GoComics A to Z, Vol 6: Reply All
by LucasIn this weekly series, editor Lucas Wetzel spotlights new and unusual comic features from the GoComics A-Z listing.
Feature: Reply All
Creator: Donna A. Lewis
Format: four panels
Frequency: daily
Recommended if you like: Cathy, Dilbert, humor related to office politics, self-appearance and family members who don't know how to use email properly
Each week we get submissions detailing people's childhood dreams of creating a syndicated comic strip. Many of them write that it's the only job they could ever imagine having. But it's often those who have labored in other professions who wind up finding the most joy and consistency in the cartooning profession. In other words, when you work hard for something and know what the alternative looks like, it's hard to take that success for granted. At least that's the vibe I get from Donna A. Lewis, whose daily comic "Reply All" chronicles the day-to-day neuroses and social interactions of Lizzie, a highly self-aware single woman in the public relations industry. Like Stephan Pastis, Lewis has a background in law, and she still works as an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security even while producing "Reply All," which has been syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group since 2011. Lewis' art isn't terribly sophisticated, but when it comes to the writing, the characters' clever exchanges, modern concerns and streamlined dialogue give "Reply All" a subversive, socially conscious flair. For example, take the two-day sequence on mansplaining below.
The issue is handled in a way that a white male reader like me (presumably the most offending category of "mansplainers") feels in on the joke. The feminine perspective will appeal to readers of Cathy (a character Lewis has said she does not personally identify with), and the office humor is similar at times to Dilbert, but "Reply All" feels more of-the-moment than those two classics, like a comic your witty colleague doodled during a meeting and made everyone in the office giggle. Which, in fact, is exactly how "Reply All" came into being. Here's a couple more recent strips:
Read more "Reply All" every day right here on GoComics.com!
