The Piranha Club
Encyclopedia
Piranha Club is the title of a comic strip written and illustrated by Bud Grace
. It was originally called Ernie, but the title was changed to the current one in 1998. The club is meant as a parody on Lions Club International, and the strip made its debut in February 1988. In 1989 the Swedish Academy of Comic Art awarded Bud Grace with the Adamson Statuette
, and Grace received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award for 1993 for his work on the strip
The strip is highly popular in the Scandinavia
n countries Norway
and Sweden
, where it is published in a bimonthly (previously monthly) comic book under the original title, Ernie.
It is also one of the most popular comic strips regularly published in newspapers in Estonia
and Latvia
(if not the most popular). It is published in Scandinavia's largest and second largest newspapers by circulation, Aftonbladet
and Dagens Nyheter
. It is also syndicated
to Japan's Daily Yomiuri along with Calvin and Hobbes
.
, which is where most of the storylines take place. Prominent scene locations include:
While the strip is usually stand alone, on many occasions it is serialised with the story running for a week or more on some occasions.
The daily strip usually runs to four panels. The Sunday strip is in a three by three panel format with the strip logo appearing in the top left hand side panel.
Bud Grace
Bud Grace is a cartoonist, who has worked on the comic strip Ernie, whose title was later changed to The Piranha Club in the United States. He also drew Babs and Aldo comic strip for King, under the pseudonym Buddy Valentine. Grace was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, grew up in Florida, and...
. It was originally called Ernie, but the title was changed to the current one in 1998. The club is meant as a parody on Lions Club International, and the strip made its debut in February 1988. In 1989 the Swedish Academy of Comic Art awarded Bud Grace with the Adamson Statuette
Adamson Awards
Adamson Awards is a Swedish award awarded to notable cartoonists, named after the famous Swedish comic strip "Adamson" .They have been presented by the Swedish Academy of Comic Art at the annual Gothenburg Book Fair since 1965...
, and Grace received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award for 1993 for his work on the strip
The strip is highly popular in the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n countries Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, where it is published in a bimonthly (previously monthly) comic book under the original title, Ernie.
It is also one of the most popular comic strips regularly published in newspapers in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
(if not the most popular). It is published in Scandinavia's largest and second largest newspapers by circulation, Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
and Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
. It is also syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
to Japan's Daily Yomiuri along with Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is a syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. It follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his...
.
Characters
- The Piranha Club is a society of freeloaderFreeloaderThe term "Freeloader" in everyday speech refers to a "mooch" or a schnorrer. The technical term for such a person is a free rider.Freeloader may also refer to:* Freeloaders , an electronic music act...
s, hustlerHustlingHustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
s and other shady characters who will do anything to make a quick buck. It also houses an actual piranha named Earl who serves as the club's mascot and trash compactor. - Ernie Floyd used to be the strip's main character until stories shifted more onto Sid and the Piranha Club members. Originally, Ernie was portrayed as something of a loser, but he gradually evolved into a more "normal" person. He has held various jobs, but usually works as an assistant manager at the Mr. Squid fast-food restaurant. He owns a 1957 DeSotoDeSoto (automobile)The DeSoto was a brand of automobile based in the United States, manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to 1961. The DeSoto logo featured a stylized image of Hernando de Soto...
, has a fetish for toasterToasterThe toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products. A typical modern two-slice toaster draws anywhere between 600 and 1200 W and makes toast in 1 to 3 minutes...
s. In July 2011, Ernie married his long time girlfriend, Doris Husselmeyer. The happy couple became the proud parents of a daughter, Fillmore Floyd, in August, 2011. - Sid Fernwilter is Ernie's uncle and member of the Piranha Club. Sid is a hustler who will do just about anything to make a quick buck. When he's not trying to scam a few dollars from his nephew or mooch a free meal. When the strip's editors pointed out to Bud Grace that no one would voluntarily be friends with someone like Sid, he became Ernie's uncle. It should, however, be pointed out that Sid isn't completely black and white in his crook behaviour. He does have limits and never actually harms anyone, even if he succeeds in scamming them out of their savings. He also believes that actual robbery is beneath him.
- Doris Husselmeyer is Ernie's wife. In the early years of the strip, Doris was unattractive with greasy hair and coke-bottle glasses, and stories were often about Ernie trying to break up with Doris without hurting her feelings. Doris eventually became a lot more attractive. She was at one time courted by Arnold, much to Ernie's anger, but Arnold gave up this project. Doris owns a vicious cat named Bobo who usually attacks Ernie at every opportunity, but has suffered heavy bruises trying to eat Earl. Pregnant with Ernie's child, she eventually accepted his proposal.
- Ethel "Effie" Munyon is Ernie's elderly and absent-minded landlady. A former Miss Bayonne, she has been married twelve times and is dating Sid, although Sid mostly hangs around with her to get a free meal. Effie is also a terrible cook and usually serves Sid dishes like boiled octopus or deep-fried roadkill. Then again, according to Sid, "the only thing better than a good meal is a free meal." She constantly calls Ernie Harold and often mistakes other men for her ex-husbands.
