The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama explained

The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama
Author:Alex Langley, Nick Langley
Url:http://www.rocketllama.com
Status:Updates 3 times per week.
Began:April 2007 (comic)
July 2008 (webcomic)
Publisher:Rocket Llama World Headquarters, LLC
Genre:Furry/Comedy/Adventure

The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama[1] is a webcomic starring "a high-flying llama, a sword-swinging cat, and a rocket as loyal as a cowboy hero's horse."[2] Created by Alex Langley while he was a student at Henderson State University, the comic first appeared in a comic book titled The Workday Comic.[3]

The Workday Comic

For The Workday Comic comics anthology, a spin-off of Scott McCloud's 24-Hour Comics,[4] comics creators each wrote and drew their own eight-page stories in eight hours[5] in April, 2007, on Friday the 13th,[6] which turned into an ongoing publication.[7] [8] Rocket Llama debuted in one of the first issue's six stories,[9] the first story completed.[5]

Co-presenting with comics author and scholar Danny Fingeroth (Dazzler, Spider-Man, Superman on the Couch) during a Comics Arts Conference panel at 2008's Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, the creators explained how the first Rocket Llama story evolved into a webcomic.[10] [11] Whether despite the original story's childlike art or because of it, the Rocket Llama story proved to be the most popular in the 2007 anthology collection of the eight-hour comics.[12] After comic artist Stephen R. Bissette, an instructor at the Center for Cartoon Studies and comic book artist best known for his work on Swamp Thing with Alan Moore, read all of the stories in the first volume of The Workday Comic, he remarked, "That llama's gonna stick with me."[13]

Debut story

The full title of Rocket Llama's debut story in The Workday Comic No. 1 (spring, 2007) was "The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama #112: 'Trouble in Paradise'".[14] The story introduced the taciturn hero Rocket Llama and his talkative sidekick, an anthropomorphic cat named Bartholemew 'Bart' Meowsenhausen, who find themselves stranded on an island after a battle with an enemy called Jetpack Dog. Spherical islanders capture them and then challenge them to combat. A villain named Böwser vön Überdog arrives with Jetpack Dog and, in a sudden Star Wars parody, summons a giant robot known as the Super Robot Dog Walker which blasts a volcano to bits. Before it can fire a second blast, Rocket Llama destroys it by getting it to swallow a pot of water and backfire. The story ends with Böwser tied up and the heroes using the giant robot dog head as a boat to get themselves home, with the promise of the next story to be titled, "Yuck! Yukon!"[15]

E-zine

Following Zuda Comics' style guidelines,[16] [17] Nick Langley redrew the story with a less childlike drawing style in webcomic form for online publication[18] as the flagship title for the website rocketllama.com. The Rocket Llama World Headquarters e-zine has an affiliation of websites featuring webcomics, art, entertainment reviews, and scholarly studies of comics.[19]

With support from university resources, the creators assembled a "herd your nerds" support system of contributors working together.[20] [21] In addition to The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama, e-zine features from the Rocket Llama Ground Crew include Action Flick Chick movie reviews[22] [23] by G4TV's Next Woman of the Web,[24] cosplayer[25] Katrina Hill;[26] [27] The Action Chick webcomic;[28] [29] Marko's Corner comics, cartoon arts, and podcasts by Marko Head; Reddie Steady comics for college newspapers; The Workday Comic, the 8-hour comics which spawned Rocket Llama; You Can't Do That on the Internet film crossover comics; interviews (e.g., Blair Butler,[30] Dan DiDio,[31] Steve Niles,[32] Seth Green[33]); convention reports;[34] [35] gaming news;[36] blogs;[37] and other articles.

Online comic

The online story featured a new cover[38] and omitted a one-page gag, a preview for an unrelated Stealth Potato comic, which had appeared as an intermission in the middle of the original story.[39] The original story also appeared online as the comic's "ashcan copy."[40]

The authors present the Rocket Llama stories metafictionally as the world's oldest comic book, established in 1916,[19] which they allegedly rediscovered and are adapting into webcomics. "Deep underground, in an archaic vault we searched until we found the fabled tales. As both the current production team behind The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama and appreciators of such groundbreaking literature, we have taken it upon ourselves to restore these classic issues to a glory more befitting a modern, digital age."[41]

