ZED began appearing in Duane's community newspaper in the fall of 1995 when he was fifteen years old. The first weekly strip takes place in the basement. Duane's studio is also located in his basement. Duane wrote the relationship of Brian and Zed to be similar to literary figures Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. The inspiration for Clyde came from Duane's childhood when he would play at his grandparents farm with a plastic bucket over his head. Zed has dreams of being a lounge singer, Duane actually spent time as a lounge singer for a small supper club. If you look closely at the third panel, you'll see that Duane hides his son's name, Zackie, into the drawing. He also hides the names Coral and Clayton into the ZED comic strip. Floyd and Earl began their careers in vaudeville, a form of theatre that Duane wishes he could have been a part of. All of these strips and more are collected in ZED: Top of the Line available for purchase here! All material is ©1995-2010 Duane M. Abel. All rights reserved.