Fred Basset - The Nature of Fred

The Nature of Fred

Fred Basset himself seems to have been born during 1959 from comments in the earliest cartoons, and in true cartoon style, seems not to age. Fred's observations can be wry and a certain amount of surrealism is evident, with one early strip having his owners mention they thought the Fred Basset strip in the day's newspaper was "quite amusing" (cartoon 553 in book number 4). Later strips mention both Fred, his owners and passers-by being surreally aware of the newspaper Fred Basset strip and commenting as such, unaware that their own Fred is the character mentioned.

Fred has a certain amount of snobbishness and appreciates the finer qualities of life, as shown clearly in the Alex Graham era strips, with attitudes of the time. He is equally at home misbehaving, being selfish, chasing other dogs and being a coward when more aggressive dogs are around. A small black Scottie (Scottish terrier) dog, Jock, is a regular companion, as well as Yorky (a Yorkshire terrier) in later years. A Doggy-Girlfriend, Fifi the poodle appears too. An alsatian dog, referred to as Satan, is his adversary. Fred likes chasing cats but freely admits he would not know what to do with one if he caught it.