And now, the #90s:

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This is VC's first appearance in the comics, and I decided to get the whole junior/old-timer feud started as soon as possible. In real life, our relationship was friendly, but the junior/old-timer feud was based on a real-life event - when Hunter of Visorak (mentioned earlier) started his series, VC posted some criticism of his comics which I felt was a little harsh at the time. VC had ended his post with the comment "Take it from an experienced comic maker like myself." When I responded to him, I pointed out that I was an experienced comic maker too by saying "Listen Junior, I've been making comics here longer than you have." I was joking, but understandably this didn't immediately come across as a joke. Hence, our friendship was born.

Looking back, I feel like I emphasized this feud too much in the storyline, but I did get a few good story ideas out of it - namely, having the VC-LR feud playing a role and ultimately being resolved in the finale series.

I really did steal from other comic makers at the time, though I think Dark709 was far and away my main target. I gave credit in the front post, but I still took stuff without his approval beforehand.

I think the script for this one came from Jphyper (LE's brother; the one obsessed with Kanohi masks).

This was done after Hurricane Katrina as a special comic encouraging people to donate, which is why Lady Evil appears in the comic (at the time, she only appeared in the movie). I actually created this with a sort of "Comic Relief" deal in mind, where I would get other comic makers to make their own comics encouraging donations as well. However, no one else really made anything, so the idea bombed. I guess I didn't have enough clout to pull off that kind of collaboration at the time.

Ah, an old favorite of mine, which was pitched by Jphyper (although in this one, I wrote the script). The original "Who's on First" skit is just two guys (Abbott & Costello), so the main trick was figuring out how to adapt it so that four people could do it.

I really am a Padres fan and they actually did go to the playoffs when this comic came out, but I think they were eliminated in the first round. Just as they always are...

I like the idea of the BBC contests having receptions before the voting starts. Poor T-E...

And yes, the last three panels are totally stolen from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. I have yet to send Stephen Hillenburg the royalty check.

Ugh...I'm no more of a fan of TV news now than I was then, but now I know better than to get preachy about it on BZPower. There's a time and a place for that kind of commentary, and it's called The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.