Super Stupor

It's about heroes and villains in their everyday lives. Really, that's it. Super Stupor was first posted in 2007 and updated occasionally, on an "As Randy Feels Like It" basis. The comic maintains its own continuity, and ever so often is collected and published (with original material and art) as a hardcopy issue. As of January 2011, three issues (and several reprints with revised art) have been printed and sold.

The writing owes much to the more mature comic work of creators such as Kurt Busiek, Alan Moore, and Denny O'Neil, focusing on the human trials and foibles of the costumed communities, as well as the consequences of those decisions. This doesn't stop Milholland from pursuing slapstick or trope-awareness humor, as most everyone appears to be aware of (and sometimes sick of) the conventions of comic books. Starting with the third issue, Milholland has worked in references to more classic comic styles, such as the horror hosts of E.C. and Warren Publishing.

The World of Super Stupor[]

Super Stupor takes place in a world similar to that of DC or Marvel Comics, with a number of costumed and often superpowered vigilantes and criminals, powered by a combination of spontaneous mutation, magic, science, and lab accidents. The primary focus of the strip is on Bay City, and its contingent of superheroes and minions, who have long histories with each other and often share personal relationships outside of their super-"professions." There is a long history of heroes and villains in this world, with general parallels to the popular conception of superhero comics from the "Golden Age" (1930s-1950s) to the present.

The cosmology of the world includes Heaven, Hell, and other dimensions. At least one Cosmic Cataclysm event has caused the destruction of a parallel world, with the few survivors being retroactively fit into this dimension, and an alien invasion during the 90s. The government has adapted to supers with the Hero Permit Exam and the IRS' Super Audits Division.

Heroes[]

Villains[]

Bars[]

Capetini's

Henchie's

Teams[]

Anansi Sect
Clown Car Three
Kinderguard
Pilgrim's Pride

Other[]

Anansi
Boss Bogg
Death
Flashburn's Girlfriend
Galek
K.C.
Kitty von Krypt
Krono's Girlfriend
Scaretaker
Sonni Sloan
Suffering Child

Issues[]

To date, three annual issues of Super Stupor have been published since 2008; issue #1 was reprinted on better stock in 2010. These mini-comics are primarily original material, starting off with or incorporating one or two comics from the website but otherwise telling a longer adventure. The annuals and webcomic are set within the same timeframe - i.e. events depicted in the August 2009 issue of Super Stupor will generally fit within the events of the webcomic that were posted before August 2009, and the webcomics after August 2009 may reference events in the 2009 annual. The print comic and the webcomic maintain a consistent continuity.

Issue 1[]

Publication Date: 1st print August 2008/2nd print April 2010

Cover Price: $3 (2nd print only)

Publisher: Rhymes With Witch Comics (1st print only)

Issue one begins with Secret Powers, the first Super Stupor webcomic; the rest is original material not seen on the web.

Plot[]

Heroes Appreciation Convention approaches. Arch-Angela is excited while most of the other heroes are fairly blah about it. Lord Killalot hires Eye-Sore and Killhuna to attack the con (it's tradition, and he's paid to do it), but just as the two henches run into Rumble Bee the villainous Dr. Silt attacks with a gigantic plastic construct. Killhuna and Eye-Sore join Arch-Angela, Boy-Toy, Punchline and Rumble Bee to defeat the villain. Rumble Bee and Eye-Sore part afterwards, with regrets but glad they've found each other again. A sub-plot concerns Mind's Eye, Finster, the zombie and M.E's secret power.

Version Differences[]

The main difference between the two versions of issue #1 is the paper: the first printing is regular paper while the reprint is on glossy stock that makes a vivid difference in the color and quality of the product. The following differences are also of note:

1st Printing: Cover is Arch-Angela

Contains "Aubrey's Guide to Con Hygiene"

2nd Printing: Cover is Rumble Bee + Boy-Toy

Instead of "Aubrey's Guide to Con Hygiene", contains an original page showing the con from Eye-Sore's point of view.
The panel where Punchline uses his spring-boots has been redrawn

Issue 2[]

Publication Date: August 2009

Cover Price: $5

Cover: Arch-Angela watches as Punchline terrorizes children

The second issue features both a main story ("By Their Fruits") and a back-up ("To B-Cup Or Not To B-Cup"). Some of the comics from the website are used directly as part of both storylines, and many more indirect references to the webcomics have been made.

By Their Fruits[]

Begins with an extended version of New Year's Kiss, then flips to where Luchathulhu and his minions threaten the city, where they are defeated by Arch-Angela and Rumble Bee, but manage to escape. What follows is a complicated plan, with Arch-Angela, Punchline, and the Unnamed Hero trying to thwart Lady Diamondback, Reverend Apocrypha, Crimer Rhymer and Panda Assassin This is made all the more difficult by the secret affair of Lady Diamondback and the Unnamed Hero, and has tragic consequences: Crimer Rhymer blows up a pre-school while Punchline can only watch, murdering twenty young children just to leave a clue. When Arch-Angela is captured, Punchline confronts the lovers and extorts their help, and the plan is quickly unraveled. In the end, Arch-Angela consoles Punchline while Lady Diamondback and the Unnamed Hero open up to each other and agree to start a real relationship.

To B-Cup Or Not To B-Cup[]

Begins with Trial by Fury, and follows the parasitical Tumor as it grafts itself onto the breasts of a naive new host. Punchline, Arch-Angela, Boy-Toy, and Rumble Bee manage to defeat the new villainess, who vows revenge. At the end, the Tumor has grafted itself onto a bystander's crotch.

Issue 3[]

Publication Date: August 2010

Cover Price: $3.95

Cover: Scaretaker and the Star-Crossed Lover

Third issue is something of an homage to EC horror comics from the 1950s like Tales from the Crypt and the "horror host" shows which inspired Midnight Macabre, and continues to develop the aftermath of the Cosmic Cataclysm and its ongoing effects with survivors like Eye-Sore and Rumble Bee.

Storybook Romance[]

A one-page prologue foreshadows the plot, showing an undead being hunted by a shadowy foe, and is followed by an extended version of Ancient History, and an introduction of Scaretaker. Rumble Bee and Eye-Sore attend a reunion at the Two Worlds Memorial, where the few survivors of the parallel world from the Cosmic Cataclysm gather to mourn the passing of one of their own, noting the absence of Scaretaker. The tale-telling ghoul finds himself in a romance with a waitress, but the stalker from the prologue is hunting other horror hosts, and Rumble Bee thinks Scaretaker is next. Noticing the capes protecting Scaretaker, the Star Crossed Lover visits Henchies to pick up some firepower, then kidnaps Scaretaker and his girlfriend, and explains why the horror hosts had to die: the Star-Crossed Lover is a bit player in a werewolf yarn. Scaretaker berates the killer for his idiocy confusing a romance with a horror tale, and the shocked killer accidentally murders Scaretaker's girlfriend before Rumble Bee can save her.