In January of 1982, I drew an anthropomorphic character for the Louie and Bruce comic strip: Louie’s cat.

I didn’t have a name for the stray alley cat Louie took in, so he was called “Louie’s cat.” Names that I kicked around were Barfield (a play on Garfield), Rowdy Dangerfield (because he thought he was a comedian), Ace (because KISS was his favorite rock band), and Newb, short for Newbesiah. None of the names stuck, though I referred to him in my sketchbooks as Barfield.

He was Louie’s Pinocchio. And like Pinocchio, Louie’s cat had a childlike curiosity and naiveté that got him into trouble.

I introduced another character in January of 1982: Louie’s brother Leroy. He was featured in my shorter strips (which I will present in my next post).