Casey and Andy

Infobox webcomic|
title = Casey and Andy


caption =
author = Andy Weir
url = http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=1
status = Concluded
began = February 28, 2001 [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=1]
ended = August 25, 2008 [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=666]
genre = Humor, Science
ratings =

"Casey and Andy" is a webcomic by Andy Weir. It features the adventures of two mad scientists (based on Weir himself and his best friend Casey Grimm) and of their friends and acquaintances (some of whom are named after Weir's friends and acquaintances, though often not significantly resembling them). It was typically updated three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and ran with a gag-a-comic format with occasional storylines and running gags. In the words of the author: "Continuity is something that happens to other comics." It originally had the tagline "Mad scientist roommates who periodically die!".

The comic had a strong flavor of science and history fact, often from obscure sources. Strong parallels are suspected by some readers between Casey and Andy's real life (if any) and the events in the comic. Some strips are inspired by current events, as with the Mars landing sequence.

The strip has been made into a roleplaying game for the GURPS system, with a downloadable PDF published by Steve Jackson Games.

On May 1, 2006, Weir [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=621 told] fans that the strip would permanently come to an end on strip 666, due to Weir's recent dread for creating each strip and a downturn in the quality of the humor, and also so he could devote his time to " [http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/ Cheshire Crossing] ", his new webcomic project. However, on August 28, 2006, strip #644, Weir announced that the strip was on hiatus until further notice.

After an 18-month interim, the strip resumed on March 15, 2008. The comic continued on to strip 666, whereupon it ended.

Primary (Andy) dimension characters

Most of the comic happens in this dimension, and the main characters live here. Due to the high number of characters in this dimension, they are further divided in three categories. The main characters are those most strips focus on, the secondary characters are recurring supportive characters, and single-use characters are characters that appeared only once or twice, or whose role were limited to a single story-arc.

Main characters

;Andy Weir [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=1] : Andy is a mad scientist, less interested in world domination than in creating mad inventions for their own sake. His research interests include astronomy, dark magic, and hamsters. He dates Satan and despises Casey’s girlfriend Mary. His relationship with Casey is complicated; while they have been best friends since childhood, they occasionally try to kill each other, or duel to the death, for no particular reason. His secret alter-ego is Anti-Stupid Science (ASS) Man.;Casey Grimm [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=1] : Casey is the archetype of the mad scientist bent on global domination. One way or another, all of his inventions have something to do with that goal. He is currently dating Mary and proposed to her in the strip's last story arc. He and Andy remain best friends despite Andy's having inadvertently spoiled a number of Casey’s evil schemes, but as noted, Casey occasionally tries to murder him anyway. His alter-ego is Dr. X, a supervillain whose evil plans are generally unsuccessful. Casey and Andy return to life whenever they killed, something the artist deliberately chose to leave unexplained. Casey's ventures into cooking and other non-science hobbies generally end with the house on fire, although the house, like Casey and Andy themselves, is always completely restored in the subsequent strip, again without explanation.;Satan [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=12] : Satan is the fallen angel, cast out of Heaven by her father, God. She can assume any shape, and she has chosen this one for now. She is the celestial embodiment of evil, and Andy's girlfriend. Despite her job and reputation, she is easy enough to get along with, and actually quite polite.;Mary MacTavish [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=10] : Mary is Casey's girlfriend. She is normal, save for the retractable metal claws Andy installed in her against her will. She despises Andy, but she gets along rather well with his girlfriend Satan. She also hates puns, and her alter-ego is the Pun Police/Paladin. In high school, when she was known as Mac, she was a bully and loan shark who harassed Andy. Satan has informed her that her activities have earned her a place in hell.;Jenn Brozek [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=117] : Jenn lives next door to Casey and Andy, and therefore repeatedly suffers collateral damage from their failed experiments, which makes her understandably angry. Jenn has, according to Andy and Quantum Cop, an abnormal probability curve which results in strange things frequently happening in her vicinity; thus her many adventures are not really a result of her living so close to Casey & Andy, but rather Casey & Andy live next door to her because strange things are destined to happen in her vicinity. She has a crush on Quantum Cop and has made repeated attempts to be noticed by him, but for all his intelligence, he never actually seems to catch on until the final arc. She is the future mother of J.J. Fairly late in the strip it is revealed that she is an international jewel thief.

