Horatio Algiers

Horatio and Dumbledore

2011-08-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

Shortly after J. K. Rowling announced Albus Dumbledore was gay, I wrote and illustrated the following strips. It stars Horatio Algiers, a duck post office employee and is semi-autobiographical. These were originally posted several years ago on this blog, but I thought they deserved their own post in sequential order:

New blog!

2011-07-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog entitled Will Work For Platitudes - a writer's blog. Check it out at marzioli.blogspot.com. It's dedicated to my goal to publish a novel and the various projects I've finished and am currently working on. In other words, there IS life after Horatio Algiers. Hope you'll read it!

Feeble Fever pt. 2

2009-06-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Feeble Fever

2009-06-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Note: 010 is an operation within the A.R.P.S.

Cigars pt. 2

2009-05-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Cigars

2009-05-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

Birthday

2009-05-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Rest In Peace pt. 4

2009-05-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Week 51's strip, in new 12" length format!

Rest In Peace pt. 3

2008-08-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

Remember these guys? Check out the series Devil Angel from June 4th and 11th.

Rest in peace pt. 2

2008-08-20T00:45:00.001-07:00

Rest in peace

2008-08-14T05:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay!

Christian Bale - Mommy Abuser

2008-08-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Final version:

Written by Samuel Marzioli
Art and extra dialog by Isaac Marzioli
Except second panel Horatio eye and third panel Mrs. Bale eye, and new text boxes by Samuel Marzioli

Horatio Special - The Thrift Store

2008-07-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Once in a while I'll draw strips that aren't necessarily canon. Here's the first one:

Lunch

2008-07-23T03:17:00.001-07:00

Snail Mail (Alt Version)

2008-07-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

I wrote an alternative version to this weeks strip. It's the exact same gag, but with the added dynamic that actual dialogue provides.

Additional Comment: I didn't mention it previously, but the slowness of traditional mailing has been a subject of comic strip jokes for years. Inevitably the snail is used as a replacement for the USPS's proud eagle logo. Because it was tired, I had to make my own. Perhaps I did it for the same reason every comedian has their own version of the Aristocrats. However, unlike the Aristocrats, I think I came up with something familiar yet unique.

Snail Mail

2008-07-16T15:12:00.001-07:00

Okay, admittedly this was an experimental narrative. It was inspired by Sergio Aragones, the creator of Groo and long time contributor to Mad Magazine.

The Prize!

2008-07-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

The Problem With Pigeons pt. 3

2008-07-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

The Problem With Pigeons pt. 2

2008-06-25T11:18:00.001-07:00

This final draft was uploaded later in the evening. If you viewed a version before 7 PM then you saw the wrong one! Refresh your browser and enjoy as if seen for the first time!

The Problem With Pigeons

2008-06-18T02:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but these characters are named Short Terrorist and T&T Ali. I thought you should know.

Devil, Angel pt. 2

2008-06-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Devil, Angel

2008-06-04T02:54:00.000-07:00

The New Girl pt. 3

2008-05-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

If you viewed the strip before 7:27 AM on Wednesday, you might have seen a previous, rough draft version. Simply refresh the screen to see it as it was intended.

The New Girl pt. 2

2008-05-21T04:23:00.000-07:00

Horatio may be late!

2008-05-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks. Horatio may be late this week. Check back by FRIDAY for sure! I've been ill off and on and have had a very sore back ache (which has interfered with my sleep). In the meantime, I hope this will tide you over. It won't, but I can hope. It's my, and Horatio's, different world selves mixed and matched.

The New Girl pt. 1

2008-05-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Duck Playing Poker pt. 3

2008-05-07T03:54:00.000-07:00

Duck Playing Poker pt. 2

2008-04-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

My first and, perhaps, last "Sunday" strip. It's a lot more work, but perhaps necessary if I want portray a lot of detail. Like it? Hate it? Sometimes? Always? Never?

Duck Playing Poker

2008-04-23T04:27:00.000-07:00

The poster on the right was designed by Sam Gordon.

Vegetarians

2008-04-16T04:04:00.000-07:00

Sick Leave pt. 2

2008-04-08T22:52:00.001-07:00

Sick Leave

2008-04-02T16:48:00.001-07:00

Rage Against the Machine! pt. 4

2008-03-26T03:01:00.000-07:00

Can anyone guess which movies are quoted in panel 2 and 3? First right answer wins my coveted "Big Deal, Everyone Should Know That" award.

Rage Against the Machine! pt. 3

2008-03-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

Rage Against the Machine! pt. 2

2008-03-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

Rage Against the Machine!

