''Seaguy'' is a three-volume
comic book miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
written by
Grant Morrison with art by
Cameron Stewart and published by the
Vertigo imprint of
DC Comics. The first volume of ''Seaguy'' was released in three issues beginning on May 19, 2004. The second volume, ''Slaves of Mickey Eye'', was released in three issues beginning on April 1, 2009. The third and final volume, ''Seaguy Eternal'', is yet to be published.
The story revolves around Seaguy, an unpowered
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
in a
scuba suit, and his best friend and
sidekick Chubby Da Choona, a talking,
cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
-smoking
tuna.
Publication history
Morrison has expressed on various occasions that Seaguy represents a deliberate effort to move away from conventions of
the current era of comics: "I had the idea to develop Seaguy into a weapon I could use to fight back against the trendy and unconvincing 'bad-ass' cynicism of current comics, most of which are produced by the most un-'bad-ass' men you can possibly imagine". Morrison believes that in this fashion the work represents a new vanguard in the development of comics. Morrison expressed similar sentiments about ''
Zenith'', one of the earliest series they worked on, when they said that it "was a reaction against torment superheroes".
''Seaguy'' was planned as a trilogy, the second and third volumes were to be entitled "The Slaves of Mickey Eye" and "Seaguy Eternal" respectively, but due to the lower-than-expected sales of the comic, it was thought that the sequels were unlikely to be published. In 2006, a fan reported to a comics rumor column that Morrison was holding
DC Comics' ''
52'' weekly limited series for ransom. They reportedly offered to help write the series as long as they allowed him to go forward on the ''Seaguy'' sequel.
In April 2008, Morrison stated that both sequels would go ahead and gave an overview of the ideas they have about the different parts:
The first sequel, ''Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye'', was released on April 1, 2009 by DC Comics/Vertigo.
Morrison has expanded on the broader themes:
Plot
Seaguy is a
super-hero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, o ...
who has never really had an adventure and spends his days in New Venice playing chess with Death, watching ''Mickey Eye'' (a
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
show about an all-seeing, all-knowing, psychopathic eye, and an obvious spoof on
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
) and going to the Mickey Eye
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
. He constantly expresses his wish to go on adventures and impress a beautiful bearded warrior woman named She-Beard, but he never seems to get around to it because he's told the world doesn't need heroes anymore. However, when Seaguy and Chubby discover that a new food staple called Xoo is sentient, they decide to protect it from evil forces and bring it home.
Seaguy exists in a seemingly perfect world in which all the super-heroes no longer save lives or do much of anything except ride the rides at the Mickey Eye amusement park. It is public knowledge that all the evil in the world was finally destroyed after a powerful entity called the Anti-Dad was destroyed by all the super-heroes, effectively leaving the heroes without jobs. The style of the book is equal parts dark tragedy and light-hearted whimsy as the main character travels from one adventure to the other, but with each adventure becoming more tragic than the one before it, until Seaguy discovers the secret history of the moon.
Collected editions
The first volume has been collected into a
trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to:
* Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book
* Trade paperback (comics)
In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...
:
* ''Seaguy'' (104 pages, 2005, )
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Seaguy interview with Cameron Stewart Comiccon
at
Comics Bulletin
Seaguy TPB review by Jeffery Klaehn at Graphic Novel Reporter March 2009
Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye Spanish Review @ kopodo
{{Grant Morrison
2004 comics debuts
Comics by Grant Morrison
Widescreen comics