Bob and George

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Bob and George
Creator(s)	David Anez
Website(s)	http://www.bobandgeorge.com
Update Schedule	Updating every day (Stopped Temporarily)
Launch Date	April 1, 2000
Genre	Sprite comic

Bob and George is a sprite comic which takes place in a highly parodied version of the fictional universe of Mega Man. The comic is largely aimed for an audience aged 13 and up. It is written by the 25 year old David Anez, a physics instructor who lives in midwest. The comic first appeared on April 1, 2000 and has been updated daily ever since, with very few missed comics. To date, the series has only missed updating from September 17, 2000 to September 30, 2000 and December 20, 2001 to December 22, 2001, a total of 17 update-free days out of over more than five years of comics.

Initially conceived as a hand-drawn comic, Bob and George became a sprite comic first as filler, and then permanently when the author's two attempts to make it a hand-drawn comic failed.

Most Bob and George strips are still images. The initial strips were mostly done in GIF format, before being converted to PNG sometime later. Current strips generally use png format as well. In addition, occasional comics are animated using either animated gifs, or Macromedia Flash. Also, some of the flash comics have the characters speaking, voice acted by Anez and others. Animated comics are generally used for the week-long annual anniversary parties, for especially climactic scenes, and for the Cataclysm videos.

The comic's plot is mostly made up of story arcs of varying lengths. In later arcs, the background changes each story arc, and (for the most part) is a fixed color for that arc. Amongst past story arcs there have been retellings of various Mega Man games which often play out quite differently than the originals, as well as battles against powerful foes (generally named in the format of "the attack of (villain)"). In addition, many of the story arcs involve either time travel or dimensional travel. Sarcastic robots, and comic references to ice cream are common.

1 History
2 Fan Community
3 Cast
4 Locations in the comic
5 Terminology
6 Storyline
7 External links
8 Credit

[edit] History

Bob and George was originally planned to be a hand-drawn comic about two characters named Bob and George. Slated to start on April 1, 2000, the plan fell through when the author didn't have a scanner to scan his drawings in. The author released filler comics using Mega Man sprites, which he intended to be a temporary measure until he gained access to a scanner, at which point he would implement his initial plan involving the hand drawn comics. The author eventually purchased a scanner, and on June 1 released the hand-drawn comic.

The author has stated that he hated the hand-drawn comic, and returned to the sprite comic on June 11. The sprite comic continued for several months, until David Anez took time off of the comic on September 17 in order to work on practicing his drawing. On October 1, he started his hand-drawn comic once again. The new hand-drawn comic didn't last long, and on October 12 he went back to producing the sprite-based comic, which is still being produced. According to the author, the reason for this is that he realized that he still couldn't draw, and wasn't going to get any better.

However, this meant that the comic strip was titled "Bob and George", but didn't contain any characters named "Bob" or "George". This was fixed shortly, when sprite versions of the two characters were introduced into the comic.

[edit] Fan Community

Bob and George has an active fan community. The site's forums have over 7,716 registered users as of Thursday, November 24, 2005. In many ways, the forums have grown to be almost completely disconnected from the main comic by now, as the community is quite thriving and has blossomed on its own.

In addition to the main comic, the Bob and George site hosts several subcomics and fancomics. Subcomics are non-Bob and George related comics by various authors that are hosted on the main site, and were hand-picked by Dave himself. Bob and George fancomics are similar to subcomics, but are all hosted on a separate website; there is currently a 6-month hosting limit on Bob and George's fancomics. Some of the subcomics originated as fancomics, but were deemed of good enough quality to be "promoted" to subcomic status.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Main cast

