About

Brian Basset was born in Norwalk, Conn., in 1957 but grew up in the Washington, D.C., suburb of McLean, Va., where his father was a political cartoonist and his mother a mental health administrator. Like millions of other kids in the 1960s, Brian could be found glued to the TV set, captivated by the early years of the space program and its goal of putting a man on the moon. Television also gave Brian the chance to formulate his budding taste in humor through such shows as “My Three Sons,” “My Favorite Martian,” “The Monkees,” and of course “The Brady Bunch.” In Brian’s world, however, you were either a fan of “The Brady Bunch” or “The Partridge Family” but never both. In 1975, Brian enrolled at Ohio State University where he lampooned state and student politics as a political cartoonist for the school paper, The Lantern.

Three years later, among the misty firs and pre-grunge culture of Seattle, where just one lone Starbucks dotted the landscape, Brian landed a six-month “tryout” as editorial cartoonist for The Seattle Times. This “tryout” lasted 16 years. In 1984, Brian entered the world of syndicated comic strips with his feature “Adam,” which tapped directly into the changing role of men as caregivers. This was taken a step farther in 1995 when the title of the strip was changed to “Adam@Home, reflecting Brian’s real life situation of working from home full-time after he had left political cartooning the previous year. Syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate since 1984, “Adam@Home” continues to delight fans the world over. In 1998, Brian began toying around with the idea of producing a second comic strip. Knowing a second strip could increase his workload more than he could imagine, Brian had only one prerequisite — this new feature would have to be so close to his heart that he couldn’t imagine not drawing it. On Sunday May 7, 2000, “Red and Rover” appeared in newspapers for the first time. This retro-feel strip about the unconditional love between a boy and his dog became a hit with readers immediately.

Basset has been active with the Seattle/King County Humane Society for more than a decade, as well as helping animal shelters across the country with fund drives, donations and speaking engagements. In 2006, Rover was given the honor of promoting spay and neutering throughout the Evergreen State by appearing on Washington license plates.

A big believer in space exploration, Basset was honored in 2004 with a one-man show of his Red and Rover space-themed strips at NASA’s Washington, DC headquarters. He is the first and only comic strip cartoonist so recognized. On July 26, 2005, an original drawing by Basset commemorating America’s return to flight lifted off launch pad 39B along with the crew of the space shuttle Discovery for a near flawless 13-day mission. Red and Rover had finally gone into space.

Brian Basset — still sprouting a few red hairs — is married and the father of two grown sons. The current family dog, Reeses, is a Lab/boarder collie mix. Basset draws from his home-based studio in Seattle, Washington. When he’s not at the drawing board, Brian enjoys painting, traveling, movies, reading, bowling, playing hockey and drinking Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink.