Game Critter Super-Squad!

"Game Critter Super-Squad!" is a comic created by Jeremy "Norm" Scott that appeared in the now-defunct video game magazine GameNOW. It is a spin-off of Norm's popular Hsu and Chan comic that appears in Electronic Gaming Monthly and in comic book form through Slave Labor Graphics.

The strip follows the midadventures of 11-year-old Jimmy "Milhouse" Patton (a human) and the Game Critter Super-Squad, a team consisting of Arnie, a ground squirrel bearing a striking resemblance to Sonic the Hedgehog, Gila Mobster, the brutish Charmander parody who can be seen wearing a black Fedora with a lighter grasped in the end of his tail, and X, an anthropomorphic, green letter X who works for Microsoft.

All of the characters first appeared in the Hsu and Chan strips in EGM, with the exception of Jimmy. He first appeared in EGM #159 (October 2002), where he was teamed up with a time-travelling cyborg named AH-NUD 800 in a 12 page comic strip/feature article entitled "EGM's No-Problemo Guide to Taking Your PS2 Online."

Game Critter Super-Squad! first appeared in GameNOW #19 (May 2003) and ran until the final issue, GameNOW #27 (January 2004). The final strip was drawn to work with the ChromaDepth 3-D glasses that were included with the final issue of GameNOW (a special 3-D issue).

List of Game Critter Super-Squad! Strips

The following is a description of the Game Critter Super-Squad! strips that appeared in GameNOW:

* (GameNOW #19, May 2003) - Jimmy assembles the GCSS to defeat a giant robot, but the Squad is easily distracted by donuts.
* (GameNOW #20, June 2003) - Gila Mobster helps Jimmy believe in the heart of the cards in a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" parody.
* (GameNOW #21, July 2003) - Arnie questions reality after playing a video game based on "The Matrix".
* (GameNOW #22, August 2003) - The Squad accidentally wanders into "Silent Hill". Arnie wets his pants, if he wore any.
* (GameNOW #23, September 2003) - Part two of the "Silent Hill" saga. The Squad picks up one of the more talkative residents of the town.
* (GameNOW #24, October 2003) - Arnie complains about having to play as an elf in a "The Lord of the Rings"-style game. (this episode is referenced in an episode of Hsu and Chan)
* (GameNOW #25, November 2003) - Arnie realizes that for a group called the "Super-Squad," the gang doesn't really go on any grand, world-saving adventures. Gila Mobster sends Arnie on a quest to fetch him another beer.
* (GameNOW #26, December 2003) - Jimmy takes a rare trip outside in order to play "Boktai" despite the Squad's insistence that the outdoors are nothing but trouble.
* (GameNOW #27, January 2004) - Jimmy and Arnie discuss the future of 3-D gaming (that is, "alien monsters flying out of your TV" 3-D and not simply polygonal graphics) and other gimmicky gaming technology.

Other works

Norm has also made other comics, such as "The Otters" and "Violence Man!", both of which can be found on his website.

References

Scott, Norm. (2004). "Hsu and Chan: Too Much Adventure". SLG Publishing.

External links

* [http://www.spookingtons.com/ Norm Scott's official website, Hsu and Chan at Spookingtons]
* [http://store.slavelabor.com/hsuchan.shtml The official Hsu and Chan store at Slave Labor Graphics]