Whedonesque : Comments on 13834 : Sugarshock! An all new Joss Whedon story!

That is absolutely fantastic! Thank you Simon!

"My Mom gave me yucky chips again. Do you want them?"

"Yes.. Yes I do."

Priceless flash back, Loved it.

Yes crypto - the most pointless cartoon flashback ever. Love it!

What's the last thing you want to hear before you die: "Let's exchange Insurance Information"?

Hilarious.

I realise the franchise stuff pays the bills but it is great to see Joss work with brand new characters.

It doesn't matter if Sugarshock goes no further than this single episode.

It is shiny and new.

malcolm | July 27, 11:24 CET

This was so cool! And I love the fact that Dark Horse is giving publicity to new comic artists.

Valerie | July 27, 11:56 CET

I do love this time of year, plenty of more news to come in the next couple of days.

Plus!

An all new category!

Simon | July 27, 12:17 CET

How on Earth had we NO idea that this was coming? So excited to read something wholly new from Joss! :)

dark_tyler | July 27, 12:18 CET

Gotta love that robot banter. It's all so fine.

toast | July 27, 12:30 CET

That was a lot of fun! I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment. :D

The other 3 comics shown were wonderful, too, but especially the Samurai one, absolutely gorgeous. I hope they eventually do a compilation of at least some of the comics presented.

cabri | July 27, 12:36 CET

How on Earth had we NO idea that this was coming?

Joss likes to keep some projects close to his chest. He is, I declare, secret squirrel.

gossi | July 27, 12:55 CET

Very Futurama (and not just the big green rocket) and also a bit S P A C E D.

These two things together, plus Jossy, equal goodness.

Craig Oxbrow | July 27, 12:57 CET

On the main Dark Horse Presents MySpace page -- where the comic starts, and you can see three other stories besides Joss' -- they spelled his frickin' name wrong! "Joss Wheadon." Argh!

Oh, this was good. I loved seeing all new stuff. Joss, where are your novels? Warren Ellis just did one, you can't let him get one over you like that! Fight! Bury him in words!

C. A. Bridges | July 27, 13:24 CET

Loved it, loved it, loved it :)

zeitgeist | July 27, 13:47 CET

Waiting for "Not a Viking" tees to show up at CafePress in three, two, one...

C. A. Bridges | July 27, 14:02 CET

*does the dance of joy*

dreeze | July 27, 14:06 CET

Nice. "Sugarshock" the newest whedon related category.

Numfar PTB | July 27, 14:11 CET

That was insane. In a very, very good way.

Good to knew that there are some Jossy suprises that we amazingly can't spoil with the Internet.

UnpluggedCrazy | July 27, 14:47 CET

This was so much fun. Why does she hate Vikings? Where is L'Lihdra from? Does the groupie get to stay? So many questions!

Lioness | July 27, 14:47 CET

What a very, very odd comic.

I like it!

By Odin!

Mycroft | July 27, 14:48 CET

What's with all the Odin/Viking stuff? I feel that I've missed something.

dreamlogic | July 27, 15:03 CET

My opinion? Joss was getting tired of hearing "Shiny!" from his fans and decided to create a new catchphrase to have yelled at him. Well played, Whedon. Well played.

C. A. Bridges | July 27, 15:16 CET

I loved it. Hilarious and totally out of this world (no pun intended).

non sequitur | July 27, 15:17 CET

Yes. Very odd. Very much Joss. I liked it!

Dandelion seems like a hyped up, sugared up, caffinated Willow with an obsession not so much for amphibians, but vikings. L'Lihdra reminds me of a cross between Tara and Mr. Spock.

Okay, yes. I admit it. My W&T obsession has gone too far. I have gone too long without vicarious witchy snuggles. (* whimper *)

quantumac | July 27, 15:27 CET

Question: who else has studied the name (Sugarshock) and the character names?

Wimper - just me?

gossi | July 27, 15:48 CET

Tis in three parts (for the moment) in case anyone's wondering. More info here.

Simon | July 27, 15:52 CET

That is truly awesome.

theonetruebix | July 27, 16:00 CET

Reminds me a bit of the old Love and Rockets, another genuinely original and quirky comic.

I *really, really* like this. It has that great Joss Whedon offbeat zanyness. Oh, it's good to see original Whedon stuff. Thank you great spirit of the multiverse, whatever you may be, for
sending this new Whedoness to us today.

barboo | July 27, 16:11 CET

Amazing. Going to have to read through it again later on, when coffee has digested, to avoid the "Huh?" moments. It would definitely appear that Joss is going through a serious Norse phase at the moment...

WillowSlay | July 27, 16:24 CET

I love the robot. Shotgun! Plus, he wears jeans. :D

Willowy | July 27, 16:30 CET

What a great way to start the day! Completely new Joss goodness! My Friday is already a success.

samatwitch | July 27, 16:34 CET

I absolutely loved this. Hope Joss decides to do more than just the three parts he's aready completed.

Derf | July 27, 16:47 CET

I'm in love...

