Fuzz and Pluck by Ted Stearn

Fuzz and Pluck
by Ted Stearn
Fantagraphics

One thing you have to be ready for if you read Fuzz and Pluck, you’re going to laugh. I semi-guarantee this – if I can offer guarantees as a book reviewer, I would like to guarantee Fuzz and Pluck with this statement: it’s funny. I stand behind that statement. Let’s look at it: a plucked rooster and a discarded stuffed bear walking down the road. Yes, this is very much a part of it. They embark on their journey. “I’m tired,” says Fuzz. “Oh come on,” Pluck demands, “what do you think you have two legs for?”

When all other avenues to truth and justice are exhausted and a man must amuse himself, yet he has ideals – beliefs about life and beauty – lofty things, that must be delivered with due justice and truth, he has no other recourse than to make art. An artist must not go lax on his ideals, no matter the subject. Be your subject a plucked rooster, justice must be done by it. Be it a stuffed bear, okay, take comfort. Let’s examine a moment the relationship between Fuzz and Pluck. The perfect passive aggressive couple: Fuzz and Pluck. A pissed rooster – hey, he’s a plucked rooster: he’s good reason to be angry. And a stuffed bear, prone to doubt and insecurity. The repartee between these two is funny because they are exaggerations of our own inner poles: between the part of us who wants to get things done and now – and has the necessary aggression to do what needs be done – and that part of our self that has doubts, lacks initiative and wants to be safe, protected, and hey, maybe the sex object of a rich suburban housewife. Read more »