WikiFur:Comic of the Week/Week 17, 2010

Housepets! is an anthropomorphic webcomic by Rick Griffin. The comic is loosely based upon a series of sketches created in Griffin's childhood about a dog named Bino, who also appears as a supporting character in the comic as it exists today. Griffin came up with the idea of expanding his sketches into a full webcomic in 2006, drew up a few rough strips in 2007, and unveiled the comic itself on June 2, 2008. Housepets! won the 2009 Ursa Major Award for Best Comic Strip

The primary setting is Babylon Gardens, a suburban neighborhood somewhere within the United States. Most animals are sentient; most mammals are fully anthropomorphized, able to walk and talk, and live double their normal lifespan. Animals also enjoy certain rights (for example, a police dog can arrest humans), but wild animals not kept as pets have no legal status. Pets are regarded much like surrogate children, referring to their owners as "Mom" and "Dad" as well as adopting their surnames, and may be kept by humans who opt not to have children of their own.

The plot centers around Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly, pets of the Sandwich family, and their various misadventures. Most strips depict Peanut and Grape dealing with common problems, such as coping with boredom, visiting the vet, and interacting with other pets. Some pay tribute to Griffin's inspirations; one full arc is a homage to familiar scenes from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, and the faces of most humans in the comic are never seen, as for adults in Charles Schulz's Peanuts. (comic - more...)