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“Sally Forth” Comic Strip Explains MST3K

…sort of…

59 Replies to ““Sally Forth” Comic Strip Explains MST3K”

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  1. organized says:

    Foxtrot had a D&D themed strip today. A great day for geek culture.

       2 likes

  2. Watch-out-for-Snakes says:

    Wow. Is this real?

       3 likes

  3. Frank Conniff says:

    Don’t quite get what you mean by “sort of.” Seems like a very accurate and quite complimentary explanation to me. Thanks for the shout-out, TV’s Francesco!

       23 likes

  4. Toots Sweet says:

    Sally Forth and MST3K. Who would have guessed? I love to see these tributes after all these years.

       15 likes

  5. ck says:

    Not a bad cartoon strip, but how about Fox Trot’s Jason
    and Marcus riffing Mike and the Bots riffing Sally Forth? :)

    (during breaks of their Game of Thrones marathon)

       1 likes

  6. ServoTron3000 says:

    Love it!!!!!

       1 likes

  7. This Guy says:

    Ces is such a nerd. It’s delightful.

       2 likes

  8. @horrordad says:

    Niiice!

       1 likes

  9. Chuck says:

    Thanks for posting! (I don’t read Sally anymore.)

       0 likes

  10. Kathy says:

    Parents…speak to your children about MST3K before it’s too late!!!

       23 likes

  11. BIG61AL says:

    this is freaking sweet…..;)

       2 likes

  12. I saw this before the comic. I told my son to read it and he looked at it and said, “That’s a lot of words.” And then he read it and immediately smiled.

    I am pleased to report that I have talked to my children about MST3K.

       9 likes

  13. Trilaan says:

    That was nice to see, although I’m not sure the creator is really a fan since he got some facts wrong and only seems to care about Manos. I hope he is a fan, though.

       3 likes

  14. This Guy says:

    @13: I don’t really see any particular inaccuracies. As for “only caring about Manos,” it’s not as if he had room to list a whole bunch of movies they riffed. Manos tends to stick in one’s mind.

       8 likes

  15. sol-survivor says:

    Saw it this morning and loved it. My family still doesn’t get it.

       4 likes

  16. Happenstance says:

    Ted Forth is also a Godzilla fan. Another Sunday strip from 2003 was devoted to recounting the plot of Destroy All Monsters. (You can look it up by plugging SALLY FORTH DESTROY ALL MONSTERS into Google Images.)

    I used to like the strip, but the Forths veer too far from “dysfunctional” to “stone crow psycho” way too often. Also, Ted may be a MSTie and Godzilla fan, but he’s also a completely whipped and spineless little wiener who once curled up into the fetal position sobbing at the mere suspicion that Sally had grown tired of his self-indulgent man-child antics. Man, I friggin’ watch My Little Pony and I can’t stomach THAT nonsense.

    I do, however, appreciate the way he catches himself in the second panel, realizing that his own nostalgia may not mean squirt to someone born twenty years after him, instead of getting defensive and butthurt about it.

       9 likes

  17. Matt D says:

    I need Happenstance to deconstruct more comic strips for me. What do you think of Doonesbury?

    Now if Mark Trail can have a panel dedicated to MST, then everything in Manos can come full circle.

       2 likes

  18. Pirengle says:

    Also, Manos is a film you can use in conjunction with an MST3k reference to provide instant recognition without fear of copyright infringement.

       3 likes

  19. GonzoRedux says:

    I wonder if the Sally Forth people ever read Mike’s mention of Sally in MegaCheese… He wasn’t all that complimentary haha

       1 likes

  20. Stacia says:

    I’ve been reading Sally Forth unironically since being introduced to it years ago via Comics Curmudgeon. It’s a great strip, but even if you disagree, Francesco doesn’t have to prove his MST3K cred for this to be a lovely shout-out. The sniffy “he doesn’t get it” comments are really unnecessary, guys.

