though it doesn't work and he can't tell the time. Bucky is always taking advantage of Satchel's ineptitude to steal his money, food, or dog toys, then selling them back to him at an inflated price. Satchel says he never thinks of people in terms of what colour they are².

Rob Wilco

A perfectly ordinary single man who works in advertising, Rob lives alone in his apartment with Bucky and Satchel. Rob is often overwhelmed by having to keep control of Bucky, and has a constant dishevelled, tired look, though his appearance has evolved over time: earlier on he wore glasses and neater hair. His interests are apparent due to pictures and phrases on his T-shirts. Rob plays video games, is a vegetarian and is a sports fan³ - Bucky and Satchel are named after baseball players Buck O'Neil and Satchel Paige. Rob has a brother, Roger, and his father, Francis, is a retired firefighter. He also has a cousin in the Marines.

Other Characters

• Mac Manc MacManx: Bucky's English cousin, from Manchester. He has a thick accent and speaks in Cockney Rhyming Slang.
• Fungo Squiggly: an evil cigar-smoking ferret who lives next door. He and Bucky hate each other.
• Chubby Huggs: a cat who lives on another floor of the building. He is chubby, and he gives people hugs.
• Foodar: a cat who can detect food. His name is a combination of 'food' and 'radar'.
• Shakespug: a pug friend of Satchel's who speaks almost entirely in Shakespeare quotes.
• Meowsulini, Kitty Amin, Karl Manx and Feral Catstro: creepy friends of Bucky's who seem to be dictators.

Other Stuff

At times of national disasters or deaths, there have been numerous tribute strips: after 11 September, 2001, there were strips honouring firefighters and police officers that risked or gave their lives to the rescue efforts. After Douglas Adams died, he was commemorated with a giant 42 and Bucky and Satchel clutching towels, muttering don't panic, don't panic...

The strip has had other more serious storylines, such as when Rob's cousin, a Marine, lost his leg in Iraq. Another time, while Satchel was outside fetching the newspaper, he chased a bicycle and got his paw caught in the spokes, injuring his arm. He was taken to the vet and stitched up. However, he also lost his beloved wristwatch, Handy, in the accident. He shopped for a new one, but couldn't find one he liked. Then, in a rare act of kindness uncharacteristic of Bucky, he found Satchel's watch in the sewer and cleaned and fixed it for him.