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| - The strip focuses on the daily lives of the children and their interactions with their family, friends and neighbors. Grandparents Nick and Rose are featured often, as they live next door and have a close relationship with the kids. Together they watch television, play cards, bake, and participate in imaginative games. Ruthie often visits the local public library for story hour with the Library Lady, and annoys her with ceaseless questions and variations on her own tales. At school Ruthie dodges the affections of occasionally seen classmate Buggy Crispino (who thinks of himself a ladies man and has even complimented Ruthie's mom on her appearance), argues with her snotty rich friend Cylene, and she and Joe play with their ditzy friend James, a poor (and usually dirty) kid who lives down th
- Family life comic about 6 year old Ruthie Lombard, her 8 year old brother Joe, and their parents and grandparents. Unlike most comics, a generally realistic portrayal of what kids are actually like and how they actually talk. Primarily focuses around Ruthie, but the rest of the Lombard family has their own quirks.
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| abstract
| - Family life comic about 6 year old Ruthie Lombard, her 8 year old brother Joe, and their parents and grandparents. Unlike most comics, a generally realistic portrayal of what kids are actually like and how they actually talk. Primarily focuses around Ruthie, but the rest of the Lombard family has their own quirks. Much of the comedy comes from Ruthie simply being a kid and misinterpreting the adult world, or doing things that come naturally to kids but surprise adults. The rest is all realistic yet entertaining slices of life. More of a light-hearted portrayal of everyday life than a laugh-out-loud comic.
* The Faceless - Buggy Crispino, a little kid who "seduces" any female he can (i.e. he repeats things he must have heard teenagers say and tries to talk just like them), never has his face shown. Usually, his body is never shown either.
* The Un-Reveal - Buggy finally appeared on April 12, 2010 -- in a Ladybug costume with a hat and goggles that obscured most of his face. The closest we get to seeing his face afterwards is seeing his hair.
* Malaproper / Mondegreen: Ruthie is very well known for this.
* Most Writers Are Adults - Mostly averted. This writer has a great idea of how kids actually talk and act and what they care about, and captures it very well for the most part, although a good deal of the dialog is exaggerated for the sake of the punchline. It is, however, mostly realistic.
* Multigenerational Household - Ruthie and her brother Joe live with parents Frank and Ellen, as well as Frank's parents Nick and Rose.
* Strictly speaking, they live in two separate houses next door to each other, but with all the visits and time spent together, it's basically the same thing as if they shared the house.
* Real Life Writes the Plot - sort of. The author has said that his family will tell him stories to write into the strip.
* Shout-Out: In a recent strip, Ruthie and Joe are supposedly about to travel back in time, when Ruthie comments about the food they packed, "Won't the popcorn turn into corn on the cob, then into corn stalks? And the orange juice will turn into oranges before our very eyes!" Joe then comments that he would have been better off with a stuffed tiger as his copilot.
* Sibling Rivalry - Ruthie and Joe fight like any sister and brother would. They also play together like sister and brother too. Very realistic.
* Slice of Life - Basically what it's about.
* T-Word Euphemism: One strip has Ruthie tattle on Joe about name-calling, except that the letters used as euphemisms aren't the usual suspects so the parents aren't sure what the uncensored words are supposed to be. Joe still gets sent to his room.
- The strip focuses on the daily lives of the children and their interactions with their family, friends and neighbors. Grandparents Nick and Rose are featured often, as they live next door and have a close relationship with the kids. Together they watch television, play cards, bake, and participate in imaginative games. Ruthie often visits the local public library for story hour with the Library Lady, and annoys her with ceaseless questions and variations on her own tales. At school Ruthie dodges the affections of occasionally seen classmate Buggy Crispino (who thinks of himself a ladies man and has even complimented Ruthie's mom on her appearance), argues with her snotty rich friend Cylene, and she and Joe play with their ditzy friend James, a poor (and usually dirty) kid who lives down the street. The strip has a number of recurring themes. Ruthie runs her own art business, which she sets up in a stand with a sign that reads "Good Art By Ruthie, 10 cents." (the price was raised in the early 2000s from 5 cents). Ruthie also frequently misunderstands and misuses words she hears. Joe has a better handle on words, but often has trouble spelling them. Grandma Rose has a tendency to meddle into other people's business and gossip, while Nick and Frank tell tall tales to entertain the children. Ellen operates a pottery business in the house. Originally the creator included two sets of grandparents, but broke it down to only one (Frank's side), with the other - and more eccentric - grandmother, Myrna, making guest appearances. Joe's name was originally Frankie, but was changed to one that would take up less space. Ruthie was created as a dark-haired little girl to balance the blond-haired little boys that were already popular in the comic pages. Joe describes his family as being "half Italian and half Texan." The Italian half comes from Nick, Rose, and Frank. Their family name is Lombard, a slightly Americanized version of the Italian family name Lombardo. Myrna and Ellen supply the Texan side. All the family members are colorful characters with strong opinions on everything. The same can be said for their neighbors. The most regular neighbor is old lady named Avis, gossipy and characterized by a perennial grin from ear to ear, who often meets Rose, Nick and/or Ruthie; the elderly couple only tolerate her for appearances, but do not think highly of her gossiping.
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