Customer Reviews

At Least This Place Sells T-Shirts: A FoxTrot Collection

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Of all of the previous FoxTrot collections by Bill Amend, I would have to say "At Least This Place Sells T-Shirts" is the shining star. This collection brings together some of the best and most well known strips starring the Fox's. Including The series of strips dealing with the trip to Fun-Fun Universe, the strips where Jason meets Eileen Jacobson, the series where Paige save Quincy from almost dying from choking on one of her shoelaces. Also the strips where Peter takes care of Fauntleroy, a neighbor's dog, and the strips where Peter gets his head shaved. So if you are a true FoxTrot fanatic then I reccommend you rush out and buy this book

"There's nothing like going into a big bookstore on a cold winter evening...finding a collection of short stories that you'd always meant to read...taking off your coat...plopping down in their café...and watching shoppers come and go as you sit back and sip on coffee. Ah, bliss."
"Mom, did you bring your credit card? They have every STAR TREK book." (Jason)
"Since calendars are half-price, can I get Niki *and* Stephanie?" (Peter)
"Fourth and one and they're *punting*?" (Roger, on headphones)
"At least this place sells T-shirts." (Paige)
"Ah, reality."
- Mrs. Fox and family, herein

All the cartoons in this collection are included - in the same order - in the omnibus FOXTROT BEYOND A DOUBT except for the single-page additions of Jason personalizing a T-shirt and the dedication page's picture of Quincy the iguana with a teddy bear. The Sunday double strips are not in colour in this book, although they are printed in colour in FOXTROT BEYOND A DOUBT.

Unless you're particularly attached to the smaller size of this book, its cute cover art, or the three single frame cartoons that were added for the dedication and endpages as described above, I recommend considering FOXTROT BEYOND A DOUBT instead, since it includes all the content of this book with the addition of colour formatting for the Sunday strips, together with content from the previous collection RETURN OF THE LONE IGUANA.

Having said that, let's move on to the content. :)

FOXTROT maintains a continuing storyline, although the kids seem to be growing up rather slowly despite the passing seasons. This particular book begins during the Fox family's summer holidays and ends the following spring.

Some of the memorable bits include:
- Paige babysits for Margaret O'Dell from her mother's book club for the first time, whose little girl is cute but whose babysitting conditions are dire. "Hi there! You must be little Katherine!" "Um, it's 'Katherine', with a 'K'." "That's what I said." "No, you said 'Catherine' with a 'C'. I could tell. Hold on - I'll be right back." "Hi, there! You must be the little girl who's going to need massive therapy in twelve years!" (Peter, much later, takes a dog-sitting job looking after a crazed little canine Nac Mac Feegle - pit bull aggression levels in a toy dog's body).
- Jason and Marcus experiment with model rockets and with the biggest kite they can manage to put together.
- The Fox family takes a family vacation to Fun-Fun Universe (not to be confused with Disney World, of course).
- Paige learns during a speech in social studies class not to listen to her dad's advice on how to control her nerves: "Yowza! It's like a Chippendales show!"
- Peter's first anniversary of dating Denise and his efforts to select a good present (genes from his mom's side, since his dad buys spatulas for Valentine's Day). He also goes through some rather trying study sessions with her while her parents aren't home.
- Jason's classmate Eileen beats his score on a math test; she suckers him into going out for ice cream with her family afterward, even though he officially doesn't like girls.
- Paige is assigned to write a ghost story in English class. After she makes Jason the victim, she gets an A plus an appointment with the school counselor.
- Paige's brother Peter passes himself off as her secret admirer as a joke.
- Jason asks for Doomathon II for Christmas, but trades it at the computer store after his mom becomes addicted to it. "Mom convinced me that I was too young to have a game like that in the house...I mean, *I* can't do my laundry."
- Roger suffers through an efficiency expert at work who complains at finding perfectly good paper clips in the trash and is then treated to lunch at the Ritz by the boss.
- The baseball team players, including Peter, shave their heads after losing a bet with the soccer team (which temporarily cheers Peter's balding father no end).

Oh, my lord this is like the greatest Foxtrot ever written. The Strips are so cool and the stories are soooooooooooo funny espesialy when Roger smokes a cigar and Paige writes a ghost story. Truely, very fuuny

This is a great book to give to someone as a gift to introduce them to the humor of Foxtrot. It is wonderfully funny and engrossing: you will have finished it before you realize it!

The Fox family has been a part of my morning constitutional ever since I was first introduced to them in the first book, self-titled, "Fox Trot." Through the years the antics of this nuclear family has amused me time and time again. Whether it be Peter's typical enthusiam for the idolization of sports figures, Paige's obsession with fantasy boyfriends and shopping, or Jason's intelligence and sincere yet vain get-rich-quick schemes, one or any combination of them never fail in the area of hilarious entertainment. The character that steals the show, (mostly) however, is Jason's pet iguana, named Quincy. Though he speaks no lines, he is most assuredly the key figure that keeps this family a riot. Garfield. Snoopy. Get in line! In short, "Fox Trot" is a cup of "Far Side" with a dash of "Family Ties." Buy one book and laugh. Buy them all and explode

There are some really great jokes, but it costs one week of my allowance or more