Least I Could Do

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See also disambiguation for Frog King.

Least I Could Do
The cast of LICD as of 07/31/2007.
Author(s)	Ryan Sohmer and Lar de Souza
Website	http://www.leasticoulddo.com RSS web feed
Current status / schedule	Monday through Saturday
Launch date	February 10, 2003 [1]
Genre(s)	Comedy/Adult/Slice-of-life

Least I Could Do (LICD) is a humor webcomic by Ryan Sohmer and Lar deSouza, which debuted on February 10, 2003. Although Lar deSouza is the current artist, the comic was previously drawn by Chad WM. Porter, for two years, and before that, Trevor Adams. The primary theme of the strip is sexuality, especially the promiscuity of the primary character, Rayne Summers, a modern-day Casanova.

The strip updates every day but Sunday. Stories tend to last for only a few strips, but some have gone several weeks. The strip has done fairly long parodies of characters, such as those from The Lord of the Rings, (having Rayne being placed as Aragorn), X-Men (with Rayne as Wolverine) and GI Joe (with Rayne as Flint), each taking place where Rayne is either struck unconscious, falls asleep or blacks out.

Contents 1 Important events 2 Main characters 2.1 Rayne 2.2 Noel 2.3 Issa 2.4 Mick 2.5 John 3 Supporting characters 3.1 Recurring 3.1.1 Family 3.1.2 Co-workers 3.1.3 Minor Characters 3.1.4 Women in Rayne's Black Book 3.1.5 Special Valentine Guests 4 Books 5 Awards 6 Animated Series 7 Neologisms 8 Blind Ferret Entertainment 9 Spin-offs and New Projects 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Important events

In late 2004, I Have My Moments, a full colour book featuring the first year of LICD with Chad Porter as the artist, was published. The original artist for the strip was Trevor Adams, who drew the strip from its debut until July 18, 2003, later moving on to create his own comic Gemini Paradox. Chad took over on July 28 of that year.

In early 2005, the strip underwent a major change when Rayne's friend Noel arrived. Noel was often given roles that previously would have gone to the character John Gold, whose frequency in the strip was reduced. Soon after, Rayne became a business executive on falsified credentials, with the intent of sleeping with the CEO of IDS Enterprises, Marcy McKean. Least I Could Do "3.0" launched on August 15, 2005 with the departure of Chad as the artist. Lar deSouza, a long time friend of Ryan Sohmer, and his artistic partner on the daily comic In Other News, took over the reins as the artist for Least I Could Do, and has stayed there up to present day. The comic and website have been undergoing some major changes as a result.

December 2005 marked the publication of My Will Be Done, the complete 2nd year collection featuring Chad Porter's final strips for the comic. It also included a mini-comic drawn by Lar, depicting the origins of Bra-Man. In July 2006 the first Bra-Man comic was released.

In November 2006, Because I Can, the 3rd year collection, and the first to feature current artist Lar deSouza was published.

In the July 9th, 2007 strip, the cast opened a "letter" from the writer and artist which stated that from that moment on, they would age normally rather than remain a perpetual age 24 or so. Since then, it seems that all the strip's characters have enacted major life changes: notably, Noel has moved in with his girlfriend, and Rayne, in a plot arc beginning in September, experimented with monogamy.

Though the primary character is Rayne, there are a large number of supporting characters, and the strip will sometimes go for up to a week without a strip featuring Rayne. These usually involve large story arcs involving the other characters, though Sohmer still specializes in the one strip joke.

In the November 12th 2007 strip the author's cat, Baby Sohmer, died (number 6 in the poster).

[edit] Main characters

[edit] Rayne

Rayne Summers is the protagonist of the "Least I Could Do" universe. He is a shallow, perpetually horny and childish twenty-four year old with an underdeveloped emotional intelligence as well as a severe superiority complex. He is prone to elaborate schemes and pranks, often involving his closest friends, and has a boundless energy level enhanced by his passion for Red Bull and Cadbury creme eggs. His behavior stems from an overwhelming lust for life and a desire to enjoy himself every day. Despite his overwhelming ego and sex drive, Rayne is fiercely loyal to his friends (though he messes with them constantly). He demonstrated extreme nobility at times, such as when he defended his gay proctologist from a homophobic woman, or when he surprised a lonely Mick by buying him a pet dog.

Rayne is an attractive and extremely promiscuous man, having slept with fifty women at the strip's opening, and many more women (and possibly one man, in exchange for protection in prison) over the course of the strip. As of 2006, the highest total that has been given is 1,000 in number but there were at least 10 other instances he could have added to the estimation in the May 22, 2006 strip (the one that gave 1,000). He briefly had a relationship with Cyndi Wang, however a meeting with her parents went badly and so the relationship ended, though they did sleep together at a New Year's Eve party a year and a half after they broke up. He has had a casual relationship with his boss Marcy, although it is clear that he still sleeps with other women. Amazingly, Rayne was able to commit to a relationship for a little over a month with a Gymnast named Seline (who he called "Slinky"), but Rayne found himself ill-equipped to deal with the non-sexual parts of a relationship and he dumped her (via text message). He is now again single and living it up. Rayne has also had his share of intimate moments with other men, even inviting Noel to take a shower together, and while he and Mick were on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, he was deemed "perfect", stating "I'm like candy to gay men."

