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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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…
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 [...]
Just keeping the Third Man alive here. Also, it was important to me that Dictator Tot get her animal crackers.
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 [...]
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. [...]
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.
Hands down, this is my most favorite Dictator Tot strip. I think I really scored with her dialog here, none of which I can take credit for. This is very, very similar to conversations I’ve had with my daughter Elora. It was fun to break the 4 panel structure a bit as well, even though [...]
I had a TON of fun with this episode. Webcomics can, at times, be a bit of a grind. That schedule, even at just twice a week, can be killer. A visually interesting episode like this where I get to play with depth of field and extreme reactions is just a blast. I had only [...]
Visually, this is a very exciting strip for me. Even the lame “Kirby Dot” I used for the energy effect on Star Maiden’s blast look pretty decent. This is the strip where I began to realize just how much fun writing Star Maiden was going to be. I mean, here I have a character that [...]
Some readers misunderstood this strip to mean that Spy Gal is upset at Star Maiden again. Not my intention at all, something I hope becomes clear in the next strip. Swifty’s line at the end came from trial and error. All of his dialog in the last panel went through many iterations. I think the [...]
The rare one-paneler! Very rarely do I have an idea for a strip that lends itself to this. The challenge is the layout. Getting all those characters into one frame isn’t easy for me, but well worth it, I think.
A transitional strip. I hate these. Usually, I’m able to cover it up better with a joke, but not so much here.
The plot of this particular strip was pretty simple: Jerry and Dictator Tot play Wii Bowling. DT loses. DT pulls out a gun. Here’s the script, as originally written: 123 – 1: DT assuming the bowling stance. DT: Bowling is very simple. The remote is like the ball. You pull it back with the button… [...]
I’ve made no secret that I have a long, long term plan for the SuperFogeys. Pieces of a puzzle that I want to lay down and that will add up into something (I hope) special one day. This is one of those pieces. I won’t say I always knew it would be Jerry to get [...]
There’s a kid with a gun. The kid’s a villain though, so I’m asking you to go with it. There’s not much funny about gun violence. This isn’t the place to really get into it, but my life has certainly been affected by gun violence on more than one occasion. My feeling is that if [...]
I love this strip. You need that reaction to the name “Third Man” and the leap in logic Star Maiden makes here is a nice shout-out to one of my heroes, Orson Welles. Some day, I have to actually draw a Zombie Orson Welles. In that first panel, Dictator Tot is being removed from the room [...]
Drawing a sauced Captain Spectacular was so much fun that I have to find a way to do it again. I WILL find a way to do it again. Originally, this was going to be flashback to how CS met Jerry. I’ll still tell that story one day, but with Spy Gal’s suspicions raised, I [...]
With Chapter 4 complete, it’s time to roll out Book #3! This cover was a collaboration between me and the artist known only as Jorzac. He generously provided pencils and then those are my sloppy inks slapped on top. Colors byMADConk. Thanks, Jorzac! Collection #3 of course contains the entirety of Chapter 4, along with a [...]
Commentary Visually, I really love this one. After what I felt was kind of a visually bankrupt previous strip, I really wanted to do something different with this one. With the action being outside of Valhalla and not featuring any of the Fogeys, the opportunity was certainly there. Dictator Tot’s exit was a long time [...]
Commentary Now, this I realize that this is almost entirely a cut-and-paste job from an eariler strip. In this case, I thought it was justified as a)it allowed me to get ahead a little and b)it was perfect for the pacing I was trying to achieve. I think the coloring really sells it and I had [...]
RUFUS EDGE Holy Guest Strips, Captain! I was amazed to get 2 guest strips of high caliber this week, and now, suddenly, I’ve got two more! This latest one was actually submitted as Fan Art, but I think you can easily see why I tossed it into the regular rotation. I literally laughed out loud [...]
COMMENTARY In the first panel there, you’ll notice a sign on the box that’s cut off. The full sign would read “Ark of the Covenant – Do Not Touch,” an obvious shout-out to Indiana Jones. The monster is another shout-out. This is my lame attempt at a tribute to the master of drawing monsters—Jack Kirby. [...]
COMMENTARY Look at the detail in that darkened warehouse! I kid. If you look closely at the third panel you’ll see that Dictator Tot has tossed aside a small device. I didn’t have room to explicitly state it, but the idea is that she was using that device to make it appear as though she [...]
COMMENTARY Based on this strip, for some reason, a lot of people assumed that Captain Spectacular II is the son of Captain Spectacular. Such is not the case. I love, love, love the look of this one. I wish I got to play with colors like the more often, or, at least, that I was [...]
MOTHER OF AN EPISODE So little dialogue…so much drawing…and I don’t like any of it. I’ve gotten slammed in the past for being too critical of my work. Whenever I get into that mode, people usually do one of two things: either 1) defend my work against me and my wonderful insecurities or 2) tell [...]
Today’s Strip… Wow, talk about above and beyond! Mark R. Engel got this entry in just barely under the wire and I think it’s easy to see why he needed the extra time! Mark’s use of Swifty here is very, very funny and I love the Dictator Tot cameo! Great punchline and great pacing–which is a [...]
