List of Hsu and Chan Comics

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Hsu and Chan is a comic created by Jeremy "Norm" Scott that appears in the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. It follows the misadventures of the brothers Hsu and Chan Tanaka, who own and operate a company called "Tanaka Bros. Game Development" (which specializes in knock-offs of popular titles such as Gran Turismo: "Hsu and Chan in: Chan Turismo!"). These comics are known around the world.

After three years with EGM, Norm contacted Slave Labor Graphics Publishing about making a standalone, full-length Hsu and Chan comic book. Slave Labor agreed, and seven issues of the comic, as of 2005, have been published. A collection of these first five (along with extra bonus material) was released in 2004 and is titled Hsu and Chan: Too Much Adventure.

Tanaka Bros. Game Development has other, less seen employees, including Arnie, a ground squirrel bearing a striking resemblance to Sonic the Hedgehog, Gila Mobster, the brutish Charmander parody who can be seen wearing a black Fedora with a lighter grasped in the end of his tail, and Chernobyl, the radioactive chipmunk who is a take on Pikachu.

Contents

[edit] EGM strips

Below is a list of the Hsu and Chan strips that have appeared in EGM as well as what video game they are parodying. Usually, but not always, the content of the comic is related to what is on the cover of EGM that month. Unless otherwise noted, each strip is one page long.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
  • (EGM #124, November 1999) - "Pocket Morons" (Pokemon Blue and Red - Game Boy)

Note: This is the first Hsu and Chan strip to run in EGM. It features the introduction of both Hsu and Chan Tanaka as well as Chernobyl, the Radioactive Chipmunk.

Note: This strip features the introduction of Arnie.

Note: This strip features the introduction of Gila Mobster.

  • (EGM #136, December 2000) - Tales From Hsu and Chan (obsolete consoles and the horror genre)
  • (EGM #137, December 2001) - "Online!" (Internet/online gaming; MMORPGs)
  • (EGM #138, January 2001) - "O, Holy Nuts" (holiday special)
  • (EGM #139, February 2001) - "Girly!" (women and videogaming)
  • (EGM #140, March 2001) - "Schoolin'" (game design school)
  • (EGM #141, April 2001) - "The Sushi Saga!" Part One: "Robots Suck."
  • (EGM #142, May 2001) - The Sushi Saga! Part Two: "Backstory!"
  • (EGM #143, June 2001) - The Sushi Saga! Part Three: "Electric Bugaloo"
  • (EGM #144, July 2001) - "Advanced!" (Game Boy Advance)
  • (EGM #145, August 2001) - The Trade Show Diaries (E3)
  • (EGM #146, September 2001) - "Last Hurrah!" (end of summer antics)
  • (EGM #147, October 2001) - Chums of Liberty (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - PlayStation 2)
  • (EGM #148, November 2001) - "Wrasslemania! YARRG!" (WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It- PlayStation 2)
  • (EGM #149, December 2001) - Game Noir (Gila Mobster as "Harry Booker, PI" in a crime noir-themed comic out of place in the Hsu and Chan universe)
  • (EGM #150, January 2002) - "Squares" (Gamecube versus Xbox)
  • (EGM #151, February 2002) - 'Fantastique' (Final Fantasy X - PlayStation 2)
  • (EGM #152, March 2002) - Rebirth (Maximo theme of 3-D revival of 2-D games)
  • (EGM #153, April 2002) - Best of 2001 Round-Up! (the best games of 2001)
  • (EGM #154, May 2002) - All-Star Gala Zombierama (Resident Evil - GameCube)
  • (EGM #155, June 2002) - War Games (military video games)
  • (EGM #156, July 2002) - Hsu and Chan Go Hollywood! (video game movies)
  • (EGM #157, August 2002) - Down the Drain! (Super Mario Sunshine - GameCube)
  • (EGM #158, September 2002) - Connections (PlayStation 2 online)
  • (EGM #159, October 2002) - Hsu and Chan's Authoritative Net Etiquette Primer (online etiquette)
  • (EGM #159, October 2002) - This issue also features a 12 page comic strip/feature article entitled "EGM's No-Problemo Guide to Taking Your PS2 Online" that was illustrated by Norm. Although Hsu and Chan do not appear in this feature, it does mark the debut of Jimmy, the lead character in the H&C spin-off comic, Game Critter Super-Squad!
  • (EGM #160, November 2002) - First Person! (first person shooters)
  • (EGM #161, December 2002) - Hsu Crime Stories (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - PlayStation 2)

Note: This was a four page strip. It also contains a plug for the first issue of Slave Labor's Hsu and Chan comic book. The comic also confirms the correct pronunciation of Hsu's name (rhymes with "shoe," which rhymes with "true," a la "True Crime Stories.")

Note: Despite this being the January issue, the magazine actually shipping in December, making the Holiday Gift Guide still relevant.

  • (EGM #163, February 2003) - 2002: The Year We Made Contracts (New Year's resolutions)

Note: Like the previous strip, this strip's content was still relevant at the time since EGM typically ships during the month prior to the month on the cover.

