Game Critter Super-Squad!
Encyclopedia
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).
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
GameNOW
GameNOW
GameNOW was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff-Davis from November 2001 to January 2004. There are 27 issues of GameNOW in total. In addition to video game consoles like PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance, GameNOW also covered games for...
. It is a spin-off of Norm's popular Hsu and Chan
Hsu and Chan
Hsu and Chan is a comic strip created by Jeremy "Norm" Scott that appeared in the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly from October 1999 until the September 2008 issue. The strip has appeared at 1UP.com until September 30, 2009 when the blog ended and Norm promised to continue the comic at...
comic that appears in Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
and in comic book form through Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
.
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
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
, Gila Mobster, the brutish Charmander
Charmander
Charmander, known as in Japan, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Charmander first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed...
parody who can be seen wearing a black Fedora
Fedora (hat)
A fedora is a men's felt hat. In reality, "fedora" describes most any men's hat that does not already have another name; quite a few fedoras have famous names of their own including the famous Trilby....
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
Hsu and Chan
Hsu and Chan is a comic strip created by Jeremy "Norm" Scott that appeared in the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly from October 1999 until the September 2008 issue. The strip has appeared at 1UP.com until September 30, 2009 when the blog ended and Norm promised to continue the comic at...
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
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
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!Yu-Gi-Oh!is a Japanese manga created by Kazuki Takahashi. It has produced a franchise that includes multiple anime shows, a trading card game and numerous video games...
parody. - (GameNOW #21, July 2003) - Arnie questions reality after playing a video game based on The MatrixThe MatrixThe Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
. - (GameNOW #22, August 2003) - The Squad accidentally wanders into Silent HillSilent Hillis a survival horror video game series consisting of seven installments published by Konami and its subsidiary Konami Digital Entertainment. The first four games in the series, Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4, have been developed by an internal factor, Team Silent...
. Arnie wets his pants, if he wore any. - (GameNOW #23, September 2003) - Part two of the Silent HillSilent Hillis a survival horror video game series consisting of seven installments published by Konami and its subsidiary Konami Digital Entertainment. The first four games in the series, Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4, have been developed by an internal factor, Team Silent...
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 elfElfAn elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
in a The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
-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 BoktaiBoktaiBoktai is a video game series developed by Konami for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS handheld consoles. The title is an abbreviation of the series' full Japanese title Bokura no Taiyō or Our Sun. They are recognized for using a solar sensor that is a key element of gameplay...
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.