Snake 'n' Bacon

Snake 'n' Bacon
Genre Comedy
Created by Michael Kupperman
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 1
Production
Running time 11 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Adult Swim
Picture format 4:3 SDTV
Original airing May 10, 2009
External links
Website

Snake 'n' Bacon is a comic book and cartoon duo created by American cartoonist and illustrator Michael Kupperman (also known by his pseudonym P. Revess).[1] Originally only in print comics, the characters were brought to television on May 10, 2009, when they were broadcast on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim channel in a Snake 'n' Bacon animated show. The Tales Designed to Thrizzle, Vol. 1 collection was published in 2009 by Fantagraphics,[2] but after its pilot the show was not picked up by Cartoon Network for Adult Swim.[3]

Characters

The characters in the comics were a parody of popular comedy teams. One of the characters is a snake, while the other is a strip of bacon. Other characters in the comic were Criminal District Attorney and Underpants-On-His-Head-Man.[4] Utterances by Snake and Bacon are limited to hissing (on Snake's part) and making bacon-related comments (on Bacon's part) such as "I'm real bacon" and advice such as "Wrap your dog's pill in me."[5] Still, their communications are filled with sexual innuendos.[1]

The characters "highlight what is perhaps Kupperman’s greatest comedic skill--the ability to sell surreal ideas in the most serious way possible, highlighting the humor all the more vividly," according to one reviewer.[6] Kupperman did cartoons for Robert Smigel's TV Funhouse TV series before returning to comic book making with a series for Fantagraphics called Tales Designed to Thrizzle, using many of the characters from Snake 'n' Bacon (including the titular pair) and new characters, such as Hercules ("the public domain superhero") and The Mannister, a man who can transform himself into the shape of a banister.[6]

When the cartoon came to television, it combined animated and live-action sequences,[5] with the help of such people as James Urbaniak ("Bacon"), Dan Bakkedahl, Bill Hader, David Rakoff, Kristen Schaal, Peter Serafinowicz, and Brian Stack.[7] It was followed on the Cartoon Network schedule by "a spiritual cousin," the British comedy The Mighty Boosh.[1]

Influences and comedic approach

Kupperman has created several memorable cartoon characters, written for DC Comics, and has been influenced by absurdity and surrealism.[1] Kupperman is said to use absurdist humor that includes straightforward jokes, pointing out through humor the absurdities of the past that just weren’t visible to readers at the time, mimicking "silly" directions people put in books about how to use them, and putting famous people in silly situations.[1]

Pilot episode

Title Directed by Written by Original air date
"Psst! Wanna See a Crime Scene?"Rich Blomquist & Scott JacobsonMichael Kupperman, Scott Jacobson & Rich BlomquistMay 10, 2009

After being woken up by The Green Fairy (Kristen Schaal) in the cold opening Snake and Bacon visit a crime scene were a murder took place. Later a detective (Dan Bakkedahl) shows Snake and Bacon all of the evidence from the scene, as collected by The Police Vac. After examining the evidence Snake discovers that the murder was hiding underneath a penny, Snake and Bacon are ordered to attack the murder, who appears to admire them. Later the district attorney (David Rakoff) congratulates them for their achievement, its at this moment Snake has a realization that the district attorney has been flying above them and spying on them the whole time.

Sketches: "The Head", "The Saga of Teen Grandpa", "Toad to Perdition" "Rabid District Attorney" and "District Attorney of a 1000 Faces"

Books

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Snake 'n' Bacon set the audience reeling". Thaindian Newsportal. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  2. ↑ ANGELA ASHMAN Michael Kupperman; FINE 'TOONING, See Michael Kupperman's latest works in 3-D August 18, 2009
  3. ↑ Richard Pachter "Kupperman's dementedly absurdist comic pastiches may be too smart for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, which passed on the pilot for his bizarro creation Snake N' Bacon, but this brilliant, anarchic collection of errant dips into the cultural gestalt is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Like stuff that's fearless, brilliant and non-linear? Thrizzle is for shizzle." [Funny, classic and poignant works to savor in Tales Designed to Thrizzle, Vol. 1'] Aug. 13, 2009 Merced Sun-Star
  4. ↑ "Comix Review Revue". The Stranger. Feb 21, 2001. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wu, Annie (2009-05-15). "Have you experienced Snake 'N' Bacon?". TVSquad.com. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cronin, Brian (2009-05-17). "The Comic Book Alphabet of Cool — K". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  7. ↑ Murray, Noel (2009-05-08). "Program note: Snake 'N' Bacon on Adult Swim Sunday night". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  8. ↑ Olson, Ray (2000-11-15). "Rev. of Snake 'n' Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret". Booklist. Retrieved 2009-05-11.

External links