History ComicStrip / Pluggers

* KangaroosRepresentAustralia: Sheila.
* FatAndSkinny: Andy and Sheila, respectively. Sheila is a constantly-bemused [[StraightMan straight-woman]]... straight-flyer?

A single-panel NewspaperComic begun in 1993 by cartoonist Jeff [=MacNelly=], best known for his long-running comic strip ''{{Shoe}}''. In ''Pluggers'', a cast of animal characters illustrate reader-submitted one-liners about "pluggers": working-class, largely rural people who "unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life." An example might be "You're a plugger when the most expensive piece of clothing you own is an NFL jersey."

A single-panel NewspaperComic begun in 1993 by cartoonist Jeff [=MacNelly=], best known for his long-running comic ''{{Shoe}}''. In ''Pluggers'', a cast of animal characters illustrate reader-submitted one-liners about "pluggers": working-class, largely rural people who "unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life." An example might be "You're a plugger when the most expensive piece of clothing you own is an NFL jersey."

A NewspaperComic begun in 1993 by cartoonist Jeff [=MacNelly=], best known for his comic ''{{Shoe}}''. In ''Pluggers'', a cast of animal characters illustrate reader-submitted one-liners about "pluggers": working-class, largely rural people who "unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life." An example might be "You're a plugger when the most expensive piece of clothing you own is an NFL jersey."

A NewspaperComic begun in 1993 by cartoonist Jeff [=MacNelly=], best known for his comic ''{{Shoe}}''. In ''Pluggers'', a cast of animal characters illustrate reader-submitted one-liners about "pluggers" — working-class, largely rural people who "unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life." An example might be "You're a plugger when the most expensive piece of clothing you own is an NFL jersey."

A NewspaperComic begun in 1993 by cartoonist Jeff [=MacNelly=], best known for his comic ''{{Shoe}}''. In ''Pluggers'', a cast of animal characters illustrate reader-submitted one-liners about "pluggers" — people who "unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life." An example might be "You're a plugger when the most expensive piece of clothing you own is an NFL jersey."

** For reference, common recurring themes in the comics are "Pluggers are fat," "Pluggers are afraid of modern technology," "Pluggers are couch potatoes," "Pluggers are slobs," "Pluggers have no sex drive," "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Pluggers are fat]]," "Pluggers drive rattling junkheaps," "Pluggers have terrible diets," "Pluggers require constant medication to stay alive," "Pluggers are cheapskates" and "[[RuleOfThree Pluggers are fat]]."

* RunningTheAsylum: All the gags are now reader-submitted.

* PrintLongRunners: 17 years as of 2010.

** For reference, common recurring themes in the comics are "Pluggers are fat," "Pluggers are afraid of modern technology," "Pluggers are couch potatoes," "Pluggers are slobs," "Pluggers have no sex drive," "Pluggers are fat," "Pluggers drive rattling junkheaps," "Pluggers have terrible diets," "Pluggers require constant medication to stay alive," "Pluggers are cheapskates" and "Pluggers are fat."

* EverythingsBetterWithChickens: Henrietta.

** For reference, common recurring themes in the comics are "Pluggers are fat," "Pluggers are afraid of modern technology," "Pluggers are couch potatoes," "Pluggers are slobs," "Pluggers have no sex drive," "Pluggers are fat," "Pluggers have terrible diets," "Pluggers require constant medication to stay alive," and "Pluggers are fat."

* InexplicablyTailless: Everyone, but Sheila in particular stands out.

It's not commonly known, but the five main characters have names: Andy Bear, Sheila Roo, Carl Rhinowski, Earl Houndstooth and Henrietta Beak. There's no reward for guessing that they are, respectively, a bear, kangaroo, rhinoceros, dog and hen. According to [[http://web.archive.org/web/19970208084918/www.pluggers.com/cast.html an old version of the now defunct website]], there were once more characters.

As with ''Shoe'', Gary Brookins now draws the strip following [=MacNelly's=] death in 2000.

* RunningTheAsylum: [=MacNelly=] originally wrote most of the strip himself, but after fans began submitting their own gags, it was changed so that all the scripts were user-submitted.

* BigEater: Several strips make Pluggers out to be this. One example: A plugger's appetite suppressant is having a DagwoodSandwich before dinner.

* OutlivedItsCreator: As with ''Shoe'', Brookins has kept this strip running for a decade after [=MacNelly=]'s death.

* EverythingsBetterWithKangaroos: Sheila.

* RecycledScript: Many Pluggerisms get recycled over time because two different readers send in essentially the same line:
** The premise of a "Plugger beeper" being a microwave timer was used ''three times'' between 2001 and 2003.
** TheComicsCurmudgeon pointed out that [[http://joshreads.com/images/08/04/i080404pluggers.gif April 4, 2008]] was essentially repeated only [[http://joshreads.com/images/08/09/i080901pluggers.gif five months later]].
** Sometimes a strip is intentionally recycled, with the only difference being that the "Thanks to..." panel reads "A Classic thanks to..."