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The strip originally featured a quiet, humble man named
Theophilus searching for truth amongst a cast of more prideful, arrogant, and holier-than-thou characters. Theophilus interacted with neighborhood gossips and narrow-minded scientists, as well as sanctimonious members of the church. Theophilus
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founded by illustrator Bob West that was syndicated from
February 6, 1966, through April 19, 2002. The strip primarily ran in church newsletters and related publications, but has also run online, appeared in newspapers, been translated into Spanish and French, and appeared in CD-ROM collections and
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also went on to achieve publication in local and college newspapers across the country, along with re-publication in a wide range of church bulletins and newsletters. West stopped drawing new cartoons for a number of years, but continued to allow old strips to be re-published various places. In
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The strip originated in a small newsletter of the church West attended. However, in
December 1967 West was told the cartoons would be dropped because, "Theophilus hurts people's feelings." West sold the strip to a monthly journal with a much larger circulation.
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The serious, mature themes discussed in
Theophilus were contrasted by simple, childlike artwork. All characters (except Brother Fairasee) were depicted as large, bodiless heads with
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January 1989 West resumed drawing new strips (largely in response to attacks from critics questioning his theology). In 1991 West and collaborator Art
Thompson released the book
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legs. Rarely were any characters drawn with arms. Backgrounds, likewise, were rarely depicted. Otherworldly characters were not shown – when
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often left these topics with no clear answers, instead urging the characters (and the reader) to seek answers from God through
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West discontinued the series in 2002 in order to work on his new comic strip,
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speaks, a grey-shaded word balloon simply comes up from below.
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characters Sketch and Honey
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