Mega Man - the main star: a robot made by Dr. Light. His primary mission is to destroy the evil robots and stop Wily. His secondary mission is to be an idiot.
Proto Man - created by Dr. Light, he is the older robotic brother of Mega Man; considered a strategic fighter and one of the coolest characters in the comic.
The Author - the (nearly) all-powerful one that made the comic. Often appears to see how things are going, but tries not to get directly involved in the story. He is a blue/purple palette swap of Mega Man without his helmet. See fourth wall.
Bob - the evil younger brother of George. His alter-ego is Napalm, who has the power of fire, and is afraid of Pokémon. He is also adept at programming. He is a grey palette swap of Proto Man.
George - the good older brother of Bob, who is notably simple. His alter-ego is Blitz, who has the power of lightning. George values ice cream above all else, and has been known to call himself "The Ultimate Lord of the Ice Cream Clan". He is a light blue palette swap of helmet-less Mega Man with blonde hair.

[edit] Secondary cast

Bass - Even less intelligent than Mega Man, Bass is a robot made by Dr. Wily designed to be similar to Mega Man.
Roll - A robot created by Dr. Light. She is Dr. Light's surprisingly foul-mouthed former housekeeper, who now enjoys blasting the crap out of anything that moves. She also seems to have a built-in device which can detect homosexuality (Gaydar).
Nate - A yellow demon that once tried to kill everyone. Dr. Light turned him into a humanoid-looking Yellow Demon prototype designated N4-T3. Unfortunately, the process seems to have rendered him mute, as he now communicates with signs and the like. He can, however, merge with other robots. Referred to as Nate because N4-T3 translates as this in leet speak.
Chadling - From the same dimension as Mynd. A purple demon with Wolverine-like claws. When he's not in demon form, he looks like a purple version of Mega Man 7 robot master Slash Man. He enjoys ice cream as much as George, and used to work for Mynd. His serial number is C1-14D, model L1N6. Is referred to as Chadling since "C1-14D L1N6" translates into "Chadling" in leet speak.
Mega Man X - Dr. Light's last creation, X is a super-advanced robot from 100 years in the future that can think for himself. The star of the Mega Man X games.
Zero - X's friend, he was made by Dr. Wily, and went on a rampage that caused the cataclysm. He was put into a 100-year sleep, and became good sometime after that.
Dr. Light - An alcoholic who created Mega Man, Mega Man X, Proto Man, and Roll.
Ran Cossack - A Communist robot created by the daughter of Mega Man IV villain Dr. Cossack, Kalinka. Ran dies with the poke of a finger, but due to an instant regenerator automatically has a duplicate body beamed to his previous location with a copy of his memory. He is a well known fan character in the Bob and George community.
Mike/"Ninja Ned" - From the same dimension as Mynd. Mynd's former minion, Mike is a cybernetic ninja. He is a red/dark grey palette swap of Mega Man with Proto Man's shield.
Alternate Mega Man and Bass - From an alternate dimension. The alternate Mega Man and Bass are extremely intelligent and spend their time arguing over scientific debates.
Alternate Bob - A version of Bob from an alternate dimension. Is openly homosexual and effeminate. Wears a purple scarf.

[edit] Villains

Dr. Wily - An evil scientist plotting the downfall of Mega Man and Dr. Light. Forever explaining his plans in overheard soliloquy. The primary villain from the Mega Man games.
Mynd - A Sigma-look-alike from another dimension and godmoder extraordinaire.
Helmeted Author/"Uncle Fisty"/"Helmut"/"Fistandantilus" - An author lookalike with dark gray Sephiroth-style hair. Is an author that wanted to kill everyone by removing his helmet, which The Author made him wear as a restraining device. The Author defeated him in less than 5 minutes and put him back into the comic as the Helmeted Author, who's job is to make fun of the Author's blurb situated beneath the comic.
Evil Overlord Mike and Non-Alternate Mynd - Evil Overlord Mike is an evil version of Mike, who has Non-Alternate Mynd as a minion. Unlike the first Mike and Mynd that appeared in the comic, they originate from the same universe as most of the main cast.
The Shadowy Author - Another mysterious author whose origin is unknown, the Shadowy Author appears to be neither friend nor foe. He appears to run the Rockman Universe and has been known to interfere with coma dreams and spirits-to-be, but his intentions are unknown.
X- The modern-day version of Mega Man X, recently activated for the first time. At present, has assimilated everyone in the comic because he wanted friends.

