''Gold Digger'' is a comic book series, written and drawn by

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former World number 1 male tennis player rankings, world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors, including eight Grand Slam (tennis), ...

, and published by

Antarctic Press Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes " Amerimanga" style comic books. The company also produces "how-to" and "you can" comics, instructing on areas of comic book creation and craft. Beginning in ...

. Counting all the regular series issues, in addition to all the connected limited series, annuals, special issues, and handbooks produced by the author, ''Gold Digger'' is the most extensive, long-running, self-contained North American comic book in history that has been consistently written and drawn by the original creator. The artwork and design of ''Gold Digger'' are strongly influenced by Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

, and Perry himself describes the book as a mixture of ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

'' and ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...

''.Manning, Shaun. "Perry Celebrates Twenty Years of "Gold Digger", ''Comic Book Resources'' (May 10, 2011).

Publication history

Perry came up with the initial inspiration for Gold Digger during his tour of duty in the

First Gulf War The Gulf War (1990–1991) was an armed conflict between Iraq and a multinational military coalition led by the United States, triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Persian Gulf War may also refer to: * Shatt al-Arab conflict ...

, and released the debut

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

in Antarctic Press' ''Mangazine'' in 1991. A four-issue

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

followed in 1992 and 1993, followed by a regular monthly black-and-white series, and finally the current color series beginning in 1999. In 2011, Perry discussed being inspired by the way the contemporary ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' television series develops

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

s, and he adapted ''Gold Digger'' to a similar consistently self-contained format from issue #101 and onwards, with each issue easily accessible and possible to enjoy for new readers.

Summary

''Gold Digger'' focuses on the adventures of Gina Babette Diggers,

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

superscientist, archeologist, teacher, adventurer, nerd, and idealist extraordinaire, accompanied by her colourful extended family, friends, students, and acquaintances, as she explores the strange and ancient hidden histories of the world, spanning a wide distinctive variety of characters, stories, environments, worlds, societies, times, species, and universes of magic and science fiction, in a world filled with possibilities.

Plot influences

Thanks to the author's very diverse interests, and personal experiences ranging from the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

studies, the stories have included

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

references to a wide variety of popular culture, spanning anything from science, fantasy, science-fiction, television series, books,

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

es,

computer games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

, animation,

, or even

internet memes An Internet meme, or meme (, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through social media platforms. Internet memes manifest in a variety of formats, including images, v ...

Characters

''See:

List of Gold Digger characters The ''Gold Digger (comics), Gold Digger'' series has a large ensemble cast, in total spanning hundreds of characters. Diggers family Gina Diggers Archaeologist, super-scientist, and adventurer, lover of all things Monty Python, Roddenberry and L ...

Collected editions

*''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 1'' – Collects the original miniseries issues #1–4. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 2'' – Collects the first issues of the Gold Digger regular series. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 3'' – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 4'' – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 5'' – Collects vol. 2 #17–21. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 6'' *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 7'' – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 8'' – Collects vol. 2 #32–35 plus ''

Ninja High School ''Ninja High School'' (also known as ''NHS'') is a comic book series created, written, and illustrated by Ben Dunn, published by Antarctic Press (at one point being published by Eternity Comics). On occasion other artists and writers have con ...

'' #54–57. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 9'' – Collects vol. 2 #36–40. *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 10'' – Collects vol. 2 #41–45. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 11'' – Collects vol. 2 #46–50. *''Gold Digger Max Pocket Manga'' – Collects the ''Asrial vs. Cheetah'' and ''A Science Affair'' miniseries, plus the ''Gold Digger Beta'' and ''GD Minus 18'' one-shots. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 1'' – Collects issues #1–8 of the colour series. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 2'' – Collects vol. 3 #9–15. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 3'' – Collects vol. 3 #16–21. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 4'' – Collects vol. 3 #23–30. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 5'' – Collects vol. 3 #31–36. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 6'' – Collects vol. 3 #37–42. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 7'' – Collects vol. 3 #43–47. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 8'' – Collects vol. 3 #48–52. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 9'' – Collects vol. 3 #52–56. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 10'' – Collects vol. 3 #57–61. – *''Gold Brick, vol. I'' – Collects vol. 2 #1–25 *''Gold Brick, vol. II'' – Collects vol. 2 #25–50 *''Gold Brick, vol. III'' – Collects vol. 3 #1–25 (51–75 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. IV'' – Collects vol. 3 #26–50 (76–100 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. V'' – Collects vol. 3 #51–75 (101–125 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. VI'' – Collects vol. 3 #76–100 (126–150 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. VII'' – Collects vol. 3 #101–125 (151–175 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. VIII'' – Collects vol. 3 #126–150 (176–200 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. IX'' – Collects vol. 3 #151–175 (201–225 overall) – *''Gold Digger Platinum, vol. 1'' – Collects vol. 3 #101–105. Starring Gina and her new batch of supernatural archeology students. – *''Gold Digger Platinum, vol. 2'' – Collects vol. 3 #106–110. *''Peebo Manga Vol. 1'' – Starring Brianna, Peebri, and the Peebos. *''Peebo Tales TPB'' – Collects "Gold Digger: Peebo Tales #1–6". *''Tifanny & Charlotte Pocket Manga'' – Collects the first miniseries. *''Tifanny & Charlotte, 2nd Semester Pocket Manga'' – Collects the second miniseries. *''Throne of Shadows Pocket Manga'' – Collects "Throne of Shadows" #1–4, starring the wererats. *''Maidens of Twilight Pocket Manga'' – Starring Gennadrid and Seance. *''Gold Digger Tangent Pocket Manga'' – Starring Ayane and the Northern Edge Guard. *''Gold Digger Sourcebook TPB'' – Collects the Gold Digger Sourcebook #1–17. *''Gold Digger Tech Manual'' – Collects Gold Digger Tech Manual #1–9

DVDs

*''GD-ROM 1.0'' – Collects ''Gold Digger'' vol.1: #1–4, vol.2: #1–50, vol.3: #1–75, and ''

'' #54–57. *''GD-ROM 2.0'' – Collects ''Gold Digger'' vol.1: #1–4, vol.2: #1–50, vol.3: #1–100, and ''

'' #54–57. *''GD-ROM 3.0'' – Collects ''Gold Digger'' vol.1: #1–4, vol.2: #1–50, vol.3: #1–125, and ''

'' #54–57. *''Gold Digger: Time Raft'' – A full length

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

movie.

Awards

In 2013, Perry received an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

for his work on the series.

External links

Fred Perry's Deviantart profile page
– Contains drawings, news, and comic strips.
Antarctic Press page
– Publisher of the ''Gold Digger'' series, collections and spinoffs, with an online store for ordering collections and back issues.
Antarctic Press Library
– Official free online celebration preview of the 199 first Gold Digger issues.
GD Tangent
– A

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

by Fred Perry featuring drawings of various Gold Digger characters, ''Lvlup'', set in Vana'diel (the world of ''

Final Fantasy XI also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Square (video game company), Square and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installme ...

''), and two Gold Digger subcomics, ''Ayane'', set on Earth, and ''Northern Edge'', set in the world of Jade.

References

{{Antarctic Press Original English-language manga Feminist comics Comics about women Fictional archaeologists 1992 comics debuts