Showing Its Age: The Tick

Why The Shows Skipped The 80s

The Tick is one of the most recognized indie comics out there. I’ve been reading the original Ben Edlund run and I gotta say, I kind of liked the fan-dubs a little better. If only the first round of issues.

Maybe I’m a little tired of parodies of 80s comic trends. But I really liked it when Arthur came into the series.

Comedy Duo’s Are For Me

Maybe I thought the Tick himself was just kind of around. I mean, it was more like it was making fun of superhero conventions than actually being his own thing. The parodies of Superman, Elektra, 80s style narrations, and ninjas; not to mention Tick on his own is kind of hard to like at first.

He’s violent, a superhero purely out of boredom, and he meanders around so much it’s hard to know what he’s doing anything for.

I’m a bit biased when it comes to how I like my comedy. I prefer character driven stuff and situational dynamics over segmented gags that get repetitive. Sure the early issues of Tick had this, but it’s hard to get a real feel for the title character. I like how he’s a screwball looking for a sense of purpose. But some of the gags involving him are so one-note that they feel like cookie cutter parodies.

So when Arthur came in, the Tick feels like he has more of a focus. As screwy as ever with Arthur providing more of a buffer to his antics. Like when he reacts to Tick rummaging around his apartment for lairs, Tick’s trademarked SPOON! battle cry, or how he goes out for Pez after a meal. Two out of three of those are perfectly understandable in context.

The Tick on TV

Whenever the Tick appears on TV, he’s never far away from Arthur. Probably because Arthur reflects The Tick’s central themes as much as the title bug does. Looking for purpose, fumbling at it, but having a good laugh to get back on track.

But while Tick takes the superhero nonsense to their comedic limits, Arthur for the most part has one foot there and the other in the mundane. Meaning he’s not exactly thriving in either place.

He makes the perfect outside perspective this way. He’s always on the look for wonders, especially since the Tick always seems to find them. But every person in either world, see him as an oddity. Partly because he feels a little too comfortable in the super suit he doesn’t really know how to use.

Frankly, it’s easier to latch onto Arthur because he goes through arcs and has a more grounded perspective on things. So with the Tick as his buffer, things are just a little more fun.

Little Side Note

There were a few things I loved about the Ben Edlund comics, whether or not Arthur was around. The Dick Tracy rogues parodies like Chairface Chaplin and their over-the-top plot felt great. A lot less distractions compared to the other parodies including 2001 A Space Odyssey monoliths’ effects. Probably why he and the rest showed up in the cartoon.

But if there was one bit of satire that struck a chord with me, it was a trope that always annoyed me. Comic fans might know about sudden ensembles or groups of characters showing up to fight one big enemy. Or ensembles of characters who had just showed up without actually establishing their…character.

How did The Tick handle this? By using the best kind of deconstruction. All while keeping the more comedic scenario without losing its grounding or pacing.

That Scenario Being

There’s this unstable man-child in New York City, Barry Hubris, who’s rich and was THE Tick for a time. But when he lost a fight to THE TICK, he couldn’t claim rights anymore. That means his gadgets, secret hideout, and merchandising rights.

It was established with as little panels and expressions that most people only tolerated Barry. And the reader got the gist of why because Barry’s an entitled jerk in every appearance he’s in.

So when Barry makes a plan for his former Rogues to kill Tick and he gloats at a club about it, every hero comes in a quiet agreement to prevent this from happening. So a big fight broke out with them and the Terror’s group.

But while the fight is won, this causes the Tick to feel lost. With so many other superheroes in New York, he and Arthur decide to go back to The City they came from.

What were they-

Shut up! The point was it told a funny and memorable satirical joke while staying true to both characters and settings without being pretentious.

It’s never not going to stop annoying me how much trying to be self-aware can make more problems.

So it was very nice to see Edlund change his approach rather than indulge in it.