Welcome to Chapter 16 – Invasion, Pt. 3: Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun. This promises to be a big, bold chapter taking us right through SF 500. You just know that one’s going to be HUGE. I can say no more right now. Newer SuperFans may be unfamiliar with Soviet Sam’s story. He’ll be telling [...]
Archive for ‘Chapter 16 – Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun’
One of the unique things about Soviet Sam is that before he became part of the main cast, he received an extensive introduction in SuperFogeys Origins. Most of you are familiar with his story from there, but my initial concern in introducing him to the Valhalla story was that there was just too much to [...]
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Apr 16, 18 | 778 – Sam’s Guilt |
Jul 6, 10 | SF Origins: The Life and Times of Soviet Sam, Pg. 7 “Do You Wanna Die?” |
Dec 5, 16 | 716 – Boy Haircut |
Aug 28, 13 | 530 – Jerry’s Greatest Hits |
Apr 28, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 11 “Huzzah!” |
On the surface, this doesn’t look like a terribly personal strip, but I put a secret part of myself into Sam here. As some of you already know, my father was killed in an armed robbery some years ago, when I was just making the transition into adulthood. I was in no way responsible for [...]
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Apr 8, 07 | 137 – The Operating Blues |
Jan 14, 07 | 69 – Swifty’s Computer Problems |
Jul 16, 18 | Pg. 7 “Passion Enough to Change a Heart” |
Sep 29, 11 | Chapter 6, “Funeral for a Frenemy” Recap by Crystal Murphy |
Sep 22, 14 | 625 – The Edict of Chaos |
Castro! The last time we saw our friendly neighborhood dictator was a long, long time ago. His appearance proved so popular he even inspired a T-shirt! (Did you get one? If you have a photo of you in it, I’d love to post it.) I think there’s a whole ‘nother story to be told about [...]
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Dec 23, 09 | SF Origins: Harvey the Science Rabbit, Pt. 1, Pg. 5 “ |
Mar 16, 07 | 115 – Star Maiden Flattens Dr. Rocket |
Nov 7, 06 | 35 – Healer Q&A |
Sep 1, 22 | 920 – …The More They Stay the Same |
Sep 14, 16 | 699 – How Captain Spectacular Takes Care of Business |
The alien invaders have desired Dr. Rocket for quite a while that they might make him answer for his crimes. As far as the SF Universe is concerned, there’s no one who has done more damage or more wrong than Dr. Rocket. He is an out and out villain. Never pretends to be otherwise. And [...]
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Sep 26, 06 | 5 – The Urine of What!? |
Nov 15, 17 | 747 – The Popped Grape |
Nov 3, 06 | 31- Spittin’ Oatmeal |
Apr 15, 11 | Pg. 1 “A Sudden Meeting” |
Apr 8, 07 | 137 – The Operating Blues |
Last week was good stuff. It’s good to be reminded now and then that SuperFogeys has one of the most engaged and smart readerships out there who are always thinking–not just about the latest twists and turns, but about character. I the variety of opinions on the issue of what makes a character likable or [...]
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Oct 21, 19 | 805 – Across the Mountaintop |
Mar 2, 07 | 105 – Dr. Klein is Leaving? |
Jun 23, 22 | 900 – Protected |
Feb 9, 21 | 872 – Zurida Down |
Aug 16, 10 | 271 – Is Spy Gal Not a Good Woman? |
There’s no way to overstate how big a domino just fell in today’s strip. Soviet Sam and Space Pig are just catching up to a valuable piece of intel that was dropped on you, the reader, waaaaaaaay back in strip 100. I made a choice back then to reveal something to the reader that none [...]
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Jan 16, 12 | 378 – Things Fall Apart |
Nov 21, 11 | 364 – Comrade |
Oct 7, 11 | Chapter 12, “Jackpot!” Recap by Steve VanDyken |
Mar 16, 21 | 882 – Says You |
Oct 18, 06 | 25 – Pee On Swifty |
It’s been a long, long time since a strip has been tagged as “Bubbles of Light.” What the heck are Bubbles of Light? Here’s a tip: click on the tag below to see a good compilation of all the most important strips involving the Bubbles of Light. Once you’ve done that, come on back here [...]
