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Something Positive or S*P is a webcomic by R. K. Milholland, which debuted on December 19, 2001. The comic is defined by its cynical tone and off-beat humour.
While originally a part-time project of the artist, Milholland now does the strip full-time. Issuing a heated tirade on 14 May 2004 against readers complaining about typos, grammatical errors, and the irregular updates, he challenged the readership at large to match what was then his yearly salary, $22,000, if they wanted him to draw the comic full-time. The goal was met by June 10, and Milholland gave his former employer the standard two weeks' notice of termination.
Setting and Storyline
The main cast lives in some unspecified location in Boston, while the MacIntire family and Monette live in Bedford, Texas. The comic will often switch between these two locations, with related story lines, as well as go back in time. This most often occurs with the MacIntires and the earlier life of Davan, but has happened to explain the circumstances that brought the main three characters together. S*P has done multiple crossovers with Queen of Wands, the first of which involved a baby-sitting mishap with Choo-Choo Bear. Milholland has been known to use his comic as a forum for responding to irritating email, and has more than once satirized his own comic in the process of making a point.
Unlike many webcomics featuring players of role-playing games, it is not a gaming comic. The gamers that do appear are typically stereotypical AD&D nerds (ironically, when Milholland does publish a gag D&D monster, it is in the 3rd edition format), who cannot function socially — but others do appear who do the genre justice.
Storylines revolving around low-budget or no-budget theater are also common, some drawing on Milholland's experiences in the Boston theater scene. Most notorious among these was the storyline about "Nailed!" a musical about the Crucifixion. Many of the secondary Boston characters are loosely based on people in Boston's improvisational theater and sketch comedy community.
S*P ranges from storylines about the main characters to political statements, but usually the tone is lighthearted. Unlike many other webcomics, S*P is a not a "gag-a-day" comic, but rather focuses on building storylines.
Cast
The comic's main characters are Davan MacIntire, Aubrey Chorde and PeeJee Shou, with a sub-cast stemming off of that, to include Jason Pratchett (who is still technically part of the main cast), Davan's immediate family (Faye, Fred, and Dahlia MacIntire), as well as Monette Donnelly, who also lives with the MacIntire Family. There is an array of supporting cast members that range from Davan's boneless cat, Choo-Choo Bear, or the enigmatic Spanish-speaking love-midget, Pepito, to PeeJee's gay friend Jhim. These lesser cast members appeared more frequently in the first two years of the comic, but in recent years have diminished in their prominence to the story line.
Primary characters (Boston)
- Davan MacIntire, born November 24, 1975, grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and is a failed art student. He moved to Boston in 1999. He works for a company that bills families for medical debts they have, and despises it. He will often mock his employment and make it known that they bill poor people for medical costs they can't afford. He often will show pure joy out of bringing people pain and misery, but only when they deserve it. He has a rather unhidden interest in Hello Kitty paraphernalia. His closest friends are Aubrey and Pee-Jee. After many grotesquely bad relationships, he was seeing a woman named Branwen, who as of the strips of September 2004 left Boston to pursue her dream job in Vancouver.
- Aubrey Chorde, born December 31, 1977, is a native of Fort Worth, and later followed Davan to Boston. She was an actress during her childhood, as well as an accomplished ballet dancer. She takes sadistic glee in violence and offending others, and she's the brains behind most of the more twisted schemes in the comic, though rarely do the consequences catch up with her. Her best friend is PeeJee Shou. She's currently dating Jason Pratchett.
- PeeJee Shou (short for Penelope-Jennifer) was born October 5, 1976 in Canada, but spent much of her childhood in Singapore. Her best friend is Aubrey. She met Davan in an undisclosed chat-room setting, and vowed to meet him when she came over to the States. Davan would soon develop a crush on her, though keep it secret for years. She always has colorfully-dyed hair. She usually ends up as Aubrey's accomplice, no matter how bad an idea it is. She has a huge crush on her gay friend Jhim, who remains oblivious to her desires.
- Jason Pratchett, born March 19, 1972. Jason and Davan met at an audition. He is usually known for his not-so-little black book, but since Aubrey is currently dating him, he's stuck to focusing on his other trademark: elaborate schemes.
