[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sunnyville_stories_3_16.jpg]]

Sunnyville Stories is an AlternativeComics series created by Max West and published by Different Mousetrap Press.

Sunnyville is a SliceOfLife saga about an [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic cat]] named Robert "Rusty" Duncan who moves [[FishOutOfWater from a big city into a totally alien environment]] - a small, remote village. After exploring the woods, he runs across Samantha "Sam" Macgregor, another anthropomorphic cat and [[CountryMouse country girl]]. From there, the two embark on all kinds of day-to-day adventures.

The two stars of the series, Rusty and Sam, predate the series itself; they first appeared in [[AshcanCopy a self-published zine]] by West titled ''Rusty & Sam #1'' in 2009. After more work with world-building and trading in [[GirlinessUpgrade Sam's tiger-print pants for a dress]], Sunnyville Stories launched in January 2010.

The comic also received a SpinOff titled ''ComicBook/DominicAndClaire'', starring Rusty's cousin Dominic. Both this and Sunnyville have also been confirmed to be part of the same universe as the picture book ''Literature/HildaAndRichie''.

As of 2021, the series is on hiatus after 17 issues. The entire [[http://sunnyvillestories.com/free-episode/ first episode]] is free to read on the creator's blog.

Has a [[Recap/SunnyvilleStories recap page]] currently under construction.

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!!This comic provides examples of:

* AllThereInTheManual: The [[http://www.sunnyvillestories.com official blog]] has much supplemental material, talking about the families of Sunnyville and their backgrounds.
* BarefootCartoonAnimal: The entire cast of Sunnyville.
* BeatPanel: Used for dramatic effect.
* BedouinRescueService: How Rusty first meets Sam; while exploring the wilderness around Sunnyville, Rusty [[FishOutOfWater finds it big and unfamiliar]] as he is a city kid. Sam encounters him while she's walking in the woods. Not only does Sam get him out of the forest, but she also befriends Rusty, takes him home to feed him and even arranges for a party to introduce his family to the townspeople!
* BriffitsAndSqueans: Shows up a lot in the stories, which isn't surprising considering the strong influence of NewspaperComics on West's style.
* TheCameo:
** ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark
** ComicBook/FlamingCarrot
** Rusty and Sam can be spotted as background characters in ''Webcomic/PeterAndCompany''.
** Literature/HildaAndRichie can be spotted too as background characters in a few of the later comics.
* TheCareTaker: A positive example - Sam to Rusty, who keeps an eye on him, acts as a voice of reason and even goes as far as to feed him and introduce him to the townspeople in the very first story.
* CarryABigStick: Chuck, the other Weasel brother, carries around a giant wooden club.
* TheCaseOf: "The Case of the Crushed Cake" is a mystery story where [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Rusty tries to figure out what really destroyed a cake]] the Eftirmaturs were working on.
* CatsAreMean: Averted with Sam who usually gets along with everyone. Downplayed with Rusty; in spite of some inappropriate comments or sometimes talking back to his mom, he's still a nice guy.
* CatsAreSnarkers: Rusty, always ready to make jokes and [[DeadpanSnarker witty replies]].
-->'''Rose Von Straussen''': (describing a dance instructor) He has a lovely student body.
-->'''Rusty''': Yours wouldn't be so bad either if you took off about ten pounds.
* CloseKnitCommunity: Sunnyville. Justified because it is a small village where everyone knows each other.
* CultureEqualsCostume: The Tanuki family, operators of the town's restaurant, are Japanese. In case you couldn't tell, the mother and daughter both wear kimonos while the father wears a happi coat.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first stories have the characters with [[NoodlePeople rather bendy limbs]] as shown [[http://sunnyvillestories.com/wp-content/uploads/ep1-p11-lo-res-.jpg here]] and the backgrounds looking out of perspective. Rusty also does some cartoon style takes, including a SpitTake.
* EducationMama: In Sunnyville #8 "Make the Grade", Rusty's mom becomes so angry at her son for failing a test that she goes as far as to intercept him returning from school, curse him out and pretty much [[HeroicBSOD destroy any confidence he had]]. Eventually, she [[CharacterDevelopment sees the error of her ways]].
* {{Foil}}: Sam to Rusty. Sam is a country girl while Rusty is a [[CityMouse city boy]]; Sam comes from a family of five children whereas Rusty is an only child; and Sam tends to be more responsible while Rusty can be reckless.
* TheGhost: Mrs. Hauptmann, Rusty's neighbor; she's an offscreen character and is never seen.
* HairTriggerTemper: Rusty's mother, Nancy. She'll scream at Rusty very loudly for little or no reason.
* HerrDoktor: Dr. Auernheimer, the town psychologist.
* {{Housewife}}: Rusty's mother and Sam's mother; implied with some of the other moms of Sunnyville.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: The Weasel brothers, Roy & Chuck.
* LazyArtist: When Rusty and Sam are shown walking around in town, few residents are actually shown on the streets.
* MultinationalTeam: Many of the families in Sunnyville are revealed to be from other countries - the Talbots are British, the Eftirmaturs are Nordic, the Tanuki family is Japanese, etc.
* NeckLift: Rusty's mom has done this to Rusty when she gets mad and even carries him all the way home via neck lift, implying she's stronger than she looks!
* NiceMice: The Eftirmatur family, who runs the town's bakery.
* NoirEpisode: "The Case of the Crushed Cake" is one of these, complete with Rusty doing a PrivateEyeMonologue.
* OnlySixFaces: Closer to two. Other than male vs. female (eyelashes and pronounced irises) all characters have the same funny-cartoon-animal face, with only the coloring and ear-shapes indicating differences.
* PersonalArcade: The second story "Multiball Madness" reveals that Mr. Von Straussen collects arcade machines, pinball machines and even has an air hockey table. This is more of a testament though to his wealth; unlike other examples of this trope, Mr. Von Straussen isn't lazy or a ManChild.
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Color artwork of Rusty and Sam will usually depict Rusty wearing blue (if not red) and Sam wearing pink.
* ThePlace: The series is named for the village it's set in.
* RedOniBlueOni: Rusty's emotional mom is red, Rusty's calm father is blue.
* {{Retraux}}: The art has the look of 20th century NewspaperComics.
* RichBitch: Rose Von Straussen, daughter of the richest man in town.
* RPGEpisode: The story "Games People Play" has Sam's cousin, Eddie, holding a fantasy game session with Rusty, Sam, Sam's little brother Jason and young Donny Hopper. It's interrupted by Rusty's mom and Donny's mom, who [[MoralGuardians have forbidden their sons to play such games]].
* SchoolPlay: The Sunnyville Junior Theater Club puts on a play of ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' for the town in one story. HilarityEnsues during the performance.
* ShoutOut:
** In one story when a character comments that they are lost, another one will [[Film/TheMuppetMovie ask if they've tried Hare Krishna]].
** Upon arriving in their new house, Rusty's father [[FloorboardFailure falls through the floor]] and [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy comments that he sees a quarter under the couch]].
** "The Case of the Crushed Cake" opens up similarly to the episodes from ''WesternAnimation/COPSAnimatedSeries'', with Rusty even using the {{Catch Phrase}}s "here's how the caper came down" and "case closed".
* SliceOfLife: The basic premise of the whole series; Rusty and Sam have many daily adventures that usually are quite mundane and related to everyday life.
* StandardFiftiesFather: Rusty's father, Al.
* SteamNeverDies: Steam locomotives are widely used in Sunnyville. Rusty and his family even arrive in town on a steam train.
* StraightManAndWiseGuy: Sam plays the straight role to Rusty; essentially, Rusty says or does something funny and Sam reacts.
* TheVerse: Officially [[http://sunnyvillestories.com/2021/01/hilda-and-richie-are-part-of-sunnyville/ confirmed]] in a short comic to exist in the same universe as Max West's picture book ''Literature/HildaAndRichie''.
* TheVonTropeFamily: The Von Straussens
* WelcomeEpisode: Rusty and his family are welcome by Sam's family in the very first issue of Sunnyville; Sam even introduces Rusty to many of the other children in town.
* WeSellEverything: Sunnyville's general store. Justified since it's the main shop in a small village.
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