By James Casey
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 30, 1998

StripSearch

Like it, love it or hate it, the Wildcat Comics page is there on the back of this very paper, day after day. Over the years, strips have come and gone, some being far more successful and entertaining than others.

Since 1996, "Falafel" appeared daily and gained quite a following among readers. With its instantly recognizable characters such as Wedge (the guy with a conical head) and Ron (Deadhead hippie with a beard), "Falafel" was very much a part of the institution that is our school newspaper.

Though the strip is no longer running in the Wildcat, "Falafel" creator Tom Reiner has just released For the Glory of Kon-Tiki!, a self-funded compendium of "Falafel" comics, on sale in the UA Associated Students Bookstore, Arizona Bookstore and Captain Spiffy's.

Reiner started the comic as a freshman while living in the dorms.

"I saw an advertisement on my second week here," said Reiner, who also states that the name "Falafel" was found on the Internet. The rest is history. Looking at the strip it is somewhat obvious that a great deal of character development goes on in Reiner's mind; he always has a notebook at hand and jots down every little idea that comes to mind.

The characters in the comic all relate to Reiner in a certain way. "I can see a bit of myself in all of them," he says. Other characters include traits from people that he's come in contact with. Clivus, the slack-jawed yokel in the comic, is based on someone that Reiner met at camp. The name is based on the Clivus sanitary system, which Reiner claims is extremely redneck. "We would always talk about white trash camping, like having the tent 10 feet away from the car and stuff."

Most of the strips are set in a trailer park in which the characters live - The "Kon-Tiki" trailer park. "I've always been interested in the Kon-Tiki motif. There's a Kon-Tiki bar and a Kon-Tiki motel, but as far as I know there is not a Kon-Tiki trailer park," Reiner said of the strip's setting.

Another interesting thing about "Falafel" is the way in which everything is based here in Tucson. "I grew up in Sierra Vista but I've been around Tucson a lot," says Reiner. This local element of the comic is what truly makes it a great strip; it's use of local lore makes it a truly accessible read.

A question on everyone's mind is when "Falafel" will be back. According to Reiner, the chances of that resurrection are slim, due to his busy schedule as an architecture student. "I'm not really sure if it will be back, it would be fun to do it later. I miss the strip, though," he says.

If public approval is the measure of success, then "Falafel" is pretty damn popular. While conducting this interview, a fellow walks past and starts a conversation with Reiner. "I really like the book, I read it with my corn flakes every morning," the student says.

So is Tom Reiner a comic dork? No he's not. He asserts that he was "never really into action comic books" and that his main influences are "Calvin and Hobbes," "Bloom County" and ex-UA comic, "Feet of Clay." Tom is a genuinely nice person with a whole head of ideas. Pick up a copy of his book For the Glory of Kon-Tiki! now.