- Arnold Arnoldski is a homely, over-weight and bad-complected 19-year-old who often hangs out with Sid and frequently becomes involved in his schemes. As Ernie evolved into a more normal person, many of his loser characteristics were transferred to Arnold. Arnold often ends up as pack mule for Sid's schemes, and his more notable jobs include bungy-jumping tester, car alarm, goat herder, torpedo man and wrestler under the name "The Masked Slapper."
- Dr. Enos Pork, MD, is the most incompetent doctor north of Tierra del FuegoTierra del FuegoTierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
and is Sid's best friend. He is a heavy smokerSmokerSmoker is a noun derived from "smoke"/"smoking" and may have the following specialized meanings:* Someone who smokes tobacco or cannabis, cigarette substitutes, or various other drugs* Smoking , smoker, an apparatus for smoking...
and, like Sid, a member of the Piranha Club. He is married, and his abusive wife (real name: Barbara Packer Pork) is usually referred to only as Frau Pork. He also clashes frequently with his equally abusive mother-in-law, known only as Mother Packer, whose name is inspired by Alferd PackerAlferd PackerAlfred G. "Alferd" Packer was an American prospector who was accused of cannibalism during the winter of 1873-1874. First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter...
a 19th century cannibal from ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Both Frau Pork and Mother Packer often end up abusing Dr. Pork by beating him into a bloody pulp . - Spencer Husselmeyer is Doris's 10-year-old brother. He is a mischievous brat who makes Bart SimpsonBart SimpsonBartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
seem a Boy ScoutBoy ScoutA Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
in comparison. He has a special affection of putting grease on doorknobs, toilet seats, or anything else he can apply it to and especially loves to practice on his sister's boyfriend, Ernie. - Elvis Zimmerman is a used-car salesman and member of the Piranha Club. He is often depicted as Sid's rival for the title "Piranha of the Year", though along with Reverend Bob and Enos are also considered among Sids best friends.
- Reverend Bob is a televangelist and is also a prominent member of the Piranha Club. He has no problem using his status as a reverend for his own profit, and always keeps the collection money from his congregation for himself. Ethel is a singer at his church, and often used as "encouragement" for more generous donations.
- "Slick" Willie O'Haberman is an ambulance-chasing attorney, who is also a member of the Piranha Club. He is notorious for being able, and willing, to sue anyone for anything, a fact his mother begrudges. At one point he even tried to sue himself for malpractice, much to the confusion of his fellow Piranhas as how it would yield any money. The character was originally "Slick" Willie Haberman, but was changed after Mr. Grace received complaints from the Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
. - Quacko, the human duck. It is unknown whether he is a duck that looks like a human or a human that looks like a duck.
- Beardo the Bearded Lady, is married to Quacko. She doesn't really have a beard but a stock of fake beards. She has a secret affair with Arnold and also had, during a short period, an affair with Zerblatt.
- Zerblatt is a space alien from the planet Grelzak, married to a gorgeous earthling woman and having about one hundred frog-human hybrid children with her.
- Barnacle Bill the Parrot is a Colombian parrot who lives in Ernie's apartment from time to time. Also often dresses up in the squid costume used as a mascot for Squid Burgers.
- The Drunk is an unnamed character who frequently tries to, with the help of a frog, get people to buy him a drink. He, and his frog, have had several minor adventures. During one particular storyline, he used a cockroach dressed as Elvis to raise money, and had Ernie arrested for murder after he killed it.
- Bud Grace is a former nuclear physicist turned cartoonist, who frequently makes appearances in his own comic stripSelf-referenceSelf-reference occurs in natural or formal languages when a sentence or formula refers to itself. The reference may be expressed either directly—through some intermediate sentence or formula—or by means of some encoding...
where he constantly sends himself to the loony bin (often as a form of dropping the cow when a joke has gone on for too long and no satisfying end is in sight).
Setting
The characters reside in or around Bayonne, New JerseyBayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
, which is where most of the storylines take place. Prominent scene locations include:
- Ernie's house, typically used as the setting for romantic encounters between Ernie and his girlfriend.
- Effie's house, usually as the setting for Effie serving a questionable meal to Uncle Sid.
- The local church where Reverend Bob preaches.
- The local grade school that Spencer attends.
- Used car lot operated by Elvis Zimmerman.
Style
The strip is drawn in detail and now appears in colour. The characters are shown around their city block, in their apartments, at church and in their club. Day to day items like cars, and other items which are drawn presented in as close to reality as possible.While the strip is usually stand alone, on many occasions it is serialised with the story running for a week or more on some occasions.
The daily strip usually runs to four panels. The Sunday strip is in a three by three panel format with the strip logo appearing in the top left hand side panel.
Languages
- English: Ernie (later The Piranha Club)
- Danish: Erling (Piranha Klubben)
- Estonian: Ernie (Piraaja Klubi)
- Swedish: Ernie
- Finnish: Hannes
- Norwegian: Ernie
- Latvian: Ērnijs (later Piraju klubs)
- Dutch: Jan Jurk
- Italian: Ernie