Rayne is quite a geek, as well as a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy books and movies. His passion for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy book series and the Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings movies having been specifically noted in several strips. In particular, Rayne is obsessed with the character of Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, and has had several elaborate fantasies of being the character while unconscious and once even suggested that given the chance, he would have sex with the character. He has also been willing to dress up while attending both Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings premieres, and has even adopted an Aragorn costume while going out to a bar to look for women. A few strips have even included scenes of Rayne reading books from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

Previously, he was a newspaper columnist, but after hearing about Marcy McKean, the attractive billionaire CEO of IDS Enterprises, he became determined to have sex with her. With a little help from his friend Mick, Rayne was able to falsify his resume and landed a very high-paying job as an executive of IDS Enterprises. Despite his questionable motives in joining the company and seeming lack of qualifications, it is evident that Rayne's employment has had a positive effect on IDS, as Marcy states that Rayne is the reason the company has been generating record profits. Rayne has been involved in several notable incidents while at IDS, which range from intervening to stop a workers strike to traveling to a Porn company in LA to assist them with their HD cameras (and, unofficially their production values). Especially notable is an incident where Rayne found himself serving as midwife to Nancy, Marcy's pregnant secretary, and driving her to the hospital when her water unexpectedly broke. The dangerous drive through city traffic won him Marcy's respect as well as his first kiss from her, despite utterly destroying her car, and also won him the friendship of Nancy, one of the few woman who he does NOT try to sleep with.

In early 2006 Rayne discovered that he has an older half-sister named Emily, the result of a teenage pregnancy by his mother, and a niece, Ashley, with whom he has since formed a close bond. During the summer of 2006 Rayne had a near-death experience during a sky diving trip where he fell out of the plane without a parachute. In a week's series of strips, the strip focused on Rayne's funeral, which included the unveiling of a statue of himself complete with fully-erect penis (so women could "pay tribute" instead of leaving flowers), and, per his will, his brother Eric getting kneed in the groin by his lawyers. The whole scene was revealed to be a fantasy when the strip returned to reality and Rayne was rescued in mid-air by his diving instructor and escaped without any serious injuries. The incident also sparked one of the strip's more touching moments: after Rayne and friends returned to the city he announced that his brush with death had led him to think about priorities, and that he had to go see about a girl. While his friends starting placing bets on which on of his girlfriends he might be seeing, Rayne actually went to see his young niece Ashley.

A 2007 storyline showed Rayne's sexual behavior and promiscuity in a different light. After a failed escapade in online dating (where he invited ten women he met on Lavalife on the same date), Rayne began to reflect on how his life has turned out so far. In a parody of A Christmas Carol he was visited by a spectral apparition of Keira Knightley (Rayne's favorite celebrity fantasy), who showed him his past, his present and his future. It was revealed that Rayne began his promiscuous adventures after a girl left him heartbroken at the age of sixteen. (Possibly the one mentioned at the end of the love round table, held on May 21st, 2004). During the course of a conversation with Issa, Rayne refused to continue pining for the girl who had broken his heart after he had nurtured a crush on her during the past two years, and instead decided on a different approach, embarking on the start of his many promiscuous adventures. In the present, Rayne realizes what effect he has had on a girl who expected more than a one-night stand from him. He experienced great guilt from this, but also realized he never promised her anything more and has never led on any of the women he hooks up with. The storyline also gave the reader a glimpse of Rayne's future: In forty years, he is a retired CEO (possibly of IDS) who lives in a house built to resemble Minas Tirith. Rayne built the house for himself and Ashley when her family moved away a year before she went to college, and there is evidence suggesting that she will succeed him in his business. Ashley and her family (including a pair of twins who call Rayne "Grunca") continue to live with him. We also see the entire LICD group together, grown old, having a cookout. The storyline left Rayne with the realization that he is responsible for the life he leads and is happy with it despite it not being the norm (and that he will age fantastically). However, the future is left open, given the whole storyline was actually a hallucination resulting from a mild Red Bull-induced heart attack.

Rayne's experiment with monogamy with Seline (as noted above) was his first long-term relationship since Gina in the strip's second story arc. It was clear, however, that Rayne was driven to monogamy not for himself, but because both Noel and Mick were in serious relationships and he was feeling left out. Rayne quickly demonstrated his distinct lack of knowledge about the opposite sex and his somewhat insensitive side when Seline let slip that she was in love with him. After consulting various women - including Issa and Nancy- about the situation, Rayne continued his below-par streak with Seline by refusing to let her meet his parents (though a flashback suggested that for Seline's sake, this may have been a good idea) and then attempting to have sex with her while she was still asleep.

Rayne also seems to have an unnaturally strong will, having been able to will his penis erect despite freezing temperatures, and attempting to stab Noel with a needle while in a drug-induced state of unconsciousness, when Noel had earlier refused to believe that he was ill. Conversely Rayne appears to have a nut allergy, and as a result, reacts in terror whenever he sees one. Mick has used this to force the truth out of Rayne on at least one occasion (December 22, 2007). Rayne has also used Viagra on multiple occasions, once early in the strip to remedy erectile difficulty, then later in a parody of commercials in general, having apparently decimated a girlfriend's house and the surrounding area during sex (the "commercial"'s slogan being "You could f*** concrete.")

[edit] Noel

Noel is Rayne's best friend, a later addition to the strip, first appearing on January 10, 2005. Before showing up on the comic, he had been dating an overweight woman (instead of that woman's attractive friend, whom he was actually interested in) for five years, during which he had become alienated from his friends. When Noel came back, he was readily welcomed back by Issa and Rob, but Rayne was marginally harder to win over. Rayne had Noel read a verbal contract promising that 1) if Noel were to disappear again for a woman, he would make sure that she was at least semi-attractive, and 2) that Rayne was entitled to mock him endlessly for having gone out with a fat woman.

Noel's appearance greatly reduced John Gold's importance in the strip. Noel's first appearances, in fact, lined up with a period in author Ryan Sohmer's life where he was becoming increasingly more distant from the real-life friend that the John Gold character was based on. Sohmer says in the liner notes for the "My Will Be Done" book that he did not feel that he could continue writing the John Gold character in the same way, but the Rayne character itself needed a comedic foil. Therefore Sohmer felt it was time to introduce a new character based on another one of his real-life friends, and the character of Noel was created.

Noel usually plays Rayne's wingman, and although he does not always appear to approve of Rayne's promiscuity and attitudes, he is markedly less critical of it than John.