econdary characters

;Cujo [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=8] : Andy's cat, whose only goal in life appears to be to annoy his owner, usually by defecating on the carpet.;Quantum Cop [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=39] : A very intelligent policeman who can deduce even the strangest courses of events through pure logic, and is never tricked by any excuses. He has won so many Nobel Prizes that he hardly even notices when he receives another one. His intelligence lapses only when it comes to Jenn.;Lord Milligan [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=90] : Looking like a completely black shadow except for his eyes. He wants to take over the world, and is a very traditional villain, placing a high importance on building his secret hideout with lava pools, ventilation ducts that can be crawled through, a self-destruct system that goes off if he is slain, and similar clichés. Has been the legal dictator of Japan since the "Quantum Crook" storyline. Apparently a dark servant of Satan with free will.;The Planet Devourer: A very cute little pink creature with fangs, that, through a mistake in its creation, considers Cujo its mother. It was created by Dr. X for the purpose of forcing the world to bow to him or be devoured. As per Dr. X's plans, it can consume any kind of matter and completely destroys whatever it consumes; however, it takes very small bites and would take thousands of years to do any noticeable damage to the planet.;The Mime Assassin [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=90] : As the world's greatest master of stealth, he has been hired twice by Lord Milligan to eliminate his enemies. He was killed by Mary in the "Quantum Crook" storyline, but has been seen to be alive again in strips that appeared later on.;Don Cindy: An evil Girl Scout who uses threats and intimidation to sell her cookies, assisted by her apparently demonic Girl Scout Mafia. The strips contain subtle hints that Cindy is the daughter of Satan and Andy. The author planned, but never used, a storyline where this was revealed to be true. Seemingly neither Cindy nor Andy knows this. ;Religious Zealot [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=25] : Known by no other name, the stereotypical Religious Zealot spreads the word of Jesus hoping to lead everyone to eternal salvation. Naturally, he's not treated too kindly by the guy who has Satan as a girlfriend – in fact, in newer comics, he seems to be getting along with Satan better than with Andy. In an alternate timeline he and Satan are married. Ironically enough, he is probably the least zealous character in the entire comic.;The Bug Fairy: A cute blue fairy, who causes and thrives on software bugs.;King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=419] : At one point, the King of Sweden, en route to give Quantum Cop a Nobel Prize, decided to hang around, and started living on the couch in Casey and Andy's house. He frequently demands that they bring him drinks. ;God: Satan's father, "appearing" only via word balloons. Loathes Andy with a vengeance, and likes to drive home this point with the aid of lightning. Once arrested and successfully ticketed by Quantum Cop.;Aliens from Neptar [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=19] : These creatures, none of whom have ever been given a name, variously mutilate cattle, punch male humans in their crotches, and stick probes up Casey's rectum. Overall, they are not a friendly people. Quantum Cop is, of course, more than a match for them.;Grover Cleveland: The twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the United States is a sworn enemy of Andy. They are engaged in a battle across time, and Grover Cleveland appears to be winning. The final time-travel arc reveals that his wife is actually Satan before she met Andy.

