Titling a chapter is a source of great stress for me. I’m not very good at it and I put it off until I absolutely have to come up with something. That said, “The Techno Shuffle” very much fits what this chapter is going to be all about. Originally, this chapter opened on two characters [...]
Archive for ‘Chapter 03 – The Techno Shuffle’
The super-prison in the first panel is loosely based on the design of the Hall of Justice from the old Superfriends cartoon show. I don’t have a good reason for this other than it’s a design that always stuck with me and seemed strong enough to house all the wonderful bad guys that must be [...]
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May 18, 11 | 317 – Why Dr. Klein Needs a Robot |
Aug 29, 10 | SF Origins: Operation: Valhalla, No. 6 “Spy Gal Arrives” |
Oct 3, 16 | 703 – Like a Television During a Calliou Marathon |
Aug 16, 10 | 271 – Is Spy Gal Not a Good Woman? |
Aug 14, 08 | 154 – Tangerine’s Surprise |
How is it than in one strip I have both my worst and one of my best drawings of Dictator Tot? I like the idea of what I was going for in the first panel, but I don’t think I pulled it off very well. Love the drawing of her in the last panel, though [...]
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Jan 26, 07 | 84 – You Don’t Mess with Dr. Klein |
Aug 9, 10 | 269 – Sparing Her |
Jan 19, 21 | 866 – Who Wants to Be Safe? |
Dec 29, 10 | Guest Strip by Javier Del Villar (Extra) |
Nov 1, 06 | 29 – Introducing Dr. Klein! |
My wife loves, loves, loves Dictator Tot in the first panel. I don’t usually do a lot of shading in SF, but that first panel screamed for a different lighting scheme. I don’t know that you’d be able to tell what’s going on without it. Second panel could have been better. A more arresting visual [...]
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Jan 19, 21 | 866 – Who Wants to Be Safe? |
May 27, 13 | 507 – Telling Off Skunk Head |
Jan 25, 07 | 83 – The Seduction of Dr. Klein |
Mar 13, 07 | 112 – Budapest ’68 All Over Again |
Feb 17, 12 | Pg. 2, “Devil Horned Goodbye” |
The Third Man is a character that first appears in the backup story in the First SuperFogeys Collection. I have big plans for him. His look is directly inspired by the film “The Third Man,” and Orson Welles’ character in particular. I think it’s fair to say I took a bit of inspiration from one [...]
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May 27, 13 | 507 – Telling Off Skunk Head |
Aug 14, 08 | 154 – Tangerine’s Surprise |
Jun 12, 13 | 512 – The Worst Thing That’s Ever Happened to Swifty |
Oct 4, 11 | Chapter 9, “Head Games” Recap by Eric Merritt |
Visually, this strip is meant to be a direct reference to Episode 55. I’ll make it clear right here: Yes, The Third Man is the person the Healer was talking to. The Third Man’s connection to Gene was a surprise to me. I had planned for the Third Man to be involved with the shenanigans [...]
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Aug 26, 08 | 157 – The Third Man’s Message |
Jul 13, 10 | SF Origins: The Life and Times of Soviet Sam, Pg. 8 “Sweet Dreams” |
Nov 2, 06 | 30 – B-I-N-G-O |
Jan 3, 11 | Guest Strip by Javier Del Villar, Part One |
Jun 24, 08 | 141 – Why, Little D? |
Finally we’re back to the Fogeys. It was a conscious decision on my part to not have the Fogeys enter the stage for so many strips—six, to be exact. I wanted to try something new. Re-energize myself. I found I really missed them and the strip seems to come alive when they’re “on screen.” I [...]
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Jun 23, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 19 “Did You Save Him?” |
Sep 30, 11 | Chapter 7, “Visiting Day” Recap by Rossana Bugini |
Jan 2, 12 | 374 – A Spy Gal Shaped Hole |
Jun 17, 11 | Pg. 10 “Lost Faith” |
Something I’m starting to return to that I haven’t really done since Chapter 1 is repeated panels, something I swore off of (for the most part) for Chapter 2. The difference now is that it’s not a crutch. I truly feel that this strip (and the next one, for that matter) was best served by [...]
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Dec 30, 13 | Guest Strip by Crystal Murphy, 2 |
Jan 25, 11 | SF Origins: The Thrice Evil, Pg. 9 “We Can Work With That” |
Nov 16, 10 | SF Origins: The Death of Mr. Crook, Pg. 1 “Lights On, Lights Off” |
Aug 14, 20 | 845 – Better and Better |
Apr 2, 07 | 132 – Shake! Shake! Shake! |
Visually, this is one of my absolute favorites. You can see I’m trying something new with the background. I first used the “faded background” technique in a guest strip I did for Wes Molebash’s strip “You’ll Have That” Once I did it there, I knew I needed to try it for SF. More copy/pasting [...]
