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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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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Jan 30, 13 | 476 – Regret |
Jan 18, 12 | 379 – A True Hero |
Jun 22, 10 | SF Origins: The Life and Times of Soviet Sam, Pg. 5 “How People Look at You” |
Sep 8, 09 | SF Origins: Herman’s Story, Pg. 2 “The Happiest Year” |
Dec 9, 11 | Pg. 4 “Party Crasher” |
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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Nov 17, 20 | 856 – Grab That Rabbit! |
Nov 25, 10 | 286 – Duty and Retirement |
Nov 26, 09 | 235 – In His Shadow |
Apr 16, 09 | 204 – Florida Beckons |
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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Apr 23, 09 | 205 – Here is What I Propose |
Sep 15, 09 | SF Origins: Herman’s Story, Pg. 3 “The 80s” |
May 18, 11 | 317 – Why Dr. Klein Needs a Robot |
Mar 27, 13 | 492 – Such Great Heights |
Sep 24, 06 | 3 – Escape From the Carpathian Bug People |
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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Mar 11, 20 | 838 – The Situation |
Dec 8, 06 | 57 – Captain Spectacular Forgot His Pants |
Feb 11, 21 | 873 – Against the Wall |
Dec 5, 12 | 464 – Cuffed |
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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Oct 22, 20 | 849 – Break a Hip |
Jan 13, 20 | 823 – Beating The Enemy Back |
May 6, 08 | 75 – WebSpace Page: The Space Pig |
Sep 10, 18 | Pg. 15 “Something Missing” |
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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Jan 14, 10 | 239 – How Captain Spectacular Knows The Third Man |
May 7, 14 | 593 – When Did Swifty Die? |
Feb 26, 09 | 197 – Requiem |
Jun 17, 13 | 513 – Devil’s Bargain |
Dec 30, 08 | Guest Strip by Chris Blanchard of “Renaissance Guy!” |
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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Mar 31, 07 | 130 – When Pigs Fly |
Dec 28, 09 | Guest Strip by Don Oskowski of “Conduit Flux!” |
Sep 12, 12 | 444 – A New Mission |
Jul 8, 08 | Guest Strip by Brian Anderson of “Dog Eat Doug!” |
Oct 1, 06 | 9 – How to Turn Dr. Rocket On |
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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Jan 5, 21 | 864 – Walking the Dark Side |
Dec 9, 13 | 555 – She’ll Kill Them All |
Apr 20, 10 | SF Origins: Star Maiden, Pg. 2 “Into The Night” |
May 26, 15 | What You’ve Been Waiting to Know… |
Nov 18, 06 | 46 – The Winner of Bingo Night…? |
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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Jul 16, 14 | 610 – Do the most you can do. |
Sep 10, 12 | 443 – “Open to Ideas” |
Sep 18, 15 | 684 – Better Than Dyin’ |
Jul 2, 12 | 425 – The Maiden Within |
Apr 4, 18 | 777 – The Howl |
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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Dec 9, 08 | 186 – The Origin of Captain Spectacular and Dr. Rocket, Pt. 3 “Going Up” |
Jul 16, 14 | 610 – Do the most you can do. |
Apr 23, 12 | 405 – Comparing Death Counts |
Oct 1, 15 | Chapter 21 Teaser! |
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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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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Sep 30, 11 | Chapter 7, “Visiting Day” Recap by Rossana Bugini |
Jun 17, 11 | Pg. 10 “Lost Faith” |
Jan 9, 17 | 724 – Requiem for Tangerine |
Mar 5, 18 | 768 – Boy-Haired Crone |
May 8, 13 | 502 – The Presidio Thumb |
