From the day the comic strip Fisher first appeared in The Globe and Mail, more than twenty years ago, it was clear that Philip Street had a total command of the medium. As Barbara Klunder writes in her foreword, "It takes a lot of knowhow with a paintbrush to capture an expression, a gesture, with so few lines."

Street's world includes the bumbling Tom Fisher, the winsome and strong-willed Alison, the ideal housemates (and mates-to-be?) Ruth and Eugene, Alison's irascible father, Tom's gruff boss-and let us not forget Bixby, the robot who imprints itself on Tom after being assigned to him by ad agency Waverly & Mogul.

The 300-plus strips in this compilation carry Tom and Alison from their first meeting through their lovers' quarrels to their-but no, that would be telling. Suffice to say you may recognize yourself, your friends, your co-workers and the love of your life.