Melonpool
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Melonpool is a webcomic created by Steve Troop. The storyline centers around a cast of alien misfits and their adventures in space and on Earth. It has been published on the web since April 28, 1996, making it one of the first webcomics.
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Introduction
Melonpool is a daily webcomic, running in the classic newspaper format of single row Monday to Saturday and four row (complete with "crop-away" first row) on Sunday. Nearly all strips are black and white (not grayscale), with a simple line art/India ink art style reminiscent of classic newspaper strips such as Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes. The strip is hand-lettered.
Melonpool parodies many popular television shows, movies and other cultural phenomenon, such as Back to the Future, Star Trek, Star Wars, The Jetsons, and Gilligan's Island. Although it has a strong story arc, virtually all strips end with a punchline.
Cast of characters
Crew of the Steel Duck
Mayberry Melonpool
The Melotian captain of the Steel Duck, Mayberry Melonpool answers the question "What would happen if Gilligan played Captain Kirk?"
Mayberry is hopelessly addicted to Star Trek and Star Wars, He is captain in name, but his actual position is more in line with "chief scapegoat"... this is convenient since he actually causes most of the problems he's blamed for.
As of 2002, Mayberry's last major accomplishment was stranding the crew on an asteroid patterned after Gilligan's Island.
Ralph Zinobop
Contrary to popular belief, Ralph is not evil. He's just pissed off. He has good reason:
- The engine of the Steel Duck is a temperamental hamster that runs off at the mere mention of "food".
- The captain is a simple-minded boob with a Gilligan-like ability to ruin things.
- He has two clones of himself running around (one good and one evil) and a future version of the good clone wreaking havoc with the space-time continuum in the year 2168.
- His pilot has no opposable thumbs.
All Ralph really wants to do is regain his throne on the planet Zinobop. Why won't the universe co-operate?
Ralph is not really evil or a mad scientist; he's just a perpetually angry scientist.
Sam T. Dogg
Former test pilot and the only member of the crew that possesses common sense. Sam is plagued by the curse of all dogs -- no opposable thumbs.
Sammy the Hammy
One of Ralph's experiments gone awry. Sammy basically eats and sleeps when not acting as the ship's engine by running on a giant hamster wheel.
Ralphie Zinobop
Ralphie really is Ralph's better half. A clone made by the dupe-o-matic -- yet another Ralph experiment gone awry -- Ralphie has Ralph's defining aspect (his bad temper and anger) inverted.
Ralphie's promotion to Chief Engineer leaves little time for his other hobbies -- namely correcting time paradoxes and worrying.
Roberta Smeffinfeffer
Roberta Smeffinfeffer (that's Smeffinfeffer with five "f"s) joins the crew in late 1996 after being stranded on Earth due to a clerical error. She acts as the ship's doctor -- even though she only went to nursing school for one week.
Jalea Bates
Jalea Bates was born around May 22, 1977. Well, sort of.
Originally a protocol droid named J-LB8 (rumored to be the silver droid at the beginning of Star Wars), the then male droid was disassembled in the late 80s after a messy paternity suit threatened to ruin him.
In 2001, Ralph Zinobop accidentally sold half of J-LB8's parts at a garage sale. He assembled the remaining parts into a Pop-Singing android named Jalea Bates. Jalea has had quite the signing career, including such hits as "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful" and "Overdue."
In 2002, Jalea was destroyed in an experiment meant to make an asteroid more hospitable for the crew of The "Steel Duck." Several months later it was revealed that the same process regenerated her body into a real human being!
Since then, Jalea has been finding out what it means to really be human and currently acts as navigator aboard The "Steel Duck." Someday, she may revive her singing career, should inspiration hit her.
The Duck (aka Captain Quack)
An Earth duck that's been hanging around Ralph for eight years. The duck is occasionally promoted to captain to get Mayberry's goat.
The Cat (aka Maddie)
Roberta's cat Maddie is just a normal, everyday Earth cat ... or is she?
Enemies
Fauntleroy Zinobop
Fauntleroy is basically a pure evil version of Ralph. Instead of creating an opposite clone (like Ralphie), Fauntleroy was the manifestation of all of Ralph's negative emotions, amplified to the nth degree.
Fauntleroy's body is a twisted, burned version of the original -- the aftermath of a run-in with a volcano while the crew was stranded on the Gilligan's Island asteroid. Revenge is his main objective, and will do anything to ruin Ralph's life and get back a perfect body.
Rasputin Melonpool
The Mirror Universe version of Mayberry. While Mayberry was fixated on Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Rasputin was obsessed with Khan Noonien Singh. As of early 2005, Rasputin and Fauntleroy have joined forces to get revenge on the crew of The "Steel Duck."
Other Characters
Steve Troop
Steve Troop makes several appearances in his web comic, generally (but not always) as an artist at his drafting table.
No-Da
The less-successful (and slightly more darkside) twin brother of Yoda of Star Wars, No-Da arrives in a box as part of a Jedi Training Kit in 1998. J-LB8 came from his garage.
Bibliography
Cartoon compilations published (to date):
- The Ultimate Melonpool: A Collection of Comics ISBN 0967230608
- Melonpool II: The Voyage Home ISBN 0967230616
- Melonpool III: A New Hope ISBN 0967230624
- Melonpool IV: Castaway ISBN 0967230632
- Melonpool V: This Island Earth ISBN 0967230640
External links
- Official Melonpool site (http://www.melonpool.com/)
- Melonpool Swag (http://www.melonpool.com/swag.html)
- FortyTwo's Guide to Melonpool (http://www.melonpool.com/crashcourse.html)