Fontaine Fox, creator of Toonerville Folks, is a favorite of mine, partly because we share the same birthday (though he was born a hundred years before me), and partly because of his charming and unique art style. Toonerville Folks didn't always run under that name, as we see in this particular case. It often ran as either a one-off title related to the panel of the day, or under one of several other titles that got reused now and again. No matter the title, however, Fox's distinctive style would always be a clear indication of what it was. It's simple, but very expressive, and allowed him to often fit far more characters into a scene than you might see in other comic strips.

Today's strip hightlights the plight of those who play Santa during the Christmas season. I have known a "real beard Santa" before, and I wonder what it must be like to have to maintain the beard all year, looking like Santa at all times, and probably have every kid you come across do a double take when they see you. The one I knew was a motorcycle enthusiast. Even when he put all his motorcycle gear on, he still just looked like Santa, but riding a motorcycle (which looks as cool as you think it would). If you wanted to disguise yourself you could try being less jolly, though I imagine that would be difficult given that anyone wanting to be a real beard Santa would have at least a certain amount of natural jolliness. You could also try slimming down. You might end up just looking like a member of ZZ Top, but who knows who ZZ Top is anymore?