Posts Tagged ‘Tick’
Tick Big Father’s Day Special (2000) 1
Happy Father’s Day, Tick.
Scarier words have been uttered, but not often. Enter, Kid Tick! doesn’t bring the Tick a biological child, but a ward. One that wishes death to Arthur.
Tick Big Father’s Day Special (2000) 1
Kid Tick comes without an origin, merely an obsession to be the Tick’s sidekick. The problem is, Tick already has one.
Not wishing to relinquish his title – or life – Arthur spends much of the story trying to convince the big-hearted hero he’s in danger. Arthur, that is. Not the Tick. The Tick is nigh-invulnerable.
Each time, the Tick takes his wayward ward back with the promise he’ll reform. There’s no real resolution by story’s end, but the promise of a finish that never comes.
Enough about the Tick’s life. Let’s talk about Father’s Day.
How about, it originated July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, WV. It’s the bookend to Mother’s Day, also created and first celebrated in West Virginia.
Grace Golden Clayton instituted the holiday as a way of mourning her deceased father who died in the Monongah Mining Disaster. The tragedy claimed the lives of 361 men, 250 of them fathers.
Harry C. Meek laid claim to creating the day in 1915. He chose the third Sunday in June because it was his birthday. The holiday has stayed true to the date to this day.
Woodrow Wilson championed the day, but Congress did not pass a resolution. Calvin Coolidge was the next president to adopt the cause, but it wasn’t until President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a proclamation in 1966 that Father’s Day was officially recognized.
Whether it be a biological father or one who raised you, give them the attention and thanks they deserve.
The Tick Mother’s Day Special (2000) 1
This is just a confusing mess.
The Tick Mother’s Day Special (2000) 1
The Tick becomes mother to four clones, Dupli-Tick, Proto-Tick, Quasi-Tick and Primi-Tick. The first part of the story has our hero and friends trying to determine where they came from.
Then, along comes a non-Toho approved Godzilla wannabe and one of the flock leave the nest. The remainder self-destruct or something.
Let’s just focus on Mother’s Day itself.
The day was created by Anna Jarvis and first celebrated in 1908. The day commemorated Jarvis’ mother and was held at the St. Andrew Methodist Church in Grafton, WV. The site is now the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
The holiday was not officially observed until 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day be observed as a national holiday the second Sunday of May.
Within a few years, the day became commercialized with the selling of cards and candies. Jarvis turned against her own holiday to show her scorn at businesses making a dollar from her commemoration.
Mother’s Day has grown globally in no small part due to the commercialization.
In America, Mother’s Day remains one of the biggest days for sales of flowers and greeting cards. It is also the third highest day of church attendance, ranking behind Christmas Eve and Easter.
The day is also commemorated with carnations.
The Tick Big Tax Time Terror (2000) 1
Not only does the Tick see a tax return, but Barry, the evil Tick, in this one-shot.
The Tick Big Tax Time Terror (2000) 1
The IRS possesses the power to giveth and taketh away. It is very generous with the Tick, who benefits from a loophole. Both Barry and the unexpected return share the spotlight as the disgruntled former Tick seeks retribution on those who would abuse his unknowing generosity.
April 14 is rarely a welcome time of the year. Hopefully the Tick and Arthur have helped ease the burden of supporting the country in which we live.
Taxes have been around almost as long civilization. The earliest known tax was levied in Mesopotamia over 4500 years ago where people paid taxes in the form of livestock.
Taxes in the United States have evolved as the nation has grown. Initially tariffs provided the main source of revenue for the government. New taxes were introduced during times of war to raise additional revenue, and they were usually allowed to expire once the war was over.
Taxation in the United States can be traced to the colonists. Most objected since they had no political voice or input about the creation of new taxes. This was the beginning of the fight for independence.
The first income tax was created in 1861 during the Civil War as a mechanism to finance the war effort. These were rolled back following peace, but the War Revenue Act of 1898 created another death tax to raise revenue for the Spanish-American War.
From this foundation, the modern taxation system of America grew and is known to be as inevitable as death.
The Tick Big Halloween Special 2000
The Orange Teeth of Horror is a welcome return of the Tick to his early days. The humor is as sublime as the story is abstract.
