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Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a counterculture idol of the 60īs, building weird
cars and even weirder monsters. The best known of his cartoon creations
is Rat Fink. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals contains
the following entry for Rat Fink:
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Pedigree. Ugly rat of T-shirt fame. Biography. Practically nothing is known about this character, save that he likes to hotrod and has driven everything from gas-fueled motorcycles to bikes driven by toxic waste. Comment. The big-mouthed rat with bulging, blood-shot eyes was created in 1962 by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Though the term "rat fink" had been around for years, no one had ever drawn such a thing. Roth did so, but for a peculiar reason: He spent a great deal of time creating T-shirt designs, and was so overwhelmed with work that he decided to create one so ugly people wouldn't want it. Rat Fink was the result. But instead of decreasing, the demand for Roth's shirts grew. Rat Fink was licensed widely throughout the decade. However, it wasn't until 1990 that he finally got a comic book, appearing with an equally grotesque set of supporting characters in Rat Fink Comix, from World of Fandom.
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If you have no interest in Hotrods or (Underground) Comix then chances
are that you are not familiar with Roth's characters. However,
Rat Fink has appeared in two of Lynda Barry's strips
("The New Car" in 1986 and "If You Can Believe It" in 1991). In these
two comic strips, Barry has shown her younger characters' interest
in Roth's comic strip character. These strips show a departure
from Barry's usual naturalistic style, as shown in the panels
below.
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 "If You Can Believe It" (from Barry, 1994) |
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| "Mother's Worry" (compare with panel 2 above). |
The classic Rat Fink pose (compare with panels 3 and 4 above). |
Panel 3 (of 4) of "Bean Plants" (from Barry, 1987). Perhaps another reference.
Panel 4 (of 4) of "Artistic Projects" (from Barry, 1994). Yet another reference.
Barry, L., (1986). Everything in the World. USA: Harper & Row.
Barry, L., (1987). The Fun House. USA: Harper & Row.
Barry, L., (1994). It's So Magic. USA: Harper Collins Publishers inc.
Rovin, J., (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. New York: Prentice Hall Press.