[edit] Locations in the comic

The Mega Man universe - The comic's main setting is in a higly-parodied version of the Mega Man universe. Notable locations include:
- Dr. Light's lab - The lab of Dr. Light, and home of most of the comic's heroes. The lab is complete with an area for the creation of new robots, as well as a holgraphic training simulator in which the cast hone their fighting skills.
- Dr. Wily's fortress - The fortress was home to both Dr. Wily and Bass before it was destroyed. In the past, Dr. Wily has had a different fortress in each of the various Mega Man games; each fortress inevitably ends up being destroyed by the end of the game in which it appears.
- Dr. Cossack's castle - Located in Russia, the castle is home to Dr. Cossack, his daughter Kalinka, and Ran.
The Alternate Mega Man universe - A parallel dimension, home to versions of the cast in which the cast members have dramatically different personalities. Examples include extremely intelligent versions of Mega Man and Bass, an effeminate version of Bob, and a homicidally violent George.
Mynd's Universe - Another universe, this is the home dimension of Mynd, and his henchman Mike.
The Rockman Universe - A universe controlled by the Shadowy Author, this universe is based of the Japanese Rockman universe. A more serious universe in which Rock is competent, Roll is subservient, and Bass and Dr. Wily are actually evil. Has recently suffered it's Cataclysm due to actions of future versions of the Mega Man and Bass from the Alternate Mega Man universe.
The White Space - An all white dimension which is revealed to be a demiplane which interacts with all comic universes.

[edit] Terminology

Cataclysm - The event that in the Bob and George universe divides the original Mega Man timeline from the Mega Man X timeline.
Helmeted Author Quips - Helmeted Author Quips are random pictures or animations that depict the Helmeted Author doing something generally unrelated to the Bob and George story. Also refers to or pictures/animations that are displayed below the comic that have nothing to do with with the Helmeted Author.
Quirky Personalities - The Robot Masters within the Bob and George universe are plagued with personalities that render them extremely stereotypical in relation to their name.
Plot Hole - The end result of a logical paradox, such as a character being in two places at the exact same time. Believed to cause a catastrophic event of universal reach that would completely obliterate all universes that ever has or ever will exist. However, the Author continually insists that there are none, usually by way of the Jedi mind trick. Apparent plot holes in Bob and George are often resolved through convoluted plot, often involving time travel.

[edit] Storyline

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow

[edit] Year 1

The comic's first storyline is a reenactment of the Mega Man characters' origins. The reenactment is interrupted when Proto Man accidentally kills Dr. Light after Mega Man refuses to take part. The Author is introduced and revives Dr. Light, and takes over Mega Man's role in the reenactment. The Author isn't in this role for long before he leaves to start the hand-drawn comic.

George, Blitz, and Napalm are introduced in the hand-drawn comic, which ends abruptly.

Back in the sprite comic, Mega Man takes his role in the origins story. He is created by Dr. Light, and reprogrammed to be an idiot by Dr. Wily. The origins story is interrupted by a yellow demon attack, which ends when Mega Man defeats it. The origins story then continues with the events of the first Mega Man game. Dr. Wily takes over the world with the aid of his Robot Masters, but is defeated by Mega Man, concluding the origins story.

Outside of the reenactment, Dr. Wily captures the Author and attacks him with a death ray. The Author's apparent death causes the comic to fade to white. When the comic returns, it is once again the hand-drawn story of George. It doesn't take long before the comic returns to its normal sprite-based format. The Author wakes up, and blames the hand-drawn comic on someone else.