The Tick Big Halloween Special 2000
Extension Agent of the U.S.D.A. (Undercover Search for Detached Anthropomorphs) comes to aid the maladroit duo as Halloween hatches horrors aplenty.
A government experiment has wronged the gourds that now seek revenge and pumpkins are becoming angry animated Jack O’ Lanterns. Their mission is nothing less than the destruction of mankind.
The trio of heroes are enough to stop the massacre and the trick has been treated.
Halloween is the Christianized version of a pagan ritual. Though hoping to contain All Hallow’s Eve, commercialism has taken the last day of October and made it one for free candy and devilish delights.
It has become the second, only to Christmas, most expensive holiday of the year. It is estimated 175 million Americans celebrated Halloween in 2018. On average, they each spent $86.79 for a total of $9 billion dollars.
About 90-percent of America buy candy. That’s estimated to cost $2.6 billion. Almost 75 percent buy Halloween decorations for an estimated $2.7 billion.
The most expensive part of the holiday are the costumes. Those totaled around $3.2 billion. The top five-adult costumes are a witch, vampire, pirate and Avenger character for 2018.
Children fantasized about being a princess, superhero, Star Wars character or witch.
Retailers use Halloween sales figures to calculate spending during the coming holiday season.
Continue reading for the final installment of the Tick’s Halloween parade.
Tick Big Halloween Special (1999) 1
The Tick gets all alliterative in the 1999 special titled Haunted Halloween Hootenanny.
Tick and Arthur are caught in a haunted house for the night when the bridge goes out. They and half a dozen others all interested in buying the stately, old mansion.
The twist on this spooky, overnight stay is, well, there really isn’t one. It’s straight up, Arthur in the Sylvester the Cat persona trying to warn Tick/Porky Pig about the hauntings a hair’s breadth from overtaking them.
All so the Tick can scope out a new, more stately headquarters with a bit more Bruce Wayne/Batman flourish.
Dr. Skull and Red Eye guest star in the slumber party scare-a-thon.
Tune in throughout the week as we celebrate Halloween Spoon style.
Tick Back to School Special (1998) 1
Three of the most dreaded words known to young ears are, “back to school.” To ease the stress of returning to the hallowed halls of learning, Four Color Holidays features the above-named Tick special.
The Tick and Arthur are tapped to return to school as undercover agents. The Tick as a student and Arthur a janitor. Both are as convincing in their roles as the cast of 21 Jump Street of the previous decade.
Of course, there’s no room for reality in a Tick comic book and both pass for their assigned roles. The trouble is, neither know what they’re looking for, thanks to the Tick’s bumbling.
Tick’s naivete does reveal the fiendish plot as devised by the son of one of the duo’s earliest and most diabolical villains.
If you wanna know who, read the book.
So, mothers, enjoy the next 180-educational days as your young charges broaden their horizons. Some of what they learn will come in useful later in life.
The Tick Big Red-N-Green Christmas Spectacle (2001) 1
Memories stretch long in this holiday tale of regret and revenge called ‘Rootin’ Tootin’ Christmas.’
The Tick Big Red-N-Green Christmas Spectacle (2001) 1
The City needs a hero to save the season. One more powerful than the Tick. He and Arthur call up a saddle-sore trailblazer to handle the holiday hijacking. In typical Tick fashion, the day is saved as the new millennium takes hold.
Ben Edlund’s creation has peeked around the periphery of comic book fame for three decades.
Not quite an overnight sensation, the Tick did earn a spot in Fox’s Saturday morning line up in 1994. His cry of, “Spoon!” could be heard for two seasons. In 2001 he was given a live-action series on Fox starring Patrick Warburton.
It died after one season.
Amazon Video saw merit in the hero and green lit another live-action, web-TV series in 2016. It ended after two seasons.
But, the big, blue boob has never lacked for holiday specials. His first was in 1997 in Tick’s Big Yule Log Special. The sequel came in 1999 and a third installment in 2000. A fourth Yule Log Special was released in 2001 followed by the Big Red-N-Green Christmas Spectacle and the Tick Big X-Mas Trilogy released Dec. 1 through 3, 2002.
The Tick New Series (2009) 7
Star of Blunder, Star of Might! closed out 2010 in true Tick holiday fashion.
