Sether in the Morff #22

You ever get that feeling where you eat too many M&M's?  That's how this issue of SITM should make you feel...  IN THE WRONG ORIFICE!!! 

Shmover Shmage

Your hatred gives you focus.

Ooh, this cover implies that everyone's favorite motivation-less villain, Dark One, will feature heavily.  What secrets shall be revealed?

Mostly out of laziness, I would just draw Dark One with a black marker and not bother 'filling him in,' but he's supposed to be clad entirely in black; here we have a rare example of how he is 'supposed to look.'

Page 1

Before cell phones.

So Dark One is the main character of this issue.  How refreshing!  We join our antagonist as he receives a call from someone named 'Scyth.'  (Scythe?)  I thought the word 'scythe' was cool when I was a kid, so why not have it be the name of a green-eyed friend of Dark One?  

Anyway, Scythe mentions that someone called Master Nebula wishes to see Dark One.  This name alone is enough to fill Dark One and Scythe with a certain amount of trepidation.  Zounds!  We learn here that Dark One is merely a servant of some as-yet-unseen master!  WHO COULD IT BE?!?  Calm down, and read on.

Page 2

'Ready,' assholes.  The word is spelled 'ready.'

Dark One immediately orders Radical Worm to prepare the cruiser for departure.  As is tradition with most Dark One vehicles, it resembles his head/face, a tradition inspired in large part by Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog's nemesis.  

When I was extremely young, even younger than I was when I made these comics, I distinctly remember mispronouncing Dr. Robotnik's name.  I called him 'Dr. Robokiny.'  I don't know why I did this.  It's still better than 'Eggman.'  Yeah, I went there.  

Page 3

Like a G-6.

As the cruiser flies away, we get a nice panoramic shot of the Morff and its environs.  That giant curly mountain was probably ripped straight out of The Nightmare Before Christmas.  That movie was, and still is, one of the greatest films I've ever seen.

I think that teal structure in the lower left is Bubble Man's domain.  He's still alive, remember!  Too bad we never actually go there.

Check out the interior of Dark One's cruiser!  Swanky. 

Page 4

All aboard the Magic Schoolbus?

Let's pause for a moment, so that I can explain what the hell we're looking at here.

The pilot of the cruiser says "Entering pandimensionality."  The cruiser then enters a swirling vortex of color and giant, floating blue letters.

What is going on here?  The standard answer to this question, at least as far as SITM is concerned, is, and always will be: plagiarism. 

I had a book called 'I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X,' by Bruce Coville.  I bought this book because it featured a giant orange alien monster on the cover, and the title was irresistible to a spastic little boy of my sensibilities.  Google it if you want a plot synopsis, but in that book, Dimension X existed alongside the various other dimensions of existence, the totality of which was called the 'pandimensionality.'  I always envisioned the Morff existing in Dimension X, it being the coolest-sounding of dimensions.  That is why Dark One's cruiser seems to be 'leaving' the blue X in that last panel.

So yes, the pandimensionality exists in SITM.  Remember in issue #1 when Seth was told that the fate of the universe rested on his shoulders?  Well, this applies across all dimensions as well.

We are approaching the end of the first 'arc' of SITM.  The stakes are about to be raised!  Get pumped.

Page 5

Spelling mistakes: exist.

The cruiser approaches an ominous-looking castle floating in the middle of the Pandimensionality.  This is apparently 'Nebula's Castle.'  Oooooh!  Whoever this Nebula guy is, he apparently is a Big Deal.

The issue ends here, for no reason.  The next issue could easily have been part of this one, but I felt like ending on a nice, suspenseful 'to be contenued' (sic).  You'll have to wait another day to finally meet Nebula.  Tough cookies!

Fun Fact: the design of the castle was inspired by Greedy's Castle. It was the final level for a Sega Genesis game called Ristar, which I loved.  God, I loved so many Genesis games.  About the only one I didn't really like was a Taz-Mania game, featuring the Tasmanian Devil of Looney Tunes fame.  That and the Lawnmower Man game.  Both of those sucked pretty hard.

Also, fuck the Carnival Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.