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May 12, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 13 “What Are You Doing Here!?” |
Apr 24, 13 | 500 – What Should Not Be |
Jun 29, 11 | 329 – Ear Twist |
Jul 23, 18 | Pg. 8 “Better When She Was a Villain” |
I hate giving Marc strips with five panels. Believe it or not, I try to strip these things back as far as I can. If I can get it down to one panel, I will, but as you all know that almost never happens. Marc had a real challenge here. He had to set up [...]
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Oct 14, 08 | 171 – Hello, Karma |
Mar 11, 07 | 110 – Spanking |
Mar 14, 07 | 113 – “THAT’S NOT FAIR!” |
Mar 5, 14 | 577 – Who are the Two Queens? |
Sep 22, 09 | SF Origins: Herman’s Story, Pg. 4 “I Am Dr. Rocket” |
I was just looking back at Marc’s first work on SuperFogeys yesterday and it really stuck me not only how far along his line work has come, but also how much his method for coloring has changed. There’s just far more shades and details in his coloring now–things that aren’t even in the drawings themselves. [...]
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Today kicks off a short, long overdue flashback showing just what the heck happened to Dark (Star) Maiden after she left Las Vegas. While the 400th strip played out as a fun reveal, I really did see it as a promise of an untold story I’d have to tell one day. Enjoy. Why do you [...]
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I was reminded this past week that not everyone shares the encyclopedic knowledge of SuperFogeys I have. That brain in the jar? That really is Star Maiden’s father, she’s not THAT crazy. This flashback is a bit of a sequel to both Star Maiden’s origin and the flashback that showed her trip home. If you’re [...]
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Jul 1, 15 | 650 – GAH! Feelings! |
Dec 9, 13 | 555 – She’ll Kill Them All |
Dec 11, 13 | 556 – Sisters Rule, Pilatius Drools |
Mar 19, 14 | 581 – Gorgeous Guy Has Feelings |
Sep 5, 12 | 442 – The Rest of Them |
There were two issues that plagued this strip kind of from the get-go. One was what Percy was going to eat in panel two. I originally scripted it as the femur of one of Zurida’s palace guards, but after seeing Marc draw it I realized that was just one cannibal too many for SuperFogeys. Plus, [...]
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Dec 18, 08 | 189 – The Origin of Captain Spectacular and Dr. Rocket, Pt. 6 “The Medallion” |
May 20, 13 | 505 – Dark Disease |
Jan 15, 14 | 563 – Wreckage |
Jun 13, 12 | 420 – The Leslie Knope |
Dec 3, 12 | 463 – May Percy Have a Pet? |
Here’s a tip to writers of comics: Wanna go easy on your artist? Script a bunch of head shots. Writing comics is often about balance. I can’t load up the detail and the backgrounds for multiple strips at a time or I’m gonna wear Marc out, so I’ve gotta also write stuff that it’s a [...]
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Oct 9, 06 | 16 – Spy Gal Wakes Up |
Jan 8, 09 | 191 – The Origin of Captain Spectacular and Dr. Rocket, Pt. 8 “The Process Explained” |
Aug 14, 13 | 526 – Stolen Away |
Jul 5, 22 | 903 – Big Dumb Floating Ape |
Jan 5, 21 | 864 – Walking the Dark Side |
I don’t know when we’ve ever fit so many characters into a panel so small. I’m not even sure who all of those guys are! That’s exciting. Cami Fans: The real life Cami had her eighth birthday on Monday. On Saturday, we held our 4th Annual Birthday Ball Party in her honor–a half hour party [...]