Many of the comic’s strips feature Rayne and Noel walking through a park, where the two characters will discuss topics such as Rayne's recent escapades, current politics, or modern culture. Noel will usually end the strip with a sly one-liner that illustrates the flaws in Rayne's logic.

A change in Rayne and Noel's relationship may be coming. Noel met a woman named Kate at a speed-dating event and the two hit it off (despite Rayne's presence). In August, 2007 Rayne began noticing changes in Noel's behavior which he considered suspicious. Subsequent investigation led to the revelation that Noel is living with Kate, a fact which he had hidden from Rayne and his other friends up to that point. The full implications of this change are yet to be seen, although several subsequent strips suggest that this event (along with the revelation that Rayne will not be 24 forever), is forcing Rayne to reassess his life. On the other hand Noel also could view Rayne as his soul mate ^[1].

Noel never seems to grow frustrated with Rayne, despite Rayne's usual self-centered and childish approach to the world around him (as well as his tendency to insult Noel whenever he is unhappy with events unrelated to Noel). Noel instead chooses to shake his head in amusement and wait to see what happens next. There has been one notable exception to this: after Rayne attempted to have sex with his girlfriend Seline while she was asleep, and complained to Noel about her turning him down and only having sex twice a day with Seline, a frustrated Noel decided to attempt to pound some sense in Rayne, and wound up beating him severely, and enjoyed it. Later, when Rayne tries to pass it off as falling down stairs to John, Noel remarked: "No, he didn't. I beat the !@#$ out of him with a smile on my face." A downside to Noel's easygoing nature, however, is that he often winds up in the thick of things alongside Rayne, horribly out of his depth in situations that occur against his better judgment.

Both Noel and Rayne seem to enjoy breaking out into song, normally musical numbers.

[edit] Issa

Melissa "Issa" Alie is one of Rayne's few female platonic friends, if not his only one. An extremely gorgeous redhead with a voluptuous figure, Rayne continually makes sexual advances on her which she continually rejects. Despite this, it sometimes seems as though she has a slight subconscious crush on him. When she introduced her friends to her farmer-boyfriend, Huck, his resemblance to Rayne was noted by the crew. John and Mick went so far as to suggest that she was dating him because he looked like Rayne, suggesting a subconscious interest in him. However, the character of Huck has not appeared since that arc so the status of the relationship is unknown. Despite her attractiveness and continual disgust at some of their antics, Issa still manages to play the voice of reason and fits in with Rayne and the rest of the boys. However, that does not mean she is not above manipulating her male friends, such as offering to try on underwear at Victoria's Secret for Rayne, in exchange for him accompaning her to the mall.

Issa also voiced an attraction to Rayne's brother Eric when Eric came to visit, so much so that she was willing to be part of a bet between Rayne and Eric, However, Issa's attraction to Eric could more easily be explained because Eric is a doctor (and Issa has been trying to find a rich boyfriend since the early days of the strip). Issa works as a clerk at a gas station, Esco. When Chad was drawing the strip, filler strips frequently involved her in revealing clothing, or jokes about readers' attraction to her.

Issa has known Rayne since at least his teenage years, offering him advice after the relationship that started his womanizing streak. This hints at the idea that she may well be Rayne's oldest friend, save for perhaps John; subsequently, it also means that she, of all the female characters, holds the record for holding out against Rayne's advances (Eric alludes it's up to 2 decades in the July 1st 2005 strip).

It should be noted that it is Noel and Issa who usually spend the most time with Rayne. The two are always caught up in Rayne's antics, whether it is shopping for a new car or new furniture, or getting dragged on a whirlwind trip to New York City. Issa is deathly afraid of spiders, as first shown during a storyline interruption, and later in a normal comic strip when she sees a spider on Rayne's neck, and promptly freaks out.

[edit] Mick

Mick Alfa is an overweight and socially awkward friend of Rayne's, whom he often uses as a wingman. Rayne often enlists Mick in elaborate (and occasionally bizarre) charades to help him get laid, such as having Mick pretend to be retarded to make himself look compassionate and dressing him up as a Nun named "Sister Likestacos" for the same reason. Rayne also makes Mick the target of frequent bestiality jokes, going so far as getting him a goat's phone number. Despite this, Mick and Rayne are good friends. Mick helped Rayne secure his job at IDS by pretending to be a NASA representative. He also seems to be fairly comfortable with his body, often making light of his weight and bad luck with women. Mick himself is a TV program director. While Mick strikes out more often than not, he has had a greater number of steady relationships than Rayne, Noel and John combined, to Rayne's great shock - he was able to hook up with a Swedish exchange student while Rayne and John spent two weeks chasing her, and is currently dating an attractive college student he met at a party. Mick also has a dark side, though it only seems to show when he gets to enjoy Rayne make a fool or injure himself such as when Rayne drank a large quantity of Red Bull, in the hopes that it would 'give him wings' and allow him to fly.

Like Rayne's love for Cadbury Cream Eggs and Red Bull, Mick has a passion for something else: Potato chips.

[edit] John

John Gold is Rayne's childhood friend, who often acts as a foil. He continually expresses a resigned discontent with Rayne's promiscuity. John is looking for a wife, which has been shown to lead him into being somewhat needy and over-hasty in relationships. He is a grade school teacher, and has on two occasions romanced Rebecca, a recently-divorced single mother of a child in his class. Another brief relationship of John's was with a woman named Hannah, who became a major part of his life and even moved in with him. However, the relationship proceeded too quickly for Rayne's liking. Hannah, in turn, didn't care for Rayne, and when she issued an ultimatum forcing John to decide between her and Rayne, John demonstrated extreme loyalty and chose his longtime friend, a choice Rayne found disappointing as he states "Best friends come and go. But sex... SEX IS FOREVER!".

John's temptations are represented by a small Darth Vader, in a parody of the shoulder devil cliché. This Darth Vader character frequently appears, not only to tempt him, but also to voice the darker thoughts that John represses. John's Darth Vader has even had a brief relationship with Rebecca's own "shoulder devil" cliché.