TheDivineGoat | July 27, 16:48 CET

Just wait until Viking Princess 3 appears.

gossi | July 27, 16:55 CET

10,000 tons of fun! "Henh!" The walkie got shushed, hard. Bwahahaha.

RhaegarTargaryen | July 27, 17:18 CET

"Viking Princess 3"

(This made me make a very strange sound... :D) I knew there was something about the Vikings that I couldn't recall when I first read the comic! It's been bugging me all day... Thanks gossi!

Valerie | July 27, 17:23 CET

The fact I remember obscure Joss Whedon jokes on the interweb should make me worried. Instead, it just reminds of how, yeah, awesome I am.

gossi | July 27, 17:29 CET

That was unexpected.

Unexpected but cool.

Unexpected, cool and very funny.

Did I mention that I didn't expect that?

Koven | July 27, 17:32 CET

I remembered it, too, gossi, You just beat me to the worried. I mean the awesome.

theonetruebix | July 27, 17:53 CET

Wow, what a surprise! I really liked the artwork, it complemented the story very well. Is that bit with her as a girl really a flashback though? I thought it implied she's dreaming this all up.

yourlibrarian | July 27, 18:41 CET

Yourlibrarian, I thought it classic Joss misdirection because I figured the viking reveal was about to be delivered. But no, the reveal is on *me* - Joss knew I'd be anticipating, so he gives me the Famished Reveal. I got duped and I loved it! Chips. Salty chips. Joss, joss, joss-joss-joss...

RhaegarTargaryen | July 27, 18:50 CET

That was...really, really weird. Confusing and amusing. I like.

GreatMuppetyOdin | July 27, 18:55 CET

Strange little connection here. I noticed Gerard Way's name in the above articles and being something of a My Chemical Romance fan I decided to do a quick Google to find out a little more about his upcoming comic book, The Umbrella Academy.

Turns out that Gerard is something of a Whedon fan himself. According to this article at Newsarama he enjoys Astonishing X-Men. I knew the man had good taste.

Koven | July 27, 19:21 CET

Interesting. Now I want salt n vinegar chips. Argh.

Sunfire | July 27, 19:37 CET

Viking Princess 3 and obscure Joss Whedon jokes? Can someone fill me in?

barboo | July 27, 20:25 CET

The robot is a lefty. I love it. Hee hee.

This really did come out of nowhere...so much so that I was not sure what I was reading the first time through, I was so stunned. Recovering now and really happy for Joss.

newcj | July 27, 20:38 CET

The girl in the suit reminds me of Aimee Mann.

electricspacegirl | July 27, 20:41 CET

barboo: VikingPrincess3.

theonetruebix | July 27, 20:49 CET

Of course, in my head I'm seeing this three-parter concluding, and then Cartoon Network approaching Joss to do a Sugarshock! animated series.

theonetruebix | July 27, 21:33 CET

The girl in the suit reminds me of Aimee Mann.

Indeed she does. Isn't that the same suit she wears in her Season 7 appearance at the Bronze?

topolino | July 27, 22:15 CET

Thanks 1true. Boy, he sure nailed it about that Beak of Waking Up Really Cranky being on the move.

barboo | July 27, 22:24 CET

This comic had me saying "what the hell is going on" on each page, and not in that bad, X-Files season 5 way.

I can't wait to see the next installment, my interest is piqued.

I also loved the potato chip flashback ruse. I can't believe I actually felt duped by an 8 page comic.

The GWAR reference was funny, though I don't know why someone from the future would know of them (of course, I don't remember anyone mentioning that this was the future, one just assumes with the rocketships and robots and all).

Caleb | July 27, 22:35 CET

Seeing as this is a busy day, I've added this link to the sidebar on the front page.

Simon | July 27, 22:48 CET

Of course, in my head I'm seeing this three-parter concluding, and then Cartoon Network approaching Joss to do a Sugarshock! animated series.

I couldn't help but thinking as I read that Dandelion's spasticness pretty much demands to be animated.

[ edited by Sunfire on 2007-07-27 23:00 ]

Sunfire | July 27, 22:59 CET

Hang on...who's gonna protect Splatty Boy from the Queller?

GreatMuppetyOdin | July 27, 23:56 CET

Weird and funny and weird again. Reminded me a bit of Fray, in the way the future is just like now only different (I had a point, I just didn't find a way to explain it). But it was weirder.

Of course, in my head I'm seeing this three-parter concluding, and then Cartoon Network approaching Joss to do a Sugarshock! animated series.

Thank you for junxing it already!

What a VIKING...

urkonn | July 28, 00:15 CET

So wonderful and random! Plus it gives me hope for more "new" Joss stuff. I have dreams of Joss Whedon children's stories.

whimsy36 | July 28, 00:29 CET

I have dreams of Joss Whedon children's stories.

Try not to bleed on my couch, I just had it steamcleaned.

theonetruebix | July 28, 00:34 CET

Just wondering, how do you pronounce L'Lihdra.