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Okay, I kind of love how Marc draws Spy Gal when she’s in bad@$$ mode. That door never saw it coming. Last week was basically Cami week at my house as we celebrated her 8th birthday. My wife and daughter spoke at a school assembly about the damage the R-Word does and why it’s a [...]
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May 2, 12 | 408 – Remember Your Mission |
Jan 21, 07 | 81 – Jerry Denied! |
Mar 7, 18 | 769 – Weeping Wandering Fat Children |
Mar 5, 18 | 768 – Boy-Haired Crone |
Oct 21, 06 | 27 – Spy Gal’s Explanation |
One of the things that’s really hard to achieve in the strip format is any sense of scale. A comic book page gives you that vertical space that really allows you to expand the visuals out that a strip just doesn’t. True, there’s nothing saying we HAVE to do this in strips–that’s a self-imposed restriction–but [...]
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Last Wednesday’s strip generated some great discussion about what Dr. Rocket and Zurida are up to. Today’s strip should provide those answers handily. Those of you with good memories should recall that Zurida saw Jerry quite clearly when she “visited” Valhalla in the previous chapter. Zurida’s invitation to Dr. Rocket to enter her palace kicks [...]
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May 6, 13 | 501 – New Age Nitwit |
Oct 22, 14 | 530 – The Long Arm of the Universe |
Apr 3, 13 | 494 – Hugging in the Throne Room |
Jul 11, 11 | 332 – Captain Spectacular’s Buds |
Aug 22, 16 | 692 – See! You Are Needed! |
I’m starting to find some unique joys in having a long-running webcomic. One of them is scenes like this. There’s a huge gap between how Cap and Doc related to each other at the beginning of the strip and how they are now. I believe firmly in change. People don’t stay one way through their [...]
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Dec 16, 19 | 819 – Time for a Refill? |
Jul 12, 22 | 905 – Big Landing |
Jul 10, 08 | Guest Strip by Lucas Turnbloom of “Imagine This!” |
Sep 6, 22 | 921 – Obedience is Key |
Oct 15, 06 | 22 – Dr. Rocket is Sorry? |
I derive an unexpected amount of satisfaction from this interaction between Dr. Rocket and Captain Spectacular. Even more than the hug last week, I just love that they’re so simpatico here. Maybe this is born of my secret desire for Superman and Lex Luthor to knock back a couple of root beers and work their [...]
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Oct 16, 08 | 172 – The Superhero Code |
Jun 15, 10 | SF Origins: The Life and Times of Soviet Sam, Pg. 4 “Pantsless” |
Mar 5, 09 | 198 – Not Lookin’ Too Good Yourself |
Jan 21, 10 | 240 – ZAP! |
Nov 20, 13 | 550 – Everything in its Right Place |
I know I can be a wordy sonuvagun (though I’d like to think I’ve gotten better with time and experience), but I really do love strips like this that are more about economy of storytelling than how many words I can stick in a panel. Marc nailed the emotion in a big way, putting the [...]
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Mar 9, 20 | 837 – So? |
Mar 18, 13 | 489 – Change in Plan |
Oct 17, 12 | 450 – Neither One of Them Expected It |
Jul 1, 11 | Pg. 12 “Comic Book Clothing Physics” |
Apr 11, 12 | 402 – Lost Signal |
Sometimes you just have to slow things down to give them their proper weight. I know if you’re following the updates on the days they come out there’s not much new here, but I think for future readers who get to experience this chapter in book form or all at once, this will be a [...]
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Marc did such a great job pacing this strip and conveying the emotion that you almost don’t even need words to get what’s happening here between Cap, Zurida and Michelle. In fact, I was able to get rid of a little bit of dialogue, and it’s a stronger strip for it. Next week we’ll be [...]
