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ElGoonishShive Comic Review
Topic Started: Oct 6 2008, 12:09 AM (149 Views)
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ElGoonishShive, or EGS as those of us that read it frequently have come to call it, is one of the longest active comics that I have been reading and really enjoying since it started way back when (back in January of 02). To cover some of the useful information, the comic is centered around a group of friends/relatives that live in the friendly, average, all-American suburban town of Moperville. They have everything, two high schools, a 16 screen movie complex, a slightly weird teenage boy that has a transformation gun, a mall, a weird government facility in the near area and some legal non-human aliens. But before I get a head of myself, just a friendly reminder that some of the information here in the Comic of the Week Review may have some spoilers for those of you who haven't read the comic. But trust me, if you read this review and then want to read the comic, you'll still enjoy it.

So lets introduce the main characters:
Tedd Verres: Weird little kabob, this one, it could be the extra "d" in his name. He's got a very androgynous face framed with the purple semi-long hair. He wears glasses mainly to hide behind but it also apparently makes me look less female. He was a shy one back in the day when he was young, still a touch shy in present comic time, but not so much as when he was young. Could be tied back to when his mom left his dad. That may play out in later stories. Apparently a smart one, able to program a transformation gun at a young age, after of course the "extended" period of learning a new language called Uryuomoco, which in all actually in comic time takes about 3 seconds. He is the boyfriend of Grace and cousin of Nanase. He apparently enjoys being a woman as much as a man, as seen when he tries to cook, though he passes it off as a performance enhancement. He enjoys experimenting on the transformation gun, as seen by his cat Jeremy. He is very protective of his friends, he treasures them quite a bit as I'm sure anyone who has been an outcast can appreciate. He is sometimes portrayed in a different light in other dimensions. Sometimes a baddie, sometimes as Tess, sometimes in a relationship with Elliot as a woman.
Elliot Dunkel: Your standard martial arts student in a non-standard martial arts practice, that is very honorable, fit and generally a good guy all the way around. But he can become a cat or a woman whenever his body wants to, some magic awakening that has just happened in recently in the main story line. He met Tedd by knocking some guy off of him, trying to protect a girl he thought. Elliot seems to have been around Tedd long enough to know some of the goofiness of Tedd and his TF antics. Also long enough for his parents to get used to it. He was in a relationship, although not a romantic one with Nanase through his martial arts studio. It quickly ended when he began to realize his true feelings for Sarah, his current girlfriend. As a new couple (new enough in comic time) they spend a lot of time together, often at lunch, bringing together two forces that may eventually drive each other insane or develop a new understanding for each other. Those forces being Tedd and Susan. He enjoys his martial arts, even though its Anime-Style Martial Arts, and hangs out with his friends Nanase and Justin there. He has a "special coat" the coat of Solitude!
Mr. Verres: Tedd's dad, he works for the government in your choice of top secret cover-up agencies of three letters. He works with aliens, paranormal, his son, his son's girlfriend and Agent Mulder. Much of what is known about Tedd's dad is speculation other than the knowledge of his quick wit and dry humor, and the cover ups and back stories he makes for explaining events that happen. Although, sometimes he gets board of using a weather balloon excuse. I like to recommend flying sheets of cellophane that got littered elsewhere and managed to blow in. His wife left before the comic began (in comic time) and he raised his son Tedd on his own since. He also is the gateway point for his son to be able to do more with his wacky TF antics by being a contact point with the aliens that built the technology.
Sarah: The normal one! I think she is most like me..... *from behind the camera*
Lindley, I made you up, you are a character I write, stop going off my own internal script! Bah, I need to work with good talent, but they need to stick to a script! *Blitz gets hit in the head with a hammer by Sarah* As I was saying, I like this character. She is rather normal. She loves art and wants to draw. She is Elliot's girlfriend and managed to stick with him, even as he was a woman. As you could hear from the hammer attack earlier, she is learning to master the hammer, as guided by her best friend Susan. She sometimes gets put in awkward situations by Tedd, Elliot as a woman or things that Grace sometimes says. Its always nice to have someone that is a bit of a reality anchor and Sarah fills this role perfectly. Though some people *stares down Blitz* think she could use some fun stuff every now and then to not be so plain, but this is rare. She's a good character and has a cute hat.
Susan: If ever there was a Yin to Tedd's Yang, Susan would be it. The ultimate feminist, master of the hammer and skeptic of males in their attempts to be decent people, if there are attempts. You go girl! Susan is Sarah's best friend. She has been seen to have a logical Vulcan and an illogical/impulsive cat girl instead of an angel and demonic conscious. She is the president of the Feminist group on the Moperville North High School Campus. At a young age, her father had some poor judgment in being good with the married life. This shaped her to go with black hair instead of the blond hair she naturally has. Also from her mom, she generally hates men and gets told that they'd be a bad idea for her.
Nanase: The only one that can beat Elliot when it comes to martial arts. Nanase uses magic, yes we said magic. Some of the spells in her skill list include a fairie doll she can create and then possess for lack of a better term. She can then use that doll to communicate with others, perform recon, etc. She can also mask her clothes and she is always improving. She is a student at Moperville South and friends with Justin. Secretly she is lesbian, and later on opens up to Ellen and begins to form a relationship with her. She is Tedd's cousin, which may explain some weirdness about Tedd.........
Grace: Tedd's girlfriend. A bit naive at times but very smart. She was created in a lab as a way to destroy this evil baddie named Daemon. *sighs and reads the script from Blitz word for word* For you tech geeks out there, this is not a bad networking process don't read into it like that. Its just a name. Now that we've got the pointless nerd drabble out of the way; Grace is an interesting character. She can take on several different forms including her Claire form, squirrel form, Jeremy form (spikey cat woman), cat girl, Tedd, Legion Form Tedd and Grace and probably several others we've not yet seen. She keeps her antennae hidden from the public but when in private she shows them, they are just great big bangs though, I mean that must take a lot of hair spray. She must use salon fashions from Suave. In any case, she loves Tedd as both male and female which lets Tedd be much more open with her. I'd be a bit creeped out by it, but she's a patient and good gal so it must be good for everyone there.
Justin: Justin is another student at MSHS, he works at a comic/gaming store and is gay. He still has a thing for Elliot and has in some comics wondered about switching positions with Sarah and himself in order to be near him. Also a student at the Anime-Style Martial Arts studio and is a nice person all around. He also has a thing for long hair.....really long hair.
Ellen Dunkel: Elliot's daughter....sister......the logic behind it is funny and intense. She is the human embodiment of Elliot's curse when he was trapped as a woman for a month due to a TF gun malfunction. She is psuedo out of the closet lesbian and in a relationship with Nanase. She can zap people into a variant #5 female with a green ray some how built into her body that can shoot out of her hands. There was a point where she had no past, but after a visit by Nioi and SUPER MAGICAL NOSE BEEP! (I want one so dearly by the way, please please please let me have one Nioi!) she began to have a past. She also very well could be in the running for an award at American Idol judging by a karaoke night for Grace's birthday. That can be found at this link: Flawless Victory Her mom seems to enjoy having her around, the daughter she never got to have.

