What’s sadder than a guy who can run really fast that’s stuck behind a walker? The answer is nothing, my friends, nothing. That’s what makes Swifty so much fun–we all know exactly why he’s so bitter and grumpy and you just can’t blame the guy. For Swifty’s design, I couldn’t make him look too much [...]
When did The SuperFogeys turn into Three’s Company? The answer: Strip 17.
This is the strip that finally broke me. I enjoy the dialogue here a lot, but the art is the (seemingly) umpteenth strip made out of spare parts. This is when I realized things had to change.
I love this little experiment. It’s two jokes, one the main plot and one a jokey subplot, that don’t work so well on their own but that compliment each other, I think, pretty well. Jerry’s frustration here is my own. Sleep, it seems, will always be denied me. I had no idea the Space Pig [...]
This first strip in chapter 2 is all about setting up the game and introducing Dr. Klein, an obviously important figure at Valhalla. When I started the SuperFogeys, I always had it in the back of my mind that I would need to create a “man-in-charge” at some point. Dr. Klein, with his german name [...]
Like Spy Gal in Chapter 1, I had spent two strips building up the arrival of the Healer. I wanted his entrance to be important and surprising. Originally, the Healer was going to be an old man in a cloak. Much more like Dr. Strange or something like that. After being comfortable with that for [...]
The SuperFogeys are so stiff and immobile, it was fun to cut loose a little on a character like the Healer. I made it double-sized because I wanted the figures to breathe a little and see what I could do with a character who is real expressive. There’s some good lines in this one (Dr. [...]
Jerry was late to the party because I needed to remind the audience of his feelings for Spy Gal. I’m sure there was a better way to do that. Not a favorite of mine.
I knew the back half of this chapter would be light on the Swifty, so I wanted to make sure his last time in the spotlight was a memorable one. Everyone seems to have a different favorite Swifty ailment, but the one I like the best (and the first one I wrote) is the one [...]
I had been looking for an excuse to do a single-panel strip for a long time and this conclusion of the Healer’s interviews with all the SuperFogeys was a good excuse for it. Originally, the dialogue on this one was vastly different. It was a back and forth between the Healer and the Captain; none [...]
I tried and tried to not make this one a double-sized. I had just done one and I didn’t want to take the time to do another one, but there just wasn’t any other way to make it work. Too many characters all interacting with each other. It has been said that this is one [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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…
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 [...]
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.
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.
Another ugly, ugly strip. An important one though. This is one of those that I think people read and then didn’t ask the right questions about. Jerry’s tears are a leftover plot thread from Chapter 3. The last time anyone talked about him it was in Episode 88 when Captain Spectacular mentioned that Jerry had [...]
Some readers thought Jerry was out-of-character here. In my mind, Jerry is basically a decent guy, but even decent guys can be pushed too far. If it’s Swifty talking, then you can be sure that Jerry is being pushed too far. I labored and labored over the wording of Dr. Rocket’s apology. It had to [...]
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 [...]
And now you see the entire impetus for the Wii storyline. I knew I wanted Star Maiden to be so deranged that she actually sees the Fogeys as their younger selves. With that in mind, I thought her interpretation of “air boxing” would be hilarious. Turned out to be more dramatic, but what are you [...]
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.
My mother hates the language in the SuperFogeys. This bleeped out stuff isn’t for her. Can’t imagine what she’d say if I didn’t censor. Personally, I can’t stand foul language. I think I’ve said the “F” word twice in my life. Once out of anger and another time by accident. Both times, it ruined my [...]
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… [...]
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 [...]
Did Swifty go too far? That’s what some readers thought. I admit that I had second thoughts about this one as well, but knowing what I know about Swifty and Jerry’s relationship, I think he is justified. True, I haven’t actually REVEALED why Swifty hates Jerry so much, but still… The second panel with Spy Gal’s [...]
Here’s a bit of a storytelling trick…by keeping Dr. Rocket out of the strip for several weeks (off camera–he was in the room the whole time), I make his appearance in the last panel just that much more surprising. That’s the hope anyway. It all seems terribly convenient, I agree. You’re supposed to be thinking [...]
How did I go this long without a “When Pigs Fly” joke? That first panel was a challenge for me. In case you haven’t already been able to tell, perspective isn’t my strong suit. Still, I’m pleased with how it turned out. I think it works for what it is. Again, Star Maiden is just [...]
Had a blast with the first panel. I love drawing Mr. Crook, design courtesy of Eskimo Dave creator Mike Hartigan. I wish he wasn’t dead. Check back to Episode 10 of Chapter 1 for a part of Mr. Crook’s story. Mustache on Captain Spectacular doesn’t look too bad. A little more insight on the Jerry/Swifty [...]
This is a mean, mean cliffhanger. I don’t know that it’s fair to end this chapte like this, but it really couldn’t end any other way. Thematically, the next chapter has to begin a few seconds after Dr. Rockets declaration of good news and bad news. I’m hoping it’ll make sense why I did it [...]
That profile pic of Jerry is my most favorite drawing of him that I’ve done. It just captures him so perfectly. The first mission of the Society of Heroes is a tale I want to tell. It should appear as a backup story in a future SuperFogeys book. Watch for that.
This has the worst SuperFogeys drawing I’ve ever done or likely will do. That photo of young Swifty and his car is just atrocious. The less said here the better.