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Jun 15, 12 | Pg. 1 “Through the Portal” |
Sep 16, 13 | 535 – A Superhero, His Sons, His Ex and His Evil Best Friend are Locked Up in a Palace… |
Mar 17, 11 | 300 – Stage Four |
Sep 20, 16 | 10th Anniversary BONUS STRIP 1! |
Sep 27, 17 | 733 – Honey, I Blew Up the Thrice Evil |
I wish I had a lot more space to give over to Percy as I think he’s a pretty fascinating dude with some real identity issues. Hopefully, tidbits like the ones you’re getting today are enticing. I’d love to do a SuperFogeys Origin with Percy someday. I mean, with a hot, despot mom and a [...]
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Aug 10, 16 | 689 – Zurida, the Mother |
Aug 7, 19 | 789 – The Mantle of Captain Spectacular |
Jul 31, 15 | 663 – Pandora’s Box |
Oct 21, 08 | 173 – The Blender of Vengeance |
Dec 9, 11 | Pg. 4 “Party Crasher” |
If we’ve done our job right, today’s post is not quite what you were expecting. I’ve been touting SF 500 for weeks now as a gigantic update–and it certainly is at quadruple the normal size–but the scope of the tale is actually quite intimate, not unlike SF 300 a couple years back. This is, simply, [...]
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Oct 27, 14 | 631 – Two Decisions |
Apr 1, 10 | 250 – To Be So Stupid |
Mar 19, 12 | 396 – Give Tom a Chance |
Jan 18, 17 | 727 – Parlor Tricks |
Oct 28, 08 | 175 – My Pleasure |
Welcome back, everyone! Last week’s break was, I’m sure, completely unwelcome, but we both appreciate your patience and understanding. Your response to SF 500 was overwhelming and so, so positive. 107 comments and counting. For a webcomic with a modest readership like ours, that’s a big friggin’ deal. That makes today’s update sort of long-awaited. [...]
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Sep 28, 12 | GUEST STRIP by Crystal Murphy, Summer Fun Pt. 4 |
Mar 13, 07 | 112 – Budapest ’68 All Over Again |
Feb 18, 10 | 244 – Locked Away |
Jul 14, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 22 “The Society of Heroes” |
This strip is a Marc Lapierre special. I’ve learned that with action scenes the less scripting I do the better. Marc has references to pull from that I can’t touch and a much better visual mind for the choreography and how it should play out across panels than I do. Even in the last panel, [...]
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Mar 5, 14 | 577 – Who are the Two Queens? |
Jun 30, 22 | 902 – Devastation |
Feb 24, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 2 “Swifty” |
Oct 12, 06 | 19 – Back From the Colonoscopy |
Dec 5, 06 | 54 – Gene Gets What’s Coming to Him |
I imagine when you’re older you have to really conserve your movements. Think about it: energy reserves are lower than in the past and maybe the bones don’t work as well. So, you don’t do anything that requires more energy than necessary. Money Man has obviously learned this lesson well. Lots of great, (sometimes) crazy [...]
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I don’t think you get to strike the pose Money Man is OWNING in the first panel and not be considered a total bad@$$. Like, he’s not even gonna give you his front. Naw, you gotta look at him from the side if you wanna admire him after he takes out the bad guy (or [...]
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Sep 27, 17 | 733 – Honey, I Blew Up the Thrice Evil |
Jul 4, 11 | 330 – Swim City |
Dec 23, 11 | Pg. 6 “Battle in the Skies” |
Sep 25, 08 | 166 – Beer Don’t Judge |
May 30, 11 | 320 – One Thing Left |
This is probably the week you’ve been waiting for. Maybe you’re like Cap and you want to know how Money Man is back, but is that really the question you should be asking? Money Man says no. And when Money Man says no, that’s it. He’s rich. He can do what he wants. In other [...]
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Feb 1, 07 | 92 – Not the Woman He Used to Know |
May 9, 11 | 314 – Dr. Rocket’s Space Journey, Pt. 3: The One He Truly Hunts |
Aug 12, 10 | 270 – Freakin’ Huge |
Apr 7, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 8 “Ticking Bomb” |
Oct 1, 15 | Chapter 21 Teaser! |
I’m gonna be honest with you guys–I did not plan on introducing this story thread in this chapter. I mean, there’s an alien invasion going on. How many more threats do the Fogeys need to deal with? This isn’t the same as saying this is an unplanned story. What Money Man is talking about is [...]
