A fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in 1962. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Incredible Hulk is the emotional and impulsive alter ego of physicist Dr. Bruce Banner. The Hulk appears shortly after Banner is accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a gamma bomb he invented. Hulk smash!
Like many kids in the 1980s, I recall happily jumping across furniture to avoid my house’s lava floor while wearing Hulk-themed Underoos.
The fictional gorilla monster in the movie Queen Kong, a 1976 British spoof of King Kong with the gender roles reversed. A female film crew journeys to Africa where a giant ape falls in love with the crew’s male star. The film has a cult following in Japan. A version of the movie with new Japanese dialogue was released on DVD in 2001 (with hot pink bikini art).
You can see a poster of the 2001 Queen Kong art in some Laughing Planet Café locations, including the new restaurant in Corvallis, Oregon.
A fictional character in the Pierre Boulle novel Planet of the Apes, and the film series (1968, 1970-73) and television series based on it. He is an anthropomorphized orangutan who serves a dual role in the ape society, as Minister of Science and as Chief Defender of the Faith. Zaius knows the true origins of the ape society and how mankind fell as the dominant species.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, opens today in theaters nationwide. I am curious about the new drug-based origin story. Unrelated to this is the amusing @Zaius13 Twitter account.
A 40-foot-tall purple gorilla and star of The Great Grape Ape Show, which was a late-1970s Saturday morning Hanna-Barbera cartoon. His catchphrase is repeating his name twice (“Grape Ape, Grape Ape”) after anything anyone says, usually as a form of agreement or acknowledgment. He travels the countryside with his canine pal Beegle Beagle.
Grape Ape is also one of my favorite items from Oregon’s Voodoo Doughnut. It’s a raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting, grape dust and lavender sprinkles.
An Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1980s and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Prince. In 1992, she controversially tore a photo of Pope John Paul II to pieces on Saturday Night Live to protest sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church and was vilified by the media.
Today MTV is celebrating its 30th birthday. Remember when MTV mattered? You can watch the first 20 minutes of the original August 1, 1981 broadcast.
An American cartoon character created in 1928 who has become an icon for the Walt Disney Company. The Mickey ears, they’re everywhere! Creator Walt Disney is from Chicago, Illinois.
Disney was referenced multiple times at the HOW Design Conference 2011 in Chicago during the past week. And I have finally returned to Oregon.
A Chicago-based American television host, best known for her self-titled talk show, which became the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. The Oprah Winfrey Show concluded one month ago, on May 25, 2011.
I am in Chicago for the HOW Design Conference 2011 this week. This is the second of three Chicago-related characters.
A singer-songwriter and guitarist from Chicago, Illinois. He is best known as the frontman (and sole permanent member) of The Smashing Pumpkins. I think “The Aeroplane Flies High” might be my favorite Pumpkins song. This is the final character of my eight-day Music Week.
I am in Chicago for the HOW Design Conference 2011 this week. In celebration, two more Chicago-related characters are next.
The King of Pop was the most successful entertainer of all time, from his beginnings with The Jackson 5 to his solo career. His 8-bit outfit is based on the “Smooth Criminal” video. He died on this day in 2009 at age 50. His personal physician was charged with involuntary manslaughter. This is character #7 of my eight-day Music Week.
I am in Chicago for the HOW Design Conference 2011 this week.
A musician from Aberdeen, Washington. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana, which destroyed 1980s hair metal and put the Seattle music scene on the map. He became famous, married Courtney Love and died at age 27 (of apparent suicide, though some evidence points to the possibility of homicide). Also, where did you sleep last night? This is character #6 of my eight-day Music Week.
I am in Chicago for the HOW Design Conference 2011 starting today.
Charles Hardin Holley was an American singer-songwriter and influential pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll. He died in an airplane crash in Iowa at age 22, along with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. February 3, 1959 is known as The Day the Music Died. Among his songs, “Everyday” might be my favorite. This is character #2 of my eight-day Music Week.
I am back in Iowa right now, not far from that 1959 plane crash site near Clear Lake. Also, the new Rave On Buddy Holly tribute album features some impressive cover artists.
The King is a cultural icon and one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. Elvis brought the sound of African-American music to a wider audience by interpreting black rhythm and blues. He died an overweight caricature of himself at age 42 and is buried at Graceland. Also, we’re caught in a trap.
Today I am starting Music Week. In addition to Elvis, the next seven 8-bit characters will be based on famous musicians. Happy Father’s Day!
A Chicago-based American film critic and screenwriter. Self-described on Twitter as a “film critic since time immemorial,” Ebert is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. He helped inspire and reinforce my love of cinema. Equally inspiring is how Ebert has publicly handled his post-cancer surgery appearance. Two thumbs up for this guy.
I will be in Chicago for the HOW Design Conference 2011 next week.
Edward Teach was a notorious English pirate with a thick black beard who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies. He was killed in 1718 after two legendary years of plundering.
To maintain the delicate balance of the Internet, I had to post a pirate today after yesterday’s 8-bit ninja character.
A Mexican-American labor leader who dedicated his life to social justice and used nonviolent methods to fight for the rights of migrant farm workers in the southwestern United States. He founded and led the first successful farm workers’ union in U.S. history. In 1994, Chávez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
I can’t help but think of Batman when I see the United Farm Workers logo (Aztec eagle) in 8-bit form. Oh well.
One of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and inventor of the lightning rod and bifocals. Now he is on the $100 bill, so I’m making him my 100th 8-bit character. It’s all about the benjamins.
In mostly unrelated news, I launched my first website exactly 14 years ago today.
I loved this floating, sharpshooting robot from the 1979 Disney film The Black Hole when I was a kid. In the year 2130, V.I.N.CENT. is aboard an exploratory spaceship, the USS Palomino, when the crew discovers a black hole with a lost ship just outside its event horizon.
This is my third and last day at WebVisions 2011 in Portland, Oregon.
I almost had to draw a bearded Conan, but Will Ferrell helped him out with his facial hair three weeks ago. In May of last year, Conan performed on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour after his settlement with NBC. I am a fan of Team Coco.
I am attending WebVisions 2011 in Portland, Oregon this week.
Bettie Page was an American model from Tennessee who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. After her sexual revolution days, she converted to born-again Christianity and spent time in a state psychiatric hospital.
A resident of Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood painted Page’s image on the side of a house just off of Exit 170 on I-5. It’s pretty cool.
Eli the Cat – No. 177
One of my three cats. Eli was rescued from the feral cat colony beneath my old apartment complex. More accurately, he showed up at my door on Father’s Day in 2007 as a 12-week-old kitten and asked to come in. He is large (17 pounds), intelligent, affectionate and codependent. My coworker adopted Eli’s brother. His estimated birthday is March 11, 2007.
Update: Eli passed away of old age on August 6, 2021, two years after Tanuki and six years after The King. Dear Eli, good boy until the end, respectfully waited until the morning after our daughter Ramona’s eighth birthday to leave this mortal coil. Ramona was very fond of him. We all were.