Secondary characters (Texas)
- Faye MacIntire is Davan's mother.
- Fred MacIntire is Davan's father.
- Dahlia MacIntire is Davan's disabled sister. She is unable to fully use her legs due to an accident, and Davan has constantly used that as an opportunity to make a joke by getting her running shoes for Christmas.
- Monette Donnelly is one of the earliest and longest running secondary characters in S*P. In her first appearance she was battling a case of unintentional nymphomania with men. She was convinced that deep down she was a lesbian, and enlisted the help of Davan to help her fully become one. After long battles with having sex with men ... and a koala, she now is in Texas and lives with the MacIntire family, and is currently in a shaky relationship with her girlfriend, Lisa. She became pregnant, when sleeping with a guy during a "break" from Lisa, which was a serious controversy in their relationship. The baby was "lost" (how we still don't know) and Lisa proposed to Monette shortly thereafter. She refused, saying she wanted to make sure they would have a relationship like Fred and Faye MacIntire, and to ensure that Lisa was not just marrying her out of pity. She has also been adopted by the MacIntire family, and it seems the process for this was started before Monette lost her baby.
Supporting cast
- Choo-Choo Bear, a boneless and hairless cat (due an unexplained "rare bone disease" and the ensuing chemotherapy), is the most surreal of all the characters. Jhim allowed PeeJee to talk him into adopting the cat, but later blackmailed Davan into taking in the "chemo-kitty". Choo-Choo was instrumental in the crossover with Queen of Wands by vanishing down Davan's drain and returning some time later with panties belonging to QoW's protagonist. Davan, seeing an opportunity, sold the panties on eBay. Choo-Choo, due to his rather amorphous qualities, has been seen posing as such items as a washrag, a drink, and toilet paper, to comedic and/or violent effect.
- Pepito is an enigmatic Mexican love-midget. He was brought into the comic through Avagadro, a master director employed to produce one of the strip's many crackpot public theater shows. He was taken from Avagadro when it was found that he was being used for ill purposes (see quote below) and was soon adopted by the group of friends. After many weeks of putting up with Pepito, Davan and the crew prepared him for a trek to find a better home; upon beginning his quest, he was promptly eaten by a trap-door alligator. Pepito returned to the strip many weeks later, living in dresser drawers and stealing organs, but he now appears only rarely. Pepito has shown a knowledge of English, learned by selling someone's kidneys for English language tapes. He hid this in order to continue mooching.
- Jhim Midgett, born March 19, 1973, met Davan MacIntire playing AD&D. They became friends after Jhim made a futile attempt to teach Davan to disco dance for an audition, which he later used as blackmail to pawn Choo-Choo Bear off on Davan. Jhim is also involved in theater, and is an accomplished dancer. Jhim is good friends with PeeJee, but is decidedly gay, and ignorant of her infatuation with him. He was an on-again, off-again accomplice in the artistic endeavors of the Something Positive gang, until his recent move to the Washington, DC area. He ran in the Marine Corps Marathon on September 6, 2003, admiring the posterior of a runner who turned out to be a woman. His first appearance in the strip was "Jhim's Kitty pt 1", January 14, 2001.
Memorable Quotes
- Davan: "You know, for a lesbian, you seem to suck a whole mess o' dick."
- Peejee: "Pssst--little girl! I'll give you a buck if you promise to ask Daddy why Mommy's goodnight kisses are so salty!"
- Aubrey: (when asked the name of the brand of witchcraft that will enable her friends to bypass a large bouncer): "Vaginamancy."
- Aubrey: "Don't dare blame this on my taste-buds. I could menstruate a better cup of coffee than this!"
- Avagadro: "No! Close the door! Leave us in our secret shame and sin!"
- Peejee: (in the introduction of Choo Choo Bear): "My God, Jhim! Chemo-kitties need extra love!"
External links
Referenced Comics
* 1st Comic http://www.somethingpositive.net/1stcomic-page1.html
* Swimsuit Issue http://www.somethingpositive.net/swst2002-01.html
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