John was a major character in the strip's beginning (second only to Rayne himself,) but since the emergence of Noel and, to a lesser degree, Mick as major characters, John has faded into the background. He mainly appears in activities where the whole group is involved - such as the skydiving vacation or the anal sex discussion - or being tormented by Rayne. His previously laid-back temperament has become more annoyed, possibly due to the escalation of Rayne's torment (keeping rabbits in his room to get them to lay Cadbury eggs, trying to burn him with a torch to have an excuse to visit the pharmacy and filing a eunuch disability claim on his behalf). Despite these torments, John seems to have no major problems living with Rayne. Or at the very least, his friendship with Rayne overrides his natural survival instincts.

John's friendship with Rayne has once again become a focal point of the story, as it has been introduced that Rayne does not see John as someone he can depend on. At the end of the "To Be a Hero" arc, after a near death experience while trying to save a couple from a car crash, Rayne speaks with Issa and she remarks that he is far more shaken up than his other brushes with death. Rayne goes on to say that "John wasn't there. He's never there." John had stayed in their car, didn't come out to help Rayne at all, and is only shown out of the car after the paramedics had arrived on the scene.

One notable storyline beginning on January 2, 2008, reveals that Rayne is deeply hurt by the growing distance in their friendship, noting that he tried to include John in many of the previous storylines and sees his pranks as "the only time we've spent together in the past two years." It is revealed through flashbacks that John and Rayne first met on the first day of elementary school when Rayne (unsuccessfully) defended John from bullies. It seems that John is slowly working his way back into the group and regaining a bit of his old sense of humor. In 2008's Valentine's Date storyline John was allowed to make a retaliatory prank against Rayne using the contest. In response to Rayne typing 'Heil Hitler' at the bottom of his e-mail messanger, John selected a lovely German woman to win a date with Rayne, and then forced him into a Nazi uniform before Rayne, oblivious to what he was wearing, met her.

[edit] Supporting characters

[edit] Recurring

• Rob Penfield is Rayne and John's neighbor. He lives with his domineering girlfriend, Beth, who is never seen. His friends frequently accuse him of being "whipped." He works in marketing. Although he is listed on the site as a main character, he has rarely appeared since Lar took over as artist. His last major appearance saw him involved in a round table discussion on Anal Sex, though he was seen with Rayne and Mick "helping" Noel move from his apartment, and again in the recent story arc involving John and Rayne in highschool along with the rest of the main cast. He has not shown up in a character header on the site since the end of 2005. (#9 on the Cast Poster.)
• Cyndi Wang is Rayne's ex-girlfriend (so to speak). She met him while working as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant, where Rayne invited her out on a date horseback riding after convincing her that he was an "expert" equestrian. Rayne almost wrecked the date by trying to pay the Suck For A Buck Lady to give his horse Wild Rage oral sex in order to calm it down (a story Rayne would later tell at several future gatherings), but saved it with a memorable picnic (August 28, 2003). This arc provided the title of the year one book, "I Have My Moments" and the year four book "I Love This Guy". After this they began dating. However, he lost her parents' approval by describing his sexual plans for her. In the years that followed she would occasionally make brief appearances in the strip. Although she told Rayne she wanted to remain "friends", (which he translates as "I will NEVER sleep with you") after a wild New Years Eve party, Rayne woke up to find Cyndi naked in his bed. After much discussion, during which it was revealed that Rayne had initially passed out during his first attempt, Rayne and Cyndi would spend the next eight hours having sex. Cyndi disappeared from the comic then, though she was one of the ten women from a dating website he invited to a bar for an ill fated "battle royale" for the right to sleep with him. Cyndi wisely watched the spectacle unfold. Judging from her desire from Jon and Mick to keep her identity a secret from Rayne, he most likely did not know it was Cyndi when he sent her the invitation. She returned on February 14, 2007, as a part of the Valentine's storyline. It is implied that she is the only one of Rayne's flings that he has deeper feelings for. (#4 on the Cast Poster.)
• Urchin is an orphaned street kid that does odd jobs for Rayne, either for his amusement or for trying to get women and it was implied by Rayne that he is paid in jelly beans and apparently lives in the trunk of Noel's car. However, recently Rayne has stated that he took in Urchin until the day he gets adopted, primarily out of kindness, due to the fact that the boy is petrified of the foster care system. Rayne makes certain that Urchin attends school, is sheltered and fed, and in exchange, Urchin acts as Rayne's assistant. He is the creator (or at least tester) of The Bird Catapult, which he has upgraded into a fully-body armor suit, similar to the one used in 'Aliens'. He also apparently has some skill in first aid, having saved Rayne after he suffered a Red Bull-induced heart attack. Urchin refers to Rayne only as "Sir", and is modeled after Dickensian Street Urchins such as The Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist. (#10 on the Cast Poster.)