Bob and George are introduced into the sprite comic, initially posing as the Author and Proto Man. Their real identities are revealed. Nate is introduced. Bob attempts to return to his home dimension using the portal that brought them to the Mega Man universe, but is sent to an alternate dimension instead, due to tampering by the Author. Alternate versions of the main characters with dramatically different personalities exist in this dimension. This universe's Mega Man modifies Bob's blaster, enabling it to open transdimensional portals. Bob travels through a portal and arrives in Macc's studio in this quasi-crossover with Macc's HQ[1], Bob briefly appears as a guest on Macc's show.

Meanwhile in the standard universe, Bass travels to the past through a temporal portal, changing the past. Mega Man is fitted with a time travel modification by Dr. Light, which protects him from the change to the timeline. X appears from the future, and he and Mega Man use Mega Man's time suit to travel back in time.

X and Mega Man arrive in the past, at the beginning of Mega Man II. Bass has trashed Dr. Light's lab and erased the past Mega Man's memory, and Dr. Wily has created 8 new Robot Masters with which to take over the world. The future Mega Man agrees to take on Dr. Wily, while X helps Dr. Light rebuild his lab.

[edit] Year 2

Mega Man fights and defeats the 8 Robot Masters, and then defeats Dr. Wily with the help of X and Bass. Dr. Wily claims amnesia after the battle, and is once again accepted as Dr. Light's assistant. The Mega Man of the past, damaged beyond Dr. Light's ability to repair, is brought to the present by X, Mega Man, and Bass. Bass then takes the past Mega Man to Dr. Wily, who removes Mega Man's stupidity before turning him over to the heroes. Zero arrives from the future, and he and X return a newly repaired past Mega Man to his time period. X and Zero are sent back to the future by the Author, where it is revealed that Proto Man is still alive. The Author heads back in time to find out what happened in the Cataclysm.

Meanwhile in another dimension, Bob emerges from a portal and is greeted by Mynd. After Bob refuses Mynd's offer to join him in taking over the Mega Man universe, Mynd attacks. Bob is knocked out by Mike in the ensuing fight. It is revealed that Bob is actually Napalm. Mynd, Chadling, and Mike use Bob's dimensional transporter to travel with an unconscious Bob to the Mega Man universe. A battle breaks out against Mynd, who defeats most of the cast. George, revealed to be Blitz, combines forces with Bob to fight Mynd, who is defeated by their Ultimate Attack.

When George awakens after the fight, he finds that he has been thrown back in time to the beginning of Mega Man III. Dr. Wily, planning to take over the world using the peacekeeping robot Gamma, kidnaps George. Rush is introduced. Dr. Wily convinces Dr. Light that George has turned evil, stolen Gamma's power crystals, created 8 new Robot Masters, and is trying to take over the world. Mega Man, still extremely intelligent due to Dr. Wily's actions in the future, heads out with Rush to defeat the Robot Masters. Mega Man defeats three of the Robot Masters before being defeated by Shadow Man.

Bob wakes up in the future, and uses his blaster to go to an alternate dimension, hoping someone there can get him to his home time.

[edit] Year 3

Bob winds up in the past and agrees to destroy Mega Man for Dr. Wily in exchange for George. Mega Man regains consciousness, and Shadow Man admits defeat to the ancient art of the Top Spin. Mega Man defeats the remaining Robot Masters. He then burns something out and collapses while fighting Doc Robot. Bob steals Gamma's Power Crystals, which he gives to Dr. Wily in exchange for his brother. George blows up Dr. Wily's castle, and Gamma is destroyed due to faulty Power Crystals. Mega Man is fixed and returned to his normal stupid state by Dr. Light. Bob and George use Bob's blaster to return to their own time.

While investigating the Cataclysm, the Author meets the Shadowy Author.

In the present, Mega Man appears to turn evil. He seals the Author in a jar, and defeats most of the cast. George ends up unconscious after eating poisoned ice cream, but recovers. Mega Man is thrown through a dimensional portal by the combined form of Bass and Nate (known as Bate).