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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Aug 17, 11 | 343 – Speak No More of This |
Mar 26, 12 | 398 – Rookie Hero Move |
Dec 1, 14 | 641 – A Different World, A Different Thrice |
Jan 22, 14 | 565 – Suckface |
Dec 28, 09 | Guest Strip by Don Oskowski of “Conduit Flux!” |
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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Jul 20, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal’s Secret Mission, Pg. 1 “Entry” |
Nov 24, 14 | 639 – What She Had to Do |
Apr 2, 14 | 585 – Atomic Fly’s Special Delivery |
Oct 16, 08 | 172 – The Superhero Code |
Jan 10, 07 | 66 – Captain Spectacular’s Fear of Modern Technology |
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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Jul 4, 12 | 426 – Daddy’s Little Girl |
Dec 16, 09 | SF Origins: Harvey the Science Rabbit, Pt. 1, Pg. 3 “The New Dr. Rocket” |
Jan 12, 07 | 67 – Dr. Rocket Draws a Webcomic? |
Jun 22, 11 | 327 – The Buddy System |
Oct 5, 11 | Chapter 10, “Bubbles of Light” Recap by Danny Burleson |
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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Oct 23, 08 | 174 – Big Mistake |
May 20, 08 | SF Collection #4 Cover |
Oct 7, 08 | 169 – Faker! |
Jul 6, 11 | 331 – Paradise |
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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Feb 21, 18 | 765 – The Spark Between Them |
May 28, 09 | 210 – What Happens Next |
Dec 9, 11 | Pg. 4 “Party Crasher” |
Sep 10, 18 | Pg. 15 “Something Missing” |
Nov 6, 19 | 810 – Meanwhile, In Las Vegas |
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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Sep 25, 13 | 538 – The Amazing Zurida |
Sep 27, 06 | 6 – Introducing Spy Gal! |
Mar 11, 10 | 247 – Not a Busload of Strangers |
Apr 21, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 10 “The Lodge of Doom” |
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 12, 14 | 579 – The Romantic Smell of Blood and Suffering |
Apr 29, 10 | 254 – Why Kill An Innocent? |
Jun 29, 11 | 329 – Ear Twist |
Mar 21, 11 | The SuperFogeys 2011 Teaser |
Dec 24, 12 | Merry Christmas From The SuperFogeys! |
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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Jun 4, 12 | 417 – Guess Who’s Back? |
Apr 25, 18 | 781 – Everyone in the War Room! |
Nov 9, 06 | 37 – Is Dr. Klein a Sexy Beast? |
Jul 11, 12 | 428 – You Know Who You Sound Like? |
Oct 21, 19 | 805 – Across the Mountaintop |
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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Dec 23, 11 | Pg. 6 “Battle in the Skies” |
Feb 16, 10 | SF Origins: The Six Wives of Captain Spectacular, Pg. 6 “The Bottle and the Women” |
Sep 24, 06 | 3 – Escape From the Carpathian Bug People |
Sep 27, 06 | 6 – Introducing Spy Gal! |
Mar 13, 11 | 299 – Why The Hospital |
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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Jan 16, 13 | 472 – The Stink of the Space Monkeys |
Jan 8, 18 | 752 – Like Jerry |
May 3, 09 | 206 – The Valhalla Basement Dungeon |
Oct 7, 11 | Chapter 12, “Jackpot!” Recap by Steve VanDyken |
Mar 4, 13 | 485 – To The Stars |
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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Aug 10, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal’s Secret Mission, Pg. 4 “Courtesy Call” |
Mar 20, 07 | 119 – #@$% Heroic |
Oct 16, 08 | 172 – The Superhero Code |
Jun 3, 13 | 509 – Villain to Villain |
Sep 10, 18 | Pg. 15 “Something Missing” |
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, Â that’s a big friggin’ deal. That makes today’s update sort of long-awaited. [...]
