#160: Be It Guest Strip Or Not

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Welcome to the largest EBC strip ever! It's a day later than announced because it took some time to finish it.

NOTE: The image is too large to be displayed on the iPhone (and maybe other devices), so here's a mobile version. Use your browser's Back Button to return to the site. In the long run, I'll add a mobile site, but for now, this workaround will have to do. [UPDATE: There's an optional feature now for a comic to consist of more than one image. I used it here, and this should fix the problem for now.]

I asked my son to do a guest strip, but he didn't have an idea. So we asked ourselves what kinds of guest strips our friends from Metrotopia would create, and here are some of the results. Leon created all the guest strips, while I drew the background story.

First in line is Jerry Fallout who shows us a fine day he spent at the Metrotopia Zoo with his best friend, Spacebot 4000. As it seems, he's not that into orthography.

Next up is Jimmy Nesbitt a.k.a. Pimple Faced Teen with a classic hero story featuring... himself. Back in EBC #95, his name was given as "Nigel Nesbitt." Well, his full name is James Nigel Nesbitt, jr., and while he prefers to be called Jimmy in the Standard EBC universe, he goes by Nigel in the Alternate or "What If" universe. Fun fact: Once P.F.T. has mucles, he doesn't have pimples any more.

The third strip is by our hero Hype... ehm, Clyde Barker. He wants to distract his fellow Metrotopians from Hyperman's true identity. But must the glovemaker really be the one they're looking for if his fingerprints are found on the gloves he made?

Fat Zap buys a pencil and other equipment at the local toy store, and then he depicts himself as a racing dog who wins the race and gets a large bone. Well done, Fat Zap!

The last one is by the Weather Guys who introduce their latest member, Plane. They actually use Plane's condensation trails to draw their own, very Shakespearean, guest strip.

Some day, we might actually do a real Guest Strip Contest -- keep your eyes open.

[click for hover]

Tags: Burger Bar; Comics; Crime; Guest Strips; Jerry & Spacebot; Superheroes; Weather Guys; Weird Stuff

Characters: Barker, Clyde; Cloud #1; Cloud #2; Cloud #3; Fallout, Jerry; Fat Zap; Lightning; Pimple Faced Teen; Sun

Transcript

All the nice guys from Metrotopia are making their own EBC guest strips!

Jerry Fallout: Let's see what's new on EBC!
News post on the EBC website:
"EBC Guest Strip Contest!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Hey, EBC fans! We're doing a Guest Strip Contest! Send in your Guest Strip proposals, and if they're good, we'll publish them as #170, #180, and so on.
Please make sure you read the Guest Strip Rules before you send anything."

ME AND SPACEBOT AT THE ZOO
by Jerry Fallout

In the comic: "A guest strip by Jerry Fallout | Me & Spasebot in the Zou"

Pimple Faced Teen: What? A guest strip contest? Cool, I'm gonna be a rich and famous comic book artist!
Pimple Faced Teen [thinking]: Hm... what can I draw? Oh yeah, good idea!

TEENAGE MUTANT BURGER HERO
by Jimmy Nesbitt

In the comic: "Teenage Mutant Burger Hero
Guest Strip by Jimmy Nesbitt
Jimmy: Welcome to the BB. May I take your order?
Gangster: I just want all the money!
Jimmy: Wait a minute, Sir.
[One minute later]
Jimmy: I don't have money, I have muscles.
Gangster: Aaaargh!
Girl: Wow, Jimmy. You are my hero."

Clyde Barker [sitting at his office desk, looking at his computer screen. Outside, the Hyper Signal reads "EBC."]
Clyde's desktop:
- An EBC strip featuring Hyperman
- The beginning of a movie review: "Cool, Even Without Shrek and Donkey!
'Puss In Boots,' reviewed by Clyde Barker
We have seen him in three out of four 'Shrek' movies, and in the last one, he was a parody of himself and/or Garfield: Puss In Boots, from the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, made into an animated mo..."
- The title "Hyperman Unmasked" and some empty panels in "Comic Drawing 2.0"

HYPERMAN UNMASKED
by Clyde Barker

In the comic: "Hyperman Unmasked
Many days after the big fight against Mysteryhead, the police finds Hyperman's glove.
The FBI examines the fingerprints on the glove, to find out Hyperman's identity.
But they can't find the fingerprints in their files. So they decide to find out where the gloves were sold.
[Store sign: Spencer's Fine Gloves]
The FBI agents ask Mr. Spencer whether he can remember who bought these gloves.
After weeks of investigations, the FBI finds out who the person behind Hyperman's mask is.
Mr. Spencer!"

[Fat Zap is in a toy store called Toys'm'I. On the wall, there's a poster announcing "Meet the all-new Toy Heroes"]
Fat Zap: A pencil's what my need will be, to make this strippie!
Fat Zap [drawing]: YIPPIE!

A DAY AT THE RACES
by Fat Zap

In the comic: "A Day At The Races -- by Fat Zap
Announcer [off-panel]: All dogs on start position.
Announcer [off-panel]: Ready, set, go!
Fat Zap [as a race dog]: Arf, arf!
Announcer [off-panel]: We've got a winner. FAT ZAP!"

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S RAIN
by The Weather Guys

Cloud #2: Hey, let's make one of those guest strips!
Cloud #3: Yeah!
Cloud #1: But how? We don't have pencils and paper...

Sun: Plane, what's up?
Plane: Maybe I can help you, guys!

[The comic drawn by Plane's condensation trails: "EBC Guest Strip: A Midsummer Night's Rain
Cloud: To rain or not to rain, that is the question."]

Cloud #2: Thank you very much, Plane!
Plane: Never mind!

[Cloud #1 is taking a photo of their comic.]
Cloud #2: Hey Lightning, can you deliver it to the EBC office?

Lightning: Of course I can... faster than lightning!


That same night, Metrotopia was hit by a heavy thunderstorm. Nobody knows why...