Hopeless Savages
Encyclopedia
Hopeless Savages is a series by Oni Press
written by Jen Van Meter
. Thus far there have been three 4-issue miniseries
(also released as trade paperbacks) and a one-shot, all written by van Meter but each illustrated by a different set of artists, including Christine Norrie
, Chynna Clugston
, Andi Watson
, Bryan Lee O'Malley
, and Vera Brosgol
.
The story follows the members of the Hopeless-Savage family. Parents Dirk Hopeless and Nikki Savage are old-school punks
who were part of the 70's punk
scene. They married and moved to the suburbs to raise their children. The three oldest, Rat Bastard, Arsenal Fierce, and Twitch Strummer, are grown and have moved out of the house; youngest daughter Skank Zero is in high school.
The thread running throughout the stories is a family which superficially doesn't fit the "norm" but which can still stand together and function better than most "normal" families.
and working at a trendy coffee company's corporate office. After attempting to de-program
him they unravel the mystery of their parents' abduction, which stems back to copyright issues and Dirk's embarrassing past as a teen idol.
-type show about Dirk and Nikki, and Nikki is trying to remaster her old albums for a re-release. This is also the series in which Twitch and Henry get back together.
, although the scenes which take place at home are still documented from Zero's point of view. Arsenal is entered in a martial arts tournanment; Henry and Claude want to visit their Grandmother Shi, who is a renowned fortune teller. Arsenal is particularly anxious about the match since she will be fighting a man who she fought as an adolescent; he sucker punched her and she ended up in the hospital, the only major injury from all her many brawls. However, within minutes of arriving someone slips a much coveted item into Arsenal's bag at the airport, and before long they are being hunted by local criminals and the British Secret Service. Back in the States, the Hopeless-Savage family is being harassed by a conservative
Christian
group led by a charismatic preacher who is manipulating Nikki's mother Vera. Fed up with the picketers on their lawn, the family decides to join Arsenal and Twitch in Hong Kong, taking Grandma Savage along with them.
main character. In the introduction to the collected volume 2: Ground Zero', an editorial
commenting on how few and far between compassionate portrayals of homosexual relationships are and how well the story deals with Twitch and Henry's relationship.
Too Much Hopeless Savages! ISBN 1-929998-85-6
Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits 2000-2010 ISBN X, Collects all three trades plus bonus material
Oni Press
Oni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
written by Jen Van Meter
Jen Van Meter
Jennifer "Jen" Van Meter is an American comic book writer best known for her Oni Press series Hopeless Savages as well as for series at Marvel and DC Comics. Her most recent work for Marvel features Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat...
. Thus far there have been three 4-issue miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
(also released as trade paperbacks) and a one-shot, all written by van Meter but each illustrated by a different set of artists, including Christine Norrie
Christine Norrie
Christine Norrie a comic book artist, known for her work on the graphic novel Cheat. Norrie has also worked extensively as an artist and inker on various comic books, including the comic book adaptation of Disney's Spy Kids, and various Oni Press publications, including art for Hopeless Savages and...
, Chynna Clugston
Chynna Clugston
Chynna Clugston is an American comic book creator known for her manga-influenced teen comedy series Blue Monday.-Early life:Clugston grew up in Fresno, California and attended the Roosevelt School of the Arts...
, Andi Watson
Andi Watson
Andrew "Andi" Watson is a British cartoonist and illustrator best known for the graphic novels Breakfast After Noon, Slow News Day and his series Love Fights, published by Oni Press and Slave Labor Graphics....
, Bryan Lee O'Malley
Bryan Lee O'Malley
Bryan Lee O'Malley is a Canadian cartoonist. He is best known for the Scott Pilgrim series, but is also a musician using the alias Kupek.-Career:...
, and Vera Brosgol
Vera Brosgol
Vera Brosgol is a cartoonist and a graduate in Classical Animation of Sheridan College in Canada. She lives in Portland, Oregon and works for Laika Entertainment House where she does storyboards and concept art for their animation productions...
.
