El Goonish Shive

From Academic Kids

El Goonish Shive is a web comic by Dan Shive, launched on January 21, 2002, that mainly depicts the lives of a group of friends in their junior year of high school. Said lives contain transformation guns, alternate universes and a shape-shifting half-squirrel girl. It should be noted that EGS is not a simple gag strip; the characters are fairly complex and believable despite existing in a setting where women can use Hammerspace.

El Goonish Shive does not have much of a status quo. Storylines are typically long, involved, and rarely result in things returning to the way they were. Nevertheless, the author manages to keep everything making sense (within the context of the comic). Much as the storytelling of The Matrix makes bullet time perfectly sensible, the storytelling of El Goonish Shive makes a shapeshifting squirrel girl seem quite normal.

Fans of the comic are styled bunnies for lack of a better name. According to Dan, soon after the comic launched and began to gather fans, the forums teemed with one question: "By what shall we call ourselves?" Dan had no clue, and picked the first thing that came to mind: bunnies [1] (http://www.elgoonishshive.com/Filler/d/20020703.html).

Contents

1 Characters 1.1 Main 1.2 Secondary 2 Locations 3 Technology 4 Culture 5 Collected Editions 6 External links

Characters

Main

• Elliot Dunkel – Once your average seventeen year-old boy, aside from studying anime-style martial arts, Elliot has had quite a few interesting experiences since the beginning of the comic. So far, he has been transformed into both an anthro-cat and a female version of himself; fought a monstrous blob of goo; had a female counterpart split off from himself; and been beaten up by an anthro-hedgehog. His best friend is Tedd, whose love of technology has been the cause of Elliot's recent headaches. Thanks to a confluence of technology and magic, he can now resume the feline and female forms at will. A level-headed character, he has downplayed the fact that, until recent developments, he was apparently the most powerful fighter in the group.

• Tedd Verres – An androgynous teenage boy with a knack for trouble and technology, Tedd is in love with Grace, and is Elliot's best friend. He wears specially enhanced glasses with several modes, including a recently-removed X-ray vision mode. He was once shy, harassed for his feminine appearance, but has attained a great deal of confidence since being entrusted with developing alien morphing technologies -- which he is able to use in his spare time for his own enjoyment. His relationship with Grace has been interesting, and it has been clearly shown that he would do anything to keep her out of harm's way. He has a "furry fetish", to quote Grace, alongside a number of other fetishes. As such, he likes Grace's animal forms, mainly her half-squirrel and half-cat forms, though not to the exclusion of her self. Although his role is in many ways the typical horny teenage boy (with transformation obsessions), his core character has forced those who judged him (Susan) to re-evaluate their perceptions.

• Ellen Dunkel – The female duplicate of Elliot, magically split from him. She initially strove to be his "evil twin" when she saw herself as an ephemeral "extra Elliot", but has since adjusted better into an identity of her own. Elliot considers her his sister, as she now is legally; Tedd considers her a "hot female Elliot". Although the origin of the magical item that created her is rather murky, she's alive and well, and a newfound addition to the crew. She can shoot a beam from her hand that mimics the effect Female Variant #5 on Tedd's transformation gun. Her personality has proven to be more playful and flirty than Elliot's, it is unknown if this is due to being female or just trying to be herself in her own right.

• Sarah – Elliot's best friend turned girlfriend. Artistic and arguably the most normal of the crew, with no special abilities aside from the use of Hammerspace (a normal female ability in EGS), she is not to be underestimated – a time may come in which she proves quite capable to fight. One of the starting characters, she has apparently specified a no-cleavage clause in her contract to fend off a leering Tedd.

• Grace Sciuridae (a.k.a. Shade Tail) – A shapeshifting were-squirrel who spends a good deal of her time as a human girl. She can transform into a variety of forms, including squirrel, half-squirrel, Tedd, and a human girl named Claire. She's been fortunate enough to save her were-"family" through some rather strange events. She wields extreme potential power, as she was created to be an assassin, but only uses it when her friends are in mortal peril, and is terrified of abusing her strength. Her name refers to the girl whose DNA was partly used in making her. A favorite of the author's, Grace's innocence and pure cuteness are some of her best features, but have been challenged by recent events. From the start she has been drawn to Tedd, for whom her comfort with nudity is both a torment and a dream come true.

• Nanase Kitsune – Ex-girlfriend of Elliot, a student of anime-style martial arts. Initially presented as the number one anime-style martial arts student (until it was revealed that Elliot is holding back out of fear of hurting others), she is a dangerous fighter who has learned how to transfer her consciousness into cute little fairy forms near her friends using magic. Her new friendship with Ellen has led to some uncomfortable self-discovery: after some speculation from Justin, Nanase revealed herself as a lesbian to Elliot and Susan; the latter let it slip to Ellen and Justin. She has recently received a great deal of attention, not just due to her budding relationship with Ellen, but also because of the tension over how her family will react to her coming out. She dresses provocatively when she can get away with it, as her family makes her dress conservatively in eyeshot. However, she disdains manipulative use of her looks, and her habit of choosing the good over the popular has hurt her social status, although she considers this no great loss. She happens to be Tedd's cousin, although they had formerly not been close as friends. She apparently learned her varied magical techniques on a school trip to Paris.

