Squid Works: OC2: Eugene the Queen

(Mom confronts Eugene about his perverse fashion sense, above. Chief battles with some jerks at the fraternity house, below.)

"You, sir, have created something absolutely South Parkian in its f*cked-up-ness"

You, sir, have created something absolutely South Parkian in its f*cked-up-ness and everyone with a one-mile radius of the Eugene Wang comics is doomed to Hell.

So clearly we need more! I'm hooked on the bizarre and filth-ridden adventures of Eugene, Chief et al, and a fourth issue of the Wang would be greeted with mass-human sacrifices in your honour.

The crowning highlight so far was OC2: Eugene The Queen. Bloody funny, cool artwork (I notice four different art styles used in Eugene's escapades so far), the glory of crossdressing and even better- Chief hurting things! And Chief scenes make the world go round.

Eugene "The Wang" Wang is ... The On-Campus Crusader! Daring, courageous, crime-fighting super hero when, well, whenever he gets permission from his girlfriend (Chief) or can get away from his mother. When a series of toilet-paper related crimes on campus leads to a clash between right wing activists and pro-choicers, Chief calls on Eugene to keep the peace. Unfortunately, Eugene has a real job now — Mom insisted — and he just can't get away ... That is until Chief is taken hostage by the boys of Delta Iota Kappa. Now, Eugene has to fight his way through the DIK House to rescue his true love!

*insert raucous laughter here*

Gay rights disguised as a dispute over the correct way to hang toilet paper. Narrow-minded, narcissistic, drunken frat boys. Radical feminism satirized in the form of harpy-like Chief. Over-bearing mothers ... There is very little in this comic that Yan does not comment upon; heck, I even caught the reference to the Promise Keepers.

Social satire and commentary are nothing new to comics; political cartoons in one form or another have been around for centuries. They are a specialized form of humor, however: difficult to execute and only truly appreciated when the reader holds views similar to those of the artist. Luckily, my sense of humor is just twisted enough and my views just far enough to the left for me to appreciate poor Eugene and his travails.

If you voted for Pat Robertson back in '92 (or whenever that was), than the On-Campus Crusader is not the super hero for you. If, however, you listen to Laura Schlessinger for laughs, than Eugene is, indeed, "The Wang." :) -- Rebecca Salek 01/02, Sequential Tart

"How do they get away with those goofy costumes?"

On-Campus Crusader #1-3
[Distributor]: Squid Works
Creator: Stan Yan
Website: www.squidworks.com

This short series will appeal to those who value hilarious cultural references and a tongue-in-cheek look at the life of a super-hero, Eugene Wang, the On-Campus Crusader. (I think I've set a record for hyphen use in a single sentence!) The style is loose and somewhat stylized, and slightly reminiscent of Jim Mahfood's work, but more visually humorous.

Anyway, this clever tale from Stan Yan relates Eugene's misadventures as he attempts to deal with catastrophes like clogged toilets and rude frat boys, all the while fending off campus parking nazis and a mom that is just about as fascist. You see, Eugene, or the OC, may be a super hero, but he has no actual super powers.

We see in these stories answers to the question that always tormented me when reading superhero comics — "How do they get away with those goofy costumes, and that riding roughshod over everyone?" At last in On-Campus Crusader, we see a hero who has to put up with the same crap we all face from time to time, only when it happens to Eugene, it's funny.

I particularly enjoyed reading [in OC2: Eugene the Queen] about Eugene's attempt to find a job after his mom refuses to lend him money to get his car...just read the damn thing! Anyway, he winds up in drag, waiting tables in a Hooter's-type restaurant, and then has to rescue his girlfriend, appropriately named Chief, from rude, sexist frat boys — still in drag. Of course, hilarity ensues.

In the [Only Chaos], we follow Eugene on a road trip to Vegas on which he intends to break the chains of motherly and girlfriendly love forever! Eugene has a terrifyingly weird trip as he picks up a hitch-hiker who turns out to be more lively than alive...Even more frightening, Stan says this story was based on one of his own trips to the San Diego ComicCon!

While this series has concluded, it is still available from Squid Works. We can look forward to the future adventures of Eugene Wang in his life after college in a series called The Wang starting some time next year. -Kim DeVries 09/01, Sequential Tart (go to article)

"I've always had a thing for nerdy girls."

