COVER ILLUSTRATION:
Phil Frank’s daily comic strip “Farley” has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle since 1986, illuminating issues and cultural trends in the San Francisco Bay Area through characters that include Farley, a not-always-clear-on-the subject reporter, four bears who run a restaurant catering to the animal set, feral cats in Golden Gate Park, a loquacious raven roommate, a meter maid, and feral pigs that run a personal injury law firm. He started the strip in 1975 as a nationally syndicated feature, but in 1986 chose to go regional. His fans credit him with keeping them off Prozac by supplying a daily dose of pure delight.