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Mar 11, 07 | 110 – Spanking |
Oct 7, 06 | 14 – Watchin’ TV |
Nov 4, 06 | 32 – Bingo Night Begins |
Dec 18, 13 | 558 – Sokol Steps Up |
Mar 12, 07 | 111 – Forgive Dr. Rocket |
Whew. What a mother of a strip this was. For those of your keeping track at home, that’s 21 panels there. This marks Swifty’s return to the story after an absence of about 18 srips. I wanted it to be huge and Swifty playing frustrated is just fun. Originally, the last panel was silent—no joke. [...]
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Apr 10, 13 | 496 – The First Condition |
Mar 26, 12 | 398 – Rookie Hero Move |
Mar 26, 09 | 201 – The Orphan BBQ Will Have to Wait |
Oct 16, 08 | 172 – The Superhero Code |
Aug 20, 18 | Swifty Origin, Pg. 12 “Party Hard” |
The first panel shows a depth of field we haven’t really seen in SF thus far. My goal was to do a drawing that would also work well as a group shot and, possibly, a wallpaper. Plans are in the works for just such a thing. Obviously, this is a huge change of pace for [...]
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Dec 4, 13 | 554 – Not In a Way That Matters |
Jan 11, 17 | 725 – Slaughter Many, Many More |
Oct 18, 06 | 25 – Pee On Swifty |
Mar 18, 10 | 248 – The Difference Between Justice and Revenge |
Mar 8, 11 | Pg. 6 “Area is Secure” |
What a nightmare this strip was. Sometimes moving the plot along is a joy. Anytime I do it I already know what the point of the strip is, I just have to figure out what the joke is. Except…for this one…I had no joke. I had a set-up, but no payoff. Still, I started drawing, [...]
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Jan 1, 07 | 60 – Introducing Dictator Tot! |
May 23, 11 | 318 – The Plans of Dr. Klein, Pt. 1 “Getting Rid of Captain Spectacular” |
Jan 19, 21 | 866 – Who Wants to Be Safe? |
Apr 25, 12 | 406 – Spy Gal’s Wall of Evidence |
Jan 27, 07 | 87 – The Third Man is Not Pleased |
Gene’s closing line in panel one was originally something like “Give her your utmost respect.” I quickly discovered at the lettering stage that I didn’t have enough room for that. Thank goodness. I love that he just shouts “Respect!” Kinda’ thing that makes me laugh. Spy Gal threatening violence on a little girl makes me [...]
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Dec 7, 16 | 717 – The Fury of Soviet Sam |
Aug 7, 08 | 152 – Best Man |
Jan 8, 10 | Guest Strip by Cory Thomas of “Watch Your Head!” |
Apr 25, 12 | 406 – Spy Gal’s Wall of Evidence |
Sep 21, 16 | 10th Anniversary BONUS STRIP 2! |
The Swifty-Jerry dynamic is one of my favorites, and this is one of my favorite exchanges that I’ve had a chance to write. I love how Jerry just ignores Swifty. A fun strip that segued into one of the biggest mistakes I ever made with the SuperFogeys…
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Sep 9, 10 | 275 – A Moment of Silence |
Jun 23, 22 | 900 – Protected |
Mar 20, 07 | 119 – #@$% Heroic |
Apr 8, 07 | 137 – The Operating Blues |
Aug 4, 14 | 615 – Flirting in the White House |
Could I just not be bothered to draw backgrounds this time? Looks like. Still, the colors are pretty, right? Right? I try to make the Space Pig be an animal of as few words as possible. You never quite know where he’s coming from, I think. He’s a popular character, so he must be [...]
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Sep 27, 11 | Chapter 4, “Dictator Tot’s Revenge” Recap by Jeremy Bentley |
Aug 5, 08 | 151 – Peanut Butter Cookies |
Sep 22, 09 | SF Origins: Herman’s Story, Pg. 4 “I Am Dr. Rocket” |
Feb 26, 09 | 197 – Requiem |
Mar 25, 13 | 491 – Proof |
I don’t remember if this strip was done this way out of laziness or because I wanted to shake things up. Honestly, if I had to guess I’d say I was trying to shake things up. I think I was trying to create the feeling of overhearing the conversation before you really see who is [...]
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Sep 8, 22 | 922 – The New Normal |
Jan 15, 20 | 824 – Knives Out |
Oct 20, 06 | 26 – How Jerry Met Spy Gal |
Nov 22, 06 | 49 – The Pen is Shinier Than the Sword |
Another “colorful” strip. Seriously, this is just ugly. I never pull off the silhouetted figures thing as well as someone like Mike Witmer over at Pinkerton. I try but…no. Still, Jerry getting rejected by Spy Gal…that’s always gold as far as I’m concerned.
