25 Thursday Jun 2015
Posted in Behind the Frames, Uncategorized
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Codex is the cute little mushroom with the glasses who illustrates Tempest in a Teardrop.
In hindsight, I’m glad we went with the “talking mushroom” idea and not the “Dixie-accented cute confederate flag” design.
Really dodged a bullet there.
I sat her down and asked her some questions that our 1.5 loyal readers have demanded to know. Hypothetically. Continue reading
23 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Behind the Frames, Uncategorized
Many of our comics feature unnamed characters, which typically have been mushrooms, carrots, or onions. We owe our astute readers an honest, straightforward explanation for this:
Our crisper drawer only has so much room.
Onions are typical social justice warriors. If you believe we are saying they have hidden layers of complexity, and add a certain spice that the typical comic strip villain lacks, then good for you!
Carrots are mostly neutral, non-participants. They may or may not be the subject of the joke.
Mushrooms are fungis. And fungals. They act as cheerleaders for our heroes. If you can find a deeply symbolic meaning in this characterization, be sure to let us know.
18 Thursday Jun 2015
Posted in Behind the Frames, Sad Puppies
Brad the Otter is the funny, playful ‘toon that everyone likes to party with. Brad is well-connected with the paranormal world, on a first name basis with ghosts, sasquatch, (possibly aliens) and knows where the super-secret Dread Pyramid of Itzilichlitlichlitzl1 is located.
Our more astute readers might look at the accessories Brad carries and start connecting some metaphysical dots. What is the mysterious cane-like thing he holds? Is it merely for whacking CHORFs, or does it have a different purpose? What is the weird object he holds in his left paw? Continue reading
16 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Behind the Frames, Life as a Leftie
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A guest post by Terri the Potato
As you know, the first step in wrenching social justice from an all-too-uncaring society is Awareness. Today, I am going to stand up for a victim group whose plight needs greater visibility. They are blacklisted by large corporate Silverware Conglomerates, and exploited by Fast-Food Mega-Corporations. I’m talking about the humble Spork. Continue reading
09 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Behind the Frames, Evil League of Evil
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Larry is a cross between a bear and a Totoro, and has a thick Ukrainian accent. We… try not to think about how exactly that happened, either.
The character design is a fine example of compromise. Codex only likes drawing cute and cuddly critters. Q was like ‘think more armor, think more guns.’ Codex didn’t see the value of an accent. Q saw an opportunity to give the character more personality, and work in the Hugo-nominated Orphan Black angle. See, compromise. Both sides give a little and the result is stronger than either idea alone. Continue reading
04 Thursday Jun 2015
Posted in Behind the Frames, Uncategorized
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The Bunnyboy Scalzi design went smoothly, for a change.
Q: “Rabbit?”
Codex: “Check”
Q: “Dress?”
Codex: “Bathrobe. It’s more superhero-y, and sadder. Remember, he’s a sidekick who thinks he’s the main character.”
Q: “Lightsaber?”
Codex: “Duh”
But then the real work began. Continue reading
02 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Behind the Frames, Evil League of Evil
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Sarah the Mouse wields a decidedly pointed pen, with which no pretentious poser wishes to be jabbed. Sarah is benevolent, takes criticism in stride, and can dish out elegant insults. We must not think our good mouse is entirely well-behaved, however, for she is known to cast carp at would-be punners with a shockingly-large array of mechanical devices.
Sarah was inspired by the Beautiful but Evil Space Princess herself, Sarah A. Hoyt. Sarah is a gifted writer and teacher whose tribe (hello Huns!) talk about a wide variety of topics daily at her blog. There, they freely dispense helpful writing advice, light-hearted banter, and bad puns. Don’t let their good-natured manner deceive you: they take their paronomasias seriously.
(Yes, Codex, I can use a thesaurus.)
Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians 