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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Mar 13, 07 | 112 – Budapest ’68 All Over Again |
Mar 21, 07 | 120 – Swifty’s Losing? |
Aug 27, 09 | 222 – $500 A Head |
Aug 9, 10 | 269 – Sparing Her |
Jul 11, 12 | 428 – You Know Who You Sound Like? |
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 27, 07 | 87 – The Third Man is Not Pleased |
Aug 14, 08 | 154 – Tangerine’s Surprise |
Jul 15, 10 | 265 – Stop Bullpuckin’ |
Aug 12, 10 | 270 – Freakin’ Huge |
Aug 5, 10 | 268 – Sick and Unflattering |
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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Jul 22, 10 | 266 – The Greatest Book Ever Written |
Jul 29, 10 | 267 – Without Pants, Nothing is Possible |
Nov 9, 06 | 37 – Is Dr. Klein a Sexy Beast? |
May 18, 11 | 317 – Why Dr. Klein Needs a Robot |
Aug 5, 10 | 268 – Sick and Unflattering |
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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Dec 6, 06 | 55 – A Mysterious Figure in the Wings |
Mar 3, 07 | 106 – What’s in the Box? |
Jan 26, 21 | 868 – The Blame Game |
Feb 11, 10 | 243 – A Deal is a Deal |
May 27, 13 | 507 – Telling Off Skunk Head |
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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Nov 9, 06 | 37 – Is Dr. Klein a Sexy Beast? |
May 23, 11 | 318 – The Plans of Dr. Klein, Pt. 1 “Getting Rid of Captain Spectacular” |
Sep 28, 11 | Chapter 5, “The Redemption of Dr. Rocket” Recap by Geoff Munn |
Jan 21, 10 | 240 – ZAP! |
Jan 15, 07 | 70 – Gene and Dictator Tot Reunite |
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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Aug 10, 15 | 667 – The Importance of Good Hygiene |
Oct 19, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 8 “Back Home” |
Nov 30, 11 | 367 – The Division Sword |
Sep 23, 13 | 537 – The Guthrie |
Oct 5, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 6 “The Lips That Should Not Be Touched” |
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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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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May 18, 12 | Pg. 2 “Not Ready or Able” |
May 8, 13 | 502 – The Presidio Thumb |
May 20, 11 | Pg. 6 “Invisible” |
Feb 1, 07 | 92 – Not the Woman He Used to Know |
Oct 23, 17 | 740 – Boop |
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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Sep 3, 18 | Pg. 14 “Fire and Light and Rain” |
Oct 14, 08 | 171 – Hello, Karma |
Aug 24, 11 | 345 – Taking a Pill |
Jul 16, 09 | 216 – Cami |
Jan 12, 10 | SF Origins: The Six Wives of Captain Spectacular, Pg. 1 “Sweet Samantha” |
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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Mar 1, 11 | Pg. 5 “Couture Fashion” |
Sep 2, 08 | 159 – Strange Dreams and Wedding Plans |
Feb 3, 20 | 829 – Too. Far. |
Dec 26, 11 | Guest Strip by Will Boyer! |
Feb 6, 13 | 478 – What If Money Man Had Lived? |
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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Feb 9, 07 | 99 – The Tale of How Captain Spectacular and Star Maiden Met and Married, Conclusion |
Aug 19, 08 | 155 – Bait and Switch |
Jul 9, 08 | Guest Strip by Rufus Edge of “comicdeoxyribonucleicacid!” |
Jun 26, 08 | 142 – Back in Hel |
Mar 25, 07 | 124 – Shooting |
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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Aug 1, 14 | Pg. 5 “Many Doors, All Locked” |
Dec 3, 12 | 463 – May Percy Have a Pet? |
Sep 7, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 2 “Cats at the Back” |
Jun 18, 18 | Pg. 3 “The Prophecy” |
Jul 21, 14 | 611 – Escape |
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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Mar 12, 07 | 111 – Forgive Dr. Rocket |
Dec 29, 09 | Guest Strip by Crystal Murphy, Part One |
Jun 20, 11 | 326 – Air Valhalla |
Aug 11, 09 | SF Origins: Tangerine, Pg. 3 “New Parts” |
Sep 2, 15 | 677 – His Greatest Creation |
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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Feb 20, 12 | 388 – Bay-buh |
Sep 8, 22 | 922 – The New Normal |
Sep 3, 18 | Pg. 14 “Fire and Light and Rain” |
Sep 19, 11 | 352 – Megatron is Copyrighted |
Jun 8, 11 | 323 – What is a Villain? |
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 7, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 2 “Cats at the Back” |
Oct 27, 20 | 850 – Grand Entrance |
Aug 1, 16 | 686 – Captain Spectacular’s Mighty Punch |
Apr 14, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 9 “Press Conference” |
Mar 12, 18 | 770 – Bumps in the Road |
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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May 28, 12 | 415 – Someone REALLY Hates Space Monkeys |
Jan 30, 12 | 382 – A Better Question |
May 26, 15 | What You’ve Been Waiting to Know… |
Dec 10, 09 | 237 – A Surprise Visitor |
Jul 31, 13 | 522 – A Favor for Spy Gal |
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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Jul 15, 10 | 265 – Stop Bullpuckin’ |
Aug 6, 14 | 616 – One of Zurida’s |
Dec 9, 06 | 58 – Jerry’s Single Chest Hair |
Aug 17, 11 | 343 – Speak No More of This |
Oct 5, 11 | Chapter 10, “Bubbles of Light” Recap by Danny Burleson |
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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Apr 30, 14 | 591 – About That Thing… That One Time |
Sep 14, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 3 “She Dead” |
Feb 16, 21 | 874 – The One True |
Jan 2, 13 | Guest Strip by Brock Heasley (???) |
Jul 11, 11 | 332 – Captain Spectacular’s Buds |
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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Apr 2, 14 | 585 – Atomic Fly’s Special Delivery |
Jul 22, 11 | Pg. 1 “Uh Oh” |
Oct 19, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 8 “Back Home” |
Nov 15, 06 | 43 – The Healer Approaches the Captain |
Apr 18, 11 | 308 – Time Displaced/Erased/No Taste |
Just keeping the Third Man alive here. Also, it was important to me that Dictator Tot get her animal crackers.
