The Freak Brothers are not siblings. They are a threesome of
freaks (similar to, but distinct from,
hippies) from
San Francisco. • '''Freewheelin' Franklin Freek''', although laid-back, is the most street-smart of the trio. Apparently he has always been on the streets and it appears that he is several years older than the others. In one story he reveals that he grew up in an orphanage and never knew his parents. Tall and skinny, he has a big bulbous nose, a waterfall mustache and a ponytail. He wears cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. In one strip, he runs into an ex-girlfriend who has a child that bears a striking resemblance to him. He does his best to evade them and is relieved when she does not recognize him. In another strip, when he meets his own (possible) father, the same plot is inverted. Depending on the level of colorization used in the strip in question, Franklin's hair is red, blonde, or light brown. •
Phineas T. Phreak is the intellectual and idealist of the group. He has enough mastery of chemistry to create new drugs and takes an avid interest in politics. Of the three, he is the most committed to social change and environmental issues. He is from Texas and while his mother is relaxed and open-minded, his father is a card-carrying member of the
John Birch Society. He is the hairiest of the brothers—tall and skinny with a thick bush of black hair, a beard, a nose bearing more than a passing resemblance to a
joint, and glasses. He is the stereotypical left-wing radical, bearing a superficial resemblance to
Abbie Hoffman or
Jerry Rubin. •
Fat Freddy Freekowtski is the least intelligent of the trio and is most likely to be preoccupied with food. He has curly yellow hair and a mustache. His compulsion to eat is the subject of several of the adventures of the group. Fat Freddy frequently gets "burned" during drug transactions; when he does "score" he typically manages to lose the drugs in various ways, such as by dumping them out of a shopping bag in front of a cooling fan, which then blows them out the window onto a police car. Fat Freddy comes from an unexceptional large family in Cleveland. In
The Idiots Abroad, Freddy visits the Polish village of Gfatsk, where everybody happens to look like him. He is driven away by an angry mob as soon as they hear the name Freekowtski. Other recurring characters include: •
Dealer McDope, one of the trio's dealers. He is often mentioned in the strips but rarely appears in person. The character was initially created by
Dave Sheridan for the Rip Off Press title ''Mother's Oats Comix''. •
Hiram "Country" Cowfreak, a hippy who grows vast quantities of
marijuana at his isolated farmstead. He is referred to as the Freak Brothers' "cousin". •
Norbert the Nark, an inept
DEA agent who is continually trying, and failing, to arrest the Freak Brothers. •
Tricky Prickears, the star of a comic book within the comic that the Freak Brothers enjoy reading. He is billed as "The Freak Brothers' favorite law enforcement officer". Tricky is a blind, deaf and reactionary detective and the character is a parody of
Dick Tracy, to the extent that Shelton drew his stories in a different style, resembling that of Tracy's creator
Chester Gould. •
Governor Rodney Richpigge, a stereotypically rich, corrupt politician whom the Freak Brothers hold in general contempt. The governor's son is a cocaine dealer. == Fat Freddy's Cat ==