Eyebeam (comic)

Eyebeam (comic)

"Eyebeam" was a daily comic strip written and illustrated by Sam Hurt at the University of Texas at Austin. Unlike most college strips, its popularity led to a print life past Hurt's graduation. The strip ran in the college's "Daily Texan" from 1980-1990, though primeval examples from 1978-1979 exist. In 1983, Austin's daily paper, the "American-Statesman", picked up the strip. Other newspapers around the U.S. followed suit, although "Eyebeam"'s family of subscribers was never greater than a few dozen.

History

By 1982, "Eyebeam"'s popularity was such that a monster character called Hank the Hallucination won the school's election for the Student Government's presidency. A figment of Eyebeam's imagination even within the boundaries of the comic, Hank received more votes than the two human candidates combined. After it was ruled that imaginary characters could not serve in the post, future Democratic adviser and CNN talking head Paul Begala was the campus' second choice. Following his loss, Begala wrote a tongue-in-cheek complaint for the Texan, arguing "I cannot help but feel Hank's platform is illusory at best .... I must say that the candidate himself lacks substance."

The strip developed a devoted enough fanbase to support a steady series of paperback collections, as well as ancillary merchandise such as T-shirts.

Beginning as a fairly typical "college life" strip, "Eyebeam" quickly mutated into something more. Besides the title character (a bemused, rail-thin lawyer and acceptor of weirdness) and the aforementioned Hank, regular characters included Eyebeam's down-to-earth but sexually voracious girlfriend Sally, and his best friend, the conical ne'er-do-well Ratliff McNubb. Secondary characters included the slacker robot IM4U, the narcissistic Rod Rutherford, Rod's lovestruck girlfriend Beth, and Eyebeam's coworker Vernon (who seemed to be missing the top of his head). Much later, Ratliff's rambunctious niece Peaches burst into the storylines, which indirectly led to the strip's demise.

witch to 'Peaches'

In 1990, Hurt abandoned the comic strip, taking an offer from United Feature Syndicate to start a new strip based on the Peaches character, "Queen of the Universe." The strip was sometimes called "Peaches, Queen of the Universe." Hurt's freewheeling style did not translate as well under the syndicated system, which was apparently hoping for a female Calvin character, and the latter strip was not a success. Hurt described the strip's demise as the result of "a printing accident . . . [it] drowned in a sea of red ink." Some readers felt the most Eyebeam-like sequences of the strip's run came at the very end, after Hurt had gotten the cancellation notice.

Hurt's drawing style was thick and loose, and used periodically shifting backgrounds as were found in George Herriman's "Krazy Kat". A vase of flowers, for example, could be exchanged for an umbrella stand and then a fountain, without narrative explanation. The strip's logo was similarly ever-changing. Many of the strip's odder visual elements were accepted at face value, if discussed at all, such as Sally's endless jet stream of hair, Ratliff's sea-of-trash bedroom, or Ratliff's spherical automobile..

Sam Hurt revived "Eyebeam" in 1995, but as a weekly. A comic book series also appeared, combining reprints with fresh material. Hurt discontinued "Eyebeam" for a second time in 2002, and resumed it for a third time in 2006. As of 2008, the strip appears weekly in the Austin Chronicle as well as on Hurt's website.

When the Comics Journal compiled its 2000 list of the greatest comics of the century, "Eyebeam" received one judge's vote.

Hurt remains in Austin, Texas where he does animation and sculpture.

Published collections

* 1982: "I'm Pretty Sure I've Got My Death-Ray In Here SOMEWHERE"
* 1984: "Eyebeam, Therefore I Am"
* 1985: "Eenie Meenie Minie Tweed"
* 1985: "Our Eyebeams Twisted"
* 1985: "The Mind's Eyebeam"
* 1988: "Teetering on the Blink"
* 1988: "Render Unto Peaches"

Also, a three-issue comic book series, "Eyebeam: The Complete Collection 1978-1989," was released in 1992.

Other Uses

Eyebeam comics have been extensively used in the American Bar Association's essay compilation "Full Disclosure: Do you Really Want to be a Lawyer?" (Hurt received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas Law School in 1983.)

External links

* [http://www.eyebeam.com Official website]
* [http://www.samhurt.com Sam Hurt's website]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Eyebeam — Eyebeam, a play on the word I beam, can be used to refer to the following:* Eyebeam (comic) * Eyebeam Atelier a not for profit arts and technology center based in New York City. * eyeBeam (Software) a multimedia communicator using Voice over IP …   Wikipedia

  • List of newspaper comic strips A-L — Parent article: List of comic strips; Siblings: A L • M Z0 9* 13, rue de l espoir (1959 1972) by Paul Gillon, Jacques Gall and Francois Gall (France) * 9 Chickweed Lane (1993 ) by Brooke McEldowney (USA) * 9 to 5 (1990 ) by Harley Schwadron (USA) …   Wikipedia

  • Peaches — A peach is a type of fruit.Peaches may refer to:* Peaches (musician), an electroclash musician * Peaches (song), by the rock group The Stranglers * Peaches (Presidents of the United States of America song), by the band The Presidents of the… …   Wikipedia

  • University of Texas School of Law — Infobox Law School name=The University of Texas School of Law established=1883 type=Public head=Lawrence Sager city=Austin state=Texas country=USA students=1,484 faculty= ranking=16 bar pass rate=92.04% annual tuition=$20,022 (Texas resident) $33 …   Wikipedia

  • male answer syndrome — n. The tendency for some men to answer a question even when they don t know the answer. Also: MAS. Example Citations: Try an experiment. Ask a male friend a question, something completely outside his sphere of expertise. Will you get an answer?… …   New words

  • Krazy Kat — Ignatz hurls a brick at Krazy Kat, who misinterprets it as an expression of love. Author(s) George Herriman Cur …   Wikipedia

  • Krazy Kat — Viñeta de Krazy Kat del domingo 6 …   Wikipedia Español

  • United Media — is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate… …   Wikipedia

  • Marc Lafia — Born November 21, 1955(1955 11 21) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Nationality American Field Computational Ci …   Wikipedia

  • Paul Begala — (born 12 May 1961) is a political consultant, a commentator, a prominent liberal, and a former advisor to President Bill Clinton. He gained national prominence as half of the political consulting team Carville and Begala . Until June 2005, Begala …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”