Daily Slice of Life Web Comic created by James Kochalka, it follows his eponymous character's daily interaction with his family (wife Amy, sons Eli and Oliver and very old cat Spandy) and the outside world.As of December 31, 2012 Kochalka will no longer be doing the strip but it will remain archived indefinitely at http://www.americanelf.com/
and is available in book form.
Contains examples of:
- Alt Text
- Art Evolution
-
The Danza: Kochalka uses his own name as well as those and his family members. - Darker and Edgier: Sometimes.
- Faceless Masses
- Hollywood New England: Set in Burlington, Vermont.
- Long-Runners: Since 1998.
- Menace Decay: Avoided, partly because Kochalka canceled the comic long before his real kids grow up and partly because they weren't characterized as "menacing" in the first place.
- Our Elves Are Different: The main character is an "elf" only in how he's drawn, his wife is human and his sons not only are human, but the most realistically drawn characters in the whole series.
- Shown Their Work: Almost every place, music venue or institution he mentions really exists.
- The Cat Came Back: Inverted - Spandy's the only character other than the Author Avatar who's been there since the beginning.
- Kochalka posted a series of strips in the style of these on his Tumblr about Spandy's death at age 20.
