Commentary

This is one of those rare strips that I think is pretty good, both visually and from a story standpoint, but that has a pretty weak punchline.  There’s just something so obvious about that last panel.  What I do like a lot is the unconventional paneling.  I don’t remember exactly how I hit on the idea of that odd second panel that also acts as a fifth panel, but the effect of it is such that I think it’s funnier than anything else going on in the strip.

Also, for a color-blind artist, I don’t think I did too bad a job here.  I really like all the reds and oranges.

You get a good idea here just how terrible the modern-day Society of Heroes really is.  They litter and need coffee (in Tangerine’s case beer) to get going in the morning. I mean, what kind of lame superheroes are they, exactly?

Battlestar Galactica fans should be able to spot the shout-out on the cups. Instead of Starbucks Coffee (Starbuck being a prominent character on BSG), we have Apollos Coffee (Apollo also being a prom–yes, exactly). My love for that show knows no bounds and I’ll work in a reference every chance I get, no matter how obvious.

UPDATE – BROCK HEASLEY TALL TALE RADIO INTERVIEW NOW AVAILABLE!

Hey all, quick update here to let you know that my interview with Tom Racine for Tall Tale Radio just went live! Tom says:

It’s Brock “SuperFogeys” Heasley’s turn to be grilled for your amusement! Tom and Brock talk about the origins of “SuperFogeys,” the challenges of writing vs. drawing, the importance of storytelling and character, the joy of DVD commentaries, the fine line between comedy and tragedy, his good old fashioned technique, the upcoming Th3rdWorld redesign brilliance, and the importance of keeping Tom in Tall Tale Features T-shirts. And don’t forget Comic Strip Trivia! Will Brock know Mickey Mouse’s original name? Does he know the original artist of Spider-man? Does he know the philosophical character in “Beetle Bailey?” Tune in to find out!

You can listen to the whole thing at this link or, if you have iTunes, just do a search in the iTunes Store for “Tall Tale Features.”

TALL TALE FEATURES INTERVIEW #2

This week on Tall Tale Features we’re featuring the latest in our “TTF on TTF” series of interviews with the Barb (Xylia) Jacobs Interview by Chip (Broken) Skelton.

This is a great, fun interview where Barb spills on everything from her creative process to her music choices. All aspiring cartoonists need to check it out.

NEW SUPERFOGEYS.COM UPDATE

Beta-testing this week. Next week launch? I hope so!

SCOOTERS

My brother got a scooter a couple of weeks ago. Gas crisis and all. Now, he’s got me thinking about it. My family scaled back to one car about a year and a half ago, but with both kids in school now I’m not sure this is feasible any longer. The scooter, with about 50-55 mpg, is looking more and more attractive. I’d only really use it for getting to and from work. I don’t see my wife going for it, but we have to do something, y’know?

TODAY’S STRIP

This is the first decent look you’re getting of the Society of Heroes. Even though they’re not named here, I have taken the liberty of including them on the “Characters” page on the new site. I even named them! In fact, just about every single character who has appeared in SF is on that page, with some sort of commentary and a link to the first strip they appeared in.

Obviously, you can’t see it yet, but it’s one of the many features of the new, forthcoming site.