Inside the End of the Earth
Editor’s note: Politicians, corporations, the media, employers, employees, advertisers, friends and family, your dog, even Stephen Colbert, for God’s sake – everybody lies! It’s getting the point where the only place to find honesty in this world is in a cartoon.
In the year and a half since we’ve run Chad Huculak’s comic strip End of the Earth – and that would be Edmonton – there have been many truths prodded, egos poked and discussion provoked. Here’s a look back at some notable strips from 2014, with director’s commentary from the cartoonist himself (click on the small cartoons to see the big ones):
Snidley Whiplash
Considering every kid who grew up in Edmonton during the 1980s had a birthday at Bullwinkle’s, you’d assume there would be more photos/YouTube videos available of the family restaurant. It was surprisingly difficult to dig up reference material for drawing this strip. Maybe some enterprising soul will donate an old Bullwinkle’s sign to Edmonton’s Neon Museum.
Bridge to Glory
Whoops, I riled up the bridge trolls with this one. The pedestrian bridge connecting Louise McKinney Park to Cloverdale is still slated to be torn down, despite the efforts of concerned Edmontonians writing endless letters to the Edmonton Journal. Hey trolls, personal attacks on my comic won’t help your cause.
Lost on the North Side
Sure, it’s just a bunch of north-side Edmonton stereotypes, but people seemed to have enjoyed this storyline. What is considered north-side Edmonton, anyway? North of the river? North of 118 Avenue?
3D Babiak
Kudos to local novelist and “Make Something Edmonton” creator Todd Babiak for having a good sense of humour about this. For the record, I would definitely not object to someone giving me a 3D printed bust of Babiak.
Wildrose Sloth
The first appearance of Wildrose Sloth. 2014 was quite the year for that sloth.
Tweet the Mayor
Don Iveson approved! Is it appropriate to add “the mayor retweeted my comic” to a resume?
Yeggie Meister
I was nominated for a Yeggie in 2014, but lost to a podcast. However, my favourite Edmonton website GigCity won a SPECIAL Yeggie, so it wasn’t a total bust.
Celebrity Creep
This list of local celebrities deemed “hot enough” to join Rivetr isn’t based on my personal crushes. I went online and in forums to find out who (the creeps) thought were attractive in Edmonton. Turns out there are a lot of pervy-dudes with disgusting opinions on local weather forecasters.
Wolverine Lives
The Wolverine statue idea is still very much alive. It sounds like we’ll get an SCTV monument before ol’ Logan, but you never know.
K Days Karnage
Who knew people were as bored with K-Days/Klondike Days/Whatever as I am. Bonus points for reminding people of Serial Joe (They were a ‘thing’ in the ’90s, like an angry, Canadian Hanson.)
Fifi Panic
Another one for the resume. Kikki Planet approved.
Jellyfish Challenge
Will we look back at 2014 and shake our heads in disbelief that people would dump water on their heads, post it on Facebook, and try to shame others to either PAY UP or do the same? The Jellyfish Challenge is just as ridiculous, but the results are more satisfying.
So Long Sonic
When Sonic FM started up, I was an active listener. At the time the only modern rock music one could hear would be on the Bear, and it would be of the Nickelback/Default/Bands-that-sound-like-Nickelback variety. Over the years I listened less and less to Sonic, as I found their playlists moved away from their early days of playing Arcade Fire and the New Pornographers. It’s music, it’s all personal taste! But the Sonic program director took this comic personally and fired off a tweet letting me know they would NEVER consider hiring me for my artistic talents – and then proceeded to promote my Winter Bingo illustration. No hard feelings, Sonic.
Meet Roger
The popularity of Roger, the downtown arena mascot took me by surprise. Despite the arena being a done deal, people still have some grievances toward it (just don’t base your mayoral platform on it.)
Coffee Talk
Jason Lee Norman was a good sport about my comic gently mocking his coffee cup sleeve writing idea (which I love.) His Facebook followers, however, weren’t as forgiving.
Jersey Ashore
Truth be told, the Edmonton Oilers have the most loyal fans in the league, but sometimes they need to chill. The fanatics are divided into two camps: The ‘Kevin Lowe Must Go, tear down the entire organization and start over’ group and the ‘If you don’t support the team you’re not a fan’ group. Both are crazy. I’m not a hockey fan so I feel safe mocking both sides.
Edmonton Uber Alles
A douchebag baseball cap, Nickelback CD, keys to a jacked-up pickup truck and a gift card to Boston Pizza are all going into my Edmonton 2014 time capsule.
