Tundra (comic strip)
Encyclopedia
Tundra is a comic strip
written and drawn by Wasilla, Alaska
, cartoonist
Chad Carpenter
. The comic usually deals with wildlife
, nature and outdoor life. Tundra began in December 1991 in the Anchorage Daily News
and is currently self-syndicated to over 500 newspapers. The strip was named the best newspaper panel of 2007 by the National Cartoonists Society
and nominated again in 2011.
Tundra is primarily drawn in two styles, single-panel gag comics using puns in combination with wildlife and the outdoors, and a three-panel strip that employs regular characters: Sherman the Squirrel, Dudley the Bear, Chad the Cartoonist, Andy Lemming, Whiff Skunk, and Hobart the Wise. These comics, usually Sunday strips, contain more written dialogue and generally more complex jokes.
with Dudley, but only because he has already been thrown out of the dumpsters of the more classy establishments.
that erupted in Chad's face or fixing a vacuum cleaner that sent the gang back in time. He regularly has trouble with the law, commonly beginning with his alter ego Major Nut.
From the Developers
Chainsaw wielding bears, gun toting dogs and monster fish await you as you race across Alaska to be the first to spell ‘Tundra’. Based on the award winning comic strip ‘Tundra’ by Chad Carpenter, you and your opponents will fall into fits of laughter with over 100 jokes that allow you to reek on others or reap the benefits for yourself. This is the only Alaskan board game you will ever need to own!
The goal of Tundra The Board Game, is to be the first player to spell the word Tundra by completing various goals while adventuring across the state of Alaska. During this process the players get to use cards which each have a comic strip depicted on them..
Tundra is for 2-6 players. (larger groups have been known to form team play)
Age is 13 and up
Average game time is 2 hours
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....
written and drawn by Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...
, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Chad Carpenter
Chad Carpenter
Chad Carpenter is an American cartoonist, well known for his comic panel Tundra. Carpenter launched the strip in the Anchorage Daily News in 1991, and since then he has self-syndicated it to over 330 newspapers, an unusually high amount for strips in self-syndication.-Early life:Carpenter was born...
. The comic usually deals with wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
, nature and outdoor life. Tundra began in December 1991 in the Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States. It is often referred to colloquially as either "the Daily News" or "the ADN"...
and is currently self-syndicated to over 500 newspapers. The strip was named the best newspaper panel of 2007 by the National Cartoonists Society
National 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...
and nominated again in 2011.
Tundra is primarily drawn in two styles, single-panel gag comics using puns in combination with wildlife and the outdoors, and a three-panel strip that employs regular characters: Sherman the Squirrel, Dudley the Bear, Chad the Cartoonist, Andy Lemming, Whiff Skunk, and Hobart the Wise. These comics, usually Sunday strips, contain more written dialogue and generally more complex jokes.
Chad
The main character. As a classically trained cartoonist, Chad makes a living that provides him both a lack of social status and a lack of funding. Primarily his job is to pay for everything especially any damage that any of the animals living in his place cause; this applies almost exclusively to Sherman. He is above dumpster divingDumpster diving
Dumpster diving is the practice of sifting through commercial or residential trash to find items that have been discarded by their owners, but that may be useful to the dumpster diver.-Etymology and alternate names:...
with Dudley, but only because he has already been thrown out of the dumpsters of the more classy establishments.
Sherman
The main squirrel. Sherman's lot in life is to cause trouble in one form or another, either by swindling someone outright or by swindling them behind their back. He often "fixes" things that aren't broken, causing them to work in a way other than intended, usually causing Chad some sort of pain, such as "fixing" a Lava LampLava lamp
A lava lamp is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of colored wax inside a glass vessel filled with clear liquid; the wax rises and falls as its density changes due to heating from a incandescent light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pāhoehoe lava,...
that erupted in Chad's face or fixing a vacuum cleaner that sent the gang back in time. He regularly has trouble with the law, commonly beginning with his alter ego Major Nut.