Here’s the cover to the first printed edition of the SuperFogeys, collecting both chapters 1 and 2.
This is the cover to Book 2, which collected both all of Chapter 3 and the backup story, “Captain Spectacular and Star Maiden in the Inevitable Dimension.”
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 [...]
UPDATE! COLLECTION #4 NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! This is it! The cover to the fourth collection of the SuperFogeys. Dare I say it’s our best one yet? Didn’t start out that way though. Th3rd World Publisher Michael DeVito deserves all the credit in the world for the stellar job he did on the coloring for [...]
THE TEASER FOR CHAPTER 7, “VISITING DAY” Chapter 6, “Funeral for a Frenemy” is over! The Dr. Rocket we knew was really the impostor Herman! The real Dr. Rocket is back! So…now what? What happens in “Visiting Day?” I cannot tell, but I can tease… Spoiler Alert! Skip to the next section of the post [...]
Commentary I’m proud to say that no one guessed how in the world the cliffhanger from the end of the last chapter would resolve itself. The nice thing about doing a humor strip is that, at times, the humor can be a convenient “out” of a storytelling situation and somehow it doesn’t feel cheap. In [...]
Commentary This strip hearkens back to something set up in Star Maiden’s WebSpace page, namely that she was a webcam girl. I had a lot of fun with the second panel in trying to make Star look both sexy and deranged. The drool pretty much sold it. Swifty’s feeling at the end of this strip pretty [...]
BRIAN ANDERSON Today’s amazing spotlight on Dr. Rocket comes to us from Brian Anderson of the nationally syndicated comic strip,Dog Eat Doug! Brian is doing me a huge favor this week as last week’s ER visit really threw me off my game. Look at the detail in the good Doctor’s face! Amazing work, Brian, and [...]
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 Ah! Ah! Ah! Too much! There’s just way too much going on in this strip. I could have easily took all the same ideas here and spread them out into three strips instead of compacting them into one. Plus, I was way too in love with my own dialogue. Swifty’s in the first panel [...]
COMMENTARY This is the second appearance of the Bubbles of Light. No one questioned the first appearance back in Chapter 4 and I don’t really blame them. There wasn’t much to go on. Here we get a few more clues, leading to the obvious conclusion that Swifty—or at least some iteration of him—is time-traveling. The [...]
COMMENTARY The angry looks that the Space Pig and Tangerine are giving each are meant to suggest a fallout between them after the events of “The Secret Origin of the Space Pig” (which you can find in SuperFogreys Vol.1, on sale in the SF Store). Tangerine finally arriving at Valhalla was a long time in [...]
COMMENTARY Tangerine’s body design presents some unique challenges. He doesn’t really have elbows (the way I draw him anyway) and he’s so much shorter than everybody else that whenever he appears it requires some rethinking of how I usually frame the characters in the panel. I thought long and hard about the use of the [...]
COMMENTARY In the first two panels we see that Swifty did indeed use the Space Pig Urine given to him by Dr. Rocket earlier in the chapter. I wish I had chosen a different wall color for the background of this strip (and all those remaining in Chapter 5 for that matter). That brown is [...]
PINKERTON MOVES OVER TO TH3RD WORLD Didja’ hear? Mike Witmer has moved his great, abso-stinkin’ hilarious webcomic Pinkerton over to Th3rd World. Now, Pinkerton has been with Th3rd World for a few months now, but last week Mike finally make the big move of making Th3rd World the exclusive spot for all things Pinkerton. The best [...]
SUPERFOGEYS ON DIGITAL STRIPS Well, sadly, SF went out on the first round of Webcomic Idol. Were my readers confused about the voting process? Did SF have a target on its back? Were the other comics that much better? Is this all a result of a smear campaign by Marvel and DC for damage done [...]
TWITTER Hey, anyone else on Twitter? I’ve been on it for about a month now and I think I’ve moved past the addictive stage and into the comfortable I’ll-post-when-I-really-have-something stage. It’s fun. See my Twitter page here. Right now I’m slowly working my way through adding commentary to the strips in Chapter 5. Every time I [...]
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 [...]
FUNERAL It didn’t occur to me until this week how coincidentally timed this chapter of SF is. Unless I miss my guess, today is the 11th anniversary of my own father’s funeral. He died on the 23rd of November. The story of all that is amazing, funny, tragic, epic, inspiring and defining (for me). Yes, [...]
Today’s Strip… Today we have a very funny guest strip by SuperFogeys superfan Chris Blanchard! I love this little peek into a possible future. This is a joke I could easily see myself writing, but Chris beat me to the punch! Check out Chris’ webcomic Renaissance Guy over at Drunk Duck (my old stomping grounds)! See you [...]
Today’s Strip… Today’s guest strip comes to us from one Mister Edward Krebes! I love the overlapping punchlines in the last panel and it’s nice to see someone loves Star Maiden as much as I do. Check out Ed’s webcomic Hobo and Bowserimmediately to get your last taste of the Christmas Spirit. See you tomorrow!
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 [...]
Today’s Strip… What a great riff on a classic super hero convention! Today’s excellent and quite funny strip comes from T.L. Collins, the creative mind behind the newer webcomic Bullfinch. I really like T.L.’s art and the personality he injects into each of the characters. So much so that…well, you may want to read the next [...]
