With the introduction of Jorkeena, Superosity surprises us all by introducting the controversial theme of incest. Is there anything that Superosity is incapable of dealing with? Apparently not, as it's even able to handle the disturbing idea of Barton having emotions.
What pathos! Handled so adeptly, with such finesse! Such skill! Such talent! Other such synonyms! Perhaps not quite so successfully as would be seen from somebody of more refined technical ability, but these panels do handle the theme appropriately while managing retain the unique Superosity aesthetic. The important thing is that you can look upon that image and know what is going on. Who amongst us has not had the very same experience? Our souls crumpling up in despair as we whimper the name of a beloved one who will never fulfill our heartfelt desire?
Oh, Dot Warner, how I long for your playful smile.
It is the universal experience of the neurotypical, and Superosity manages to mirror it in Barton of all people.
Interestingly, reaction shots were used the week prior to make us laugh at Jork's mounting rage. It must be admitted even by the rabidly faithful that Mr. Crosby's artistic style is not so detailed as to seem capable of managing such humour, but these two strips are surprisingly successful.
Another point of interest seen in the second of those links is the discovery Jork apparently pronounces his name with the English "J" sound- enough so that it can be sensibly mixed up with the word "jerk." As there is no such sound in the Swedish language, one is led to wonder whether his accent is equally hilarious when he speaks his own native tongue.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Happy Birthday Superosity
I... I forgot to get you a present... and I'm calling you late... but that doesn't mean I don't love you! Just think of all the other things I'm neglecting even more badly. I haven't even started that novel which would completely turn the world of literature on its head if I ever completed it. Please don't hate me because I'm lazy.
Happy twelfth birthday. Nearly a teenager, you little scamp you.
Happy twelfth birthday. Nearly a teenager, you little scamp you.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Yearosity, Superosites
2010 may have been the least productive year for Superosity Makes Me Gay, but it has been a spectacular year for Superosity. With Chris finally married, the most significant shift in the comic's dynamic since Barton dying, we wait to see what this means for the strip as a whole.
Arcadia indicates that little has and will change, but there is more to be taken from that exchange. There is possible foreshadowing. There is the way in which their view of their respective situations is revealed: Arcadia sees Boardy's concern as being about the intrusion on his world, while Boardy sees his concern as the danger of Chris being hurt. This tension will likely prove a fertile ground for story in the future.
We have also seen that Arcadia is similarly protective of Chris, so it will be interesting to see what happens with two defenders in the nest... or, you know, a relevant metaphor that actually makes sense. Boardy and Arcadia have an overlapping perception of their respective roles regarding Chris is what I'm saying.
Plus Spaceball's story remains a cliffhanger waiting to be revisited.
Perhaps 2011 will be a better year for Superosity Makes Me Gay. I make no promises except for the promise to make outlandish excuses. It matters little. Superosity remains a giant monument to brilliance, and this tribute blog can never achieve anything more than hunch in its shadows with a laser pointer, occasionally highlighting tiny little flecks of its magnificent surface. Have a nice year, and may your 2011 goggles serve you well throughout.
Arcadia indicates that little has and will change, but there is more to be taken from that exchange. There is possible foreshadowing. There is the way in which their view of their respective situations is revealed: Arcadia sees Boardy's concern as being about the intrusion on his world, while Boardy sees his concern as the danger of Chris being hurt. This tension will likely prove a fertile ground for story in the future.
We have also seen that Arcadia is similarly protective of Chris, so it will be interesting to see what happens with two defenders in the nest... or, you know, a relevant metaphor that actually makes sense. Boardy and Arcadia have an overlapping perception of their respective roles regarding Chris is what I'm saying.
Plus Spaceball's story remains a cliffhanger waiting to be revisited.
Perhaps 2011 will be a better year for Superosity Makes Me Gay. I make no promises except for the promise to make outlandish excuses. It matters little. Superosity remains a giant monument to brilliance, and this tribute blog can never achieve anything more than hunch in its shadows with a laser pointer, occasionally highlighting tiny little flecks of its magnificent surface. Have a nice year, and may your 2011 goggles serve you well throughout.