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Jun 4, 12 | 417 – Guess Who’s Back? |
Aug 21, 15 | 672 – To The USZ! |
Oct 27, 09 | SF Origins: JA – Tom’s Story, Pg. 4 “How Can I Not Go Soaring?” |
Sep 15, 09 | SF Origins: Herman’s Story, Pg. 3 “The 80s” |
Jan 14, 13 | 471 – Mmm… Spaghetti… |
I think I mentioned that I’ve been rereading SF lately as I prepare files for Comixology. In the course of that, I’ve noticed that one thing I have a tendency to do is cut rapidly between simultaneously occurring scenes, jumping from character to character sometimes after only one or two strips. That’s fun and it [...]
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Jan 19, 10 | SF Origins: The Six Wives of Captain Spectacular, Pg. 2 “Homewreckers” |
Dec 2, 13 | 553 – Capture and Rescue Mission |
Oct 31, 11 | 359 – Warmed Up |
Jan 30, 12 | 382 – A Better Question |
Jul 31, 13 | 522 – A Favor for Spy Gal |
Some expert storytelling from Marc in this strip. It looks deceptively simple, but there’s really a lot going on across these four panels and fitting all the beats in and choosing just the right angle is no mean trick. I honestly didn’t know how Marc was going to interpret the script, but he did a [...]
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Aug 4, 14 | 615 – Flirting in the White House |
Mar 17, 14 | 580 – The Pleasure of Conquering |
Feb 20, 13 | 482 – The Disappearance of Dr. Klein |
Mar 26, 12 | 398 – Rookie Hero Move |
Jul 18, 11 | 334 – Whaddaya Wanna Do? |
While it may not have seemed like it at the beginning, this chapter is, I think, aptly named. Every single character has got so many different secrets and agendas and a rule of storytelling (at least one of my rules) is that nothing that is hidden remains so forever. True, new mysteries have been introduced [...]
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Jul 30, 09 | 218 – Good Friends |
Oct 7, 06 | 14 – Watchin’ TV |
Oct 17, 12 | 450 – Neither One of Them Expected It |
Oct 10, 11 | 353 – SHWABOOM!! |
Apr 11, 11 | 306 – He Looks Like He’s Dying |
New to SuperFogeys? Then you’ve come on the right day. Though the invaders first arrived at Earth in SF 400, this is the first time their overall plan has been spelled out. We’ve known their motivation–Dr. Rocket made a genocidal sweep of the universe in a merciless act of vengeance–but their goal has been somewhat [...]
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Dec 11, 13 | 556 – Sisters Rule, Pilatius Drools |
Jan 23, 13 | 474 – Overwhelmed |
Sep 23, 08 | 165 – Not a Villain? |
Nov 22, 17 | 749 – Caught in the Act |
May 14, 18 | 786 – The Opening of the Door |
I confess the speculation last week’s strip inspired caught me unawares. It didn’t even occur to me that Zurida’s words in the last panel might be construed to mean that she was suggesting another mastermind behind everything. Obviously, that’s not exactly the case. Of course, there IS another mastermind lurking somewhere and we’ll meet him [...]
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Jun 29, 10 | SF Origins: The Life and Times of Soviet Sam, Pg. 6 “Being Friendly” |
Jan 20, 11 | 292 – Everything Was Chaos |
Nov 26, 12 | 461 – He Escaped |
Mar 27, 13 | 492 – Such Great Heights |
Nov 20, 13 | 550 – Everything in its Right Place |
The end of a chapter is my favorite part. It’s when everything comes together and the design of the thing is made clear. The chapter basically has three endings. You’ve seen one already, but this next one coming up should be obvious to longtime readers with good memories. But it’s the third ending I’m REALLY [...]
