TICK THE TOPS IN STUNTED SUPER-HEROES
Tired of Conan, Rocky and Rambo? Strung out on Spiderman, Batman and
Catwoman? You could be just waiting for The Tick, America's latest hipster comic
hero.
Not that Tick (as he's known) is much like the others. Sure, he made the
jump from page to TV stardom: his animated series can be seen on
America's Fox, also home to Matt Groening's Simpsons. Unlike
Homer, Tick has immense powers -- very like Homer, he can't always grasp them.
One Tick exchange favoured by diehard fans:
- Other superhero to Tick:
- Sorry, Tick. No insult intended.
- Tick (with grin) to superhero:
- None comprehended!
The Tick is big, blue and incredibly muscular. But he lives with his
sidekick Arthur, a chubby accountant who was fired when he took to wearing a moth
suit.
Unbeknownst to Arthur at the time, the suit held magic capacities; it
enabled him to fly, fulfilling his dreams of an adventurous life. Arthur's
frequent tragedy: being mistaken for a rabbit. Added cachet comes from another
fact; Arthur's voice, for the first season, was that of onetime Monkee
Mickey Dolenz.
The Tick was created in summer, 1986, and remained in small-press
Purgatory through November of 1989. But artist Ben Edlund - who
oversees it as zealously as Groening does The Simpsons - quickly established a
mushrooming fan-base. There is nothing like the latter's lineup of guest stars,
but The Tick's universe is comically overpopulated with heroes.
This, of course, puts a premium on crime (usually the work of villains
like Chairface Chippendale, who carved the first three letters of his name on
the moon with a laser.)
And it creates chaos among the Superheroes, who range from bad-tempered
Die Fledermaus (who thinks "style is all" and spends more time
with fashon magazines than villains) and American Maid (a sexy,
argumentative superheroine who nails villains with flying stilletos) to
Sewer Urchin and a none-too-subtle Clark Kent parody.
Just remember: it's YOUR real time and YOUR real life.
Hot Tips Mail
CYNTHIA
ROSE: REAL TIME HOT TIPS
is a member of the state51 conspiracy.