Casey and Andy
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| Casey and Andy | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Andy Weir |
| Website | http://www.galactanet.com/comic/ |
| Current status | On indefinite hiatus as of August 28, 2006 |
| Launch date | February 28, 2001 [1] |
| End Date | on hiatus; future unclear |
| Genre(s) | Humor |
Casey and Andy was a webcomic by Andy Weir. It featured the adventures of two mad scientists (based on Weir himself and his best friend Casey Grimm) and of their friends and acquaintances (some of whom are named after Weir's friends and acquaintances, though often not significantly resembling them). It was typically updated three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and ran with a gag-a-comic format with occasional storylines and running gags. In the words of the author: "Continuity is something that happens to other comics." It originally had the tagline "Mad scientist roommates who periodically die!".
The comic had a strong flavor of science and history fact, often from obscure sources. Strong parallels are suspected by some readers between Casey and Andy's real life (if any) and the events in the comic. Some strips are inspired by current events, as with the Mars landing sequence.
The strip has been made into a roleplaying game for the GURPS system, with a downloadable PDF published by Steve Jackson Games.
On May 1, 2006, Weir told fans that the strip would permanently come to an end on strip 666, due to Weir's recent dread for creating each strip and a downturn in the quality of the humor, and also so he could devote his time to Cheshire Crossing, his new webcomic project. However, on August 28, 2006, Weir announced that the strip was on hiatus until further notice. The last strip was #644, and the final story arc was not completed.
Contents |
[edit] Primary (Andy) dimension characters
Most of the comic happens in this dimension, and the main characters live here. Due to the high number of characters in this dimension, they are further divided in three categories. The main characters are those most strips focus on, the secondary characters are recurring supportive characters, and single-use characters are characters that appeared only once or twice, or whose role were limited to a single story-arc.
[edit] Main characters
- Andy Weir [2]
- Andy is a mad scientist, less interested in world domination than in creating mad inventions for their own sake. His research interests include astronomy, dark, magic, and hamsters. He dates Satan, absolutely hates Casey’s girlfriend Mary, and as for Casey, their relationship is complicated, alternating between being best friends and worst enemies. His secret alter-ego is Anti-Stupid Science (ASS) Man.
- Casey Grimm [3]
- Casey is the archetype of the mad scientist bent on global domination. One way or another, all of his inventions have something to do with that goal. He is currently dating Mary and proposed to her in the strip's last story arc. He seems to like and trust Andy, despite Andy's having inadvertently spoiled a number of Casey’s evil schemes, but occasionally tries to murder him. His alter-ego is Dr. X, a supervillain whose evil plans are generally unsuccessful.
- Mary MacTavish [4]
- Mary is Casey's girlfriend. She is normal, save for the retractable metal claws Andy installed in her against her will. She absolutely hates Andy, but she gets along rather well with his girlfriend Satan. She also hates puns, and her alter-ego is the Pun Police/Paladin. In high school, when she was known as Mac, she was a bully and loan shark who often harassed Casey and Andy.
- Satan [5]
- Satan is the fallen angel, cast out of Heaven by her father, God. She can assume any shape, and she has chosen this one for now. She is the celestial embodiment of evil, and Andy's girlfriend. Despite her job and reputation, she is easy enough to get along with, and actually quite polite.
- Jenn Brozek [6]
- Jenn lives next door to Casey and Andy, and therefore repeatedly suffers collateral damage from their failed experiments. This makes her understandably angry. Jenn has, according to Quantum Cop, an abnormal probability curve which results in strange things frequently happening in her vicinity; thus her many adventures are not really a result of her living so close to Casey & Andy, but rather Casey & Andy live next door to her because strange things are destined to happen in her vicinity. She has a crush on Quantum Cop and has made repeated attempts to be noticed by him, but for all his intelligence, he never actually seems to catch on. She is the future mother of J.J. Fairly late in the strip it is revealed that she is an international jewel thief.
[edit] Secondary characters
- Cujo [7]
- Andy's cat, whose only goal in life appears to be to annoy his owner, usually by defecating on the carpet.
- Quantum Cop [8]
- A very intelligent policeman who can deduce even the strangest courses of events through pure logic, and is never tricked by any excuses. He has won so many Nobel Prizes that he hardly even notices when he receives another one. His intelligence lapses only when it comes to Jenn.
- Lord Milligan [9]
- Looking like a completely black shadow except for his eyes. He wants to take over the world, and is a very traditional villain, placing a high importance on building his secret hideout with lava pools, ventilation ducts that can be crawled through, a self-destruct system that goes off if he is slain, and similar clichés. Has been the legal dictator of Japan since the Quantum Crook storyline. Also apparently a dark servant of Satan with free will.
- The Planet Devourer
- A very cute little pink creature with fangs, that, through a mistake in its creation, considers Cujo its mother. It was created by Dr. X for the purpose of forcing the world to bow to him or be devoured. As per Dr. X's plans, it can consume any kind of matter and completely destroys whatever it consumes; however, it takes very small bites and would take thousands of years to do any noticeable damage to the planet.
- The Mime Assassin [10]
- As the world's greatest master of stealth, he has been hired twice by Lord Milligan to eliminate his enemies. He was killed by Mary in the Quantum Crook storyline, but has been seen to be alive again in strips that appeared later on.
- Don Cindy
- A girl scout who takes drastic methods to sell her cookies, including enrolling in the Girl Scout Mafia.
- Religious Zealot [11]
- Known by no other name, the stereotypical Religious Zealot spreads the word of Jesus hoping to lead everyone to eternal salvation. Naturally, he's not treated too kindly by the guy who has Satan as a girlfriend – in fact, in newer comics, he seems to be getting along with Satan better than with Andy. Ironically enough, he is probably the least zealous character in the entire comic.
- The Bug Fairy
- A cute little blue fairy, who causes and thrives on software bugs.
- King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden [12]
- At one point, the King of Sweden, on route to give Quantum Cop a Nobel Prize, decided to hang around, and started living on the couch in Casey and Andy's house. He frequently demands that they bring him drinks.
- God
- Satan's father. Loathes Andy with a vengeance, and likes to drive home this point with the aid of lightning. Once arrested and successfully ticketed by Quantum Cop.
- Aliens from Neptar [13]
- These creatures, none of whom have ever been given a name, variously mutilate cattle, punch male humans in their crotches, and stick probes up Casey's rectum. Overall, they are not a friendly people. Quantum Cop is, of course, more than a match for them.
- Grover Cleveland
- The twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the United States is a sworn enemy of Andy. They are engaged in a battle across time, and Grover Cleveland appears to be winning.
[edit] Recurring characters
- Death [14]
- Death is a character who sometimes appears to take Casey and/or Andy away to hell, usually when one of their many experiments in mad science goes wrong.
- Azrael [15]
- A demon who tried to usurp rulership of Hell from Satan.
- J.J. [16]
- The future daughter of Jenn Brozek. She came to help her present-day mother when the latter was sent back to the 1980s, threatening J.J.'s eventual birth. Genetic testing has shown that her father is either Quantum Cop or Quantum Crook.
- Rob Petrone [17]
- This mysterious character appears, at first glance, to be a member of Casey & Andy's social circle who likes to go behind Andy's back, but there is more to Rob than meets the eye. With friends like these...
- Bob [18]
- Bob is a running joke in the comic. Andy had submitted a manuscript of his book to a publisher, but it was sent back with the complaint that the book had only two characters, which the publisher did not consider enough. To retaliate, Andy pasted "Bob was there too" on the end of every 15th paragraph.
- Mabel [19]
- Head of the local homeowners association, she wants Casey and Andy out of the neighbourhood for obvious reasons. However, on account of her understandable fear of their home and anything to do with it, she targets Jenn instead, with complaints about obnoxious garden furniture.
- The Hunkinites [20]
- Blue hunky aliens whose sole purpose in life is to please women. They named Jenn their queen.
- The Organization of Land Pirates [21]
- Essentially an organization of pirates who work on the land, instead of the sea.
- Dante [22]
- Writer. Is currently trying to come up with a sequel to his best-seller The Divine Comedy. Frequently annoys Satan.
[edit] Parallel dimension characters
Using either technology or magic, characters of the main dimension are able to cross over to parallel dimensions. These dimensions contain doppelgänger of the inhabitants of the main dimension, but with minor changes - different genders, different good/evil orientations, and so on.
[edit] Dimension of Hackneyed Opposites
A dimension of opposites that Andy visited to test his parallel-dimension-travel-o-mat.
- Andi [23]
- Andy's extra-dimensional counterpart. Female. Used to be sexually promiscuous until she found the Lord - which means not becoming religious, but rather becoming involved in a monogamous relationship with God. Once dated her dimension's Casey.
- God [24]
- Andi's boyfriend in this universe. Seems scary, but deep down, he's an old softie.
- Quantum Crook [25]
- The doppelgänger of Quantum Cop. He’s every bit as smart as his goody-two-shoes equivalent, but he’s bent on global domination.
- Doctor Y [26]
- Doctor X's super-hero doppelgänger, the saviour of the world.
- Mary MacTavish [27]
- A busy shuttle commander.
- Lord Milligan [28]
- A famous Japanese rock star.
- The Mime Plumber [29]
- Of no consequence to anyone.
[edit] Fantasy dimension
A dimension which follows the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, first visited at Quantum Cop's request in the Quantum Crook storyline, and later hosting the Great Orb of Power story arc.
- Andina [30]
- The doppelgänger of Andy. Female. Andina is both a cleric of the god Zogor, and his lover.
- Zogor [31]
- The deity ruling over this dimension.
- Kasor [32]
- The doppelgänger of Casey. Kasor is a mage, and advisor to the Queen.
- Queen Jena [33]
- The doppelgänger of Jenn, and Queen of Fremontia.
- Evil Grand Vizier Milligawain [34]
- The doppelgänger of Lord Milligan. As all Grand Viziers, he's trying to take over the throne; indeed this is a requirement for the job. Following the Great Orb of Power story arc, he assumed a new role in the government of Fremontia.
- Quantum Ninja [35]
- The doppelgänger of Quantum Cop. She has a π symbol stamped on her forehead.
- Stygian Zealot [36]
- The Stygian Zealot is a member of an underground faction of stygians, who are powerful in both magic and military.
- Mari [37]
- The doppelgänger of Mary MacTavish. A ruthless mercenary who works for Evil Grand Vizier Milligawain. She despises puns just as the prime dimension's Mary does.
- Cujo [38]
- Queen Jena's pet snake.
- Stan [39]
- Chief Paper-pusher of the Underwriterworld. Satan's equivalent in this dimension. He has many forms.
- King Bloid [40]
- King of the Zarb. The counterpart of the crotch-punching alien from Neptar. He likes cows in an impure way.
- Accounting Irregularity Fairy [41]
- The Bug Fairy's counterpart, and head mage of the Underwriterworld.
- The Devourer of Worlds¸[42]
- The High Wizard of the Zarb.
- Evil Grand Vizier Snerd [43]
- The Evil Grand Vizier of the Zarb.
- The Hunkinites [44]
- Still blue hunky aliens whose sole purpose in life is still to please women. They still have Jena as their queen.
- The Great Sorcerer [45]
- Thousands of years ago, he put an end to war between the kingdoms by creating Mount Magus.
[edit] Themes and Story Arcs
Usually, "Casey and Andy" featured one-strip gags. Since the two main characters in the webcomic were mad scientists, the two main themes of the gags were science (current scientific events, obscure scientific facts, common mistakes) and evil (world domination ploys, bank robberies, evil inventions). Other common themes for the strip included riddles, "cheesecake" (high-quality renderings of one of the female characters), role-playing games and Christianity. It is worth noting that the jokes involving Christianity were done in a respectful and non-offensive fashion, unlike many other webcomics.
The author did occasionally go into story arcs that span multiple strips. They are, in chronological order:
- Evil Mime – In which the Mime Assassin is hired to kill Andy. Comics 90 to 98.
- Hell Coup – In which Azrael tries to overthrow Satan and take over Hell. Comics 138 to 152.
- Quantum Crook – In which the Quantum Crook comes to the primary dimension. Comics 200 to 230.
- Jenn in Time – In which Jenn is accidentally sent back to the 80s. Comics 320 to 362. See also comic 311.
- The Mountain Of Mages – In which Jenn is asked to replace Queen Jena. Comics 446 to 482.
- The Petroniad - In which Rob steals Andy's life. (Guest strip arc by Rob Petrone, done while the real Andy Weir moved to Boston.) Comics 492 to 500.
- The Final Story Arc - Quantum Crook steals J.J.'s time machine, but when Jenn jumps him, they're both transported back in time to 1886. The gang follows them to rescue Jenn. Comics 621 to 644. This story arc was not finished.
[edit] Inventions
Being mad scientists, Casey and Andy are often busy creating strange inventions. These inventions sometimes work, and sometimes fail because the inventors overlooked some blindingly obvious detail. The inventions can sometimes backfire on their creators, killing them in a number of ways.
- CLONE-O-MAT [46]
- A cloning machine.
- SCAN-O-MAT [47]
- A present-scanning machine. A testament to how much Casey and Andy trust each other.
- PHOBIA SWAP-O-MAT [48]
- A device to transfer the phobia of one person onto another.
- CASEY VAPORIZO-ANNIHILATOMAT [49]
- Yet another testament of the love between Casey and Andy.
- MASS-CONVERT-O-MAT [50]
- Converts mass, though we're not quite sure into what. At least that's what it would do, if it worked. Instead, it explodes. Which, come to think of it, could very well be part of the mass-conversion process.
- MIND-READ-O-MAT [51]
- A not-so-subtle tool for invading someone's privacy.
- L33T-O-MAT [52]
- Translates from and to l33t. Does not seem entirely unbiased.
- CHESS-O-MATs [53]
- A pair of chess playing machines with a handicap.
- SS BOAT-O-MAT [54]
- An ordinary boat.
- LANDMARK-DESTRUCT-O-MAT [55]
- A device that can destroy monuments on distant foreign soil.
- COMPUTE-O-MATIC [56]
- A World War II-era computer.
- MIND-SCAN-O-MAT [57]
- A device that can scan a brain. In theory, one could then take the scanned intelligence and place it in a virtual body in a virtual world, to create a replica of our world.
- HAIR-LENGTHEN-AND-SPIKE-O-MAT [58]
- Responsible for Casey's unique hair-style.
- ART-O-MAT [59]
- A painting that paints itself.
- CHAIR-O-MAT [60]
- A chair with all the comforts of the modern world built in.
- DOG-O-MAT [61]
- An android dog that barks in binary.
- VENT-O-MAT [62]
- A ventilation system for an outhouse.
- SAFE-O-MAT [63]
- A safe with all possible security checks, including palm scan, retinal scan, voice recognition, blood sample analyser, stool sample analyser, and note from your mother reader.
- THE SPLURCH [64]
- An aptly-named device made by Andy. Denounced by Casey for not being a traditional "o-mat" invention.