WELCOME TO GUEST STRIPPIN’ XMAS! From December 28th until January 11th, SuperFans of the SuperFogeys with talent to spare have taken over this space and will be bringing you their unique takes on the characters you all know so well. Enjoy! MARC LAPIERRE GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND You all know already how great Marc Lapierre [...]
MARJORIE RESHEL BREAKS IT ALL DOWN IN HILARIOUS FASHION! Only a true blue SuperFogeys fan could have crafted this. This is a knowing, detailed, mythology and character-rich guest strip that had me laughing out loud for quite a while. Marj is a semi-regular commenter in these parts, but she’s clearly ALWAYS paying attention. She’s a [...]
UPDATED! WITH ANNOTATIONS! BEHIND THE SCENES… Want to know what Dr. Klein was up to from his perspective during the first five chapters of the SuperFogeys? Then this week’s strips are for you! Enjoy. For those curious, here’s some links to the strips that are referenced in today’s flashback scenes… Panel 1 - SF 28, “The [...]
The 5th Anniversay Celebration of the SuperFogeys continues with this awesome poster recapping in images all of Chapter 4, “Dictator Tot’s Revenge!” See more of Jeremy’s work and his own webcomic, The Ouro Bros., at his site!
I love this super fun pice by longtime SuperFan Dawn Griffin! Dawn does her own, extremely popular webcomic, Zorphbert and Fred, about two aliens disguised as dogs making observations about us wacky humans. Do yourself a favor and check it out immediately if you haven’t already!
Welcome to SuperFogeys Origins, Alex Deligiannis! I can’t tell you how excited I am about this one. Alex is a busy guy and that he found the time to work on this story is something I’m extremely grateful for. It’s a short one–concludes next week–but it’s well worth it. Plus, I finally got to fulfill [...]
Man, artist Alex Deligiannis nailed this page. Our launching point for this story was the Scott Pilgrim comics. If you’ve read them, you know how kind of insane they are. While I think you can see some traces of that original inspiration (like in the final panel), Alex really took this in his own direction [...]
SuperFan Kristie Metler send me this fun little piece just a bit ago. Once in a while, she draws pictures of characters for her kids and her choice on this particular day was the Fogeys! I love it. There’s something really pure about drawing strictly for your kids. Thanks, Kristie! Would you like to do [...]
Over the weekend, SuperFogeys Origins artist Alex Deligiannis posted an art process blog at his site for the gorgeous two page story he drew up for me, When Dictator Tot Met Gene. If you’re like me, you’re a junkie for this sort of thing. Here’s a preview: “…[Brock] sent me a script for a two-page story, [...]
Creating the bulletin board o’ evidence was a fun exercise in diving back into the history of the strip and thinking about the things Spy Gal would see as relevant. Pretty much the same thing the readers saw, as it turns out! I love the way Marc drew Jerry’s reaction in the third panel. That’s [...]
There’s just one week of this hiatus left! Starting today and through Friday–Guest Strips! Today I bring you this deep dive into arcane continuity from Gwen Patton. Gwen is riffing off of something revealed not too long ago–namely that there are Space Monkey’s and their poo has a strange property that can turn human beings [...]
In the spirit of Fan Art Week, I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring and, instead of drawing a character you already know and love, I drew up a new character you’ll be seeing in SuperFogeys within the next year or so–Violent Violet. Most of your are aware I’ve put my kids in [...]
And boom, like that, old favorites returning, new characters showing up for the first time. This is perhaps the motliest of crews, but together they are enough to strike fear in the heart of even someone as vile and powerful as Suckface. Marc, once again, stepped up in a big way with some great new [...]
For those wondering what in the world Soviet Sam is referring to, you can see it for yourself right here. I’m looking forward to the discussion today. The past several weeks you guys have really dug into the themes of SF and shown your love for the characters by how closely you pay attention. Like [...]
For Soviet Sam, the journey to this moment has been a long one. I’d encourage you to click on Sam’s name in the tags (or right here) to check out his past appearances to see the full scope of what this hug might mean to him. Infamous Nefarious commented on Monday’s strip (which saw Sam [...]
Marc here with a brand new strip full of Earth (or Earths) shattering information. Both Brock and I thank you for your patience while the dust settles from Brock’s unemployment situation. For the time being, we’ll be scaling back our schedule a bit to accommodate the unexpected curve balls of life. There will be no [...]
If you’re a parent, you get this strip. If you’re not… well, not every joke is for everybody. This strip is special for me because the two little girls in the last panel–Dictator Tot and Violent Violet–are based on two of my girls, Elora and Violet. Both were kind of crazy at age 3, hence [...]
UPDATE: Sorry about the delay, folks! Our site crashed due to content overload so we had expand and switch everything over to a new server. That’s all done now, so we should be okay for quite a while. Everything I said a week ago is basically still true–I’m working like mad on a film set. [...]
Maybe you don’t know about the Harrison Ford Finger of Doom. The fact is, in every Harrison Ford movie (yes, ALL OF THEM–I insist), our favorite Han Solo will inevitably point his index finger at someone and it always, ALWAYS portends DOOM. Massive doom. So, in the script for this strip, I actually did ask [...]
As we enter the last four or five strips of this chapter, Marc and I find that our buffer has run out and we’re really pushing the deadlines hard. I’m excited to see this chapter come to and end and how the ending points to what’s ahead, but I’m also sad to see it happen [...]
