Bob Thaves, Creator of 'Frank & Ernest' Comic, Dead at 81

By: E&P Staff Bob Thaves, the creator of the long-running comic strip ?Frank & Ernest,? has died at the age of 81.

Thaves started the comic strip in 1972. Over the years, it chronicled the exploits of Frank and Ernest, two characters who were able to travel through time and change their appearances. Their names were a play of words based on their ?frank and earnest? attitude.

The comic strip is distributed by the Newspaper Enterprise Association to over 1,300 newspapers, and is read by more than 25 million people on a daily basis.

Thaves? son Tom, who began helping his father with ?Frank & Ernest? in 1997, will carry on the production of the comic strip.