‘Over the Hedge’ comic debuts today

Starting today, the Valley Post is replacing the weekly cartoon “Spot the Frog” with “Over the Hedge,” a strip created by writer Michael Fry and artist T. Lewis.

“Spot the Frog” is being retired and is no longer available, said Ron O’Neal, western regional manager for United Media that syndicates both comics panels.

“Over the Hedge” stars RJ, a mischievous raccoon, and Verne, his sensitive best-buddy turtle. They also hang around with Hammy, a squirrel, and an assortment of other woodland creatures, according to Featurebank, an on-line service of United Media.

Together, the animals are fighting to save their wooded wonderland from the evils of encroaching suburbia, but more often than not, they end up becoming distracted by wide-screen TVs, discarded fast-food containers and the fun of wreaking havoc on the local homeowner’s association.

Launched in 1995, “Over the Hedge” was nominated in 2006 as that year’s Best Newspaper Comic Strip, an award given by the National Cartoonists Society. DreamWorks movie studio launched a big screen animated feature on May 19, 2006, that same year that featured the celebrity voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling and William Shatner, among others.

There are at least four “Over the Hedge” book collections available, the latest being “Over the Hedge 4: Stuffed Animals,” released in 2006.

The strip also won the Religious Communicators Council’s 1998 Wilbur Award.

Fry and Lewis have known each other since 1992 when they both contributed to the Mickey Mouse comic strip.

In addition to writing Hedge, Minneapolis-born Fry is a screenwriter who lives near Austin, Texas, with his wife, their two daughters, and a bevy of animals. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin.

Lewis, Hedge’s artist, has called Africa, Switzerland and Barrow, Alaska, home, among other exotic locales. The National Cartoonists Society honored Lewis in 1999 by presenting him with its annual Reuben Division Award for book illustration.