What is Pluggers any way?
Pluggers is for, about, and by the unsung heroes of everyday life. Pluggers are the responsible, reliable types who keep plugging away to get things done. The cartoon gives voice to the unheralded, underappreciated segment of society that too often gets the short straw. Pluggers can be found in more than 60 newspapers around the country.
OK, who really writes Pluggers?
Every once in a while someone will come around and say … "all right that's great. Now tell me the truth, who really writes Pluggers?" Bob Morley from Santa Barbara, Calif., writes Pluggers, Murray Preisler from Dedham, Mass., writes Pluggers and Bud Morris from Lillian, Ala, writes Pluggers. People from age 8 to 80 have submitted ideas for the panel and have been pleased as punch to see their name published in newspapers around the country.
How do I submit my Pluggerism?
We have an online form you can fill out.
How can I get Pluggers into my local newspaper?
Write a letter to the editor in charge of the comics page requesting that they carry Pluggers daily and Sunday. Call your local newspaper to find the name of the right person to contact.
What are some tips for seeing my Pluggerism in the paper?
When you submit an idea go for something a little unusual, something that's not obvious, something with a twist. A good example of a Pluggerism with a different spin 'Pluggers get their perfume out of a magazine.' This suggestion comes in from lots of people, but it wasn't until a 12-year-old boy wrote, 'Pluggers get a paper cut putting on their perfume' that the suggestion was used.
Who came up with the idea for Pluggers?
Pluggers is based on an original idea from Newsweek photographer David Hume Kennerly. He asked his friend and fellow Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff MacNelly to help him find a cartoonist to illustrate his idea for a panel called "Pluggers." After a look at the idea, MacNelly decided he'd like to be the cartoonist on the strip and so it all began. Pluggers made its debut on Jan. 4, 1993.
In the very beginning, this panel was written by a host of people, including Jeff MacNelly, but so many readers identified with Pluggers that they began sending in ideas of their own. In fact, we received so many good ideas that this panel was turned over to the fans. Today we receive submissions, or Pluggerisms, from fellow Pluggers around the country. It's up to Chief Plugger Gary Brookins to select the idea that best defines an aspect of Plugger life.
Didn't Jeff MacNelly draw this cartoon?
Yes. Kennerly asked MacNelly if he knew a young cartoonist that wanted to make a lot of money and a name for himself. MacNelly replied, "The heck with the young cartoonist. I want to do this myself." MacNelly drew Pluggers from 1993-1997, in addition to drawing editorial cartoons for the Chicago Tribune, drawing his own comic strip "Shoe," and creates illustrations to accompany the Dave Barry column. Taking on a third full-time cartooning job was just too much, so Gary Brookins took over as the new Pluggers cartoonist on Feb. 10, 1997.