• Justin Tolkiberry – Student of anime martial arts, though not equivalent in skill to Nanase or Elliot. Friends with the two and a part-time worker in a comic shop. Gay. Previous to more recent story arcs, Justin would taunt Nanase teasingly, hinting that she might also be gay. Although willing to fight, he is not considered a major fighter compared to his unusual friends, which caused him no end of frustration in recent events. His last name is a reference to J. R. R. Tolkien and Gene Roddenberry, implying his geeky obsession with Lord of the Rings and Star Trek.

• (Tiffany) Susan Pompoms – A somewhat jaded, cynical female high school student at about the same age as the rest of the main cast. She keeps her blonde hair dyed black; and her first name being being contrary to her personality, she prefers to go by her middle name, Susan – her first being Tiffany was a surprise to all. Her recent opening up to others is unfamiliar ground to her. She is largely interpreted as a stereotypical "man hater" due to her general, vague distaste toward males. It is implied heavily that this is due to Susan's father leaving her mother at a young age, smitten with a pert young blonde. She hit it off well with Justin, and started to develop a crush on him, whereupon learning of his homosexuality reinforced her conviction that men stink. After this latest blow, Susan asked Ellen to zap her with Variant #5, thinking being a lesbian would solve her issues. This was actually beyond Ellen's capabilities – Variant #5 enhances sexuality on both sides, making her attracted to both sexes, and leaving Susan's issues unresolved. It was mentioned in early storylines that she learned some magic alongside Nanase in Paris; she could summon up a sword to fight the goo. Her prior eagerness to bash anyone for sexist remarks with the hammer that women can summon in the EGS universe has earned her the monicker of "Hammer Queen".

Secondary

• Greg – Instructor of "Anime-Style Martial Arts," a discipline of his founding (see entry below on his dojo). Tall and imposing, Greg's presence has faded considerably after his help in the goo incident, although it is possible that the situation just hasn't presented itself. Greg has done many favors above and beyond his scope as teacher. He is older than The Crew, and is seen as a "legitimate" adult for parental reasons. Also seems to be the only black character.

• Dr. Germahn – First billing himself as a stereotypical German scientist (with a vague resemblance to Albert Einstein), he pops in whenever something scientific needs to be explained. Although considered a mad scientist by some, Germahn's experiments tend to be strange but ultimately harmless and all in good fun.

• Amanda – Dr. Germahn's busty and gullible lab assistant, often an unwilling volunteer in his weird experiments. Often finds herself reduced in size, usually by means of "Shrink Soda", one of Dr. Germahn's inventions.

• Mr. Verres – Tedd's father and a secretive government agent. His job is to cover up alien activity. His actual ability at this is questionable, but for some reason he does not fail.

• Principal Verrückt – Passionate yet misguided principal of Moperville North High School. He believes that all of the school's problems can be solved through heavy funding of school murals, or more drastic measures such as school uniforms.

• TC – Also known as "Da Playah", he fits a simple generic macho archetype. The name itself is a reference to his job as a theater clerk. Mostly used for comic relief.

• Tony – A football star who gets his kicks out of picking on Tedd and his friends, with particular focus on Tedd's so-called "furry fetish". (It has been revealed, however, that Tony finds himself extremely disturbed by an attraction to glasses-free Tedd.)

• Melissa – Former date of Justin, who currently aggravates him under the belief that his homosexuality is "just a phase".

• William and Gillian – An Uryuom couple, born in the USA, but often mistaken for aliens. They called on Mr. Verres some years ago to find help improving their morphing device. They have an egg.

• Lord Tedd – Tedd's evil counterpart from what is known as the Alpha Dimension. Other than this, little is known about him or his past, other than his malicious intent. Our Tedd is, naturally, frightened by the knowledge of what he became under less generous circumstances. Other alternate Tedds have been shown: "Beta Tedd" alerted The Crew to the existence of Lord Tedd, and is dating a female Elliot. Ellen's alternate past shows an outcast Tedd with low self-esteem – the obviously alternate universe remains unspecified, and this could be a young Lord Tedd.

• Nioi – An adept yet enigmatic anthro-skunk from the Alpha Dimension. She is at the service of Lord Tedd, but appears well-intentioned toward the main characters. She has become somewhat of a favorite among many fans. "Nioi" is the Japanese word for "smell". She has tried to help Ellen by giving her a separate past from her life as Elliot, which memories she is gaining progressively through dreams; the efficacy and consequences of this are not yet known.

• Kaoli – A young anthro-skunk with a certain resemblance to Nioi. She first appears in Ellen's dreams of her second life provided by Nioi, and has reappeared each night since then in Ellen's dreams as a childhood friend of Ellen. "Kaoli" is the Japanese word for "fragrance".

• Dr. Sciuridae – Biological father to the original Grace Sciuridae, and former employee of the company that produced Grace and her brothers. During the experiments that led to the Grace we know of today, he replaced the blood of the intended human donor with that of his deceased daughter in a grieved attempt to resurrect her.