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Feb 26, 09 | 197 – Requiem |
Nov 8, 17 | 745 – The Song of Rocket’s Loyalty |
Oct 13, 06 | 20 – Worse Than He Thought |
Mar 25, 07 | 124 – Shooting |
Mar 28, 11 | 302 – Don’t Remember Any of This |
If there’s something you want that you’ll do just about ANYTHING to have it… then what would you do to keep it? I feel like the tide is always shifting on Jerry. Sometimes you guys love him, sometimes you hate him. I wonder if today’s strip will garner reactions just as divisive. Huge kudos to [...]
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May 13, 13 | 503 – Money Man vs. Zurida |
Sep 18, 16 | 700 – Happy Tenth Anniversary, SuperFogeys |
Feb 27, 13 | 484 – Beaten Into Submission |
Oct 27, 20 | 850 – Grand Entrance |
Oct 29, 12 | 453 – Buried Weapons |
…and Swifty saw it all. Speculate at will. Next week will be a lot of fun. Hey, quick note about an update to the website. There is now a handy dandy “Like” button for The SuperFogeys Facebook page on the left side. SuperFans on Facebook not only get the privilege of being admitted to Valhalla, [...]
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Oct 22, 14 | 530 – The Long Arm of the Universe |
Dec 8, 14 | The SuperFogeys 2015 Teaser and Special Announcements |
Sep 2, 11 | Pg. 7 – “Silent Heart” |
Apr 8, 11 | Cover |
Aug 13, 18 | Swifty Origin, Pg. 11 “Erased” |
UPDATE 2! Since this time travel business has been woven so much into the background of the story of the SuperFogeys (and time travel can be kind of confusing), I want to help point you guys towards the right places as much as possible. Some of you are wondering WHY this is happening, and I [...]
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Sep 19, 11 | 352 – Megatron is Copyrighted |
Nov 11, 13 | 547 – Lashing Out |
Jul 9, 12 | 427 – I Bet He Wishes He Was a Lizard |
Jun 2, 14 | 600 – Earth-Avalon |
Mar 23, 11 | 301 – Hmph |
I’ve been much encouraged by the way Soviet Sam has been accepted by the majority of you since his proper introduction to the strip in SF 322. In a story with A LOT of characters (seriously, the cast is getting too big. I gotta kill a few off), he’s managed to come in fairly late [...]
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Nov 20, 17 | 748 – Good Enough |
Nov 5, 09 | 232 – It’s Insane Here |
Sep 16, 08 | 163 – Dr. Klein’s Got Some Splainin’ to Do |
Aug 27, 14 | 621 – Jerry’s Powers |
This is it! The Penultimate strip of Chapter 16 – Invasion, Pt. 3: Secrets, Secrets are No Fun. It’s all been building to what happens on Wednesday. There was a seed planted a long, long time ago that is finally gonna pay off–one I don’t think anyone has ever noticed. My mind has already turned [...]
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Feb 8, 07 | 98 – The Wedding of Captain Spectacular and Star Maiden |
Jan 14, 13 | 471 – Mmm… Spaghetti… |
Oct 14, 13 | SuperFogeys Q and A: 1 of 4 |
Aug 12, 10 | 270 – Freakin’ Huge |
Oct 17, 18 | HUGE NEWS! SuperFogeys Volume One—Inaction Heroes now on Kickstarter! |
UPDATE! Have some fun and read Chapter 16 from the beginning all the way through right here! Secrets, secrets are no fun Secrets, secrets hurt someone Here’s the deal, the title of this chapter is a lie. Secrets are really fun. It’s fun to have them, it’s fun to keep them and, in storytelling, they’re [...]
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Oct 21, 19 | 805 – Across the Mountaintop |
Jan 6, 11 | Guest Strip by Marjorie Rishel |
Mar 2, 20 | 835 – Because of the Struggle |
Oct 1, 06 | 9 – How to Turn Dr. Rocket On |
Jan 27, 12 | Pg. 3 “The Trial of Space Pig” |