The Dinette Set

The Dinette Set is a single-panel newspaper comic by artist Julie Larson. Set in the fictional Midwestern suburban community of Crustwood, the comic satirized middle-class culture; its main characters are 50-ish sisters Verla Darwin and Joy Penny. The comic poked fun at middle-class perceptions (and misperceptions) of common, everyday issues.

Publication history 
Larson's comic began as Suburban Torture in the Los Angeles Reader and other alternative newspapers in November 16, 1990.<ref name="Editor & Publisher Nov 96">Astor, David  (November 30, 1996). "Middle Class Is Satirized In 'Set". Editor & Publisher. Pg. 22</ref> It was then syndicated daily by King Features from September 9, 1996 to 2004, when it moved to Creators Syndicate.

In January 2010, Larson announced The Dinette Set was leaving Creators for self-syndication. In May of 2010, however, Larson signed on with United Feature Syndicate.

The strip continued until November 29, 2015, after which Larson retired from drawing.

Format
The strip is a single panel comic that usually has two panels in most Sunday papers. It usually takes place in the Penny's dining room or in their living room, or in the summer months, their backyard pool. Much of the humor in the strip comes from the shirts the characters are wearing and signs hanging in the background. The characters are usually wearing T-shirts that have the name of a popular book or movie or TV show and then that say "on ice". (Example: "The Jerk'' on Ice") Usually these pop culture references have never been performed on ice. A lot of times at least one of the characters have a coffee mug that says "shut up" on it. In the scenes in the dining room, there is a to do list hanging in the background for humor. The strip usually has an object hidden in the picture for the reader to find known as a "find it".

References

External links
 The Dinette Set at GoComics.com
The Dinette Set on Creators.com - old site, no longer updated

Category:American comic strips
Category:Comic strips started in the 1990s