2008-03-05T04:06:00.000-08:00

Management pt. 4

2008-02-27T01:32:00.000-08:00

I can't say I've ever done this for payback. My lawyer won't let me.

Management Pt. 3

2008-02-20T01:12:00.000-08:00

Just in case you didn't know that big black mat with the white circles is a keyboard. Hey, lay off! It's harder to draw than it looks.

Management Pt. 2

2008-02-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

I was barely able to drag myself over to the computer to finish this. The flu is going on day five as of this Friday (It started Sunday night). My fever broke Thursday morning, but I'm still really sick. My work is going to hate that I'm out this long, but in the interest of my health (that is to say, my interest as they don't have any) they can like it or lump it! And knowing my managers, they're all summarily lumping my absence as we speak.

The Flu

2008-02-12T19:05:00.001-08:00

Last night I fever dreamed that my flu symptoms were U-shaped. What does that even mean? I couldn't tell you. Somewhere in my overheated brain meats it made sense, and so for 12 straight hours of fitful sleep I traced these U's in my mind. I don't know why fever dreams are so monotonous. It's like being stuck on the same scene in a dvd, which is played over and over. And not just any scene. I'm talking Pod Racing ala Star Wars Episode 1, or highlights from Water World.

Anyway, I just had a coughing fit and almost passed out. Horatio Algiers is postponed until Friday. If I'm not able to get to it I'll be sure to update you! I profusely apologize. Feel free to read past strips over again. It's rerun time.

Management

2008-02-06T02:16:00.000-08:00

If you think about it, being stared at by management for long periods of time is probably sexual harassment. Who knows what's going on in their heads. They're probably undressing us with their eyes.

Charles Darwin Vs. Ron Jeremiah

2008-01-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

I could have had a go at any politician aspiring for the presidency. Of course I'd have had to change the text substantially. I choose to think this one was a tad more difficult, and rewarding.

We Are In Your Postal Facility Reading Your Magazines

2008-01-23T02:50:00.000-08:00

I'd like to think Mr. "Jeremiah" would be good natured enough not to balk at being represented in comic form. I know for a fact Charles Darwin is tickled pink. Well... maybe not pink. Probably more like bleached white and wormy. I hope many young, fragile-minded, young-men and women stumbled on this strip hoping to see naughty bits, only to discover the only thing naughty going on is my cheeky sense of humor.

Beating the Habit

2008-01-16T01:48:00.001-08:00

Horatio Algiers, now in a new, more compact size. Better? Worse? Let me know!

Terrorism 3

2008-01-08T22:15:00.000-08:00

What would Freud say about THIS strip? Long, erect strings attached to balding kites. I'll tell you what he'd say. He'd say, "sometimes a kite with a cheap toupee is just a kite with a cheap toupee."

Terrorism 2

2008-01-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Several people have commented that cocaine doesn't, in fact, give you hallucinations. My answer is, maybe you didn't get them but I sure as hell did. That is to say, I would have... If I had had some... Which I didn't... Okay, fine! It was in my nose, but I didn't inhale.

Working on it...

2007-12-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

My power finally came on, and a few days later my dog ran away. So I've devoted my free time to looking for him, setting up fliers and checking out animal shelters. Expect a new Horatio by Wednesday the 3rd of 2008.

Power out in OKC

2007-12-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks. My power went out and I wasn't able to finish Horatio Algiers for tomorrow. I'll try to have it up asap. I'm writing this from a wifi at a cigar bar down here in OKC. Wish me luck, and may your days be filled with laughter despite the absence of HA. Feel free to reread the story from the beginning and consider it a rerun week.

Terrorism

2007-12-05T02:18:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2007-11-28T04:25:00.000-08:00

Evolution vs. Intelligent Design

2007-11-21T15:31:00.000-08:00

Dumbledore Is Gay 3

2007-11-13T22:44:00.000-08:00

Dumbledore Is Gay 2

2007-11-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

Dumbledore Is Gay

2007-10-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

And So It Begins.

2007-10-23T02:24:00.001-07:00

Dead Letters

2007-10-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

Dead Letter Office

2007-10-10T02:32:00.000-07:00

Oopy Doopies

2007-10-08T00:20:00.002-07:00

The Tour 2

2007-09-22T04:28:00.000-07:00

The Tour

2007-09-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

The Interview 3

2007-09-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Interview 2

2007-09-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Interview

2007-08-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

The Letter

2007-08-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

2007-01-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Horatio Algiers, the web comic dedicated to the madness inherent in, and inspired by, the post office. I have a feeling every countries post office is basically the same: complicated, disorganized and poorly managed. I hope you enjoy it. But most importantly, I hope you never have to work in one. If you must, do so vicariously. I guarantee you this way's more interesting.