"I enjoyed [Only Chaos, The On-Campus Crusader, and OC2:Eugene the Queen]. I especially liked that OC doesn't really have any powers (does he?)... You should feature Chief more prominently, though I've always had a thing for nerdy girls."

-Alex Robinson, Box Office Poison

"I masturbated to your comics."

"[Only Chaos, The On-Campus Crusader, and OC2:Eugene the Queen] were a lot of fun. You've got a great cartoony style- with a little Joe Sacco thrown in. The great thing about a character like Eugene is that you can put him in any situation and make it a lot of fun. I do have a question or two. Eugene refers to his girlfriend as "Chief". Is that her name or is she a cop? I'm sure the answer is there in your comics but I'm too goddamned stupid to figure it out. I guess that was technically just one question. Sorry.

"[In OC2: Eugene the Queen], I really like the idea of Eugene working in a "Hooters" type place, seeing that he's so muscular that he looks like he's got boobies. Not that I usually notice that stuff, I mean, he just happens to be chiseled. And he has a nice little package too. Well y'know what I mean, not that I'm ah, well, um, I like girls. Really. Not that it's not okay to not, um, think of guys as good looking, um, that is if you like that kinda, um, stuff. Well, I gotta get going."

-Tony Consiglio, Double Cross

"P.S. Fine, you want the friggin' truth, I masturbated to your comics. Are you happy now?!"

"...pretty darn hilarious..." "...viciously on-target..." "...not particularly progressive..."

ON-CAMPUS CRUSADER II: Eugene The Queen (Squid Works [distribution], Stan Yan) Elsewhere in the world of weird, Stan Yan's satire on college life, comic book heroism and his friend's totalitarian mom has released its first full-sized issue, a toilet paper-strewn frenzy for all of us for whom the word "frathouse" conjures up images of pure unadulterated hell. Eugene Wangenwonker is the star of the book, a musclebound though conscientious student who's taken up the mantle of On-Campus Crusader in an effort to curb his school's (patterned after Yan's alma mater, U Colorado's Boulder campus) deliquency problems. On the humor tip, OCC's got quite a bit going for it. Scenes between Eugene and his controlling mother, and Eugene's run-in with a sinister frathouse (Delta Iota Kappa, aka "the DIK house") tend to be pretty darn hilarious. And as angst-filled college satire goes, OCC is viciously on-target. Unfortunately, while the issue is incisively anti-conservative, it's not particularly progressive. Whining about what's wrong with the average American college (without any comment as to how it could be improved) and having a liberal hero kick ass at a frathouse just doesn't speak nobly for any sort of positive "campus crusade." Also, the gender-bending motif of "Eugene the Queen" here is strongly overstated. So we've got this (straight) hero running around in a "Hooker's" (see: Hooters) uniform as an inadvertant costume, punching out a bunch of frat guys. But so what? The issue's still got a testosterone-heavy strong guy saving his girlfriend from the the bad guys. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, and for what this book (presumably) sets out to do, that's a significant downer. OCC is again, pretty damn funny, and the art & design on the book is meritorious. Still, if you're gonna plop down $4.50 (the cover price) for a regular issue, you want it to be rich in substance. Quality rating for this is a 6 & 1/2 out of 10... a "good," but not a "recommended." If you are interested though, contact Yans(@aol.com). Advisory- MR, R.I.Y.L.: college satire, superhero satire, Pump Up The Volume (just sorta)

-Xavier's Online Underground Newsletter, Issue 18

"...amusing..." "...satisfying..." "...gender hard to discern..."

Stan: Got the OC2:Eugene the Queen comic and read it tonight. You wanted comments, so here they are. First the good news: I thought the story was amusing and the conflict between mom and her clandestinely superheroic son was used to good comic effect. The pacing was brisk and the conclusion/punchline were satisfying. The not-so-good news: the art is a bit murky and hard to follow from panel to panel. I think clearer segues from location to location would be a major plus, especially adding more establishing panels. Also, the gender of the mother character was a little hard to discern. It was more through dialogue than the the art that her femaleness was conveyed. Maybe less brushy feathering when inking would make the art cleaner and easier to make out. That's just my two cents, but you asked. Good luck.

-Bob Fingerman, Fantagraphic Press's "Minimum Wage"

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