SALT LAKE CITY — Beginning Sunday, May 1, Brian Basset’s “Red and Rover” comic strip will appear in the Deseret News.
The comic, described by creator Basset as “the unconditional love between a boy and his dog,” is about the adventures of a young boy named Red and his dog, Rover.
Basset, a former red-headed, dog-loving kid himself, initially drew inspiration from his childhood.
“I don’t know if I finally just got tired of the real world or if my childhood just kept looking better and better the older I got, but I wanted to channel it into a strip that basically had love and happiness and joy,” Basset said in an interview with the Deseret News.
Basset drew political cartoons for the Seattle Times for almost 25 years and is a self-taught comic strip artist.
“We’ve started getting more and more jaded as a society, and comics keep getting more and more political,” he said. “I just wanted something a little more like comfort food. These two really love each other, and each day is a joy for them.”
After a few years of “Red and Rover,” he said, the characters developed so much that they make their own stories. He simply asks what they are going to do next and how they will handle it.
“What makes Red and Rover unique is that they have a certain very positive outlook on the world. That’s not to say they won’t run into brick walls or sinkholes or whatever you want to call them — that’s part of life,” Basset said. “I do hope that people will see in the strip something that connects. There’s something that’s very honest and realistic even though it’s a comic strip.”
Email: scobb@deseretnews.com