Rose Is Rose
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Rose Is Rose is a syndicated comic strip, written and drawn by Pat Brady, portraying a suburban family in which the husband and wife are deeply in love with each other and dotingly fond of their son. They often exchange love notes or kiss under the stars.
Rose and sometimes Jimbo are drawn as little children to emphasize "inner child" experiences. Pasquale's "dream ship" sequences get much play, as does his relationship with his beloved guardian angel or the bathtub's dreaded drain monster. Even the cat has elaborate fantasies.
Like Calvin and Hobbes, the strip often shows an alternate point of view based on the characters' fantasies. Rose often sees herself as a biker chick when faced between selfish desire and social obligations. Or she's drawn as a prisoner in a "dungeon of resentment".
The strip is unlike Blondie or For Better or For Worse in that the strip does not focus on the wife as title or main character, and the husband is not hen-pecked but is the undisputed family leader.
From the comic's debut in 1984 until the strip published on 9 August 1991, the character of Pasquale spoke only in a 'phonetic baby talk.' Since then, all of the characters have been portrayed as speaking 'coherent' English.
The comic is distributed by United Features Syndicate. As of 2005, Pat Brady has been nominated eight times for a Reuben award by the National Cartoonists Society for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. He won the award in that category for the first time in 2005.
Characters
- Jimbo Gumbo - husband and father
- Rose Gumbo - wife and mother
- Pasquale Gumbo - son
- Peekaboo - family cat
- Clem - selfish cousin of Pasquale
- Mimi - Next door neighbor's baby girl
Links
- Comic book review by Johanna Draper Carlson (http://www.comicsworthreading.com/gn/roseisrose.html)
- National Cartoonists Society News Page (http://www.reuben.org/ncs/news.asp)
References
The Comics Since 1945, by Brian Walker, published in 2002. ISBN 0-8109-3481-7