Bill Holbrook

In the aftermath of the pandemic, Dethany and the Fastrack staff adjust to their new workplace habitat as hybrid employees. Finding their footing can be a challenge, almost like a hoofed creature gingerly making her way through a swamp. Ms. Trellis gives Dethany the assignment of creating satellite offices as a stopgap solution. However, she's not prepared for the imagination that Dethany will bring to the task. In other Fastrack news, Fi grapples with job dissatisfaction which makes her perfect for conducting staff orientation. Dethany and Fi make a sales call, and Dethany's childhood friend Patricia is hired by the HR department. (Dethany didn't use her influence to get her the job, but it did help that Dethany had spent years voicing complaints to her about Fastrack's shortcomings.) Outside the office, newlyweds Dethany and Guy are visited by Col. Dendrobia. The two make a Goth-flavored road trip, and Fi's son Curt makes friends with Autocorrect's daughter Cora. Finally, supply chain issues strike everyone, including Santa Claus. Speaking of which, are elves considered to be hybrid staff?

Dethany and THE PHANTOM OF THE SWIM TEAM A prequel to the popular Dethany character from the hit newspaper strip On the Fastrack. When Dethany Dendrobia, the cheerful 12-year-old Goth, joins the neighborhood swim team, she assumes she is just helping out friends who need an extra person to qualify for meets. Outdoor sports are definitely beyond her comfort zone, but Dethany relishes the opportunity to spend the summer with her best buds before they move up to 8th grade--and before her family is transferred to a new town. However, not long after her first meet, mysterious incidents begin happening at the pool, and Dethany is the prime suspect. As she and her friends fight to clear her name, they uncover evidence that leads to stakes more important than a simple relay race. This coming-of-age graphic novel features the normal milestones of puberty set against a dastardly plot of local intrigue. Dive in!

Important changes took place in 2021, much to Coney's distress as she was discovered to be the only one in her cohort not to have experienced a growth spurt during the 2020 lockdown. This took place at summer camp, where she and her friends pooled their talents to repel a predatory threat. More drama was in store for Coney when she and Lin found that height wasn't the only difference between them. On a brighter note, their crew enjoyed creating a Gardening Fantasy League. Beyond Coney, there were other milestones for the Dewclaws. In particular, Rudy and Fiona took their relationship to a new level after preventing the Dewclaw treehouse from crashing down to group level. Meanwhile, Leona and Carl became proud parents of Savanna, who was rescued by her caregiver Ophelia from a poacher in a public park. Angelique bought the local gardening team, meaning she was now Carl's boss. Speaking of gardening, Miranda Hutch was nominated for the prestigious Rhizome Trophy. There was a spirited production of The Lion King, and R.L. was released from prison. Coney, with new and longer ears, heard everything.

The Pepper's Ghost effect has long been an illusion of the stage and other performances, conjuring the appearance of an ethereal spirit. It follows that it would play a role in the proposal of marriage for Dethany and Guy since, after all, what is more ethereal than the prospect of eternity together? For that reason alone 2019 was a big year for Dethany, but other major events also occurred. Autocorrect and the Computer Bug became parents with the birth of Cora, and Ms. Trellis brought in a consultant to advise her on Fastrack's operations. Guy also made progress toward his Master's Degree research on the Internet of Things. Dethany's sister Grace experienced a crisis of confidence, and on Valentine's Day we discover the true relationship between Cupid and Death. What could be more transparent?

Dethany has always been at the forefront of advancements in tech so it was only natural for her to be an early adopter of connected machines. That transported her into the uncanny realm known as the Internet of Things. It proved to be a challenge, and Dethany found the only way to escape it was a summer vacation completely unplugged. Outside of cyberspace, 2018 became an eventful year for Dethany as she received an important promotion. Not coincidentally she also updated her workplace attire under Fi's guidance. On the downside, Ms. Trellis saddled her with the thankless task of being the company's Blame Fairy. Lenore the raven took center stage at the big Halloween party, and Fi continued to visit schools to encourage girls to study math...in Fi's own unique way. Speaking of appliances, Autocorrect auditioned to be cast as the new voice of Siri. To Dethany, probably the biggest event of the year took place when her parents met Guy's parents. Our normally unflappable Goth became genuinely nervous; a sign of how important the evening was to her. Sometimes machines know just how to interact.

Fi is not known for making commitments so it was quite surprising that she had accepted the proposal of her longtime suitor Carl Cull. When that happened it immediately became a question of whether she would actually follow through on the ceremony. Of course, wedding planner Dethany had something to say about that. Fi's reluctance was foreshadowed when she turned up at a job fair, indicating that she wasn't even sure about staying at Fastrack. That's a different case, however, since the company has never shown any reciprocal allegiance to its staff. In other events from 2017, Guy's father experienced a health crisis that brought the family together. That included his finding common ground with Dethany over chess. Dethany and Guy ran in a 5K charity race, sponsored by Fi who kept a close watch on her investment. There was a "Stranger Things" parody set in the online version of the Upside Down where facts ceased to matter. In other cyberspace events, Santa Claus lost his Naughty/Nice database. Most importantly to Dethany, Lenore was faced with the decision of whether to stay with her or become one of the famous ravens at the Tower of London. Send in your RSVP to discover her choice

It finally happened that the traitor Angelique went too far, specifically targeting rabbits in her role as Herd Thinners CEO. It was then that the Dewclaw family took steps to turn her away from that path, unwilling or no. 2019 featured that and much more drama. Bruno and Corrie discovered that they required an alternative to the traditional means of starting a family. Little Onk the Canadian goose was separated from his father, and other offspring continued growing up. That was especially the case at Summer Camp, where Tyler the mouse found that not all threats are carnivorous. Carl decided to enter his name in the National Gardening League draft, and also to ask Leona to marry him. Neither action went according to plan. There was a visit from Marie Komodo the Tidying Expert, and there was an unexpected addition to the Beige U. Gardening team. Meanwhile, Lindesfarne reminisced about the time she was rejected as Easter Bunny material. Wild times, indeed.

Dethany and the Other Clique is a graphic novel prequel to the hit comic strip series On the Fastrack, created by Bill Holbrook. The lighthearted, middle-grade reader follows the popular comic character Dethany Dendrobia as she navigates daily life in contemporary middle school. The 128-page graphic novel’s humor spoofs the restrictiveness of a school’s culture of cliques by taking its social strata to absurd extremes. Upper elementary and middle-grade readers will enjoy the laughs along the way and cheer its ultimate celebration of individuality.

2016 will be remembered for many things, but in Dave's case it will always be the year he helped win the Olympic gold medal as a member of the USA men's basketball team in Rio. It wasn't easy, however, as his former Italian teammates stood in the way. Samantha's mom was up for re-election as governor, going up against the anti-immigrant Claude Carp who turned out to harbor a secret background. Samantha did her best to maintain order in the genetics labs, getting no help from her colleagues raising their son with plant genes in his DNA. Meanwhile, the dodos campaigned for a sanctuary for their species. In Las Vegas, Samantha encountered thieves staging a casino heist. Her only weapon? Her personal drone. Vince and Pam continued their contentious relationship at the dorm, joined by Feryl who immediately had designs on the former mouse. While all that was going on, Samantha, Dave and their friends continued their preparations for the Mars mission. Ming was the first of the group to actually experience spaceflight. At the end of 2016, the launch was a year away...