On the Fastrack

On the Fastrack is a comic strip drawn by Bill Holbrook about the curious characters employed at the fictional Fastrack, Inc. Launched March 19, 1984, it was initially distributed by King Features Syndicate to 50 newspapers worldwide, later increasing to 75 papers. King Features offers this summary of the strip:
Publication history.
For the first 18 years of its publication, the comic was a "gag a day" strip", with the characters aging very slowly. However, in early 2002, Holbrook explicitly switched to a real time format, wherein the characters aged in real time. This kept "On The Fastrack" in tandem with its companion strip "Safe Havens", which shares some of its characters. However, by the 2010s, characters returned to aging somewhat slowly.
Characters and story.
The strip has changed focus several times over the years, though always maintaining lead characters who work at the large firm of Fastrack, Inc. 
For the first few years, the strip was originally centered around Bob Shirt, a slightly nebbishy but likable middle-management employee; Melody Acapella, his attractive co-worker; Melody’s daughter Laurel; Art Welding, another co-worker; Bud Spore, these workers' immediate supervisor, then age 17; and the CEO, Rose Trellis. 
By the late 1980s, the focal characters were the Weldings: Art and Wendy and their children, Rusty and Patina. Bud, Rose, and (to a lesser extent) Bob and Melody were supporting characters. Bob and Melody, once the lead characters, receded in importance over the years, but still appear in the strip occasionally, since Melody runs the company day care center, where Patina and Rusty spend their after-school hours.
In 2010, Wendy's new assistant, Dethany Dendrobia, was introduced, and arguably became the star of the strip. A smart, generally cheerful, extremely competent Goth, Dethany's appearance consistently leads people to underestimate or misjudge her.
The strip's characters include:
External links.
[[Category:American comic strips]]
[[Category:Comic strips started in the 1980s]]