2. UnComix Tales: Howler "Borns" (Un-Iverse #34)
Rating: PG-13. Drug use, violence, sexual harassment and innuendo, and sexual and adult themes.
Author's Note for UnComix Tales #2: Howler "Borns (Un-Iverse #34)
What's the deal with Werewolves and pot?
There are clear allegories for Werewolves and the mistreatment and isolation of Native Americans by the American government. The secondary allegory is the stigma the AIDS virus held in the the 1980's. But there is a third parallel I assign the Werewolves. They are also stand-ins for the counterculture movement. Their entire society is that of outsiders and you don't get more counterculture than that. For that reason many of them are hippies and potheads. I assume Audrey was never crazy about Juan becoming a member of law enforcement. It means she probably wasn't able to enjoy her herb openly. And this is woman who enjoys her herb.
Why does the Piranha do so poorly in the training sessions, especially since it's been hinted he's the most physically dangerous member of the group? That's actually why. He's pulling his punches because he doesn't want to accidentally hurt his friends. Mitch is a bad trainer and judge of character if he didn't figure out that was what was going on.
The Unkie Matty portion of the canon quickly got out of hand. Every bit of this story appalled me, especially because the character I'm doing Cosby, Dan Schneider, and John K bits with shares my Goddamn name. I am not happy the canon led here, but after both Trump and MeToo it actually needed to, whether the character shared my name or not. Both realistic storytelling and reality itself are the reasons I turned Tigger into Trump. Out of all my failings in The Un-Iverse, that's probably the worst. Technically, I hate and am more ashamed of Donna Demented. But on some level she's both an effective foil AND an interesting character, whether I hate her or not. Not so for Unkie Matty. I am unhappy.
If you ask me "Do you object to wet socks?" is the dirtiest joke in the entire franchise. The hell of it is, I couldn't actually tell you WHY it was so dirty, much less what it actually means. It just SOUNDS nasty without there being a specificity to it (see "Oh, my God, you're the second girl with the cup!" for another joke of this ilk, although arguably many people actually KNOW what Vic was referencing there). I like that about many of the dirty jokes in The Un-Iverse. It's not a SMART dirty joke on the level of Amber Grace, but it's also not a super explicit one either. It's nasty as hell but you can only imagine why it is, instead of being told why.
"Welcome To Tridville" is I believe the WEIRDEST "Meek's Chiller Theatre" story, but I thought I could make a good visual of the Giant kicking the Trids in the ass and sending them flying. And I did.
Why did I make Rabbi Borstein so awesome? It's because there is an alarming lack of Jewish characters in the saga. We will later learn Crusty the Crab is Jewish (a Jewish shellfish! Ha!) but really it struck me wrong that the first major Jew in the story was essentially from a Rabbi joke. This WAS told to me as a campfire story as a kid (same night as the Pink Gorilla in fact, and by the same counselor too), therefore it belongs in Meek's Chiller Theatre. But I recognize years later it IS a Rabbi joke. And if the first Jew in the saga is essentially gonna be a punchline, I'm gonna build him up before the groaner. He's fit, generous, a pop-culture nerd, scientifically curious, and pretty much outside of stereotypes of not just Rabbis but many Jewish portrayals in general. And him groaning at the joke himself makes it so HE'S not the actual punchline after all.
Believe it or not, I worry about this shit a LOT.
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