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Oct 12, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg.7 “BOOM” |
Apr 7, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 8 “Ticking Bomb” |
Jul 17, 08 | 146 – Cad and a Layabout |
Mar 23, 21 | 884 – No Good at This |
Nov 23, 06 | 50 – And the Actual Winner of Bingo Night is… |
I think my ink line is too thick in these middle Chapter 3 strips. Also, the camera is just a little too tight, a constant problem of mine overall. Knowing what I wanted to do with Dr. Klein by the end of this chapter, it was important to keep him present in the story. That’s [...]
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Jan 1, 14 | Guest Strip by Crystal Murphy, 4! |
Aug 6, 09 | 219 – Bubbles of Light 5 |
Sep 23, 10 | 277 – Judging the Future |
Oct 1, 15 | Chapter 21 Teaser! |
Jan 28, 07 | 88 – Who Smells Like Fish? |
I love the panel with the close-up of the hands. From the drawing to the colors, it just works. Too bad the rest of the strip doesn’t. A lot readers asked me what those sparks near Spy Gal’s wrist were in the last panel. Then answer: My feeble attempt at visually depicting her arthritis. …I [...]
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Feb 1, 17 | 731 – Mr. Brightside |
Sep 12, 11 | 350 – Great Things Ahead |
Jan 27, 07 | 87 – The Third Man is Not Pleased |
Mar 25, 20 | 842 – Someone to Hit |
Nov 23, 06 | 50 – And the Actual Winner of Bingo Night is… |
Swifty coming in at the end was kind of cheap. I didn’t have a real gag for this one, and he usually does in a pinch. It was an important Dr. Klein moment though.
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Sep 24, 12 | GUEST STRIP by Gwen Patton! |
Apr 21, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 10 “The Lodge of Doom” |
Feb 13, 12 | 386 – The Papanazi Report: Vegas |
Aug 5, 15 | 665 – All Out of Coffee and Goats |
Nov 21, 11 | 364 – Comrade |
Just keeping the Third Man alive here. Also, it was important to me that Dictator Tot get her animal crackers.
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Nov 5, 06 | 33 – Why Walk When You Can Fly? |
Nov 23, 10 | SF Origins: The Death of Mr. Crook, Pg. 2 “Just Like Everybody Else” |
Oct 17, 16 | 705 – Saber |
Sep 24, 12 | GUEST STRIP by Gwen Patton! |
Jan 8, 07 | 64 – Introducing Dictator Tot! |
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May 7, 09 | 207 – Not My Story to Tell |
Feb 13, 12 | 386 – The Papanazi Report: Vegas |
Oct 5, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 6 “The Lips That Should Not Be Touched” |
Feb 10, 07 | 100 – The Third Man Revealed |
Aug 18, 10 | 272 – GET OUT! |
Dr. Rocket is always a lot of fun. Perversity is one of the worst evils, I think, because it reduces people to objects. That’s pretty dangerous thinking. Here, the good doctor is showing another side of his evil–the clumsy, bid-for-power type of evil. It’s not a very good plan for world domination, but in the [...]
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Dec 23, 11 | Pg. 6 “Battle in the Skies” |
May 12, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 13 “What Are You Doing Here!?” |
Jun 14, 22 | 897 – Streaking Past |
Nov 6, 17 | 744 – The USZ is Truly a Wondrous Place |
And now we see the real plan. Get the Captain on the computer to see his ex-wife. In the end, it’s kind of weak. There should have been something extra on the plan, or a bigger reaction from the Captain. It bears fruit, sure, but I think the Captain’s reaction could have been stronger and [...]
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Oct 8, 12 | 447 – Enemy Target Identified |
Nov 5, 09 | 232 – It’s Insane Here |
May 24, 22 | 891 – Third Eye Blind |
Mar 11, 07 | 110 – Spanking |
Mar 17, 07 | 116 – Still Hot |
A fun, fun page. Star Maiden is just a pure pleasure to right. Star Maiden started out as Star Woman. Eventually, that character turned into Spy Gal (as explained in the commentary for episode 6, I think). Still, the initial idea for Star Woman wouldn’t let go. I knew I wanted a Wonder Woman type. [...]
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Apr 16, 12 | 403 – Don’t Say No to Dark Maiden |
Mar 26, 07 | 125 – Jerry’s Down |
May 18, 10 | SF Origins: Star Maiden, Pg. 6 “Earth” |
Mar 23, 07 | 122 – Who Will Jerry Fight? |
Oct 7, 11 | Chapter 12, “Jackpot!” Recap by Steve VanDyken |
That last panel of Star Maiden is something I’m really pleased with. I wanted a really fluid figure and I often have a hard time drawing women. I surprised myself here. For some reason, readers really latched onto the phrase “Spill it, Gramps!” I have no idea why. I didn’t think it was particularly funny. [...]
