Rick Altergott

Rick Altergott, born in 1961, is an American alternative cartoonist and illustrator best known for his long-running, low-brow series *Doofus*. The strip follows the scatological misadventures of two small-town oddballs, Doofus and Henry Hotchkiss. Altergott’s path into comics began in the early 1980s, and he worked steadily as a writer, artist, inker, letterer, and colorist across 14 issues from 1981 to 2013. His most credited titles include *Raisin Pie*, *Doofus*, *Doofus Omnibus*, *Goody Good Comics*, *Psycho Comics*, and *SpongeBob Comics*. His signature style is deliberately crude and playful, often blending deadpan humor with grotesque, absurdist imagery. Altergott’s key collaborators are not widely documented, but his work appeared alongside other alternative cartoonists in anthologies. He co-created the enduring *Doofus* characters, which remain his most recognized contribution. Later in his career, he contributed to licensed titles like *SpongeBob Comics*, showing his versatility. Though not a major award-winner, Altergott is respected in underground circles for his unapologetically weird and consistent voice. His legacy rests on *Doofus* as a cult favorite of alternative comics.