The Tick has lost his Christmas spirit. Even eight days of Hanukkah isn’t enough to dampen the depression. Not until a beacon shines the way. The Tick and Arthur undertake a pilgrimage – along with the Man-Eating Cow – to seek out the meaning of the season.
For the Tick that’s a bit skewed. As is the story.
The Tick New Series (2009) 7
Benitio Cereno III takes as many jabs at the holiday season as he does the comic book field. The Tick was originally created by Ben Edlund. Like other indy comic books of the time, The Tick was – and is – a parody of the super hero genre. In his original run the Tick even worked at a newspaper office with a Clark Kent clone. Fellow heroes included Die Fledermaus, a shameless Batman knock off; American Maid, similar to Wonder Woman in many ways and Fish Boy, an obvious take on Aquaman.
The Tick’s rogue’s gallery could be compared to Dick Tracy’s with villains like Chairface Chippendale, The Forehead and The Terror.
He received his own comic book series in 1988. The initial run ran a mere 12 issues. Since then he has been in several incarnations.
By 1994 the Tick’s popularity was enough Fox picked up the character for an animated series. It ran three seasons, 1994-96, on the Fox network’s Fox kids block. Since then the series has been syndicated to other networks as well as released on VHS and DVD.
A live-action series aired in both 2001 and 2016.
The Tick New Series 1
For anyone not familiar with the Tick…stop it! Get right and get some knowledge.
Head to your local comic book shop, eBay, Amazon, whatever. Buy an issue, trade or omnibus. Discover a guilty pleasure.
The Tick New Series 1
From his humble beginnings as the New England Comics mascot to toy lines and syndication, the Tick has never disappointed. Creator Ben Edlund has crafted a character who lampoons the super hero industry. The Tick wallows in absurdity, but never white washes the truth.
During his career, The Tick has survived several series. The 2009 incarnation is birthed with a seasonal story sending the secret Santa practice into the stratosphere.
The Tick and fellow heroes meet at The Comet to celebrate Christmas. Their gift exchange is mingled with stories of past exploits. The sidekicks are given cameos as they, too, reminisce. Villains are sprinkled for variety.
A face from the franchise’s past returns and actually proves valuable in his efforts to remain a hero.
The Tick has had several holiday specials throughout the years. This is part of an ongoing series, but still feels special in its own right.
Tick (1988) 7
Here’s a non-holiday most of us can really sink our teeth into, Cow Appreciation Day; no offense to the vegetarians in the audience.
Bad puns aside, this calendar traveling day is celebrated seemingly at the whim of…I don’t know. This year it’s observed on the first, but it can be moooved (boo) to other days based on the wishes of the calendar gods.
Originally Cow Appreciation Day began as a Chik-Fil-A gimmick. Heff R. Jones (sound it out) started the “Eat More Chikin” billboard campaign in 1995. Even allowing for the attention span of most Americans, the first observance of Mr. Jones’ promotion wasn’t celebrated until 2004.
To commemorate, Chik-Fil-A passes out free meals on the day.
As for Four Color, well, Mr. Jones may be the original mascot, but he doesn’t work for the Web page. The Man-Eating Cow does.
The Man-Eating Cow first appeared in Ben Edlund’s Tick issue seven, The Moon Menace. Inside, the Tick seeks Pez, but finds himself the beefy sidekick to a back-alley detective. They are soon at the mercy of the underworld and a pit of man-eating alligators and cows under the employ of Chairface Chippendale.
In addition to introducing the Man-Eating Cow, the Tick also utters his “Spoon!” battle cry for the first time. Also making inaugural appearances were Angus MacGuire and Professor Chromedome.
By battle’s end, the Tick and Arthur have triumphed and depart for New York City, leaving The City in the hooves of the Man-Eating Cow.
The Man-Eating Cow would prove popular enough that she spun off into her own book that ran from 1992 to 1994 for 10 issues. The Tick would return for guest appearances.
A two-issue mini ran in 1996 called Man-Eating Cow Bonanza.
The Man-Eating Cow also made an appearance on the Tick’s two-season Fox network’s Fox Kids block animated series.
Happy Cow Appreciation Day, no matter how you celebrate.