Although every "issue" is presented with panels and screens in the correct order for each story, the issues are presented out of order as if readers were discovering old issues of a classic comic book in a seemingly haphazard order, however they come to find them. After the redrawn number #112's online publication came the serialized time travel story #136–137, "Time Flies When You're on the Run," appearing one page at a time throughout each week[42] [43] and expanding the cast with characters like the scientist Professor Percival Penguin and cavedogs who joined them by stowing away in the heroes' time rocket during the supposed previous issue. Issue No. 152 followed with "The Tomb of Nosfur-Rattu".[44]

Special Rocket Llama Says bonus features appear only in "ashcan" form drawn by the original creator.[45] The only "modern" comic has been a one-page Halloween cartoon, supposedly an excerpt from issue #1110.[46]

Kidjutsu, an all-ages webcomics site which publishes series such as Inverloch (webcomic) and Dandy & Company, publishes completed Rocket Llama issues.[47] Palace in the Sky Publishing also carries the series.[48]

Characters

Antagonists

Spin-off comic: The Action Chick

After website contributor Action Flick Chick Katrina Hill became G4TV's official Next Woman of the Web,[26] she and the Rocket Llama creators spun off her Action Chick avatar which originated with Rocket Llama off into the character's own webcomic[49] The Action Chick.[50] In the comic, Hill becomes her avatar in the style of James Cameron's Avatar,[51] with Sigourney Weaver, Richard Crenna, and various Predators appearing as supporting cast in movie parodies and mockups of popular culture.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rocket Llama World Headquarters . Rocketllama.com . January 4, 2012.
  2. Web site: The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama . The Web Comic List . January 4, 2012.
  3. http://palaceinthesky.com/online-comic-view/2009/03/29/an-interview-with-alex-and-nick-of-rocket-llama/ Kez (March 29, 2009). Palace in the Sky Webcomic News: An Interview with Alex and Nick of Rocket Llama! Retrieved April 12, 2009.
  4. Friday WonderCon 2008 Programming Schedule. Web site: WonderCon 2008 :: Programming Schedule for Friday, February 22 . 2009-01-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081225021458/http://www.comic-con.org/wc2008/wc08_prog_fri.php . December 25, 2008 . mdy-all .
  5. Langley, N., & Duncan, R. (2008). The Workday Comic: Adapting the 24-Hour Comic to an Academic Setting. Academic Forum, 25, 7–14.Web site: Archived copy . 2009-01-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100528141117/http://www.hsu.edu/uploadedFiles/Faculty/AFO/25/langley.pdf . May 28, 2010 . mdy-all .
  6. Waddles, Joshua. (2007, April 2). Comic book club puts in a full day's work. The Oracle vol. 99 (25), p. 3.
  7. Beard, Sarah. (2008, August 25). Comic Arts Club offers excitement. The Oracle, vol. 101 (1), p. 5.
  8. Langley, N. (2008, February). The Workday Comic: Day One. Presented at the Comics Arts Conference, WonderCon. San Francisco, California.
  9. Ink Inferno Episode 12: The ERIICA Project. Web site: • View topic - Episode 12: ERIICA Project . 2009-01-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090120201725/http://swapyourcomics.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14 . January 20, 2009 . mdy-all .
  10. T. Langley & R. Duncan, panel moderators, with respondent Danny Fingeroth. (2008, July). "Capes and Tights, Caps and Gowns." Panel presented at the Comics Arts Conference, Comic-Con International. San Diego, California.
  11. Pannell, E. (2008, July 27). Comic communication part of professors' classes. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, T-1, T-4.
  12. Hardiman, Morris. (2008, April 14).Club produces second annual workday comic. The Oracle, vol. 100.
  13. Quoted in "The Workday Comic: Not Just One Third of a 24-Hour Comic." Comics Arts Conference, Comic-Con International. San Diego, California. July 27, 2008.
  14. http://workdaycomic.com/wc/2007/Trouble_in_Paradise/P01.html Page 1.
