COMMENTARY
No single strip that I have done (at the time of this writing I’m about 10 strips into Chapter 7) has caused as much controversy as this one. The comments exploded when this strip hit. I think maybe 1% of the audience saw this coming. And, even if they did, no one thought it would be this bloody.
It was always the plan to kill Dr. Rocket, and Tangerine was always going to be the one to do it. I don’t think it’s revealing too much to say that it’s all part of Dr. Klein/The Third Man’s overall plan. With the character of Tangerine, I was trying to examine a particular kind of comic book anti-hero, and this was my final statement. Not everyone agreed that this sort of graphic depiction of violence should be a part of the SuperFogeys, but that was kind of the point.
As one astute reader commented, over the course of Chapter 5 I took a character that everyone loved to hate (Dr. Rocket) and turned him into someone people genuinely loved. In the same chapter, I introduced someone people initially loved for his rebellious, sassy attitude (Tangerine) and turned him into someone they absolutely HATED. But, as far as Tangerine was concerned, he was always presented in a very honest way. I made it clear that he popped heads, and yet still it was shocking to see him actually do it.
Sharp eyes took note of the dates on Dr. Rocket’s tombstone. This little mystery is fully explained in Chapter 6, “Funeral for a Frenemy.”
THE WINNER OF THE SUPERFOGEYS TRIVIA CONTEST #2 IS…
LAURA SETCHELL! Congrats, Laura! This was a tight race, but as the only person to score 100%, you’re are the clear winner. Laura wins a free SuperFogeys t-shirt of her choice, on sale now in the SuperFogeys Store. Laura, email me your address, won’t you?
Everyone who entered did very, very well. I believe the most anyone missed was two questions. There’s some VERY dedicated SuperFogeys fans out there. I had a lot of fun reading through the answers, especially Amanda’s for all the funny little asides she added and Colleen’s for some touching words about Star Maiden.
So what put Laura over the top? Could it be that she took the time to annotate her responses? I hope she doesn’t mind, but I thought you might all like to see her answers with the original questions. Nice, nice work, Laura!
Laura: All my answers have the episode number I got them from in parenthesis. I did not simply go through comic by comic to get the answers, only to confirm
them. What can I say? I want the t-shirt!
1. What are Captain Spectacular, Spy Gal and Star Maiden’s first names? Captain Spectacular is Wilbur (98), Spy Gal is Vanessa (97), and Star Maiden is Elora (98).
2. Whose picture does Dr. Rocket have on the wall in his room? The woman in question (19) is Li’l Miss Missile, a member of the Carpathian Bug People species Dr. Rocket kidnapped (3).
3. Who shot Jerry? Dictator Tot was the one who shot Mr. Bur-Er, I mean Jerry. (124)
4. Why can’t the doctors cure Swifty’s cancer? It time travels and phase shifts, so they aren’t able to locate it to
cure it. (41)
5. Why did Captain Spectacular call off his original engagement to Spy Gal? Dr. Rocket used a portal rocket on Captain Spectacular and Star Maiden (96), which trapped them in another dimension for six years where they fell in love (97).
6. How many chest hairs does Jerry have? He has only one lonely, sad, isolated hair upon his chest. (58)
7. Why is Tangerine called “Tangerine?” He pops his enemies’ heads like tangerines! (164)
8. At the start of Chapter 4, “Dictator Tot’s Revenge,” Jerry was crying. Why? Jerry was yet again the kicked man in the wheelchair when Spy Gal
refused his webspace invitation (81) and went to his room to “cry about
something or other” (88).
9. Who is the Third Man? Dr. Klein is the Third Man (100), and this should have been more obvious since his portrait was blatantly displayed in every Third Man appearance!
10. True or False: Captain Spectacular and Dr. Rocket were once friends BEFORE they came to Valhalla. True, they were friends before they came to Valhalla. (152)
11. What is Captain Spectacular’s favorite kind of cookie? Captain Spectacular loves him some peanut butter cookies. (151)
12. When Star Maiden sees the other SuperFogeys, what does she see? She sees them as their younger selves (114 comments, 115-116, 121) due to dementia (117), probably multi-infarct dementia judging from her behavior.
13. What is the name of the deity that the Space Pig worships? Space Pig worships the Hog. (75)
14. What does Dictator Tot require before she’s willing to do ANYTHING? She requires a JUICEBOX. (62)
15. Why did Star Maiden slap Swifty? She believed him to be his younger self, and the profuse swearing was not suited to such a superhero’s behavior (121).
16. What is on Spy Gal’s left arm? It’s a Power Dampener to prevent her from using her powers. (11)
17. What was Captain Spectacular’s one condition in order to come to Valhalla? He would only come if he didn’t have to wear pants. (134)
18. Who is Bill? Bill is the Nefarious Mr. Crook! (10)
19. True or False: The Third Man wants Captain Spectacular dead. False; the Third Man does not want Wilbur dead, since his purposes are “so much higher” than just kicking his bucket. (100)
20. Who is your favorite SuperFogey? Spy Gal is my favorite SuperFogey. She rocks!
Bonus: Who is the Healer’s father? ******** is the Healer’s father! Episode ** makes me think so, since he is the *** ****** **** ********* to Valhalla and I can’t imagine it was coincidence that ** ***** up *****, eh? (Brock’s note: Oh, come on, you didn’t think I’d give that one away, did you? Not that it isn’t easy to figure out, but still… Laura, just know that you’re absolutely, 100% right.)
SuperFogeys Makes the Top Ten of Webcomic Idol 2008!
Webcomic Idol is a contest hosted by Bomb Shelter Comics that pits the best webcomics against each other in an “American Idol” like fashion. First week, 5 comics get eliminated and then it’s one per week after that until the last comic standing gets to be a part of the Bomb Shelter Comics Community.
The Webcomic Idol 2008 Top Ten:
Shi Long Pang
The Superfogeys
The Book of Biff
Soul Driver
Simulated Comic Product
Xylia
Newspaper Comic Strip
Marooned
Lawn Darts
Calamities of Nature
You can read all of the Judges’ initial comments on the comics, including the SuperFogeys, here.
SF NEEDS YOUR HELP! Week one voting is going on now and, as of this writing, SF is in the bottom five. All you have to do is vote for SF is VOTE FOR ANY OTHER COMIC. That’s right, vote for the comic you LEAST like. At the end of this first week the comics that are the top five vote-getters will be eliminated.
Voting is easy, no registration required. Simply follow this link and click on any comic BESIDES SF to cast your vote. Let’s see if we can turn this thing around.
The End of Chapter 5, “The Redemption of Dr. Rocket”
Well, this is it. This is what it’s all been leading to. Now, finally, I can reveal the title of the next chapter. I think you’ll see why I had to keep SuperFogeys Chapter 6 a secret until now: “Funeral for a Frenemy”
There you go. I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about today.
[…] a million little panels, but this page just makes me laugh. Also: this appeared in print BEFORE the events of Chapter 5. The lucky few who picked up those first SuperFogeys books saw what was […]
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