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(NOTE: All events mentioned hereafter took place prior to Michael's leaving Earth in May 2004 and unexpected return in September 2005.) MICHAEL If there was a "star" of Burnt Orange Peel, Michael would be it. Sent by Mars' top scientists to study American culture (and "maybe get a gig in some sci-fi flick and make us big bucks," as they put it), the orphan Michael has finally found a home in Earth. Outgoing and enterprising, Michael has a fondness for all aspects of our culture, and often drags his friends along for his adventures. Ironically, no one seems to take special note of Michael being a martian, and some think he's "just really weird." Which he is.
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The perpetually-pessimistic, socially-awkward Wally Dandridge lives in a small, box-of-a-house near the town of Semi-Good. With a face only a mother could love, Wally had no known friends besides his faithful dog, also named Wally, before he was befriended by Michael. Wally's life is shrouded in mysteries and half-truths, but it is known that he once worked in a sticker factory, specifically making decals that read "You are using Gas Pump #2." |
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"Mars' Finest Experts on Earth and All of Its Moons" as they describe themselves, scientists Paul and his clone Pauul are almost as incompetent as any authority figure you'd find here on Earth. The heads of the Institution for the Nature of Earth Residents and Terrain (I.N.E.R.T.), it was this pair that originally sent Michael to Earth. The two are identical in every aspect, although Pauul has one defect from the cloning process -- a bent left antenna. |
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SAM the RAT When Wally Dandridge (the person) found a puppy that not only looked like him but could also say "der," he naturally gave his new friend his own name. The two Wallys are positively two peas in a pod. Sam the Rat had his own adventures before becoming Michael's pet, but that's another story. . . |
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In BOP, you'll also meet some other characters, including Michael's classmates Kathy and Josh, Martian crater cows, Squirrel Boy, the mysterious Johnny Hamperhead, and various other people, creatures, and Martians. And, of course, there's a also a talking jar of applesauce who dispenses advice to the downtrodden. |
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(NOTE: All events mentioned hereafter took place prior to Michael's leaving Earth in May 2004 and unexpected return in September 2005.) This has yet to be
noted in the strip itself, but most of the events of Burnt Orange Peel
take place somewhere between the unremarkable towns of Semi-Good and North
Utopia. (When Michael was originally dropped off, it was near the
edge of a forest outside of Semi-Good, not too far from Wally's house.)
The strip has various settings, including school, Wally's house, Michael's
house, Mars, the forest, and along an endless sidewalk. Although there are certain intricate, weaving details concerning the story line and setting, knowledge of these are not necessary to enjoy the strip. It should also be noted that Lucas Antoniak occasionally writes autobiographical strips under the Burnt Orange Peel title. The events portrayed in these strips are not tied to the rest of the comic in any other way. As far as an overall plot, there really isn't any specific agenda or message in BOP. |
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Burnt
Orange Peel, in its earliest form, was a comic strip drawn by me, Lucas
Antoniak, to entertain myself and a small group of friends. Originally
(painfully) titled "Biology Funnies" -- because it mostly took place in
a biology class -- the strip evolved from cartoons I did in early 1996,
when I was a high school freshman. While bearing very little resemblance
to
BOP today (in both story and design), these early comics did
feature an obnoxious, nerdy martian named Michael, who at first was a secondary
character.
When I began attending Middle Tennessee State University, I revamped the strip, pushed a newer, more likable version of Michael into the spotlight (and basically dropped all of the other old characters in the process), and rechristened the strip Burnt Orange Peel. Premiering on November 10, 1999, BOP ran weekly in MTSU's student newspaper Sidelines until May of 2004. It also ran concurrently (with completely different strips) in the Middle Tennessee Times from June 2000 until June 2001. For the spring semester of 2003, BOP was selected for bi-weekly syndication by U-WIRE, a national college newspaper syndicate. Recently, Burnt Orange Peel resumed publication as an online-only comic on the LAB Ideas! website.
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