The Duplex
Encyclopedia
The Duplex is a comic strip
by Glenn McCoy
, published by Universal Press from 1993.
The Duplex has been published in numerous newspapers as daily comic strips
and on the Internet. A collection of strips is also available in the form of a comic album. Although designed for the American readers, the Duplex enjoys popularity outside the USA.
Furthermore, a number of characters appear occasionally, including policemen and Eno's dates.
s.
Typical strip involves:
A number of strips is devoted to the current media events (mainly related to the US pop culture
, such as American Idol
show) or everyday life (such as popularity of Tivo
video recorder and universal remotes
). The purely surreal humour
and ironic view of the American pop culture are rare, but still present.
gave "The Duplex" the award for 2004's best Newspaper Comic Strip.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
by Glenn McCoy
Glenn McCoy
Glenn McCoy is an American conservative cartoonist, whose work includes popular comic strip The Duplex and the daily panel he does with his brother Gary entitled The Flying McCoys. Glenn also produces editorial cartoons...
, published by Universal Press from 1993.
The Duplex has been published in numerous newspapers as daily comic strips
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
and on the Internet. A collection of strips is also available in the form of a comic album. Although designed for the American readers, the Duplex enjoys popularity outside the USA.
Characters
The characters of the Duplex include:- Eno L. Camino is the main character. He is an overweight, unemployed bachelor and owns 1982 primerPrimer (paint)A primer is a preparatory coating put on materials before painting. Priming ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface, increases paint durability, and provides additional protection for the material being painted.-When primers are used:...
-colored Gremlin. Eno is actually often employed but never seems to keep a job more than a day or so. He constantly gets fired for reasons such as stealing office supplies or making copies of his own butt. When he's not slacking with Fang, he hangs in the bar trying to make a move towards women. He's never successful and the conversation usually ends with him getting slapped in the face. Eno's hobbies include activities such as slacking, beer drinking, and seeing if one can eat 60 biscuits in a row without throwing up. Occasionally, Eno attempts to make dinner and the only thing sure is that a fire extinguisher will be needed. He's the master of Fang, although they more often seem like room mates.
- Fang is Eno's dog and best friend. He is clever, talkative and tries to lead Eno through life, teaching him the simplest stuff. These things include how to act in front of women, how to eat correctly at a restaurant and how to dress for a job interview. Fang often joins Eno in his daily slacking life at home and at the bar.
- Gina is Eno's and Fang's neighbor. She's educated, polite and works as a school teacher. She is the owner of Mitzi and those two are the quite opposite of Eno and Fang. She's also the only woman who can stand Eno's presence.
- Mitzi is Gina's poodle and Fang's object of affection.
- Elvin is Eno's neighbor and friend. He's just like Eno... lazy and likes beer.
Furthermore, a number of characters appear occasionally, including policemen and Eno's dates.
Plot
At the very beginning, the strips were mainly concerned with interactions between chauvinistic pair of Eno and Fang and gentle pair of Gina and Mitzi. Later on, Gina and Mitzi's presence diminished and the stories focused on Eno and Fang, often showing them in recurring situations (caught when speeding, watching football, discussing life) thus resulting in running gagRunning gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s.
Typical strip involves:
- Eno being stopped for speeding (often in strange circumstances, such as while playing computer racing games or running treadmill in a gym),
- Eno being rejected (sometimes with the use of force) by his dates or girls he wants to pick up,
- Eno and Fang discussing philosophical questions on the roof of their house.
A number of strips is devoted to the current media events (mainly related to the US pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, such as American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
show) or everyday life (such as popularity of Tivo
TiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
video recorder and universal remotes
Universal Remote
A universal remote is a remote control that can be programmed to operate various brands of one or more types of consumer electronics devices. Low-end universal remotes can only control a set number of devices determined by their manufacturer, while mid- and high-end universal remotes allow the...
). The purely surreal humour
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
and ironic view of the American pop culture are rare, but still present.
Awards
In 2005, the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
gave "The Duplex" the award for 2004's best Newspaper Comic Strip.
Books
One collection of strips has been published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.- Bad Habits (November 2006) ISBN 978-074076195-9