[edit] Family

• Eric Summers is Rayne's older brother. They have similar views of the opposite sex and a similar sense of humour. Eric is a doctor, and constantly brings up this fact to taunt Rayne, since the fact that he is a doctor and Rayne isn't allows Eric to feed his superiority complex. In Eric's first appearance, he insulted Rayne’s ability to pick up women until Rayne responded by challenging him to a "bake-off" in the bar, where each point is won with a verified phone number or kiss by an attractive girl. In the end, Rayne was victorious, after the game went to a sudden death match where Rayne was clearly the winner, receiving oral sex from a woman in the bar's men's room. Eric has since made several brief cameos, the first being when he learned of his and Rayne's half-sister Emily through a phone conversation with Rayne and his parents. He appeared in another strip where he antagonized Rayne once again for not being as successful as himself and bragged about his brand-spanking new BMW (whereas Rayne didn't own a vehicle at all), prompting Rayne to go on a quest for a better and more expensive car, (which Rayne fails to do). Recently he starred with Rayne in a story arc involving them playing Battlefield 1942 together. They both took the week off from work, and continually murdered each other in game. In his most recent appearance he went out of his way to torment his younger brother on a skiing trip, encouraging Rayne to attempt a run down a steep and dangerous slope, which caused Rayne to injure his knee. Rayne got his revenge, however, by picking up the very attractive paramedic who was attending to him, and by having Ashley tease Eric about that fact and by addressing Eric by the formal and incorrect title of 'Uncle Rick'. It is also noted that Eric is partially a cause for Rayne's view of commitment, as throughout their childhood, he would enter Rayne's room in the middle of the night and scream in his ear "Relationships suck! Be a whore!" nightly. It has been shown that back when Rayne was a young child, Eric had a head full of hair, and was quite proud of it. It is unknown how he went bald. Eric is modeled on Ryan Sohmer, author of the comic strip. (#12 on the Cast Poster.)
• Ashley is Rayne's niece from his half-sister Emily. She is four years old, and calls Rayne "Unca". Though she initially does not speak to Rayne, (out of shyness and Rayne making her cry following his revelations of the Muppet Elmo), she first warmed up to him after he took her for ice cream and a walk in the park which led to the two wreaking havoc in a local Toys "R" Us. Ashley shares Rayne's short attention span, mischievous streak and appears to share his love of Lord of the Rings (she even has a stuffed Aragorn toy which she sleeps with) and Star Wars as well, as shown when she attempts to use a Jedi Mind trick on him. Likewise, Rayne is slowly getting used to kids through interactions with her. You would think that visitation rights might be limited as Rayne has managed to teach her swear words and terrify her all in one day, but Emily knows how much the two like each other, and recently traded one of her friends to get Rayne to go with Ashley to space camp (although Rayne was willing to sell John into slavery in order to go). The two wreaked havoc at camp together, and Ashley also became involved in one of LICD's more touching moments; after Rayne narrowly avoids death in a skydiving accident, he seems pensive and tells his friends that he has to go see a girl. His roommates speculate and bet on whether Rayne will be going to see Cyndi, Marcy, or Julie, but instead Rayne shows up in Ashley's room asking if she wants to play. It is also made clear that Ashley much prefers Rayne to her other Uncle Eric, who she mockingly addresses as 'Uncle Rick.' The importance Ashley's relationship with Rayne was cemented in a storyline in which Rayne got a glimpse into his future. According to the vision, Ashley's parents will move when she finishes high school, and rather than tear her away from her friends and college plans, Rayne will build a house for himself and Ashley (Built to resemble Minas Tirith). He will become a CEO, and, when he retires, she will succeed him. She will continue to live in his home with her husband and children (twins, who look strikingly like Rayne), who refer to Rayne as "Grunca". (#5 on the Cast Poster.)
• Emily - Rayne and Eric's older half-sister, she was the result of a teenage pregnancy of Rayne's mother. She was given up for adoption upon birth. Emily would hire an agency to find her birth mother and was soon introduced to the family. Emily works as a lawyer, but is currently off on maternity leave. She has two daughters and seems to be significantly more grounded than either Rayne or Eric though she has quickly realized how their family works, as she once used a recently divorced friend to attempt to talk Rayne into taking Ashley to Space Camp (The results of this were a little different then what Emily expected, as Rayne quickly seduced her friend and stated that he would have gone without the extra incentive). She prefers Legolas to Aragorn, which makes Rayne question whether she is actually related to him. (#18 on the Cast Poster.)
• Mr. and Mrs. Summers are Rayne and Eric's parents. Introduced as occasional flashback characters before their appearance in 2006, it's been made clear where Rayne and Eric get most of the traits. They have long ago come to terms with their sons' promiscuity and during several occasions it's been implied that both Mr. and Mrs. Summers were similar to their boys in their own childhoods. Like everyone else in Rayne's life they are used to his outrageous behavior and often anticipate the worst-case scenarios when Rayne gets overstimulated. It was revealed that Mrs. Summers had another child, Emily when she was a teenager and has recently reunited with her daughter. (#13 & #14 on the Cast Poster.)
• Charles is Emily's husband, who has not appeared very much in the strip. However, he seems able to take Rayne's behavior with the best of them, much like his wife and in-laws. (#19 on the Cast Poster.)

