Space Moose

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Space Moose was a Canadian underground comic strip that appeared in the University of Alberta's student newspaper, The Gateway, between 1989 and 1999. Almost all of the strips were penned by Adam Thrasher, a biomedical engineering student at the university. For career-related reasons, many archives refer to the author by his pen name Mustafa Al-Habib.[1]

The strip follows the adventures of Space Moose, an anthropomorphic, nihilistic, pansexual moose with asymmetrical eyes and a Star Trek uniform, as he violates every behavioral norm and societal taboo he can find. His roommates Marlo Smefner, Billy the Bionic Badger, and Bald Dwarf are often the accomplices or victims of his actions. The strip often focused on scatological or sexual themes and often seemed to delight in tweaking readers' sensibilities; as a result, Thrasher found himself in hot water on several occasions.

In October 1997, The Gateway refused to publish a strip satirizing the Take Back the Night March, in which Space Moose and Billy prepared to open fire on a feminist demonstration. [1] The strip was nevertheless available on the cartoonist's web site; its presence there ignited a controversy on campus that polarized public opinion and led to Thrasher being charged with discrimination under the university's code of student behavior, a charge that was overturned on appeal.

In February and March 1997, Space Moose ran for student council president and finished a close third with 1400 votes (only 11 votes behind the second place candidate). This led to changes being made in student union rules that would prevent any future "joke" candidate from actually winning an election.

A book collection, Triumph of the Whim, was published privately, also in 1997. Most strips are available on the Space Moose web site.

Contents

[edit] Character summary

Space Moose is a student anthropomorphic moose with asymmetrical eyes (a genetic mutation[2]). He wears a TOS/TNG Star Trek uniform in most strips. He shares an apartment with Marlo Smefner, Billy the Bionic Badger, and Bald Dwarf. He once hinted that he is several decades old [3].

Billy's actual name is William B. Badger III [4]. He has a PH.D. in psychology. [5]

His origins are revealed in the strip "Moose: the origin." According to the strip, Space is actually an alien, sent to Earth to be raised by cretins so that he can later return to his home planet Olmak [6] and free his people (space refugees from the Clone Wars) from slavery under mutants. This is confirmed in Space Moose: An Introduction.

The strip displays lax continuity, as characters are sometimes killed and later reappear alive. [7] Characters often say "bee". Early strips showed him with his own space craft, The Mauve Armadillo, fighting Hoyt Axton, a space pirate. In a later strip, he used it to attack the Enterprise, lobbing a missile of bull semen. [8]

He signed a recording contract with Chainsleaze Records and released a lip synced album.[9] He quickly tired of being mobbed by fans and canceled his popularity by mooning Mayor Jan Reimer.[10]

Space and Billy once had jobs in the comic strip Calvin and Slobbes, but were were fired and decided to start their own strip. [11]

Space is a serious Trek fan, having all 78 episodes of Star Trek (on VHS) and all 80 of TNG, 53 issues of Starlog and a copy of The Star Trek Compendium.[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Various minor celebrities have appeared in the strip, such as Colby Christ [17] and Tooker Gomberg [18].

He has met and escaped Coprophage, a masked Coprophiliac who tried to steal his droppings. [19] [20]

He was committed for planting an abortion vending machine in a pro-life meeting room. [21] His roommates break him out,[22] [23] with help from Thanatos. [24]

He briefly joined an order of monks, the Brotherhood of the Amorous Tarsier, who live on a strict diet of Alphaghetti and predict the future through regurgomancy (interpreting vomit). [25] [26] [27]

He has violated most of the Ten Commandments. [28]

He is against circumcision. [29]

A woman once filed a paternity suit against him [30], but his lawyer tried to prove that Space was a virgin.[31] He lost, [32] having to pay $500 a month child support.

He has a robot that he built entirely from mail-order gadgets. [33]

He served as a court-appointed lawyer, defending a hippie. [34] [35] [36] His conduct caused a mistrial and he was disbarred.

He sold drugs to River Phoenix (since 1986). [37]

He participated in Safewalk, helping to protect female students from being raped, [38] but he overreacted, leading to a slaughter. [39]

He has a cast iron stomach. In one strip he downed a bowl of hot salsa, nachos, jalapeños, a bottle of vinegar, used coffee grounds and a urinal puck for dessert. However he doesn't stop there and two hours later, a cheering crowd is yelling for him to consume a bucket of horse diarrhea. [40]

In "Space Moose & the Time Machine", He and Billy meet Professor Shaun Ot, a time traveler from the year 2314. Space knives him and takes his time travel device, a time belt. The two proceed to go wild with the belt. Space becomes the gunman on the grassy knoll, prevents the birth of Noam Chomsky, teaches math to the Ancient Greeks, pees upstream of the baptism of Jesus and even has sex with himself, saying he is now the "Master of Time." This results in a chaotic alternate world where April 12, 1994 sees rampaging Nazi Kill-bots and a temple where he is worshiped. [41]

He becomes morbidly obese [42] [43] and joins a support group [44] and is ultimately saved by Billy, who builds a "Deflabinator" [45].

After Space and Billy insult some whores while stopped at a red light, [46] their pimp roughs up Space. They escape by opening the trunk of their car, which contains three zombies. [47]

A new character is briefly introduced, Calgary Chris. It is implied that he leaves after being sodomized by Space. [48]

He sent away for a mail-order bride named Svetlana Tchetlaninov, but Bald Dwarf convinces him not to pick her up at the airport. [49]

Space Moose can play pogs, using a slammer. [50]

He ran his own game show called "Animal Kingdom kumate [sic]". The first version is a flop, pitting a hamster and an earthworm against each other.[51] A second version, "Animal Kingdom Kumite," does better, appearing on Pay-per-view with Billy the Badger as the defending champ. [52] He kidnaps Marlo, on the second try[53] [54], and makes him fight a skunk [55]. Marlo is presumed to be the winner. Animal activists picket the studio, but are massacred by a released kodiak bear with fetal alcohol syndrome. [56] However the stocks of animals soon run low, and he builds an ark. [57] [58] Unfortunately, the ark burns and sinks after Space falls asleep on the deck with a lit Cohiba. [59]

Space and Billy attempt to return a narwhal to the sea, absconding with a Tuatara as well. [60] The Narwhal dies in transit. [61]

He and Billy have been mistaken for Rocky & Bullwinkle. He has also been arrested for indecent exposure three times. [62]

Bald Dwarf is diabetic, taking insulin. [63]

One strip, "Antlers of the damned," parodies a Chick tract. [64]

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

In the Futurama episode "A Head In The Polls", a character who looks like Space Moose sits at the "Bull Space Moose Party" booth at a political party convention.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Space Moose (discussion archived at the Internet Archive.)

[edit] External links