• Guineas, Hedge, and Vlad – Grace's "brothers", created in the same laboratory before Grace. Served Damien until recently. As the names suggest, Guineas is a guinea pig, Hedge is a hedgehog, (although both have fully human forms) and Vlad was a bat until the Painted Black storyline, where he was turned semi-permanently into a human female.

• Damien – A rather generic villain with a superiority complex. Attempted to use Grace and her brothers in his plot to rule Earth, but was destroyed before it could come to fruition.

• Mr. Bleuel – The El Goonish Shive universe's counterpart to the real life Nukees creator and co-CEO of Keenspot Dr. Darren "Gav" Bleuel. He appears as a disgruntled physics teacher at Moperville South, and is disturbed by certain violations of physics he witnesses. According to Dan Shive, his character will recur.

• Demonic Duck – Is pretty much what it sounds like; a demonic duck of some sort. Started as a running joke about one person attempting to distract another, eventually it gained a personality of its own.

• Dan – The creator of the comic often appears as an anthro-squirrel version of himself. He initially gave himself a female (squirrel) avatar during a storyline where Elliot was female, but switched to male after it ended. The other characters are aware of him sometimes. Dan shows up in fillers or other strips external to the "story comics," to simply rant about something or to pursue some funny idea, perhaps interacting with the cast and perhaps not.

• Writer's Block – Literally a small rectangular block complete with paws, ears, and a tail who occasionally terrorizes Dan and renders him unable to create new comics. Has inexplicably gained the ability to fly.

• Minion – Dan's administrative assistant, though he takes the title of minion because it pays better.

Locations

• Moperville North HS – Primary location of the story surrounding the crew. Elliot, Tedd, Sarah, and Susan attend this school. This is also where the Goo attacked Ellen toward the end of the Sister story arc. Run by Principal Verrückt.

• Moperville South HS – The other high school of Moperville, attended by Nanase and Justin. After Grace's 18th birthday, Grace and Ellen will also be attending here.

• Anime-Style Martial Arts Dojo – School of martial arts owned by Greg, and attended by Elliot, Nanase, and Justin. Located in a less-than-stellar region of Moperville: nearby stores include a strip club, cigarette store, adult book store, abortion clinic, and an ice cream shop.

• Pttaputasf – The governmental "Paranormal Things That Are Of Little Use To Anyone Storage Facility", a nearly unsecured, low priority building that houses the Dewitchery Diamond.

• Salty Crackers Comic Shop – Comic shop of Moperville that Justin works at. Also a site where several junior high school students congregate to play card games.

• Video Rental Store – Store in Moperville that employs Susan, under the management of Mr. Tensaided.

• The Nest – Name of the government facility where Grace and her brothers were born. Until the death of Damien, it was occupied by Damien, Hedge, Vlad, and Guineas.

• Tedd's House – Home to Tedd and Mr. Verres. Events frequently take place at, or at least begin, here. Has been visited by aliens, and is home to Tedd's lab, where the TF gun was invented.

Technology

• Transformation Gun – Device that changes the molecular makeup of a person, used by Tedd. Unlike normal transformation tools, found on the Uryuom homeworld, the gun Tedd uses for development uses object oriented programming, outlawed there, which frees the gun to have more than just cosmetic effects. Known forms programmed into Tedd's gun are Cat, Hedgehog, Dog, Chipmunk, Mouse, Raccoon, Jeremy, Fox, Squirrel, and both Male and Female Human forms. Sometimes abbreviated TG.

• Transformation Belt – Belt designed by Tedd to incorporate Transformation Gun technology into a more compact form. As a sacrifice for size, the belt lacks the tranquilizer effect found in the full sized gun, making transformations much more painful to the user. It is only programmed with feline and human forms.

• Dewitchery Diamond – Enchanted diamond created by a wizard to cure a noble of a curse, presumably during the Middle Ages. It "separates" the curse from the person afflicted, by creating a still-cursed duplicate of the original. The original retains the ability to transform into the cursed state at will, while the duplicate becomes able to spread the curse. For a few hours after the separation, additional forms can also be added to the original's and duplicate's repertoire.

• Tedd's Glasses – Device Mr. Verres gave to Tedd to conceal his androgynous features. It is not built to correct vision, but rather to enhance it with its variety of features including X-ray vision, telescoping, heat-vision, and video-recording. The X-ray vision feature was since removed by Tedd Verres.

  This list is incomplete.

Culture

• Uryuomoco is a fictional alien language, created by Dan. It appears at first glance to be random nonsense, but has actually been deciphered, thanks to comics in which translations were provided and subsequent aid from Dan. It is a fairly simple substitution cipher, with some special cases for multiletter combinations, designed specifically so that enciphered English would remain pronounceable yet alien-seeming.

Collected Editions

• El Goonish Shive, Volume 1: Read, or the Owl Will Eat You ISBN 1932775102

External links

• El Goonish Shive (http://www.egscomics.com/)
• El Goonish Shive Filler (http://www.egscomics.com/Filler/)
• El Goonish Shive: Newspaper (http://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/)