The story follows the members of the Hopeless-Savage family. Parents Dirk Hopeless and Nikki Savage are old-school punks
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
who were part of the 70's punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
scene. They married and moved to the suburbs to raise their children. The three oldest, Rat Bastard, Arsenal Fierce, and Twitch Strummer, are grown and have moved out of the house; youngest daughter Skank Zero is in high school.
The thread running throughout the stories is a family which superficially doesn't fit the "norm" but which can still stand together and function better than most "normal" families.
The Hopeless-Savage Family
- Dirk Hopeless - The patriarch of the Hopeless-Savage clan. His real name is David Sterling, and before he found success as a punk rocker he was a teen idolTeen idolA teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
in his native EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, performing as part of Little Davie and the Sterlings. Feeling creatively stunted by his bubblegum-pop persona, he changed his name to Dirk Hopeless and became involved in the punkPunk subcultureThe punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
scene. He's the voice of reason in the Hopeless-Savage family, balancing out Nikki's sharp temper. He's also the primary cook for the family, often seen puttering around the kitchen in an apron. - Nikki Savage - The matriarch of the Hopeless-Savage clan. Nikki grew up in NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, helping out in her family's bakery. Wanting to escape small town life, she follows a boyfriend to the big city, where she finds success and drugPsychoactive drugA psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
addictionSubstance dependenceThe section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
. After completing rehabDrug rehabilitationDrug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
, her manager Weej introduces her to Dirk and they end up touring together, eventually falling in love and getting married. Nikki is tough and scrappy, proving throughout the series that she can hold her own. She also has a violent temper and Dirk affectionately describes her as "a bit mad". - Rat Bastard Hopeless-Savage- Rat's the eldest of the Hopeless-Savage children. At age fifteen he was rejected by a girl he was dating, prompting him to renounce his punkPunk subcultureThe punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
roots and move away from home. In the first miniseries he's working at Monjava (a company resembling StarbucksStarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
) at their corporate office, using his father's old name David Sterling. After the events of the first series he moves home and begins using his own name again. While growing up Rat took his older brother role seriously and his younger siblings looked up to him, particularly Zero. He is the only member of the family who is currently single. - Arsenal Fierce Hopeless-Savage- The second-oldest, Arsenal runs a martial artsMartial artsMartial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
dojoDojoA is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...
and lives with her boyfriend Claude Shi, a fashion designer. As a child Arsenal constantly got into fights and was expelled from so many schools that her parents eventually enrolled her in parochial schoolParochial schoolA parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
, which she actually enjoyed. Arsenal has played the role of protector ever since she was young; the reason for all those fights was her desire to protect weaker children from bullies. In college she became an activist, participating in such events as Take Back the NightTake Back the NightTake Back the Night is an internationally held march and rally intended as a protest and direct action against rape and other forms of sexual violence...
. She's grown up to be fairly level-headed but still very protective, sometimes still acting rashly in extreme circumstances. She is an affectionate older sister to Zero, who she usually calls "Skankabelle". Whenever Arsenal goes on vacation she gets a new tattoo, likening it to getting a new stamp in her passport. - Twitch Strummer Hopeless-Savage- The third-oldest, Twitch works as an artist and dates Claude's younger brother Henry Shi, who he dated in high school before breaking up to go to college. Unlike the rest of his family, Twitch identifies more with modMod RevivalThe mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries . The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades...
culture rather than punkPunk subcultureThe punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
. He sometimes exhibits hyper-active tendencies which some theorize is the result of controlled substances (he jokes about being on crack early in the first issue) and sometimes will work all night on a project without sleep. - Skank Zero Hopeless-Savage- The youngest sibling and main protagonist of the series; most of the stories unfold around Zero. As a high school student, she's the only member of the family who's still in school. Zero fronts a band called the Dusted Bunnies and wants to study filmmaking as a "backup plan". She dates Ginger Kincaid, the class genius. Scrappy and outspoken, Zero reminds Nikki of a younger version of herself and as a result gets into several arguments with her mother, who tends to be overprotective of her.