[edit] Co-workers

• Marcy McKean is the CEO of IDS Enterprises and a self-made multi-millionaire. Rayne used false credentials to secure a job as a consultant in her company solely for the benefit of sleeping with her. Although he has received oral satisfaction from her, he has still yet to succeed at his ultimate goal. Marcy appears to still be unaware of the fraud, as well as the fact that sex is his primary goal. If anything Rayne has proven himself a good employee having made a great deal of money for IDS. For her own part, Marcy has a strong physical attraction to Rayne, but no desire for a relationship with him. It seems their relationship has become somewhat more professional over time, and Marcy often looks to Rayne to handle many important duties, although she also expects wackiness to ensue if he's involved. (#15 on the Cast Poster.)
• Nancy is Marcy's receptionist. Nancy was introduced when Rayne decided on a whim to interview for a job at IDS. As another employee insulted and belittled Nancy while treating her as a slave, Rayne came to her rescue and managed to scare off the offending employee, after which Nancy offered to arrange Rayne's meeting with Marcy. Unfortunately, before Rayne's interview, another man had shown up with the same goal of seducing Marcy, but the CEO realized the ploy, and threatened to fire Nancy if it ever happened again. Although Marcy has not yet realized Rayne's intentions, this has caused Rayne some guilt. As Rayne has repeatedly proven himself an effective and creative executive, however, we can assume that Nancy's job would be safe even if Marcy discovers the reason behind his application. When she went into labour, Rayne acted as mid-wife, but because of complications he had to rush her to the hospital using his Grand Theft Auto driving skills. Rayne was given the honor of naming Nancy's son, and quickly chose Aragorn, after which Marcy promised that they'd get the child "a good middle-name". It is later shown that Nancy has adopted the nickname "AJ" (Aragorn Junior) for the boy. Nancy returned after her leave of absence to take the position as Rayne's Administrative Assistant. Recently, it has been implied that her marriage, to a man named Michael, is troubled due to his long trips. She has apparently developed a working friendship with Rayne and is one of the few women who he talks to like an equal as opposed to a potential sexual conquest, and she in turn is often able to see past his childish and overt sexual behavior. (#20 on the Cast Poster.)
• Martin is an employ of IDS, and Rayne's former executive assistant. He is introduced to Rayne at the end of his first day at work. Martin is madly in love with Marcy and construes Rayne as a threat. His appearances have grown less common, having been replaced by Nancy though he is occasionally dressed up for Rayne's amusement. (#24 on the Cast Poster.)
• Mike von Huntington is an obnoxious man Rayne met at Space Camp. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Mike is everything Rayne is not: snotty, unpleasant, unattractive, condescending and elitist. Rayne has referred to him as an "arch-enemy" but his chance for revenge came when Mike applied for a job at IDS under him. Rayne tormented him for a while, but, to his great dismay, Mike's portfolio was so good and his proposal so accurate that Rayne was forced to hire him. Still, Rayne manages to abuse Mike, while simutaneously attempting to get him off his high-horse. Such an example was proven when Rayne forced Mike to work in the shipping warehouse under Jim and other blue collar employees during his initial job interview, which resulted in his being hung from a hook and Rayne asking Jim if he was sure Mike was not "filled with candy", as Ashley ran in with a bat. Rayne has also come to 'affectionately' call Mike 'Archie' due to his resemblance to Archie Andrews of Archie Comics fame. He has a little sister named Julia who is, if anything, more condescending than he is.
• Jim was a down on his luck family-man who lost his son Lucas in the mall while out during the Christmas holidays with the family. Rayne found Lucas, returned him to Jim and his wife, and, in the spirit of the season, purchased them a tree, presents, and offered him a job at IDS Enterprises. He currently works there as the warehouse foreman.

[edit] Minor Characters

• Bra-Man is Rayne's alter ego. When evil attacks the good, when darkness threatens the light, when 2 bottles of tequila are emptied, Bra-Man will be there. Real Life has Shirt-Ninja and VG Cats has Pantsman. Least I Could Do has Bra-Man.
• Little Vader is John's evil conscience. He comes to John's aid when he needs help, though often his advice is unwanted and inappropriate. He once tried to hide the Death Star in John's Apartment. (#23 on the Cast Poster.)
• Little Chewie could be considered John's good conscience, although he has only been seen in one strip (September 09, 2003). Like the original Chewbacca, little Chewie cannot speak English. Therefore, it is also possible that he was agreeing with Little Vader and encouraging John to sleep with the student's mother (also considering the fact that Little Vader said "That was pretty deep man").
• Harry is a homeless artist. After being offended by John's condescension, he set up shop outside his and Rayne's apartment building. It has recently been revealed that the only reason he has been allowed to live outside the apartment building is because Rayne has been paying the owner of the building, so as to ensure that Harry has a place to be warm, and be given food when short on cash. He is modeled on Lar deSouza, the current artist for LICD, though he has appeared little since Lar took over the strip. (#17 on the Cast Poster.)
• The "Suck For a Buck Lady" is a prostitute who often appears but never speaks. Introduced (July 03, 2003) as the one time Rayne was tempted to actually pay for sex, but he decided that, "It just seems wrong that I spend more on a pack of gum." Later (July 08, 2003), Rayne handed her a dollar and pointed to the other room (out of the frame), suggesting that he did hire her services. As the years went by, the Suck For a Buck Lady has appeared for various one-strip gags and Rayne once saved her from arrest.^{[citation needed]} Citing a new price for 2007, she raised her price to $1.50, something she has done before as Erik mentioned her price used to be 50 cents (#16 on the Cast Poster.)
• Rebecca Brisko is the attractive, divorced mother of one of John's students, Kasey. John is insanely attracted to her, and has slept with her on two separate occasions, with the prodding of Little Vader, to Rayne's great shock. (In her first appearance, Rebecca was named Jessica). (#27 on the Cast Poster.)
• Keira Knightley, presumably Rayne's favorite actress, has appeared twice to Rayne, the first in a dream, the second as his guide to his past, present and future, similar to the ghosts in A Christmas Carol. After their journey was done, Rayne was about to be allowed to fondle Keira until Urchin unfortunately resuscitated him from his Red Bull induced coma, and Rayne found himself making Urchin and himself very uncomfortable.
• Suzie is Mick's ex-girlfriend. Soon after he met her, she revealed she had dated John for nearly a year and had slept with Rayne multiple times (and that she had slept with over 30 men). Mick decided that her history didn't matter to him (though he did get himself tested for STD's upon discovering how many men she had slept with), and they continued dating even as Rayne made continuous "whore" jokes. Unfortunately for Mick, Suzie soon cheated on him soon after he decided to tell her that he loved her. After letting Rayne make her cry (with the help of the Suck-for-a-Buck Lady) he broke up with her. Suzie has appeared a few times since, usually with Rayne and Mick doing their best to make her life miserable.
• Huck is Issa's ex-boyfriend who lives on a farm. When Issa brought Rayne, John, and Mick out to the farm for the weekend to meet Huck, Rayne ended up offending Huck, and Mick got a goat's phone number, courtesy of Rayne. John was sick after seeing Huck shoot a crossbow bolt through the head of a gopher. It should be noted that Huck shares a striking resemblance to Rayne, causing John and Mick to comment on whether or not Issa secretly harbored feelings for Rayne.
• Dr. Wilcott is Rayne's stand in internist when his regular physician was out of town. Trying to strike up conversation, Rayne found out he was gay, right before a colonoscopy. Initially homophobic, Rayne later joked with the doctor, and eventually defended him from a woman in the waiting room. Used as a vehicle to express Ryan Sohmer's deep objection to homophobia.
• Phil the Pharmacist is Rayne's pharmacist. He sells Rayne condoms by the caseload and has a boat named the SS Rayne. Almost had a nervous breakdown when Rayne decided to stop buying condoms from him, since he was sick of using them. He taught Rayne about various contraceptive devices, and Rayne ultimately decided that condoms were best.
• Mick's current girlfriend has so far remained un-named, despite appearing in two story arcs so far. He met her at a college party in a female dormitory and attempted to cheer her up when he heard her crying after breaking up with her boyfriend. She was not seen again until the group-date storyline, but has appeared since in the Vivid Entertainment storyline.
• Kate is Noel's girlfriend, who he met durring the speed-dating storyline. They began dating some time after the actual event - which Rayne was quick to point out - and recently moved in together. Noel, however, did not tell Rayne he was doing this, though Kate took the resulting invasion of privacy very well, preferring to let Noel and Rayne sort the problem out on their own. The relationship is quite serious, as Noel reports that they have started discussing children. Kate reportedly wants six, which prompted Rayne to break out in The Sound of Music.
• Fetus Rayne's latest enemy. This young man insulted Rayne while the group waited to get into the bar, calling him an 'old man'. Rayne took this calmly then quickly gave him his nickname while humilating him in front of three beautiful women (with Noel's help). Fetus then declared war and Rayne quickly agreed. He is also who showed Rayne the fine art of grinding.

