Spotlight on Fred Fredericks - Other Comics - Rebel

Country:	USA / English

In 1964, Fred Fredericks heard about a new magazine to be distributed in US schools, "Scholastic Scope". He took some of his art to Scope headquarters, and in due course, Rebel was born. Fredericks produced the strip for almost 30 years and it has also been reprinted in collections. Some of the ideas for strips came to him through write-in gags from the public. Each kid who wrote in got a credit within the comic.

Comic strip story

"Rebel" is a series about a group of teenagers who hang out together. Some of the gags are from life at Finster High School and others take place in their free time.

Frederiks never mentioned what grade the teenagers are in or how old they are. But students go to high school for four years: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. Our friends are often received by Mr. Mellon at the start of the school year, and he knows them by name. So they can not be freshmen. At the end of the school year, it is expressed that they will return to school after the summer holidays. So they can not be seniors. Rebel also drives a car in several stripes, so he must have turned 16. Which matches a strip from March 31, 1977, where Rebel meets a guy who beat him up in first grade (age 6-7) - And that was ten years ago. So our friends are most likely 16-17 years old and juniors at high school.

It doesn't seem like anyone ages in the series. The first strip of the school year suggests that they are starting a new school year and the last strip of the school year suggests that the school year is over. But they finish the school year as juniors, and they start a new school year as juniors.

Main characters

Rebel is the main character of the series. Fredericks has mentioned little about his background and upbringing. Although they have never appeared in any strips it is stated that he has parents, but it is never mentioned that he has any siblings. Rebel's first name or surname has not been elaborated further, and one has to assume that Rebel is a nickname. One of his areas of interest is music, with a somewhat peculiar taste in music. In the early years he occasionally appeared on stage in a band consisting of himself, Hare and Groover.

Before 1970 Hare was known by his nickname Wreck. He is one of Rebel's closest friends and appears in almost all the strips. Fredericks has given him a little more background and his father has appeared in a few strips. He also has a younger sister, Sis, and a little brother named Claude.

Celeste often appears in the strips. Even though she and Rebel occasionally go on dates, it doesn't really seem like they are more than friends. Her father, Mr. Cascer, sometimes appears in the strips. It appears that he is not very enthusiastic about Rebel. Celeste also has a little brother. A curiosity is that Celeste is drawn with her hair over her eyes. Kind of like Beetle Bailey's (by Mort Walker) eyes never being shown.

Groover has a more passive role in the strips. He is a recurring character in the stipes, but few of the jokes involve him actively. Fredericks has not elaborated anything about his background.

Mr. Mellon is principal at Finster High School.

The school computer

The school computer is not very cooperative and is often acting like a wise guy.

Other characters

• Miss Ridley, a teacher, is in several stripes.
• Mr. Cascer, father of Celeste, is in several stripes.
• The Coach, is in several stripes.
• Big Ernie, the school bully, is mentioned several times but is not drawn in any panel.
• Mr. Herkimer, a teacher, figures in one (?) strip.
• Mr. Brookshear, a woodworking teacher, figures in one (?) strip.
• Darth Vader (character in the Star Wars franchise) is a substitute teacher in algebra II in the strip of November 17, 1977.
• Lance Templeton, cameo appearances in the strip of May 2, 1986

Scholastic Scope

Scholastic Scope is a magazine intended for students at high school. From the very beginning, each issue had a half page with the humorous comic strip "Rebel" by Fred Fredericks.

The first issue was published in autumn 1964. The publication follows the school year from September to May, and the release rate is a mix between weekly and fortnightly. Usually 24 issues were published during a school year. In the beginning, the magazine followed the various semesters, so that volume one was published from September to January 1964. And volume two was in the spring until May 1965. This changed in the autumn of 1976, when the entire school year became volume 25.

The school year 1989-90 had two double issues (5-6 and 17-18) so only 22 of Rebel were printed. The first issue for the year 1990-91 did not have a Rebel strip, but a one panel strip titled "Today's Fresh Phrase" by Fredericks. It was a gag for the phrase "Freshly dipped" - Meaning: nicely dressed, as in "He looks freshly dipped today." Next to it was a call for readers to submit their own slang, along with a definition for each word or phrase. In 1983 Fredericks had done something similar when he illustrated the book "The New York times captive vocabulary" by Robert Greenman.

The new idea did not seem to capture the readers and we find a new Rebel strip in issue 2, but not in issue 3. Then the Rebel strip was printed unevenly in the issues 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 16 (March 22, 1991).

In the years 1964 to 1991 about 631 Rebel strips were printed in Scholastic Scope.

Samples

• 

  from 1990, September 7

• 

  from 1991, March 22

Cover

• 

  1966, March 25

My Fifteen Years at Finster High by Fred Fredericks

In the issue of December 13, 1979, there is an article written by Fred Fredericks: "My Fifteen Years at Finster High by Fred Fredericks." Here he tells a little about himself and the story behind Rebel.

 Back in 1964, I was drawing comic books such as Mighty Mouse, The Munsters, and Twilight Zone. That's when I heard about a new magazine called Scholastic Scope. You never know what might happen until you try. So I took some of my art over to Scope headquarters. I found that the editor was looking for an original comic strip. I worked up some samples - and Rebel was accepted. Rebel appeared in the first issue of Scope. The gang from Finster High has been in there ever since. Whenever I tell Scope readers that Finster High is a make-believe place, they say, "Oh yeah? You should see our school!" So maybe it does exist out there somewhere. After all, other Scope readers tell me they know a kid just like Rebel... or Celeste... or Groover... or Hare. Thinking up Rebel jokes can be fun. You often remember something that happened in school - or should have happened. Then you build a gag around it. Other times, you work a joke out of thin air. You might imagine what Rebel would do if his car fell apart just before it is inspected. Then the gag takes form. I also draw another comic strip called Mandrake the Magician. It appears every day in more than 200. newspapers. It is drawn in a different style than Rebel. Because it is filled with adventure, rather than humor, the art is more realistic. Many young people would like to become cartoonists. They often ask me how to work towards that. A good tip is to draw all you can in your spare time. Try to develop some cartoons for your school newspaper. The many hours of practice might pay off someday. Once, I entered the Scholastic Art Awards when I was in high school. I won a prize, which was a great thrill. I hear the same thing happened to Robert Redford. But I promise not to make any movies if he doesn't draw any comic strips.

Books

In December 1969 Scholastic Book Service released the first Rebel book, with 61 selected strips from the years 1964 to 1969.

• 

  Rebel
  1969

• 

  Rebel Rides Again
  1974

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