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Oct 16, 06 | 23 – The Incontinent Duo |
Jul 13, 11 | 333 – A Word with Her Fiancee |
Jul 22, 15 | 659 – Wasting Time |
Apr 28, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 11 “Huzzah!” |
Nov 18, 10 | 285 – Medical Centre |
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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May 29, 13 | 508 – Slightly More Conclusive Evidence |
Jul 11, 12 | 428 – You Know Who You Sound Like? |
Sep 30, 06 | 8 – Hands Off Spy Gal! |
Oct 10, 12 | 448 – Thinking Like a Hero |
Nov 19, 14 | 638 – The Man Who Sold the World |
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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Mar 13, 07 | 112 – Budapest ’68 All Over Again |
Nov 3, 06 | 31- Spittin’ Oatmeal |
Mar 10, 14 | 578 – A Different Kind of Torture |
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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Jan 21, 13 | 473 – Monkey Rain |
Oct 14, 06 | 21 – You Must Respect Women, Dr. Rocket! |
Sep 22, 09 | SF Origins: Herman’s Story, Pg. 4 “I Am Dr. Rocket” |
Oct 21, 06 | 27 – Spy Gal’s Explanation |
Oct 22, 20 | 849 – Break a Hip |
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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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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Sep 16, 11 | Pg. 2 “The Fallen Rabbit” |
Nov 4, 08 | 176 – An Evil #@$% |
May 27, 11 | Pg. 7 “In the Future” |
Nov 25, 13 | 551 – The Guthrie is Turned On |
Jan 12, 07 | 67 – Dr. Rocket Draws a Webcomic? |
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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Sep 21, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 4 “The Best Day Ever, Ever” |
Sep 12, 11 | 350 – Great Things Ahead |
Mar 28, 12 | 399 – Surprise, Swifty Disapproves of Everyone |
Jun 21, 22 | 899 – Apocalyptic Lovers |
Jun 19, 13 | 514 – The Handover |
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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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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Oct 9, 19 | 802 – Nothing More Important Than Loyalty |
Oct 2, 13 | 540 – Jerry is Committed |
Oct 22, 12 | 451 – Will Tangerine Help? |
May 6, 13 | 501 – New Age Nitwit |
May 19, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 14 “Save Him, Dirtlicker” |
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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Feb 12, 18 | 762 – Jerry vs. Soviet Sam |
Nov 14, 11 | 362 – Robots Don’t Sleep |
Nov 15, 06 | 43 – The Healer Approaches the Captain |
May 2, 18 | 783 – FINALLY! |
Sep 16, 19 | 800 – Earth-Avenge |
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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Nov 25, 11 | Pg. 2 “The Third Man” |
Jan 3, 14 | Guest Strip by Crystal Murphy, 6! |
Aug 31, 16 | 695 – The Mighty Money Man |
Feb 20, 12 | 388 – Bay-buh |
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 25, 13 | 483 – Bubbles of Light 8 |
Jun 18, 12 | 421 – Space Monkey Report |
Jul 8, 15 | 653 – When a Shirtless Captain Spectacular Shows Up |
Jun 23, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 19 “Did You Save Him?” |
Oct 4, 11 | Chapter 9, “Head Games” Recap by Eric Merritt |
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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Nov 25, 11 | Pg. 2 “The Third Man” |
Apr 9, 09 | 203 – Shame, Shame |
Jul 6, 11 | 331 – Paradise |
…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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Nov 27, 17 | 750 – The Big Slap |
Jan 29, 18 | 758 – No One Else He Can Think Of |
Jan 3, 11 | Guest Strip by Javier Del Villar, Part One |
Oct 16, 06 | 23 – The Incontinent Duo |
Aug 19, 11 | Pg. 5 “Why She Left” |
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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Jul 30, 18 | Pg. 9 “Who is Talking?” |
Mar 4, 10 | 246 – Righteous Kill |
Apr 8, 11 | Cover |
Oct 21, 19 | 805 – Across the Mountaintop |
Jan 18, 07 | 73 – It’s FUN to Share |
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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Aug 7, 08 | 152 – Best Man |
Jun 8, 10 | SF Origins: The Life and Times of Soviet Sam, Pg. 3 “Valhalla” |
Oct 21, 19 | 805 – Across the Mountaintop |
Dec 5, 16 | 716 – Boy Haircut |
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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Mar 18, 21 | 883 – Through the Mall! |
Feb 26, 20 | 834 – Percy Makes a Choice |
Jan 9, 17 | 724 – Requiem for Tangerine |
Dec 18, 19 | 820 – Heart-Stopping Great Looks |
Dec 16, 11 | Pg. 5 “Full Power, Harvey!” |
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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May 14, 08 | SF Collection #1 Cover |
Jun 4, 12 | 417 – Guess Who’s Back? |
Sep 30, 13 | 539 – Spy Gal Beats Up Somebody |
Sep 27, 11 | Chapter 4, “Dictator Tot’s Revenge” Recap by Jeremy Bentley |
Jul 1, 13 | 517 – The Man in the Iron Cage |