Bob jumps through a random portal to excape the Poké-Authors, and ends up in the Rockman Universe. The personalities of the Rockman Universe's characters begin changing, becoming more like those of their regular-universe counterparts. Bob kills several of the characters, believing the change in personality is due to his presence. Shadowy Author appears, explains that the change was due to the Author's presence and not Bob's, and resets the universe to the way it was. Meanwhile, Dr. Wily captures both Blues and Rock. Bob blows up Dr. Wily's fortress, along with Dr. Wily.

In the normal universe, Ran describes the events of Mega Man IV. In the story, Ran is created by Kalinka. Dr. Wily steals Stalin's brain. Kalinka snd Ran head into Wily's fortress to recover Stalin's brain. Kalinka gets stuck in Wily's castle, and to keep Kalinka safe, Dr. Cossack agrees to take over the world for Dr. Wily using his 8 newly created Robot Masters. Dr. Wily kidnaps Kalinka and sticks her in a cell with a broom as her only companion.

[edit] Year 4

Mega Man travels to Dr. Wily's fortress and mishears Kalinka's explanation of events, coming to the conclusion that Dr. Cossack is the evil mastermind behind everything. Mega Man defeats five of Cossack's robots before losing to Dive Man. Eddie is built by Dr. Cossack. Drill Man accidentally destroys himself, and Ran, Toad Man and Dive Man break into Dr. Wily's castle to rescue Kalinka. Dive Man and Toad Man defeat Dr. Wily, but are destroyed in the process, while Proto Man escapes with Kalinka. Dr. Wily swears revenge, ending Ran's story.

In the alternate dimension, future versions of the alternate Mega Man and Bass (the Future Alternates) leave to find Bob and take away his ability to travel through time.

George is sent back in time by Dr. Light in order to find out why the explosive nanobots in the poisoned ice cream he ate when Mega Man turned evil didn't kill him. George frees the Author from the jar evil Mega Man stuck him in. While investigating his unconscious, poisoned past body, the electricity inherent in his body and his past body interact, destroying the nanobots in George's past self. Unfortunately, the electricity activates George's time suit, which breaks down after sending George through time and leaving him intangible.

George finds the Helmeted Author, who has just incapacitated and bound Mega Man. The Helmeted Author captures George and reveals his identity, as well as the fact that Mega Man had not gone evil previously; instead, it was the Helmeted Author disguised as Mega Man. George is transported to Dr. Wily's lab, which he blows up. George and Rush head off to a tropical beach to wait for George to catch up to the present.

Back in the present, the Helmeted Author attacks. George defeats Helmut, and Nate pulls off Helmut's helmet, releasing Helmut's powers. Helmut and the Author fight; their combined attacks appear to be enough to destroy the comic, leaving the world white.

[edit] Year 5

George and Proto Man end up in the White Space. The Author reveals that he defeated Helmut in under a minute, and has banished him to the white space under the blurb.

While the battle with Helmut was taking place, Roll and Mike saved the president from ninjas sent by Evil Overlord Mike. Evil Overlord Mike orders Non-Alternate Mynd to find Mike and kill him.

In the Rockman Universe, the Future Alternates accidentally cause the Cataclysm while attempting to take Bob's Blaster, an event witnessed by the Author and the Shadowy Author. The Future Alternates are returned to their universe by the Shadowy Author. The Future Alternates, in the correct universe but wrong time period, build a new time machine since the ones in their blasters are broken. Versions of themselves from farther in the future (the Far Future Alternates) appear and tell the Future Alternates to go back in time to stop Bob.

Meanwhile, Bob wakes up in the standard universe's past, just prior to the events of Mega Man V. Bob teams up with Dr. Wily to take over the world. Dr. Wily begins creating eight new Robot Masters. Bob kidnaps Dr. Light and frames it on Proto Man. Mega Man leaves to save Dr. Light, and loses to Star Man. Ran shows up and destroys Star Man with the taint of Communism. Bob imprisons Dr. Wily for this, and designs the remaining Robot Masters himself. He then upgrades Wily's robot generator to mass-produce Robot Masters.