       8 likes

  21. Jake says:

    Some of you might not realize this but from 1982 (when the strip first appeared) up until 1999 when Greg Howard passed the strip onto Marciuliano, the creator and artists of Sally Forth lived in Minnesota. So this little shout-out to MST3k is actually keeping it local. :)

       8 likes

  22. AlbuquerqueTurkey says:

    Love it! Thanks for posting, our paper doesn’t carry Sally Forth.

       3 likes

  23. Brandon says:

    I’d love to see Joel, Mike and the Bots riff “Family Circus”.

       2 likes

  24. Gorn Captain says:

    Whatever happened to the planned MST comic book, where they were actually going to riff on old comics anyway?

       1 likes

  25. Brandon says:

    From the FAQ page:
    “Q: I also remember some talk about an MST3K comic book. What’s the deal on that?
    A: There was some discussion of an MST3K “graphic novel” from Acclaim that would have Mike and the bots riffing on old Gold Key and Dell comics. It should be noted, however, that it always looked unlikely that MST3K’s writers would actually take part in writing the comic book. Unfortunately, in a repeat of the Voyager situation, Acclaim announced a cutback in its comics production, and one of the casualties is the MST3K comic. At one point, Acclaim officials said they were considering putting the comic on Acclaim’s website, but it never happened.”

       2 likes

  26. agrob says:

    feels old, man
    ;_;

       2 likes

  27. david francis white says:

    Pac-man the movie!! Now there is an original concept for a movie for Hollywood to screw up!!!

       2 likes

  28. Of No Account says:

    #1 – Back in the 90s Foxtrot had an entire week of D&D strips. It’s what got me hooked on Foxtrot.
    The only only thing I see wrong with the Sally Forth strip is saying Crow was made from a hockey mask. Admittedly a more accurate explanation of what the bots are constructed from would take too much space. Great strip!

       3 likes

  29. MikeK says:

    Neat. I didn’t know that Sally Forth was still around.

       0 likes

  30. Sitting Duck says:

    I actually have vague memories of seeing the Pac-Man Christmas Special during my misspent youth. I’m guessing he’s got it on some old VHS tape, as it would have the same staying power as Magic Christmas Tree.

       2 likes

  31. MikeK says:

    The Boomerang Channel usually shows the Pac-Man Christmas Special at this time of year.

       1 likes

  32. mgroves says:

    Ziggy had Garfield neutered!? Now that’s funny!!

       13 likes

  33. Frank Conniff says:

    #24 – When Cinematic Titanic was in NYC a few years ago, Mike Carlin, a very cool editor at DC comics, invited us up to their headquarters in Manhattan. Once we had recovered from the absolute thrill of touring the Mad Magazine offices, Mike proposed that we take old Superman and Jimmy Olson comics and write new funny and absurd dialogue in the word balloons. We were all very excited about the idea and would have happily done it, but as often happens in these cases, Mike took the idea “upstairs” and the big shots in the corporate boardroom didn’t get it.

       24 likes

  34. VeryDisturbing says:

    Wow, COOL!!!

       1 likes

  35. MikeK says:

    Some of those old comic books are funny as they are. DC has whored out Superman, and Batman, so much that it’s almost hypocritical that they would reject a good idea like that.

       4 likes

  36. Blast Hardcheese says:

    Oh, man–I have never been much of a Sally Forth fan…until now. Thanks for posting this, Sampo–it really made my day.

    BTW, MST with the kids has now become our Regular Saturday Night Thing–gearing up for the two Christmas films shortly. Life is very, very good.

       6 likes

  37. Mr. B(ob) says:

    I first saw this when Manos: The Restoration shared it on Facebook yesterday. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Sally Forth comic in many years. It was a pleasant surprise to find my favorite bit of geek cult culture lurking behind a somewhat blander bit of mainstream popular culture. I have some new found respect for Sally Forth going forward.

