Newshounds
Newshounds is a humorous webcomic drawn and written by Thomas K. Dye. The comic updates every weekday from Monday through Friday, and it is hosted on the Internet by the online comics syndicate Keenspot.
- Address: http://www.newshounds.com/
- Ran from/to: November 1997 - December 2006 (With an intermission January-March 2003 for a style change, and January-March 2006 for a recap)
Since the strip ended, Dye has filled in the strip with a commentary and also with a short spin off called "Kid Gloves". A sequel called Newshounds II started on 2 July 2007.
Scenario and characters
The comic follows a group of anthropomorphic pet animals and their human owner, living in an unnamed American city and together operating a small news station, KPET. There are eight central characters and several minor characters with recurring roles.
Newshounds used characters whose bases came from an earlier comic strip, Boy Shop Pets, also by Thomas K. Dye. In 2003, Dye began a graphic novel, Manifestations, revolving around the misadventures of a minor character that was killed in a storyline in 2001 and whose spirit was sucked into the Internet.
Main characters
- Kevin J Dog — Male Dog (golden retreiver). Camera operator and tech.
- Renata Fayre — Female Dog (cocker spaniel). News anchor.
- Wolfram Blitzen — Male Dog (breed undetermined). News anchor.
- Rochelle O'Shea — Female Dog (collie). Field reporter.
- Alistair Katt — Male Cat (DSH). Occasional incompetent weathercat; more often acts as outspoken liberal commentator.
- Sam Shepherd — Male Dog (black Lab). Sports reporter, who's right-wing views clash with Alistair's views.
- Ferris — Male Rat. KPET's janitor, though next to useless at the job.
- Lorna Dilbrook — Female Human. Owner of KPET and its animal staff.
Books
Seven Newshounds compilations have been realised. However, they are only available in America. Each book contains special bonus material. The books are available from Plan 9 Publishing, except for the last book which is published by Lulu.
- Book 1 - Newshounds
- Book 2 - Tonight's Top Story
- Book 3 - Press Badge Blues
- Book 4 - We All Came Out to Mantra
- Book 5 - Regime Change
- Book 6 - Surgery in the Park
- Book 7 - All the Newshounds Fit to Print
Setting
The ever luxurious Hotel Costa Plente, presumably a fictional chain of hotels, was featured in one strip of Newshounds webcomic, by Thomas K. Dye. In that particular installment, Sam Shepard was looking for somebody of news interest, leading him there.
Footnote: Mr. Dye is a fan of The Three Stooges. Thus the Hotel Costa Plente is originally from the 3 Stooges episode "Healthy, Wealthy, And Dumb" (1938), later remade (with Shemp as third stooge) as "A Missed Fortune" (1952).
See also
- Newshounds on Wikipedia