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Nov 12, 20 | 855 – Making Thrice Evil Sad |
Aug 19, 13 | 527 – A Concerned Husband |
Jan 5, 10 | Guest Strip by Joe Cook of “Shattered Myth!” |
Mar 12, 09 | 199 – Life is Like Pastry |
93 – Beginning the Tale of How Captain Spectacular Met and Married Star Maiden
by Brock Heasley on February 2nd, 2007The genesis for this flashback came from Daniel Woodhouse, artist on “Thog Infinitron” and sometime artist of “Beaver and Steve.” I asked Dan to do a short backup story for the second SuperFogeys book and asked him what he wanted to draw. He said “Captain Spectacular fighting in the skies above a city. Maybe a [...]
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I don’t know why Mr. Crook is in there. It doesn’t really add anything to the story to have him there. Great Dr. Rocket moment though. I had a lot of fun drawing that tongue and making it as yucky as possible.
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Jan 28, 10 | 241 – He’s Gone |
Dec 12, 16 | 718 – What is Deserved |
Oct 5, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 6 “The Lips That Should Not Be Touched” |
Dec 3, 12 | 463 – May Percy Have a Pet? |
Sep 2, 08 | 159 – Strange Dreams and Wedding Plans |
The obvious signified of a flashback is to do the art in black and white. That gray shading I add in there is an effect I wish I had time to do on all the SuperFogeys strips. Plans are for that effect to be added to the strips for the trade collections. Once that happens, [...]
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Dec 29, 11 | Guest Strip by Marjorie Rishel! |
Oct 29, 09 | 231 – The Greatest Revenge Plot Never Imagined |
Nov 9, 06 | 37 – Is Dr. Klein a Sexy Beast? |
Jan 19, 10 | SF Origins: The Six Wives of Captain Spectacular, Pg. 2 “Homewreckers” |
Aug 9, 10 | 269 – Sparing Her |
This strip is a favorite of mine. It’s some of my favorite dialog I’ve written and the sparse look really works for it. Portal could have been drawn better though.
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Dec 8, 14 | The SuperFogeys 2015 Teaser and Special Announcements |
Nov 13, 08 | 179 – Reverend Space Pig |
Jun 17, 11 | Pg. 10 “Lost Faith” |
Aug 14, 19 | 791 – The Secret Origin of The Atomic Fly! |
Jan 15, 14 | 563 – Wreckage |
Obviously, something big went down in that other dimension. For the whole story, check out the backup tale “Captain Spectacular and Star Maiden in the Inevitable Dimension” in the second SuperFogeys book. It’s drawn by Julio Molina-Muscara, artist on “Omega Chase.” I wanted a “no bad guy” break-up here. I think you get where everyone [...]
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Mar 12, 14 | 579 – The Romantic Smell of Blood and Suffering |
Jul 4, 14 | Pg. 1 “One Month Later” |
Oct 22, 09 | 230 – Cleaning Out Her Ears |
May 19, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 14 “Save Him, Dirtlicker” |
Oct 4, 06 | 12 – Introducing Space Pig! |
The Pig is the minister! That’s the payoff to the Space Pig’s WebSpace page. Don’t know how many people picked up on that. I had a lot of fun with this page. Designing the Ninja Bridesmaid was particularly fun.
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Mar 12, 14 | 579 – The Romantic Smell of Blood and Suffering |
Jun 20, 12 | 422 – Whoof! |
Nov 28, 11 | 366 – Who Dares? |
Sep 28, 16 | 702 – He’s Got Gloves |
Mar 31, 12 | Pg. 6 “Find the Sharp Metal Instrument” |
Some people objected to the Captain and Star Maiden getting a divorce over a stinky sock. Them I would say: it’s one panel. Obviously, there’s a much bigger story there. I had a lot of fun with the interplay between Dictator Tot and Captain Spectacular here. I need to get those two together again.
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Mar 9, 12 | Pg. 3 “His Old Flame” |
Oct 14, 08 | 171 – Hello, Karma |
Oct 17, 11 | 355 – Bubbles of Light 6 |
Oct 2, 06 | 10 – Why Spy Gal Came to Valhalla |
Sep 23, 16 | Guest Strip by Alethea Lim (Alecat)! |
Remind me never to do a triple-sized again. In fact, this burned me out so much that not a single double or triple-sized strip appeared in all of Chapter 4. I had been waiting a long time to do this one. I knew from before the beginning of Chapter 2 that the Third Man and [...]
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Aug 16, 10 | 271 – Is Spy Gal Not a Good Woman? |
Jan 14, 07 | 69 – Swifty’s Computer Problems |
Feb 11, 10 | 243 – A Deal is a Deal |
Jul 9, 08 | Guest Strip by Rufus Edge of “comicdeoxyribonucleicacid!” |
Jul 4, 11 | 330 – Swim City |