The Perishers dog, Boot. In the early days of the strip they lived in an approximately 10-foot (3 m) diameter concrete pipe section in a seemingly abandoned builder's yard. In 1966 he and Boot moved into a small railway station that had been closed by the Beeching Axe, and they have lived there ever since. Wellington takes his nickname from his trademark wellington boots – he cannot afford proper shoes. He named his dog Boot to go with Wellington. Wellington is quite an intellectual and given to philosophical trains of thought. He can also be quite resourceful – he appears to support
The Cartoon History of the Universe History of the Universe"'s publication. "The Cartoon History" is illustrated in a black-and-white cartoon style. Gonick occasionally uses crosshatching and other realistic drawing techniques, but he primarily draws with a lively brush-and-ink squiggle that resembles Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes", Walt Kelly's "Pogo", and René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's "Astérix". Occasionally, as in the sequences on India in the second book, he mimics Gilbert Shelton's style from "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers". His tribute to "Asterix" is explicit. When Gauls are depicted, not only do they often resemble Goscinny and Uderzo's characters Asterix and Obelix, but when Gonick treats the