Dudley
The main bear. Dudley is big in every imagineable way. He is an overweight Brown Bear who pushes the term omnivore to the limits. Dudley is now famous for "Dudley's Duds" comic strips that even the cartoonist doesn't want to be blamed for. Dudley's Dud's are the aforementioned single panel strips that are heavy on the pun factor.Andy
The main lemming. He is the great innocent youth of Tundra. Although Andy is still drawn almost identically as he was when he first appeared in the strip, he has undergone the most dramatic personality change. Initially he was introduced as being suicidal but just couldn't go through with his natural instincts. After landing on Dudley's head in an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Sherman recruited him as a drummer into the newfound grunge polka band The Barking Wallspiders.Whiff
The main skunk. Related to Sherman, Whiff began his Tundra career as manager of The Barking Wallspiders. He's known to have a problem with body odors and has made odoreaters disintegrate on contact. Whiff has his own comics, Whiff's Stinkers.Hobart
The main Wisedude. He was found near his monastery butting heads with wild goats. Fellow monks dertermined that this unmonkish behavior reflected badly on them and shipped him off to his nephew Andy in Alaska. His great wise sayings provide moments of clarity otherwise unknown to Gangrene Gultch, yet still often ignored. "The butterfly is nature's most beautiful creature but cockroaches get to eat a whole lot more cool stuff." Hobart's wisdom falls on deaf ears, but perhaps that's best for everyone.Minor Characters
A few recurring characters of the strip include:- Mr. Dale the lovable Con Artist : (In a variety of jobs, exorcist, demon, etc.)
- The Moose Nuggets : Animated moose droppings with an agenda.
- Big Brother Darin : Long on stupidity but short on brains. Enjoys shiny objects, crayons, and taxidermy.
Books
- Tundra: The Next Degeneration. 2011. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra: Natures #1 Comic Strip. 2010. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra: Organically Grown Humor. 2009. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra: 100% Naturally Flavored Comics. 2007. Tundra & Associates
- Tundra: The Comic Strip Mother Nature Warned you About. 2005. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra Comic Strip Presents: True North. 2006. Altitude Publishing.
- Tundra: "Freeze-Dried Comics". 2004. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra: Nature's Finest Comic Strip. 2003. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra in Full Color. 2002. Tundra & Associates.
- Chad Carpenter Presents the Really Big Tundra Treasury. 2001. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra. 2001. Off-the-Wall.
- Tundra Presents: Humor for the Complete Idiot. 1998. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra: the comic strip Mother Nature warned you about. 1997. Tundra & Associates.
- Tundra's Unauthorized Nursery Rhymes. 1997. Todd Publications.
- Tundra Presents: And Now a Break from Sanity. 1997. Todd Publications.
- Tundra III: Even More Cartoons of a Northerly Nature. 1997. Todd Publications.
- Tundra II: More Cartoons from the Last Frontier. 1997. Todd Publications.
- Tundra. 1997. Todd Publications.
- Tundra Alaska Coloring Book. 1996. Todd Publications.
- Tundra: 'Cartoons from the Last Frontier. 1993. Todd Publications. (ISBN 1-878100-54-8)
Tundra The Board Game
In 2009 Chad Carpenter teamed up with local Wasilla, Alaska based game company, Claymore Entertainment, Inc. To develop Tundra The Board Game.From the Developers
Chainsaw wielding bears, gun toting dogs and monster fish await you as you race across Alaska to be the first to spell ‘Tundra’. Based on the award winning comic strip ‘Tundra’ by Chad Carpenter, you and your opponents will fall into fits of laughter with over 100 jokes that allow you to reek on others or reap the benefits for yourself. This is the only Alaskan board game you will ever need to own!
The goal of Tundra The Board Game, is to be the first player to spell the word Tundra by completing various goals while adventuring across the state of Alaska. During this process the players get to use cards which each have a comic strip depicted on them..
Tundra is for 2-6 players. (larger groups have been known to form team play)
Age is 13 and up
Average game time is 2 hours