Now that the main characters are out of the way, the not so main characters.........its their turn:
Jeremy (The Cat): Blitz........its a weird cat, for crying out loud, its a weird spikey cat that Tedd experimented on. I mean come on, its fur has an angry!
Matt and Rat: Dan's first dynamic duo. These two originally aired in Dan's comic strip for his school newspaper before EGS was around. Now they seem to come hang out in EGS every now and then. They attend MNHS and want the spot like back. I would definitely like to see more of these guys. Maybe its time for some of Tedd's TF antics on them.
The Dunkels: Ellen and Elliot's parents. The dad needs to get a new newspaper and get back in touch with reality sometimes. A little hard on his son, but it adds to the comic genius quite a lot. The mom is fun to see in the comic, especially during the Sister arc. Enjoyed a good photo of Elliot as a woman which made things so much more funny.
The Immortals: Kind of how Mulder and Scully would have looked if they were fairies. Very forgetful but we forgive them for it. Narrative and funny.
Hedge: King of the Owls! I mean......he's a lot like Grace is in the fact that he came from a lab and is part human, part hedgehog. He can shift back and forth at will. He tends to have owls show up in the same place he is a lot and he likes his popcorn.
Vlad: ANGRY pained guy...well now gal. Used to be part bat, feathered something, and some other some such animal base and transformed just once before being zapped into a woman by Ellen. Refuses to transform again for fear of being killed by it.
Guineas: As a human, oh my....what a hottie, total score! Dan's comic arting skills for the win! Transformed he is part guinea pig and doesn't talk much.
Dr. Gerhman and his assistants: Funny German doctor that invents transforming things like Shrink Soda and similar products. He also explains the more sciency things that come up in the comic which is greatly useful when those of us who don't understand dimensions read the comic. Made me happy, thanks Dan!
Sensei Greg: He uses the power of Anime to create a martial arts style. He must be absolutely great. He's also quite the tall guy.
Melissa: Justin's ex that just doesn't know when to drop it........
Demonic Duck: A convenient plot device known as a distraction to get out of explanations.
Writer's Block: A block of inconvenience that disallows Dan to write and make art for my viewing pleasure. It is my enemy it is. Unless it can entertain me.

So, now its time for the shorts and the techs.

Anime-Style Martial Arts: A style of martial arts that was created by Sensei Greg. He watched several hundreds of Anime shows in order to accurately create the style. It kind of goes along the lines of magic and anti-physics which I will talk about later.
Hammer-time: If you spend any time around any of the girls in the comic, you will realize that the guys like to make some particularly snide comments. Hoping to get a date or something else, sometimes to make fun of them, but in any case, when a guy says something to one of the gals that is particularly offensive, the girls of EGS can pull hammers, or rather, large wooden mallets out of what seems like thin air. They actually come from this place called hammer space. Some people like Susan have mastered the hammer and are quite gifted in juggling and balancing things while using them.
Susan's Kitty Face (OH DEAR GOD!):
Uryuomoco - The Language of Dan's Aliens
Magic, Physics and Fairies!
Ellen's Real Parents....or the D...... Dad is kind of out of touch with reality or really used to Tedd
Jason D. Poit...An Actor and A Desire
Man or Woman......http://www.egscomics.com/d/20030521.html Oh you go Figure Tedd out.

More to be updated later.
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