Note: EGM went through a redesign in this issue. The Hsu and Chan comic was moved from the end of the Press Start section (near the front of the magazine) to the last page (in a section called Game Over).

Note: This strip features the introduction of Arnie's family.

Note: This strip was drawn is a different style to emulate the art style of famed Final Fantasy artist, Yoshitaka Amano.

Note: This strip doesn't feature Hsu and Chan, but is instead a collection of five different video games (Mortal Kombat, Clock Tower, Bionic Commando, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Resident Evil) drawn as if they were covers to 1950's horror comics.

Note: When this strip was written, Nintendo's Wii was still being referred to by its official codename, the Revolution.

  • (EGM #205, July 2006) - Scent of Fear! (World War II video games)
  • (EGM #206, August 2006) - Expansion (luring non-gamers to play video games)
  • (EGM #207, September 2006) - The Last Random Battle (turn-based RPGs vs. action RPGs)
  • (EGM #208, October 2006) - Conned! (The death of E3)
  • (EGM #209, November 2006) - Gear (Gears of War - Xbox 360)
  • (EGM #210, December 2006) - Combat: Involved! (Halo 3 - Xbox 360)
  • (EGM #211, January 2007) - Parade of Disparagement (Console wars between PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360)

Note: Due to an EGM redesign this month, this is the first comic without the customary title panel.

[edit] Slave Labor Comics

The following strips have been featured in the Hsu and Chan comic book published by Slave Labor Graphics.

  • Hsu and Chan #1 (January 2003) - Curse of the Ancients!; Evening of Destruction; Shoot-Man video game ad
  • Hsu and Chan #2 (April 2003) - Horrors from Beyond the Rec Room!; All-Star Gala Zombierama (reprinted from EGM #154, May 2002)
  • Hsu and Chan #3 (July 2003) - The Duel; War Games (reprinted from EGM #155, June 2002)
  • Hsu and Chan #4 (October 2003) - Drive-In To Murder; Hsu and Chan Go Hollywood! (reprinted from EGM #156, July 2002)
  • Hsu and Chan #5 (February 2004) - Phantom of the Carnies; Wrasslemania! YARRG! (reprinted from EGM #148, November 2001)
  • Hsu and Chan #6 (August 2004) - Brand Loyalty; Chums of Liberty (reprinted from EGM #147, October 2001)
  • Hsu and Chan #7 (April 2005) - Tourists, Trapped!

[edit] Slave Labor Trade Paperbacks

The following are Hsu and Chan trade paperbacks that have been published by Slave Labor Graphics.

  • Hsu and Chan: Too Much Adventure (May 2004) - Collects issue #1-5 of Slave Labor's Hsu and Chan comic book as well as a few bonus articles and strips by Norm (including the very first, previously unpublished Hsu and Chan strip).

[edit] Online Comics

In December 2006, Norm began running a near-daily comic strip on his website, Spookingtons. Instead of a standard three panel gag strip or a single page adventure (like the EGM strips), these new Hsu and Chan comics are full stories, much like one would find in the Slave Labor comics. The story is then broken up into 2-3 panel chunks each day.

[edit] Game Critter Super-Squad! Comics

Game Critter Super-Squad! was a Hsu and Chan spin-off comic that ran in nine issue of EGM's now-defunct sister magazine, GameNOW. Although the GCSS strips didn't have separate titles, the following are brief descriptions of the strips that ran.

  • (GameNOW #19, May 2003) - Jimmy assembles the GCSS to defeat a giant robot, but the Squad is easily distracted by donuts.
  • (GameNOW #20, June 2003) - Gila Mobster helps Jimmy believe in the heart of the cards in a Yu-Gi-Oh! parody.
  • (GameNOW #21, July 2003) - Arnie questions reality after playing a video game based on The Matrix.
  • (GameNOW #22, August 2003) - The Squad accidentally wanders into Silent Hill. Arnie wets his pants, if he wore any.
  • (GameNOW #23, September 2003) - Part two of the Silent Hill saga. The Squad chats up one of the more talkative residents of the town.
  • (GameNOW #24, October 2003) - Arnie complains about having to play as an elf in a The Lord of the Rings-style game.
  • (GameNOW #25, November 2003) - Arnie realizes that for a group called the "Super-Squad," the gang doesn't really go on any grand, world-saving adventures. Gila Mobster sends Arnie on a quest to fetch him another beer.
  • (GameNOW #26, December 2003) - Jimmy takes a rare trip outside in order to play Boktai despite the Squad's insistence that the outdoors are nothing but trouble.
  • (GameNOW #27, January 2004) - Jimmy and Arnie discuss the future of 3-D gaming (that is, "alien monsters flying out of your TV" 3-D and not simply polygonal graphics) and other gimmicky gaming technology.

[edit] References

Scott, Norm. (2004). Hsu and Chan: Too Much Adventure. SLG Publishing.

[edit] External links