The Raccoon Stories comic strip was born in 1985 when Ken Layne was bored waiting for his wife, Staci, a reporter at the Daily Aztec at San Diego State University, to finish a story so they could leave. Staci had inadvertently run over a raccoon on the way to her home in scenic Dulzura, Calif., the night before and, while waiting at the Aztec office, Ken drew a little interpretation of the killing scene to cheer her.

At the time, I was editorial page editor of the Aztec. Working that night while Ken drew, I watched over his shoulder. When he finished, I seized the crude drawing from Staci and, over Ken's horrified if slightly inebriated objections, ran it in the paper (below).

Response was immediate – students, faculty, administrators were all outraged at both the hideous drawing style and the vicious content. Animal rights activists threatened; art majors picketed. We had no choice but to continue on ... With some gentle urging and a regular supply of bourbon, Ken was convinced to take another stab at the life and times of the anarchistic little critters ...

Clearly, we were onto something here ...