       3 likes

  38. Goshzilla says:

    Ted and Sally went to a Halloween party as He-Man and She-Ra and Ted suggested watching the Star Wars Holiday Special on Thanksgiving. (Or a alternatively a video of him watching the special and making comments…) It’s weird to see a comic strip I remember as being boringly traditional in my youth getting geekier over the years.

       4 likes

  39. bad wolf says:

    That was a good catch! And thanks to Frank for the extra story. Marvel did a handful of repurposed Romance comics a couple of years ago with dialogue re-written for comedic effect; it’s a shame DC never took the chance to one-up them with a CT version of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen or Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane!

    Oh, and Foxtrot? Wikipedia sez: The last daily Foxtrot cartoon was printed on December 30, 2006. So that probably was a D&D run from the 90’s.

       1 likes

  40. Dan in WI says:

    Even if the writer doesn’t know the difference between Crow’s lacrosse mask and a hockey mask, it is a nice tribute and I’ll take it.

       4 likes

  41. MikeK says:

    @bad wolf. I think Bill Amend is mostly retired from comics, but he does continue to produce new Fox Trot comics for the Sunday paper.

       3 likes

  42. Leo Artunian says:

    If you’re interested in panels from old romance comics “repurposed” to fit today’s more — shall we say — laissez-faire dating seen, check out “Last Kiss” by John Lustig: http://www.gocomics.com/lastkiss.

       0 likes

  43. FordPrefect says:

    It was really great of this Francesco fellow to start an MST3K discussion on the Sunday comics page. Our newspaper doesn’t carry Sally Forth so I’ve never seen it before.

    It’s too bad that the MST3K comic book never happened. I definitely would have liked to read it.

    Speaking of comics, the MST3K tribute series Incognito Cinema Warriors XP made a comic book. They even have plans for a second issue. The first issue isn’t currently in print, but it’s still available as a digital download. You can check out some sample pages here: http://www.icwxp.com/Merch/ComicProductPage.html I’m sure Sally Forth fans will love it.

       1 likes

  44. Crow T. Robert says:

    That was a pretty good job paying homage, though the guy’s telling doesn’t seem to inspire the girl’s response very much. The shortest route being a straight line, I explain the show as “A guy and two puppets making fun of bad movies.” If time allows, I go on to explain, “Oh! And Dr. F. and T.V.’s F (although there’s no relationship there).” It’s hard to explain it in detail without losing people’s attention, but relating jokes is the worst: 1. Explain show; 2) Explain context of movie, to set up joke; 3) indicate that one of the commentators says TO THE MOVIE, as opposed to someone IN the movie saying, 4) Deliver once-funny, now-entirely-lame joke.

    People guess you had to be there every time. That’s why I try to work in lines as responses to things erupting in real life. When the clocks run backwards (at my job, they sometimes do), I can be heard fretting: “Now lunch won’t be till yesterday!”

    Torgo? How about a little love for Ortega?

       1 likes

  45. John M Hanna says:

    Looks like they put Sally Forth through the Cartuner.

       2 likes

  46. Kali says:

    Hmm. It’s not posted on GoComics, so we can’t get a decent image. Pity.

       0 likes

  47. Kali says:

    The Nerdist did a call-out. Because Torgo takes care of the place when the Master is away…

    http://www.nerdist.com/2012/12/mst3k-gets-a-shout-from-sally-forth/

       1 likes

  48. servomademesayit says:

    “…sort of…”

    ha! one of my favorite Servo lines.

    that was great. yep #45, looks like the Cartuner is alive and well.

       1 likes

  49. bdtrppr6 says:

    am i the only one starstruck that tv’s frank posted on this thread? sorry but that makes my frackin day as much as an mst mention in a comic strip this far along. cool!

       3 likes

  50. Blast Hardcheese says:

    bdtrppr6: Not at all–I’m always thrilled to see Frank’s postings on this site, but I’m too gobsmacked to do anything more than “Like” his comments. So Frank–if you see this–Keep ’em coming! Always glad to see you here! You rock! There–fanboy urge satisfied.

       1 likes

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