Rick barely made it out of High School in fact. Throughout that time he suffered from severe manic depression and shoddy medical practices. The latter meant that the former went utterly undiagnosed until in his early twenties. At that time, his girlfriend, Jackie (whom he is now married to) worked with him to figure out for themselves what was wrong. Together they unearthed the truth about Rick's condition and set about seeking proper treatment. Today he is a healthy and (relatively) happy working artist. There's a lesson to be learned about the medical community there.
He spent 10 years working in bookstores and refining a sharp distaste for the retail-buying public. He is not alone in this. Along the way he developed an interest in Sci-Fi, Horror (not Fangoria, the real stuff), women, cinema, MST3K, animals, rain, Fall & Winter, women, french fries, Halloween, and lastly women. His Playmate data sheet also lists his Turn-Offs as: Big business, politicians, religious zealots, Summer, manic depression, gallstones, and anything that's "diet". He hopes for world peace, and to be a successful runway model, then to raise three beautiful children and live life to the fullest every day. Next up: tap dancing and baton twirling.
Actually he really hopes to gain a comic readership that soars into the TRIPLE digits; see more projects published, then actually make a living at it. He also wants to become a published novelist, a children's book author, and do a daily newspaper strip. Apparently he doesn't want to over-extend himself...
Gypsy is the family dog but she's outgunned by Mighty Mite, Corky, Pita, K.T., Lady and Floyd on the 6 member feline team. Other fun stuff: Didn't date, lose virginity or learn to drive until age 21. (See second paragraph.) Due to a faulty internal thermostat, he doesn't sweat even under extreme heat; he cuts his own hair; and swears Allyson Hannigan will be his if it's the last thing he does. Hopefully the daily comic strip will buy her attention then.
Rick's work has sometimes been classified as "furry". While many of Rick's characters ARE anthorpomorphic animals, that can be leveled more to the fact that he and Jackie seem to think that animals are more decent people than, well... people actually! If you notice, there are lots of humans in Rick's stories. More humans than talking animals, really. But since he feels so close to animals he likes placing them as "people" in his books. And usually it's the people with tails who are the better adjusted. So, no even though the books are not what could be described as "furry", we welcome fans of anthropomorphic books. Have a look around. You'll find something here you like.
