‘Fox Trot’ Book Great For Smart Laughs

Wed., Nov. 6, 1996

Matthew Weaver Rogers

It never fails. No matter who I try to show one of my reviews to, they glance at it, then turn to the comics. Well, I’m willing to meet them half way.

People get a chuckle daily out of Bill Amend’s “Fox Trot” comic strip, which focuses on the Fox family - dad Roger, mom Andy and kids Peter, Paige and Jason. The strip is hilarious, sophisticated stupidity.

So why not take it a step further, and read the strip in a book? Some classic stories appear in the collection “Bury My Heart at Fun-Fun Mountain.”

“Bury My Heart” kicks off with the week the family spends at the amusement park, Fun-Fun Mountain (complete with Mickey Mosquito) and they wind up spending $100 just on FOOD (Actually, it’s $120. Andy buys a snow cone). In addition to money, they spend hours in the lines and seconds on the rides. The antics continue to delight throughout the whole book.

Witness Paige and Jason spilling pop on Andy’s computer, Roger attempting to play football with Peter, and all of Jason’s iguana’s incidents - you have a recipe for hilarity.

Two stories that especially stand out are Paige’s Christmas dance “date” and Jason’s attempt to replace a comic strip writer.

For years, Paige has been asked to everything by nerdy Morton Goldthwait. The week begins with the “Jaws” theme, followed by Morton’s appearance. Annoyance quickly turns to paranoia (“If that’s Morton Goldthwait in our bathroom, I’m not home!”). That lasts until Paige learns Morton asked someone else to the Christmas dance and she becomes furious.

Jason feels newspaper readers deserve something fresh, so instead of “Billy” replacing Bil Keane at “Family Circus” on vacations, he’ll do it. The result in this story line is a gut-buster.

It is an honor to be in the same section as Amend’s characters. OK, so now you can go read the funnies.

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