Basic Instructions by Scott Meyer for January 28, 2011

They Killed Ken…rodney! B@#$@DS!

He’s a crafty one, he is!

A four billion Peta-byte thumb drive. I want one of those.

What’s the over-under on how long The Human Torch stays dead?

I’m sure Torch will be back in about a year, in some incarnation or another.

I apologize… I am rather new here. Anyone willing to tell me the backstory of the following:

Who is MacraMayhem? It sounds like it is the disheveled, bearded guy with the tilted head, but what kind of name is that? What’s up with all the costumes all the people are wearing?

I really think this comic is GENIUS LEVEL in so many ways and have been reading recently and perusing several of the archived strips. But, I am completely clueless about today’s strip. I presume the “superhero” characters or whatever the people are dressed as relate back to some prior story, but I have not seen anything like that.

So, again, if anyone can, please give me a synopsis of where this originates from and then I can see better the humor.

Today’s strip isn’t really about science fiction; it’s about superhero comic books and how nobody ever stays dead for long in that genre.

MacraMayhem is a supervillian. As far as I can recall this is the first time we’ve seen him (also Rodney). The other 3 are superheros. They’ve appeared in Basic Instructions before, but their backstories aren’t relevant – for today’s strip all you need to know is they’re superheros.

-Cougar :{)

@ Night-Gaunt

I’ve always assumed super hero comic books were a sub-genre of science fiction. Examples include Spider-Man getting bit by the radioactive spider; X-Men having a specific mutation, Superman coming from another planet, or Batman’s utility belt.

I never thought about the prime influence being religious myths. (interestingly, Thor didn’t fit the mold and because of this, didn’t seem to fit in. If he really IS a god, then that’s like “cheating.”’ Superheroes are mortals with unusual talents, for the most part.

My first impression was to disagree with your religious myths theory, but you may be on to something. The “bad science” might just be a way to modernize an old archetype. I guess older versions of superheroes before modern science used demi-gods, demons, and magic, all of which have a hint of religion/supernatural.

@ PipeTobacco and @ CougarAllen,

MacraMayhem first appeared in this strip;

http://www.gocomics.com/basicinstructions/2011/01/14/

Looks like Omnipresent Man came from January of ‘10. http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2010/1/10/how-to-write-a-superhero-story.html And google his name and you’ll find about three more dates.

And the Knifeketeer in February. http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2010/2/10/how-to-assemble-a-mighty-team-of-superheroes.html

Thank you, Outworld Cats. I should have remembered MacraMayhem’s earlier appearance.

Rocket Hat is my favorite – although The Judger is pretty cool, too.

-Cougar :{)