Mega Man is fighting Napalm Man when the Present Alternates and Future Alternates appear through a time portal, causing Napalm Man to go through the portal. The Alternates patch up Mega Man and upgrade Ran's blaster. An army of Robot Masters arrive at Mega Man's house, and demand his surrender. The heroes agree to split up, with the Present Alternates flying to Wily's castle with the aid of Rush, while the rest of the characters stay behind to fight the attacking army. After a long battle, the army is defeated.

While the battle with the army is happening, the Present Alternates make it to Wily's castle. They destroy several Robot Masters before splitting up. Present Alternate Bass, along with his newfound companion Metool-D2, shut down the robot generator. Bob attacks the two, but is frozen by P.A. Bass. P.A. Bass rushes to help P.A. Mega Man, and the two defeat Charge Man, Stone Man, and Wave Man. Bob attcks. The Present Alternates drop an asteroid at Bob, which he manages to destroy. The resulting explosion sends Bob and the Present Alternates through time. The Present Alternates arrive in their home time period, along with Metool-D2 and Napalm Man. Bob, however, got stuck in a subspace rift.

In the present, Dr. Light's lab is attacked by Non-Alternate Mynd. After a drawn-out battle, Mynd is eventually defeated by the merged form of George and Chadling (Charge). The lab is cleaned up, Mynd is imprisoned, and the robots damaged in the battle are repaired.

[edit] Year 6

Dr. Light's newest creation, Mega Man X, is activated. X unsuccessfully attempts to befriend the cast members. X takes mental control of several of the robotic cast members in order to force them to be his friends. George unsuccessfully attacks X. X manages to assimilate all the robots on the planet. Mike shows up, and X is able to assimilate him due to his cybernetic nature. This gives X the knowledge he needs to take over humans, and he begins to assimilate all humans on the planet.

George is assimilated by X, and George's body disappears. George reappears in a virtual landscape, where the core personalities of some of those assimilated have managed to escape. Mega Man has been completely assimilated, Chadling is destroyed, and the rest of the characters are taken prisoner. George is taken to X, who explains that the core personalities George has been interacting with were just copies lead to believe that they were the originals. George is then taken to X's core by X, where the personalities of the assimilated robots and the conciousnesses of the assimilated humans are stored. George sets off an EMP, appearing to sacrifice his friends to stop X.

George awakens to find himself in the past, at the beginning of the sixth Mega Man game. It is quickly revealed that the game was merely a simulation, as George is still trapped inside X's mind. Then, in the 'weekend of exposition', the truth is revealed, and George must leave X's head, so as not to destroy the router and the friends stored therein. Once George left the mind, he came to the startling revalation that only he and the secondary characters were left, before Dr. Light, who had been assimilated, comes onscreen.

[edit] Cataclysm Movies

The Cataclysm movies detail Zero's attack, showing the events of the Cataclysm from a different point of view each episode. The episodes are not shwon in chronological order; in fact, so far they have been in reverse chronological order.

Episode One: The End - Details the end of the Cataclysm story. Dr. Light is in his hidden forest lab, making preparations for X's future arrival. It is revealed that Rock and Roll have fallen to Zero. Zero appears and shoots Dr. Light, but is defeated by Auto. Blues arrives, and Dr. Light instructs him to help prepare for X's arrival. Dr. Light then dies.
Episode Two: Ran - In the city, Ran appears and confronts Zero. After four hours of being repeatedly killed by Zero, Zero allows him to shoot him once. Ran fires his Cossack Blaster, blowing Zero clear to Dr. Light's hidden lab, and damaging a large portion of the city.
Episode Three: Roll - Roll leaves Dr. Light's lab to help Rock and Forte fight Zero. She stops Zero from landing the final blow to Rock, and a battle ensues. Roll is defeated by Zero. Blues finds Roll, and tells her that Forte has been killed. Roll then dies.

[edit] External links

[edit] Credit

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