Super Effective (webcomic)

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Super Effective's logo

Super Effective is a webcomic by Canadian cartoonist Scott Ramsoomair. It is based on the events of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and was first published on April 23, 2008.

Ramsoomair is also known for his main comic, VG Cats, which parodies many video games, including Pokémon. Super Effective is devoted to the Pokémon series, and the storyline focuses on Red's journey through Kanto. Some comics do deviate slightly from the plot of the games, and this is primarily for humor purposes.

The humor is based around jokes and questions commonly found in the fandom, such as the fact no one has seen Brock's eyes, and Professor Oak doesn't know the name of his grandson. A majority of the jokes are focused towards mature readers only.

Unlike most webcomics, Super Effective does not have set days on which it is updated, and is published on an irregular basis. This is largely due to Ramsoomair's other commitments, such as VG Cats, but has also been credited to the time it takes to produce a single strip.[1]

Characters

File:Super Effective Douche.jpg
The second strip, showing Blue, Oak, and Red

Red

The main character of the comic, Red is based on the player character of FireRed and LeafGreen. His starter Pokémon was a Charmander. Like his game counterpart, he is a silent protagonist and thus largely speaks through his actions. Unlike a majority of the other characters in the series, Red is the most rational and notices the obvious faults of other characters in the series. He made his debut in the first strip.

Professor Oak

Unlike his counterparts in other media, Professor Oak is portrayed as a man with little common sense, unable to remember his grandson's name or determine whether Red was a boy or a girl. He provides both Red and Blue with a Pokémon and Pokédex, giving them the task of completing it. He made his debut in the first strip.

Blue

Professor Oak's grandson, also known as Douche. Like the character on which he was based, Blue has had a strong rivalry with Red since they were babies. He also hates his grandfather for things such as forgetting his name, giving him a Squirtle which didn't know any water type attacks and forcing him on a quest to complete the Pokédex. He takes his catch phrase "Smell ya later!" literally, and takes the time to smell Red after a Pokémon battle. He made his debut in the second strip.

DEX v1.2

Red's Pokédex has a personality of its own. It has a unique sense of humor with a tendency to offer immature suggestions for nicknames like "Butts" and "Penis".

Green

Based on Leaf. Her starter Pokémon is a Bulbasaur. She happens to display an interest in its "tentacles" that she may or may not be kidding about. She has a peppy and bright personality, but she has only appeared in two strips so far, and therefore not much is known about her yet. She was introduced in the 29th strip.

Other characters

In addition to the five main characters, additional characters have been included in one or more strips. These include Brock, the first Gym Leader; the man in the Poké Mart; a Bug Catcher; and the old man who teachers players how to catch Pokémon.

Future of Super Effective

In a recent interview Bulbapedia editor, TheLastCharmander, had with Scott Ramsoomair, a multitude of questions about the future of Super Effective were answered. Ramsoomair stated that the story of Future Effective will end in Kanto (most likely when Red becomes the champion) and not go on to other regions like Johto or Hoenn. Ramsoomair stated that Red's Pokémon team will develop just as his team did when he was a playing the games, indicating that Red will catch at least enough Pokémon to fill his party at six and will most likely evolve his team. Ramsoomair also said that minor characters, like Green, will be put in the story more and have a supporting role similar to Blue's. When asked on how the strip would progress, Ramsoomair stated that it will be almost exactly like the walkthrough of FireRed and LeafGreen.

Fandom jokes

File:081125.gif
Humor relating to the frustration of finding a rare Pokémon, but having no balls to catch it with

A number of the jokes in the series are based around common jokes, questions, and criticisms of the games themselves. More often than not, the jokes are one-off 'on the spot' jokes that make their point, but don't interfere with the story. This list contains some of the more notable fandom jokes referenced in the series.

  • Strip #1: Professor Oak cannot distinguish between a boy and a girl.
  • Strip #2: Professor Oak doesn't know his grandson's name and that the player gets to name him.
  • Strip #5: Professor Oak gives kids expensive equipment (Pokédex) and sends them on a lengthy journey (catching all known Pokémon) by themselves.
  • Strip #13: The old man from Viridian City teaches the player how to catch Pokémon, despite the player usually already having caught Pokémon by that point.
  • Strip #22: The common frustration of finding a rare Pokémon, but having no Poké Balls to catch it with.
  • Strip #23: The fact that the player gets money after each battle. It jokes by showing that Red gets prize money by mugging the Bug Catcher.
  • Strip #24: The realization that any Trainer who started with Charmander will be at a major disadvantage in the first gym.
  • Strip #25: The observation that Brock never has his eyes open.
  • Strip #30: The common observation of the female counterpart appearing to be an attractive late teen, but actually being around ten years old.
  • Strip #31: The fact that one can run into a wild Pokémon in the games simply by shuffling in grass without actually moving.
  • Strip #33: A common joke about how in the "Who's that Pokémon?" bit in the show. It jokes on how sometimes Pokémon appear as a vulgar image behind their silhouette before they are revealed.

Creation

Ramsoomair creates all of his comics, including Super Effective using both hand-drawn art and computer software. By scanning his images (or drawing them on a graphics tablet), Adobe Photoshop or a similar tool can be used to darken the lines and finalize the image. It typically takes many hours to make a single comic. Drawing alone is between three and nine hours, and the computer work takes a similar length of time. Ramsoomair cites this as one of the reasons why Super Effective and his other comics are not updated at a higher frequency.[1]

References

External links

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