Recurring characters

;Death [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=2] : Death is a character who sometimes appears to take Casey and/or Andy away to hell, usually when one of their many experiments in mad science goes wrong.;St Peter [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=179] : sometimes encountered by Casey And Andy when they die.;Azrael [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=138] : A demon who tried to usurp rulership of Hell from Satan.;J.J. [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=311] : The future daughter of Jenn Brozek. She came to help her present-day mother when the latter was sent back to the 1980s, threatening J.J.'s eventual birth. Genetic testing showed that her father is either Quantum Cop or Quantum Crook; the final story arc revealed it was the former.;Rob Petrone [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=492] : This mysterious character appears, at first glance, to be a member of Casey & Andy's social circle who likes to go behind Andy's back, but there is more to Rob than meets the eye. With friends like these...;Bob [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=517] : Bob is a running joke in the comic. Andy had submitted a manuscript of his book to a publisher, but it was sent back with the complaint that the book had only two characters, which the publisher did not consider enough. To retaliate, Andy pasted "Bob was there too" on the end of every 15th paragraph.;Mabel [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=127] : Head of the local homeowners association, she wants Casey and Andy out of the neighbourhood for obvious reasons. However, on account of her understandable fear of their home and anything to do with it, she targets Jenn instead, with complaints about obnoxious garden furniture.;The Hunkinites [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=159] : Blue hunky aliens whose sole purpose in life is to please women. They named Jenn their queen.;The Organization of Land Pirates [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=598] : Essentially an organization of pirates who work on the land, instead of the sea.;Dante [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=280] : Writer. Is currently trying to come up with a sequel to his best-seller The Divine Comedy. Frequently annoys Satan.;The porn ghosts (and the 80's porn ghosts) [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=309] : Mischievous spirits who arrange situations which cause the female main characters to wear racy and skimpy outfits.

Parallel dimension characters

Using either technology or magic, characters of the main dimension are able to cross over to parallel dimensions. These dimensions contain doppelgänger of the inhabitants of the main dimension, but with minor changes - different genders, different good/evil orientations, and so on.

Dimension of Hackneyed Opposites

A dimension of opposites that Andy visited to test his parallel-dimension-travel-o-mat.

;Andi [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=197] : Andy's extra-dimensional counterpart. Female. Used to be sexually promiscuous until she found the Lord - which means not becoming religious, but rather becoming involved in a monogamous relationship with God. Once dated her dimension's Casey.;God [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=197] : Andi's boyfriend in this universe. Seems scary, but deep down, he's an old softie.;Quantum Crook [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=200] : The doppelgänger of Quantum Cop. He’s every bit as smart as his goody-two-shoes equivalent, but he’s bent on global domination.;Doctor Y [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=200] : Doctor X's super-hero doppelgänger, the saviour of the world.;Mary MacTavish [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=200] : A busy shuttle commander.;Lord Milligan [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=200] : A famous Japanese rock star.;The Mime Plumber [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=200] : Of no consequence to anyone.

Fantasy dimension

A dimension which follows the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, first visited at Quantum Cop's request in the Quantum Crook storyline, and later hosting the Great Orb of Power story arc.

;Andina [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=223] : The doppelgänger of Andy. Female. Andina is both a cleric of the god Zogor, and his lover. ;Zogor [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=224] : The deity ruling over this dimension.;Kasor [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=447] : The doppelgänger of Casey. Kasor is a mage, and advisor to the Queen. ;Queen Jena [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=448] : The doppelgänger of Jenn, and Queen of Fremontia. ;Evil Grand Vizier Milligawain [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=450] : The doppelgänger of Lord Milligan. As all Grand Viziers, he's trying to take over the throne; indeed this is a requirement for the job. Following the Great Orb of Power story arc, he assumed a new role in the government of Fremontia.;Quantum Ninja [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=452] : The doppelgänger of Quantum Cop. She has a π symbol stamped on her forehead.;Stygian Zealot [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=453] : The Stygian Zealot is a member of an underground faction of stygians, who are powerful in both magic and military. The doppelgänger of the Religious Zealot.;Mari [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=460] : The doppelgänger of Mary MacTavish. A ruthless mercenary who works for Evil Grand Vizier Milligawain. She despises puns just as the prime dimension's Mary does.;Cujo [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=459] : Queen Jena's pet snake.;Stan [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=465] : Chief Paper-pusher of the Underwriterworld. Satan's equivalent in this dimension. He has many forms.;King Bloid [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=465] : King of the Zarb. The counterpart of the crotch-punching alien from Neptar. He likes cows in an impure way.;Accounting Irregularity Fairy [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=465] : The Bug Fairy's counterpart, and head mage of the Underwriterworld.;The Devourer of Worlds¸ [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=465] : The High Wizard of the Zarb.;Evil Grand Vizier Snerd [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=479] : The Evil Grand Vizier of the Zarb.;The Hunkinites [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=448] : Still blue hunky aliens whose sole purpose in life is still to please women. They still have Jena as their queen.;The Great Sorcerer [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=461] : Thousands of years ago, he put an end to war between the kingdoms by creating Mount Magus.

