Darby Conley

Conley was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1970, and grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee.{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/53523.Darby_Conley|title=Darby Conley|website=Good Reads}}

While in high school in 1986, he won a student cartooning competition. During his senior year at Doyle High School (now South-Doyle High School) in Knoxville, Conley was voted 'Most Talented' by his graduating class.

Conley was a member of Amherst College's a cappella group, the Zumbyes.{{cite web|url=http://www.thezumbyes.com/alumni/|title=Alumni|website=The Zumbyes|accessdate=October 2, 2016}}

Conley cited the Tintin books as the strongest visual inspiration for his work.{{cite web|url=http://meet-the-makers.com/conversations/conley/2/ |last1=Alvey |first1=Brian |title=A Conversation With Darby Conley |website=Meet the Makers |accessdate=21 May 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041210164152/http://meet-the-makers.com/conversations/conley/2/ |archivedate=10 December 2004 |date=29 May 2003}}

Comics syndicate United Media agreed in 1999 to publish Conley's new strip Get Fuzzy about an anthropomorphic cat, Bucky, and dog, Satchel, living with their single young-male owner, Rob Wilco, which premiered on September 6, 1999.Price, Robert (July 29, 2016), "[http://www.bakersfield.com/columnists/sound-off-history-is-achieved-but-no-photo-to-document/article_92490de0-12e5-50a8-a0a5-79f6ff6bae78.html Sound Off: History is achieved, but no photo to document it?]," Bakersfield. Retrieved September 20, 2016 The idea for Bucky's character came from a friend's Siamese cat.{{cite web|url=http://www.popcultmag.com/obsessions/profilesingreatness/fuzzy/fuzzy1.html|title=Let's Get Fuzzy|first=Coury|last=Turczyn|year=2002|publisher=PopCult Magazine|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050418041639/http://popcultmag.com/obsessions/profilesingreatness/fuzzy/fuzzy1.html|archivedate=April 18, 2005}}

Without explanation, Conley stopped drawing daily Get Fuzzy strips in 2013. For some time after he drew Sunday strips only,Ward, Alyson (April 7, 2017), "[http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/What-happened-to-the-Get-Fuzzy-comic-strip-11057644.php What happened to the 'Get Fuzzy' comic strip?]," Houston. Retrieved August 20, 2017 though the last known new Sunday installment was on February 3, 2019. Repeats of the strip are still offered to newspapers today.

• 2002, National Cartoonists Society Award for Newspaper Comic Strip.{{cite web|url=http://www.reuben.org/ncs-awards/division-awards/#strip|title=Division Awards: Newspaper Strip|publisher=National Cartoonists Society|accessdate=April 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418223749/http://www.reuben.org/ncs-awards/division-awards/#strip|archive-date=April 18, 2013|url-status=dead}}

On October 30, 2003, the city of Pittsburgh served as the punch line of a strip about tourism destinations based on smells. Offended residents of the area deluged the author with negative feedback that included death threats.{{citation|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/comic-strip-apology-to-really-isnt-521800/|title=Comic strip apology really isn't: 'Get Fuzzy' creator says Pittsburghers need to take a joke|date=November 18, 2003|first=Dan|last=Fitzpatrick|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kcra.com/travelgetaways/2613194/detail.html|title=Pittsburgh Not Laughing At Smelly Joke - Travel News Story|publisher=KCRA Sacramento|date=November 5, 2003|accessdate=May 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204090709/http://www.kcra.com/travelgetaways/2613194/detail.html|archivedate=December 4, 2008}}{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/letters-to-the-business-editor-111103-521354/| title=Letters to the Business Editor| date=November 11, 2003|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}}

A May 13, 2005, strip portrayed Boston-area sports reporter Bob Lobel as a drunk, prompting Lobel to file libel lawsuits against Conley and his syndicate.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/head_games_1/|title=Head Games|magazine=Boston Magazine|date=July 2005|first=Gretchen|last=Voss|accessdate=May 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820194619/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/head_games_1/|archivedate=August 20, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.greaterboston.tv/features/btp_20050520_fuzzy.html|title=Lobel Charges Libel|date=May 20, 2005|publisher=WGBH|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924181404/http://www.greaterboston.tv/features/btp_20050520_fuzzy.html|archivedate=September 24, 2006}} The parties announced in November 2005 that they had reached a settlement, although terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Due to this controversy, that particular strip was removed from the collection Take Our Cat, Please! and the treasury The Potpourrific Great Big Grab Bag of Get Fuzzy.

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• {{official website|http://www.gocomics.com/getfuzzy|Get Fuzzy at GoComics.com}}

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Category:American comic strip cartoonists

Category:American comics writers

Category:American comics artists

Category:Amherst College alumni

Category:Artists from Knoxville, Tennessee

Category:People from Concord, Massachusetts

Category:1970 births

Category:Living people

Category:Artists from Massachusetts