T.H.E. Fox

T.H.E. Fox was a furry comic strip created by Joe Ekaitis which ran from 1986 to 1998. It is the first known online comic, published weekly on CompuServe, Quantum Link and GEnie, and later on the World Wide Web as Thaddeus. Initial strips were drawn on a C64 KoalaPad, as pixel art at a resolution of 160x200 in sixteen colors (or 320x200 in eight). Each took from two hours to half a day to complete.

The strip consisted almost entirely of gags; some related to the characters' animal nature, but most detailed events in daily life. The main character—Thaddeus Horatio Eberhard, or simply Thaddeus Fox—was often seen interacting with his roommate, Bunnington Ellsworth Rabbit (Bunn E. Rabbit). Other regulars included Grizz Lee, M.D.; Wilt the Wolf; and an unnamed coyote. Thaddaeus also has a nephew, Ferdinand.

The comic was mentioned in the magazines .info and RUN, and was the subject of an interview by the Commodore 64/128 RoundTable. Episodes of the strip have also been seen on Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends, a New York cable TV show.

Production became less frequent after 1994 as the author segued into drawing regular furry art and eventually turned to writing. Joe Ekaitis's middle-reader novel Collinsfort Village was published by WindRiver Publishing of Silverton, Idaho with illustrations by Nick Greenwood and released on February 15, 2006.