Tom K. Ryan

Tumbleweeds was an American comic strip that offered a skewed perspective on life on the American frontier. Writer-artist Tom K. Ryan was very familiar with conventions of the Western genre he satirized. Launched September 6, 1965, the strip was distributed for decades initially by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and later by the King Features Syndicate after its acquisition. After a 42-year run, Ryan retired and, rather than let it become a "zombie strip", brought Tumbleweeds to a conclusion on December 30, 2007.