Monday, October 4, 2010
A Ball Of A Different Manner
In a perfect world, one could read and write about Superosity all day long. This is not a perfect world, and never will be save for the brief period between aliens bringing world peace and somebody translating their mysterious book to discover that it's a cookbook.
A great many noteworthy things have occurred during this particular landmark period of Superosity, including the addressing of an issue that we weren't even aware of being an issue: the strange case of Arcadia's parentage. I suppose Dark Boardy is trying to ensure his own creation or something? I dunno. It would be overwhelming to attempt to address everything. Let us instead return to the start and re-engage with a relatively insignificant aspect that, having been left unresolved, is bound to raise its head again one day in the future. The return of Spaceball.
It is no secret that children's, or "family," media is a major part of Superosity. To call the main character Chris a manchild would be understating the case- his development was arrested so unequivocally that it was shunted directly to the head of death row and now lies buried somewhere in unhallowed ground. So when, long ago, a space-borne character modelled off Madballs was introduced, it was not the least bit outlandish. Some comics might have made do with the Madball reference and left it alone. Superosity, having inured us to eclectic references, had to one-up that by making the brief side-plot which ensued, with its surprise twist ending, was perhaps the greatest moment of that expedition in space.
The return of Spaceball is not likely to match the elegance of that fortnight-and-a-half story which marked his introduction. It is big, it is bold, it contains criminality and the most pervasive alien race of the entire comic. Yet it also brings the little narrative that I've been trying to concoct full circle. It contains two of the most fitting family-movie-like vignettes that Superosity has ever produced. And it does it with an eerie humourlessness that makes the moments stick out of the gag-a-day comic like an image in a 3D movie.
Just look at this. Chris can already fly through space in his nanorobotic suit. That's not the point. That's not the joy of the moment. This is Bastian riding upon Falkor. This is David Freeman navigating Trimaxion's craft for the very first time.
Now examine the stark contrast of the following week's Sunday. This is Elliot trying to convince a world of stubborn adults that ET poses no threat. This is Ernie Henderson trying to come to terms with Harry Henderson's danger.
There are no jokes here. Just the throbbing pulse of Superosity's soul briefly rising to the surface before being pulled back into the depths of its raging chaos. Simple references without elaboration, and yet moments too special to be described with an unmixed metaphor. And they are great.
A great many noteworthy things have occurred during this particular landmark period of Superosity, including the addressing of an issue that we weren't even aware of being an issue: the strange case of Arcadia's parentage. I suppose Dark Boardy is trying to ensure his own creation or something? I dunno. It would be overwhelming to attempt to address everything. Let us instead return to the start and re-engage with a relatively insignificant aspect that, having been left unresolved, is bound to raise its head again one day in the future. The return of Spaceball.
It is no secret that children's, or "family," media is a major part of Superosity. To call the main character Chris a manchild would be understating the case- his development was arrested so unequivocally that it was shunted directly to the head of death row and now lies buried somewhere in unhallowed ground. So when, long ago, a space-borne character modelled off Madballs was introduced, it was not the least bit outlandish. Some comics might have made do with the Madball reference and left it alone. Superosity, having inured us to eclectic references, had to one-up that by making the brief side-plot which ensued, with its surprise twist ending, was perhaps the greatest moment of that expedition in space.
The return of Spaceball is not likely to match the elegance of that fortnight-and-a-half story which marked his introduction. It is big, it is bold, it contains criminality and the most pervasive alien race of the entire comic. Yet it also brings the little narrative that I've been trying to concoct full circle. It contains two of the most fitting family-movie-like vignettes that Superosity has ever produced. And it does it with an eerie humourlessness that makes the moments stick out of the gag-a-day comic like an image in a 3D movie.
Just look at this. Chris can already fly through space in his nanorobotic suit. That's not the point. That's not the joy of the moment. This is Bastian riding upon Falkor. This is David Freeman navigating Trimaxion's craft for the very first time.