[edit] Women in Rayne's Black Book

Although few of Rayne's many conquests have been named in the course of the strip, some of the more noteworthy include:

• Jean, a beautiful pharmacist, one of the few (if not the only) women to get the better of Rayne Summers in bed. At first she ignored and outright rejected Rayne's advances because she thought he wanted a relationship, she later agrees to a bout of sex with him. Unfortunately for Rayne, she likes her sex quite rough and beats Rayne up and even asks him to choke her. It seems that S&M is where Rayne draws the line (or at least he does when a testicle gets slapped), and he leaves, to be comforted by his mother.
• Karen was Rayne's childhood Babysitter. He re-encountered her early on in the strip's run, and slept with her. In a turn of the tables, she was the one who ended the one night stand, hurrying Rayne out the door as he had done to so many others. The irony of the situation, Rayne told the audience in a moment breaking the fourth wall, was not lost on him.
• Gina was a woman Rayne briefly had a relationship with. She had a baby son, and let Rayne take care of him, which Rayne found he actually liked doing. They broke up when Rayne panicked after Gina told him she loved him, but she let him take the baby out one last time. Rayne promptly used the kid as a prop in a girl-getting sob-story about losing his wife.
• Mary Faber, a real-life Broadway actress who, while starring in Avenue Q, meets and hooks up with Rayne after he sees the show in June 2007. This appears to have offended the creators of Avenue Q, who threaten him with a Trekkie Monster puppet.
• Seline, also known as "Slinky" was Rayne's short-lived attempt at a serious relationship...sort of. Rayne began dating her after realizing all of his friends were in relationships. It is unclear as to where Rayne found her, though as he needed a date on short notice, he was seen trying to "employ" a gymnast (claiming to be a member of the Olympic Selection Committee) before the actual date. Seline later mentioned they met under similar circumstances. Though their relationship started off well, Rayne soon realized that he couldn't handle a committed relationship, and decided to end the relationship. The fact that he broke up via a text message provoked criticism from the rest of the cast.

[edit] Special Valentine Guests

Since 2004, the cast of Least I Could Do has had a reoccurring storyline where they break the fourth wall, and hold a Valentine's Day contest in which one fan is selected to win a date with the character of their choice. This storyline generally runs for an entire week.

• Avery was a married, leather-clad member of 'Bikers for Jesus', who won the first Valentine's Day contest with Issa in 2004. After giving her a ride on his motorcycle, they went to a rather fancy restaurant where he intimidated the waitstaff into giving them a table by eating glass. While Issa was enjoying her date with Avery, Rayne was attempting to sabotage it. This proved useless when Avery's wife arrived to join them.
• Ariba was a highly intelligent and highly trained member of the British Royal Marines, who won a date with Mick in 2005. Despite the fact that Mick was far more average than her (His entire life was summed up in three words: "I like Chips") Ariba was very attracted to him and took him back to her apartment where she managed to completely wear Mick out with her sexual prowess. Rayne was very proud.
• Sean was an attractive gay man, who won a date with Rayne in 2006. Although he was very much aware that Rayne was not gay and would have no desire to actually date him, Sean was in truth only interested in hanging out with Rayne and perhaps even giving him a new perspective on an alternate lifestyle. Their 'date' went along well enough, and Sean even managed to uninentionally aid Rayne in picking up a waitress who assumed Rayne was gay, and had the desire to try and turn him straight. Rayne was so pleased with the turn of events, that he had the desire to kiss Sean in gratitude. Sean however felt he could 'do better.'
• Brian was a short, witty and VERY well-endowed man who in 2007 won a date with Rayne's ex-girlfriend Cyndi. When he came to pick up Cyndi at Rayne's apartment, Rayne of course was opposed to someone else going out with his ex, and made a number of short jokes at Brian's expense. Brian however won, by revealing his impressive manhood, causing Rayne to cringe with intimidation. Despite this temporary win however, Rayne followed Brian and Cyndi on their date and continued to mock Brian's height. Yet, in the end it was Brian who went home with Cyndi and not Rayne.
• Lena S. was a lovely blonde German, who won a date with Rayne in 2008. She was hand select by John as part of a retaliatory prank against Rayne, who had earlier hacked his e-mail and changed the signature to 'Heil Hitler'. John's revenge involved tricking Rayne into a Nazi Uniform seconds before meeting Lena. She was needless to say, rather shocked by Rayne's attire and stormed out, despite Rayne's best efforts. It was only with Ashley's advice (some of her advice was left out http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comic/20080219) that Rayne managed to salvage the evening.

