The San Francisco Chronicle that has ran the local Farley comic since 1985 has finally printed a background story on why Phil Frank is retiring his Farley character. According to the report, Phil “is retiring because of a serious illness that has kept him confined to his home in Sausalito for several months and has made it impossible for him to continue to draw the strips.”
The Chronicle has also produced a podcast with Rod Gilchristk, Cartoon Art Museum director, editorial cartoonists Tom Meyer and George Russell, and Bad Reporter creator Don Asmussen. The group discuss Phil’s influence on them. Don mentions that he’s doing a tribute strip in the near future.
I’m very sad to hear Farley’s coming to an end. I was afraid it was because of poor health. I had heard he was ill but I thought he had recovered.
I’ve been reading Farley for almost 20 years. The ongoing storylines, the huge cast of characters…it’s an excellent strip and I’ll miss it a lot.
I was fortunate to meet with Phil in his studio in Sausalito in 1994 when I was just starting out with cartooning. He gave me some feedback on my work and was a such a nice guy. He’s an excellent cartoonist and a great human being.