Now examine the stark contrast of the following week's Sunday. This is Elliot trying to convince a world of stubborn adults that ET poses no threat. This is Ernie Henderson trying to come to terms with Harry Henderson's danger.
There are no jokes here. Just the throbbing pulse of Superosity's soul briefly rising to the surface before being pulled back into the depths of its raging chaos. Simple references without elaboration, and yet moments too special to be described with an unmixed metaphor. And they are great.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
To The Moon, Alan
Chris' new wife has been corrupted yet again, as originally seen back in the original You Gotta Have Hearts storyline. As this is a repeat of the events which led up to the original placement of the wedding date, there is some probability that this story has been in the works for five years now. It's all very exciting. Maybe we'll even find out how exactly the phrase "I'm all heart" worked to free Arcadia.
But let us move away from these action packed sequences and move back to a more sedate region, where a bewildered audience continues to fret over the outcome. Where a certain Alan, possibly continuing to make googly eyes at Deepskyfrontier, no doubt continues to wear his favourite shirt beneath his suit. A shirt supposedly depicting the very celestial object upon which he is currently standing.
This shirt, this moon-shirt if you will, was recently described to Bobby as having been bought because the picture was mistaken for a golf ball. There is a contradiction here- once upon a time Alan told Terrence Baum that the picture was in fact drawn on by hand. There is the further matter that Bobby claimed that it looked like one of Mickey Rooney's balls, when it has previously been surreptitiously demonstrated that Mickey Rooney's naked arse bears a very good resemblance albeit in a different colour. It's worth also noting that a naked posterior is frequently referred to as a "moon."
All these factors add up to one thing: confusion. But it is a tantalising confusion, one that suggests exciting possibilities. Did Alan purchase a shirt while mistaking the image for one of a golf ball, and later mistake the label to be making reference to the lunar moon rather than Mickey Rooney's moon? Did he come to like the shirt so much that he made another one by drawing a picture on a plain shirt? It's a mystery.
But let us move away from these action packed sequences and move back to a more sedate region, where a bewildered audience continues to fret over the outcome. Where a certain Alan, possibly continuing to make googly eyes at Deepskyfrontier, no doubt continues to wear his favourite shirt beneath his suit. A shirt supposedly depicting the very celestial object upon which he is currently standing.
This shirt, this moon-shirt if you will, was recently described to Bobby as having been bought because the picture was mistaken for a golf ball. There is a contradiction here- once upon a time Alan told Terrence Baum that the picture was in fact drawn on by hand. There is the further matter that Bobby claimed that it looked like one of Mickey Rooney's balls, when it has previously been surreptitiously demonstrated that Mickey Rooney's naked arse bears a very good resemblance albeit in a different colour. It's worth also noting that a naked posterior is frequently referred to as a "moon."
All these factors add up to one thing: confusion. But it is a tantalising confusion, one that suggests exciting possibilities. Did Alan purchase a shirt while mistaking the image for one of a golf ball, and later mistake the label to be making reference to the lunar moon rather than Mickey Rooney's moon? Did he come to like the shirt so much that he made another one by drawing a picture on a plain shirt? It's a mystery.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wedding Update
Deepskyfrontier and Sgeo have informed me that the date of the recent wedding is exactly ten years after Arcadia's first appearance, an anniversary that was revealed to be the planned wedding date back in 2005. This self-imposed deadline may partly explain the reason for the story arc coming to the point so quickly. The fact that it happened to fall on a Sunday is surely a small insight into how much of a well-oiled machine Superosity truly is.
It also turns out that the nondescript person to the far right of the wedding comic's first panel is Deepskyfrontier himself. The jerk no doubt took Corey Feldman's place, leaving poor Corey to scrounge up salted rust flakes for dinner instead of feasting on delicious wedding cake. Alan appears to fancy Deepskyfrontier however, so it may turn out for the best. With luck there may be more Superosity wedding bells ringing in 9 years and 352 days.