Numfar PTB | July 28, 02:06 CET

That was just so many different kinds of awesome.
And not to mention fun.
I wanna read more, more more more.

Hee | July 28, 02:26 CET

Sugarshock is the word, alright.

What an unexpected bit of sweetness from Joss and Dark Horse. Joss COULD be sitting back and rolling around in his DVD and merch sales $$$, but instead he's out there working on FREE projects for us and donating his time to charity.

And I'm shocked that such a project could be kept so sneakily hidden from what is, to put it nicely, a pretty obsessed and clue-y bunch of fans.
I think there's some people at Dark Horse who deserve a spankin'! Not to mention a thankin'. :-)

missb | July 28, 03:04 CET

This awesome in so many ways...I just giggled my way through it (in a manly way, of course). Can't wait for the next two parts...

Kid Congo Powers | July 28, 03:34 CET

Oh, thunder. I love this, and Sugarshock is one of the best band names ever. It feels like a Flight of the Conchords/Starstruck comic mashup with a dusting of Pop-rock(s) on top. I saw GWAR back in the '80's and that reference both blew my mind and induced a fit of the giggles (I mean, it was their first and only show in Greensboro and they got GWAR blood on the ceiling of the bar, and it stayed there forever, impertinent stain, and every time I ate tacos there until they closed years later, I would look up and then down at my tacos with sauce and it just seemed so right). Ah, good times.

Now I must to download for the many readings of pleasure and to understand full more the pictures. Thank you, Joss and gang! :)

Wiseblood | July 28, 05:55 CET

Note to self:

Close all letters with "Kissy th' face."

Kissy th' face,
Self.

It reminded me of when you get a comic book about the environment from the Chick-fil-A Kid's meal, and start reading it to see what its like but keep reading it because its so amusing. I thought it was cute and fun and light. I love that the robot wears jeans..why wouldn't he, he's in a band! I can't wait for the next parts. The best part: its FREE Joss entertainment!

Arabchick | July 28, 07:34 CET

Now I want salt n vinegar chips.

Crisps ! Bloody colonials ... *mutters, grumbles* ... ;-). "Mmmmm, crisps" indeed though.

That was hi-larious. And free. Dunno what you all mean 'unexpected' though, I totally expected it. It's pretty obvious if you just read between the lines of Joss' last 8 posts and apply basic cryptographic techniques and then lie.

Kind of reminds me of Scott Pilgrim but after way, way more sugar and less removal of robots and aliens. I see a lot of "In this way we were denied victory"'s being ~~forced, screaming~~ dropped casually into future conversations ;).

ETA: Oh, and thanks Joss (and Dark Horse), you guys are OK, I don't care what everyone else says ;).

[ edited by Saje on 2007-07-28 10:52 ]

Saje | July 28, 10:50 CET

On my way out of Comic-Con, I scored an awesome limited edition (run of 400) Sugarshock concert poster. Pretty.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2007-07-29 22:49 ]

theonetruebix | July 29, 22:48 CET

Crisps ! Bloody colonials ... *mutters, grumbles* ... ;-).

Saje, language evolves. Just because American English has improved upon British English doesn't mean you have to be bitter about it. ;p

Colonial?! What year is it?

Sort of back on topic, I totally forgot about VikingPrincess3. Are Vikings the new pirates? There just seem to be a lot of references them lately in random places. Both pro and con.

Sunfire | July 29, 23:46 CET

FWIW, here's an example of the Sugarshock poster.

Fabio Moon also was selling the original artwork for this. I told him I'd kill for it, but wouldn't.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2007-07-30 20:06 ]

theonetruebix | July 30, 20:05 CET

I gotta find a way to bump into Fabio Moon around here. Living in the same city must help.

Numfar PTB | July 31, 00:01 CET

Holy crap, bix, I must must must get me one of those posters! Stupid Comic Con and its exclusives... as a DragonCon kid (geography will do that to ya), we don't get squat compared. Want want want!

Also, I would like to say that I love anthology series and would gladly pay to have an issue of this stuff (even Joss-free issues) in my hands. The internet is cool, but it's much easier for me to remember something if I don't have to think about something and just put it on my pull list. Plus, I'd gladly slap down my $4 to support new artists and Joss. Did I mention it's just plain awesome to be able to hold something in your hands?

[ edited by nathanieletc on 2007-07-31 01:28 ]

nathanieletc | July 31, 01:26 CET

Well, I intend to dump all of Sugarshock into a pdf and print it out so I have a hard copy. Maybe I can get a scan of the poster and use it as a cover.

theonetruebix | July 31, 02:39 CET

Here's a post from Fábio Moon (and his twin brother Gabriel Bá - who I found out graduated from the same school as I did, but I was from the communications department, and he was from the arts department) blog.
You have to roll down to somewhere in the middle, and you'll find a nice pic of Fábio with our our "purpl-ish" friend and another one with him wearing the Dandelion T-shirt.
And plus there's a funny tale that goes with the pictures, involving some "OMGs" and JJ Abrams.

Numfar PTB | August 01, 12:15 CET

July 27 2007