Other characters
- Norwegian "Weej" Blue- Nikki and Dirk's former manager, who originally introduced the two at his birthday party right after picking Nikki up from rehab. Dirk eventually fired Weej, saying that he'd trust him with his life but not his money. Weej is named after the fictional species of Parrot in the Dead ParrotDead ParrotThe "Dead Parrot Sketch", alternatively and originally known as the "Pet Shop Sketch" or "Parrot Sketch", is a popular sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus, and one of the most famous in the history of British television comedy...
sketch in Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
. - Ginger Kincaid- Zero's boyfriend. A genius, MIT personally invited him to tour their campus and interview for admission. He originally met Zero when she and her siblings helped him stand up against bullies as a child.
- Flora, Emma, and Tobey- AKA The Dusted Bunnies, Zero's bandmates. Emma and Tobey are dating, Flora is usually depicted as being more promiscuous. The band's origins and how they all met is the topic of the one-shot "Hopeless Savages B-Side All-Flashback Special".
- Claude Shi- Arsenal's live-in boyfriend who works as a fashion designer. The two met while still in school at a martial arts tournament.
- Henry Shi- Claude's younger brother, a musician and Twitch's boyfriend. Twitch originally broke up with him when Henry was admitted to Juilliard, afraid of holding him back. In the second miniseries "Hopeless Savages: Ground Zero" they reunite.
Hopeless Savages
The first miniseries deals with Dirk and Nikki being kidnapped and their children trying to find them. They suspect it has something to do with their parents' past; so Arsenal, Twitch, and Zero first track down their older brother Rat, who they believe would know more about the situation but who left the family ten years earlier. Zero is at first reluctant to find him, feeling betrayed when he left. They finally locate him using their father's real name as a pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
and working at a trendy coffee company's corporate office. After attempting to de-program
Deprogramming
Deprogramming refers to actions that attempt to force a person to abandon allegiance to a religious, political, economic, or social group. Methods and practices may involve kidnapping and coercion...
him they unravel the mystery of their parents' abduction, which stems back to copyright issues and Dirk's embarrassing past as a teen idol.
Hopeless Savages: Ground Zero
The second miniseries covers the beginning of Zero and Ginger's relationship. Throughout the course of the story Zero keeps getting grounded by Nikki for various offenses like punching a boy who made a crass comment regarding her name and coming home late from band practice. While all this is going on, Antique Rock Television is filming a Behind the MusicBehind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
-type show about Dirk and Nikki, and Nikki is trying to remaster her old albums for a re-release. This is also the series in which Twitch and Henry get back together.
Too Much Hopeless Savages!
The third miniseries centers mostly around Arsenal and Twitch's trip to Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, although the scenes which take place at home are still documented from Zero's point of view. Arsenal is entered in a martial arts tournanment; Henry and Claude want to visit their Grandmother Shi, who is a renowned fortune teller. Arsenal is particularly anxious about the match since she will be fighting a man who she fought as an adolescent; he sucker punched her and she ended up in the hospital, the only major injury from all her many brawls. However, within minutes of arriving someone slips a much coveted item into Arsenal's bag at the airport, and before long they are being hunted by local criminals and the British Secret Service. Back in the States, the Hopeless-Savage family is being harassed by a conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
group led by a charismatic preacher who is manipulating Nikki's mother Vera. Fed up with the picketers on their lawn, the family decides to join Arsenal and Twitch in Hong Kong, taking Grandma Savage along with them.
Hopeless Savages: B-sides: The Origin of the Dusted Bunnies
A one-shot that tells the story of how Zero formed her band. Separate vignettes show how she met each member, starting with Flora in junior high and working backwards to Emma while elementary-aged and Tobey as a toddler.Twitch's Sexuality
The series has been praised for its depiction of a gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
main character. In the introduction to the collected volume 2: Ground Zero', an editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
commenting on how few and far between compassionate portrayals of homosexual relationships are and how well the story deals with Twitch and Henry's relationship.