Sgeo notes that the date was set during the same storyline that revealed the truth of the nano-robotic hearts. Given the hooplah immediately following, and the fact that we are yet to see how Boardy ruins Chris' wedding (not to mention which Boardy is to ruin Chris' wedding), this may be a note worth noting.
It also turns out that the nondescript person to the far right of the wedding comic's first panel is Deepskyfrontier himself. The jerk no doubt took Corey Feldman's place, leaving poor Corey to scrounge up salted rust flakes for dinner instead of feasting on delicious wedding cake. Alan appears to fancy Deepskyfrontier however, so it may turn out for the best. With luck there may be more Superosity wedding bells ringing in 9 years and 352 days.
Sgeo notes that the date was set during the same storyline that revealed the truth of the nano-robotic hearts. Given the hooplah immediately following, and the fact that we are yet to see how Boardy ruins Chris' wedding (not to mention which Boardy is to ruin Chris' wedding), this may be a note worth noting.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Holy Matrimony, Batman!
There are no words. There ARE NO WORDS. I'm going to try and write some anyway.
After all this time, the moment of Chris and Arcadia's marriage came upon us with such unexpectedly sudden rapidity that we are left blinking in shock. When Dark Boardy first peshed in and foreshadowed the upcoming wedding, I doubt I was the only one to take it as just another reference to some future point which may never truly come. He was scared away, a new future Boardy was introduced, it was all jolly good lighthearted Superosity fun. There was no solid indication that anything substantial was to come of it.
So when events continued to pile up and almost immediately snowballed into the moment itself, one can't help being stunned. None of the usual cues were present. When it came to it, there was none of that heavy-handed dithering and procrastination that you see in other, lesser productions. Superosity eschews all that with cunning parody- Chris becomes stunned at news that ALF is going to be rebooted and doesn't snap out of it until the very moment that the mishap could have spoiled the event. Then, when he does snap out of it, it's with the cliched scream of "objection" that has haunted so many fictional weddings since the day one such exclamation managed to single-handedly double the length of Jane Eyre. Only it's the ALF reboot he's objecting to, not the wedding itself. Our cultural expectations are both met and ridiculed. Well done, Superosity.
Yet what we are seeing here may be a moment just as disconcerting as a reboot- it may be that Superosity has discovered its heavenly origin. I do not think so, I think Master Crosby has the talent to naturally integrate these developments into his work with seamless aplomb, but we are left watching and waiting and maybe worrying a little. Perhaps we can at least feel reassured by Arcadia's assent with the use of a time-honoured Superosity catch phrase.
Still, for all that, there are no words.
After all this time, the moment of Chris and Arcadia's marriage came upon us with such unexpectedly sudden rapidity that we are left blinking in shock. When Dark Boardy first peshed in and foreshadowed the upcoming wedding, I doubt I was the only one to take it as just another reference to some future point which may never truly come. He was scared away, a new future Boardy was introduced, it was all jolly good lighthearted Superosity fun. There was no solid indication that anything substantial was to come of it.
So when events continued to pile up and almost immediately snowballed into the moment itself, one can't help being stunned. None of the usual cues were present. When it came to it, there was none of that heavy-handed dithering and procrastination that you see in other, lesser productions. Superosity eschews all that with cunning parody- Chris becomes stunned at news that ALF is going to be rebooted and doesn't snap out of it until the very moment that the mishap could have spoiled the event. Then, when he does snap out of it, it's with the cliched scream of "objection" that has haunted so many fictional weddings since the day one such exclamation managed to single-handedly double the length of Jane Eyre. Only it's the ALF reboot he's objecting to, not the wedding itself. Our cultural expectations are both met and ridiculed. Well done, Superosity.
Yet what we are seeing here may be a moment just as disconcerting as a reboot- it may be that Superosity has discovered its heavenly origin. I do not think so, I think Master Crosby has the talent to naturally integrate these developments into his work with seamless aplomb, but we are left watching and waiting and maybe worrying a little. Perhaps we can at least feel reassured by Arcadia's assent with the use of a time-honoured Superosity catch phrase.
Still, for all that, there are no words.
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