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Oct 17, 16 | 705 – Saber |
Mar 3, 07 | 106 – What’s in the Box? |
Jan 25, 07 | 83 – The Seduction of Dr. Klein |
Nov 16, 10 | SF Origins: The Death of Mr. Crook, Pg. 1 “Lights On, Lights Off” |
Jan 18, 07 | 73 – It’s FUN to Share |
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Nov 8, 06 | 36 – Valhalla Stinks! |
Sep 7, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 2 “Cats at the Back” |
Dec 3, 20 | 859 – Snakes on a Swifty |
Jul 9, 18 | Pg. 6 “Date or Fight?” |
Jun 2, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 16 “Eagle vs. Bear” |
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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Nov 15, 06 | 43 – The Healer Approaches the Captain |
Nov 9, 16 | 712 – Ah-ah-ah |
Apr 8, 13 | 495 – A Willing Prisoner |
Sep 25, 13 | 538 – The Amazing Zurida |
Aug 23, 22 | 917 – The New Valhalla |
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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Mar 23, 12 | Pg. 5 “Where Are The Unicef Upstarts?” |
Oct 17, 06 | 24 – Too Little Too Late |
Sep 25, 12 | GUEST STRIP by Crystal Murphy, Summer Fun Pt. 1! |
Sep 21, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 4 “The Best Day Ever, Ever” |
Nov 20, 06 | 48 – “Old Marm?” |
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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Dec 24, 12 | Merry Christmas From The SuperFogeys! |
Feb 16, 21 | 874 – The One True |
Aug 24, 12 | Pg. 3 “Crybabies” |
Oct 1, 09 | 227 – Star Maiden’s Fan Club |
Apr 1, 10 | 250 – To Be So Stupid |
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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Sep 18, 13 | 536 – Zurida and Her Subjects |
Apr 4, 11 | 304 – Catchy and Mysterious |
Aug 18, 14 | 618 – Thanks to Money Man |
Dec 24, 12 | Merry Christmas From The SuperFogeys! |
Dec 4, 13 | 554 – Not In a Way That Matters |
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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May 8, 13 | 502 – The Presidio Thumb |
May 2, 08 | 85 – WebSpace Page: Spy Gal |
Nov 25, 08 | 182 – Someone Steps Forward (Bubbles of Light 3) |
Sep 25, 13 | 538 – The Amazing Zurida |
Oct 29, 09 | 231 – The Greatest Revenge Plot Never Imagined |
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 11, 17 | 725 – Slaughter Many, Many More |
Apr 16, 12 | 403 – Don’t Say No to Dark Maiden |
Mar 1, 11 | Pg. 5 “Couture Fashion” |
Aug 28, 10 | SF Origins: Operation: Valhalla, No. 5 “A Spot of Drool” |
Dec 3, 14 | 642 – A Star Falls |
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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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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Nov 3, 06 | 31- Spittin’ Oatmeal |
Mar 26, 14 | 583 – The Captain is Not as Alone as He Thinks |
Jul 8, 08 | Guest Strip by Brian Anderson of “Dog Eat Doug!” |
Jan 15, 20 | 824 – Knives Out |
Nov 29, 17 | 751 – Who Do You Think Paid for All This? |
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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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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Nov 6, 08 | 177 – Lay Some More On Me |
Jan 4, 11 | Guest Strip by Javier Del Villar, Part Two |
May 24, 22 | 891 – Third Eye Blind |
Aug 17, 12 | Pg. 2 “Youthfulenergysupersurplus!” |
Dec 2, 11 | Pg. 3 “Enter The Space Pig” |
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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Aug 10, 15 | 667 – The Importance of Good Hygiene |
Jul 18, 11 | 334 – Whaddaya Wanna Do? |
Oct 21, 08 | 173 – The Blender of Vengeance |
Jul 3, 08 | 144 – Jerry Wakes Up |
Sep 15, 14 | The Principle of Order |
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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Nov 12, 09 | 233 – She Was Undercover |
Jun 3, 13 | 509 – Villain to Villain |
Mar 26, 09 | 201 – The Orphan BBQ Will Have to Wait |
Mar 3, 07 | 106 – What’s in the Box? |
May 30, 11 | 320 – One Thing Left |