History ComicStrip / Pluggers

* AllThereInTheManual / InformedAttribute: The now-defunct website listed the names and backstories of the various characters. These traits almost never showed up in the actual strip (for instance, Sheila is supposed to be an aerobics instructor).

* SmallTaxonomyPools with a touch of LazyArtist: A perusal of [[http://web.archive.org/web/19970208084719/http://www.pluggers.com/archive.html the older strips]] will show that when [=MacNelly=] was drawing the strip, there was ''much'' more species variety; elephants, bison, walruses, alligators, hyenas...but under Brookins' pen, outside of the core five it's pretty much just dogs and bears, with a smattering of cats, pigs and birds.

** For reference, common recurring themes in the comics are "Pluggers are [[FatSlob fat]]", "Pluggers are [[WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons dumb]]", "Pluggers are afraid of [[NewTechnologyIsEvil modern technology]]", "Pluggers are couch potatoes", "Pluggers are [[ThePigPen slobs]]", "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Pluggers are fat]]", "Pluggers have [[{{Asexuality}} no sex drive]]", "Pluggers drive [[TheAllegedCar rattling junkheaps]]", "Pluggers have terrible diets", "Pluggers require constant medication to stay alive", "[[RuleOfThree Pluggers are fat]]", "Pluggers are [[TheScrooge cheapskates]]", "Pluggers have to [[ToiletHumour use the bathroom constantly]]", "Pluggers are [[GrumpyOldMan old and out of touch]]", "Pluggers are always broke", and "[[OverlyLongGag Pluggers are fat]]".

* KangaroosRepresentAustralia: Sheila.

* NostalgiaFilter: Distaste for any entertainment made since you attended high school seems to be a requirement for Pluggerhood.

[=MacNelly=] originally wrote the gags himself, but made the shift to reader-submitted gags after receiving so many. He handed art duties to Gary Brookins in 1997, who also took over in the same capacity on ''Shoe'' after [=MacNelly=] died in 2000.

* FatAndSkinny: Andy and Sheila, respectively. Sheila is a constantly-bemused [[StraightMan straight-woman]]... straight-flyer?

* BigEater: Several strips make Pluggers out to be this. One example: A plugger's appetite suppressant is having a DagwoodSandwich before dinner.

* NostalgiaFilter: Distaste for any entertainment made since you graduated high school seems to be a requirement for Pluggerhood.

* TheScrooge: Some strips try to praise plugger frugality but end up portraying them as this; given the lengths pluggers will go to save money, like using the same paper bag for lunch every day or [[FacialHorror using a disposable razor for months on end,]] the message is less "pluggers are frugal" and more "pluggers will do absolutely anything to avoid spending money."

** [[http://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2003/11/23/ This strip]] is a pretty sincere tribute to PaulHarvey.

* PrintLongRunners: 20 years as of 2013.

''Pluggers'' can be read [[http://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/ here]]. It's also notable as one of the "favorite" strips of Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon.

** To take the confusion to massive levels, one strip says 'When a Plugger's wife uses the words "Honey" "Sweetie" and "Sugar Pie" he knows she's talking to the dog' yet the husband is a Dog. To quote Josh from Comics Curmudgeon. 'Seriously Pluggers, You have a lot of non-dogman characters you could have used for this joke. It's like you're trying to confuse us'

In '''''Pluggers''''', a cast of FunnyAnimal characters illustrate reader-submitted one-liners about "Pluggers": working-class, mostly middle-aged, largely rural people who "unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life." An example might be "You're a Plugger when the most expensive piece of clothing you own is an NFL jersey."

A single-panel NewspaperComic begun in 1993 by cartoonist Jeff [=MacNelly=], best known for his long-running comic strip ''ComicStrip/{{Shoe}}''.

The strip can be read [[http://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/ here]]. It's also notable as one of the "favorite" strips of Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon.

The strip can be read [[http://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/ here]]. It's also notable as one of the favored targets of Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon.

In ''Pluggers'', a cast of FunnyAnimal characters illustrate reader-submitted one-liners about "Pluggers": working-class, mostly middle-aged, largely rural people who "unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life." An example might be "You're a Plugger when the most expensive piece of clothing you own is an NFL jersey."