Themes and Story Arcs

Usually, "Casey and Andy" featured one-strip gags. Since the two main characters in the webcomic were mad scientists, the two main themes of the gags were science (current scientific events, obscure scientific facts, common mistakes) and evil (world domination ploys, bank robberies, evil inventions). Other common themes for the strip included riddles, "cheesecake" (high-quality renderings of one of the female characters), role-playing games and Christianity.

The author did occasionally go into story arcs that span multiple strips. They are, in chronological order:
*"Evil Mime" – In which the Mime Assassin is hired to kill Andy. Comics [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=90] to [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=98] .
*"Hell Coup" – In which Azrael tries to overthrow Satan and take over Hell. Comics [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=138] to [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=152] .
*"Quantum Crook" – In which the Quantum Crook comes to the primary dimension. Comics [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=197] to [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=230] .
*"Jenn in Time" – In which Jenn is accidentally sent back to the 80s. Comics [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=320] to [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=362] . See also comic [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=311] .
*"The Mountain Of Mages" – In which Jenn is asked to replace Queen Jena. Comics [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=446] to [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=482] .
*"The Petroniad" - In which Rob steals Andy's life. (Guest strip arc by Rob Petrone, done while the real Andy Weir moved to Boston.) Comics [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=492] to [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=501] .
*"The Finale Arc" - Quantum Crook steals J.J.'s time machine, but when Jenn jumps him, they're both transported back in time to 1886. The gang follows them to rescue Jenn, and defeat Quantum Crook. Comics [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=621] to [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=665] .

Inventions

Being mad scientists, Casey and Andy are often busy creating strange inventions. These inventions sometimes work, and sometimes fail because the inventors overlooked some blindingly obvious detail. The inventions can sometimes backfire on their creators, killing them in a number of ways.;CLONE-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=15] : A cloning machine.;SCAN-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=24] : A present-scanning machine. A testament to how much Casey and Andy trust each other.;PHOBIA SWAP-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=26] : A device to transfer the phobia of one person onto another.;CASEY VAPORIZO-ANNIHILATOMAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=33] : Yet another testament of the love between Casey and Andy.;MASS-CONVERT-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=37] : Converts mass into energy. We're not sure how it works, but the conversion process produces a large explosion that looks like an atomic bomb blast.;MIND-READ-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=43] : A not-so-subtle tool for invading someone's privacy.

;L33T-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=79] : Translates from and to l33t. Does not seem entirely unbiased.;CHESS-O-MATs [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=106] : A pair of chess playing machines with a handicap.;SS BOAT-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=422] : An ordinary boat.;LANDMARK-DESTRUCT-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=428] : A device that can destroy monuments on distant foreign soil.;COMPUTE-O-MATIC [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=532] : A World War II-era computer.;MIND-SCAN-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=503] : A device that can scan a brain. In theory, one could then take the scanned intelligence and place it in a virtual body in a virtual world, to create a replica of our world. ;HAIR-LENGTHEN-AND-SPIKE-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=516] : Responsible for Casey's unique hair-style.;ART-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=541] : A painting that paints itself.;CHAIR-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=541] : A chair with all the comforts of the modern world built in.;DOG-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=541] : An android dog that barks in binary.;VENT-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=541] : A ventilation system for an outhouse.;SAFE-O-MAT [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=541] : A safe with all possible security checks, including palm scan, retinal scan, voice recognition, blood sample analyser, stool sample analyser, and note from your mother reader.;THE SPLURCH [http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=571] : An aptly-named device made by Andy. Denounced by Casey for not being a traditional "o-mat" invention.

External links

* [http://www.caseyandandy.com "Casey and Andy" web site]
* [http://www.galactanet.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page "Casey and Andy" wiki]
* [http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG37-0601 "Casey and Andy" roleplaying game]
* [http://www.galactanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57 Forum post with an index of "Casey and Andy" strips]
* [http://www.thechainsawblokes.com/wwr/?p=5 Review of "Casey and Andy" at "Weekly Webcomic Reviews"]