[edit] Books

Covers of Least I Could Do books 1, 2 and 3, and Bra-Man #1.

Least I Could Do books are published by Blind Ferret Entertainment Inc. Three books are available currently which round up the 2 years that the comic was drawn by Chad and the first year of Lar's work. The second book includes a mini-comic drawn by Lar that explains the origins of Bra-Man. They have also printed the first edition of Bra-Man, a spin-off comic based on Rayne's drunken alter-ego.

• I Have My Moments: The Complete First Year Collection; December 2004 ISBN 0-9736946-0-2
• My Will Be Done: The Complete Second Year Collection; December 2005 ISBN 0-9736946-1-0
• Because I Can: The Complete Third Year Collection; December 2006 ISBN 0-9736946-2-9
• I Love This Guy: The Complete Fourth Year Collection'; October 2007
• Bra-Man #1; July 2006

[edit] Awards

• Wizbang!'s Weblog Awards:
  • 2006: Won for Best Comic Strip^[2]
• Cartoonist's Choice Awards:
  • 2007: Nominated for Outstanding Comedic Comic^[3]

[edit] Animated Series

Work on the LICD: Animated Series has been going on for a couple of years now. After a false start with Chad, it seems to be taking off again. The LICD team, under their Blind Ferret banner, had been putting out the animated series for Ctrl+Alt+Del, but have discontinued their association with that project. They are now working cooperatively on another animated series for PvP with PvP creator, Scott Kurtz. After several successes with animation, they have released their first screen test of a Least I Could Do show. The trailer for the animated series was released in April of 2006, and can be found on the website. Blind Ferret Entertainment has also released a number of short animations for the webcomic Looking For Group.

[edit] Neologisms

Over the years Sohmer has created a number of new words to describe his thoughts on life and sex.

Vagoo - (According to Sohmer on the forum the word "Vagoo" rhymes with "Ragoo"[2], created on February 23, 2005.) Rayne states that the word vagina is "cold, sterile and doesn't do the female anatomy any justice. Other synonyms don't do any better either. Just not good descriptions of something warm and inviting." It has since been frequently used in the comic. A t-shirt designed by the Least I Could Do team also featured the word.

AUFLS - (pronounced "awfuls", created on March 26, 2005.) Ass Ugly Friend who will want to Leave Syndrome. Apparently Rayne is still looking for the cure.

Frog King - (created on April 26, 2006.) Used in exchange of the phrase "fucking". Introduced in a cartoon in which Rayne and his niece Ashley go down to the toy store, and after Ashley attempts a Jedi Mind Trick on him, Rayne exclaims "You're pretty fucking cool, you know that?!" (teaching Ashley a new word). A clerk overheard Ashley repeat the word, mistook it as "Frog King" (whether he did this intentionally or not is unknown), and stated, "I'm afraid we don't carry any Frog King merchandise." A t-shirt design has since been made, along with a plushie/condom holder, to commemorate the event. The Frog King plushie appeared in a comic; it is being held by Seline during a "Tao of Rayne" comic in the "A Girlfriend?" storyline. The fact that it was misheard was confirmed by the artist of the strip on the strip's website forum.

Humpchies - (created on June 7, 2006.) Used to express in one word the feeling of both lust and gluttony. It is a portmanteau of the words Hump + Munchies.

Vengerection - (created on November 1, 2006.) An erection brought on by the thought of upcoming vengeance. Rayne experiences it for the first time when showed Marcy's schedule for the day and seeing that his old nemesis from Space Camp, Mike Von Huntington, has an interview with her for a job at the company.

Mangoes - (created on May 13, 2008.) Intentional mistake at pronouncing the word Manga.

[edit] Blind Ferret Entertainment

A company started by Ryan Sohmer, the creator of Least I Could Do, and partner Randy Waxman, Blind Ferret Entertainment is an independent web, print, film, television production and marketing company that works to develop, market, distribute and represent high-quality projects that reach out to targeted audiences. The company seems to be working towards bringing webcomics more into the mainstream, and has linked itself with popular comics Ctrl+Alt+Del, VG Cats, Looking For Group, and 8-Bit Theater. Blind Ferret Entertainment also helped to create Ctrl+Alt+Del: The Animated Series. Work is also being done to bring Least I Could Do to television in the form of an animated series.

PvP's animated series has been added to Blind Ferret's animation work. A trailer is available on the PvP website. The first episode of the series was released February 1st, 2007. Most recently, Blind Ferret Entertainment created an infomercial for Nullo, a product marketed to neutralize body odors using the cast of Least I Could Do - uploaded to YouTube.com on December 15th, 2007. They have also put out short videos on YouTube of book signings and a teaser about Red Bull – referencing Ryan Sohmer's love for the drink.

[edit] Spin-offs and New Projects

In July 2006, the first "Bra-Man" comic was released. The 24 page comic showcases the adventures of Bra-Man, Rayne Summers' alter-ego. Bra-Man #1 was written by Ryan Sohmer, drawn by Lar deSouza, and coloured by Marc Brunet.

On November, 6 2006 Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza came out with a new webcomic called Looking For Group. The Comic follows Cale'Anon (an elven hunter) on his quest to save the world and Richard, (an undead warlock), whose quest is to have fun killing things. It has received positive attention at Stratics^[4] and the WoW community^[5][6].

The Looking For Group characters also appear in the background of a | May 2008 LICD strip, where Rayne and his niece are at a comic convention.

For more information regarding Looking For Group, please visit the Wikipedia entry on Looking For Group.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Least I Could Do (After the strip of March 21, 2007 the website was also reachable under AntHillPenetration.Com domain. As of June 4, 2008, this domain is defunct.)
• Least I Could Do Community Forum
• Looking For Group
• Blind Ferret Entertainment