  15. Web site: Welcome : ComiXpress . 2008-08-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080917171814/http://store.comixpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1124 . September 17, 2008 . mdy-all . The Workday Comic #1. Spring, 2007
  16. [Zuda Comics]
  17. Web site: Webcomics Reviews & Interviews #72: Rocket Llama . Talkshoe.com . January 4, 2012 . March 6, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120306024934/http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=33290&cmd=tc . dead .
  18. http://www.rocketllama.com/112/P01.html The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama #112: "Trouble in Paradise."
  19. MacPaladin. Starship Moonhawk Presents: The origin and rocketing to stardom.
  20. Head, Aron. (November 10, 2008). Wizard World Texas – Sunday at the Con. Retrieved from Newsarama .
  21. Web site: Wong . Eugene . SDCC '09: Complete Friday Schedule . Angryweb.net . January 4, 2012.
  22. Web site: Action Flick Chick's Super Action Page . Actionflickchick.com . January 4, 2012.
  23. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/somewhereinvegas/2009/05/04/Action-Flick-Chicks-Summer-Movie-Preview Action Flick Chick's Summer Movie Preview
  24. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1630620/ IMDB: Katrina Hill (III).
  25. Burton, Bonnie (May, 2011). Costume Drama: Cosplay or Can't Play. SFX Magazine. p. 30
  26. Web site: Women of the Web Contest Winner: Katrina . G4tv.com . December 30, 2009 . January 4, 2012.
  27. [Wired News]
  28. Web site: The Action Chick . Rocketllama.com . January 4, 2012.
  29. Web site: Hour 42: Nick Langley on Action Chick & Paul Dini by El Secreto & Peter Pixie . Blogtalkradio.com . March 8, 2010 . January 4, 2012.
  30. http://rocketllama.com/articles/interviews/Blair_Butler_WonderCon2008.htm Interview: Blair Butler from Attack of the Show!
  31. Web site: Blog-It Llama! – » Interview: Dan DiDio (DC Comics Senior Vice President and Executive Editor) – Fickleness and Fascination . Rocketllama.com . June 9, 2009 . January 4, 2012.
  32. Web site: G4TV Videos – Viewer Army at the Dallas Comic-Con . G4tv.com . September 10, 2009 . January 4, 2012.
  33. Web site: Interview: Why Seth Green Loves Geek and Gamer Girls . Actionflickchick.com . September 24, 2010 . January 4, 2012.
  34. Web site: Closing Thoughts on Comic-Con . Rocketllama.com . August 9, 2008 . January 4, 2012.
  35. Web site: Hour 42 on Blog Talk Radio . Blogtalkradio.com . August 31, 2009 . January 4, 2012.
  36. Web site: [[Wrath of the Lich King]] – Our Beta Testploration . November 12, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081022025702/http://www.deaddayz.com/articles/wrath_of_the_lich_king.htm . October 22, 2008 . dead .
  37. Web site: Blog-It Llama! The Rocket Llama Ground Crew Has Plenty to Say . Rocketllama.com . January 4, 2012.
  38. Web site: #137-Cover . Rocketllama.com . January 4, 2012.
  39. http://www.workdaycomic.com/wc/2007/Trouble_in_Paradise/P04.html Sneak Peak at Stealth Potato #75.
  40. Web site: Rocket Llama Ashcan Copy . Rocketllama.com . January 4, 2012.
  41. http://www.rocketllama.com/articles/A01-intro.html Who Is Rocket Llama?
  42. http://www.rocketllama.com/136/P00.html "Time Flies When You're on the Run, Part 1."
  43. http://www.rocketllama.com/137/00.html "Time Flies When You're on the Run, Part 2."
  44. Jessa Phillips. "Webcomic Wednesday: The Ongoing Adventures of Rocket Llama & Action Chick" . Downloaded from Good to Be a Geek. May 18, 2011.
  45. e.g., "Tanks a Lot." Rocket Llama Says #8. Script and art: Alex Langley.
  46. http://www.rocketllama.com/excerpts/1110_halloween08.html Happy Halloween from Rocket Llama World Headquarters!
  47. https://archive.today/20110713145919/http://www.kidjutsu.com/content/ongoing-adventures-rocket-llama Kidjutsu – Comics For Kids
  48. Web site: Palace in the Sky Science Fiction Comics Gateway . Palaceinthesky.com . January 4, 2012.
  49. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hour42/2010/03/08/hour-42 Hour 42: Nick Langley on Action Chick & Paul Dini.
  50. Web site: The Action Chick . Rocketllama.com . January 4, 2012.
  51. Web site: The Action Chick – Action Chick Avatar . Rocketllama.com . February 3, 2010 . January 4, 2012.

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