The Ultimate Melonpool

by Steve Troop, Bill Troop (Introduction)

Melonpool was one of the first comics to regularly-update specifically for the web. This strip about a bunch of aliens, a telepathic dog and a 5-foot-tall, 200-lb hamster was a webcomic before there was a word "webcomic." Blending humor, pop culture and sci-fi in ways that only author Steve Troop, could, Melonpool also was one of the first webcomics to be collected in "dead tree format" collections. Out-of-print since 2004, now you can own your own copy, now with 38% less typos and better binding than the original! In addition to reprinting the first 308 strips (April 28, 1996 - October 5, 1997), this 220-page book also * Behind-the-scenes annotations by the author. * 100 annotated Melonpool strips from college. * The story behind "The Melonpool Chronicles" comic series, as well as all four unpublished covers. * The Pre-history of Melonpool (including Mayberry's first-ever appearance in 1978). * Cast biographies * Never-before published sketches of the design process for The "Steel Duck" and other popular gizmos. * Information on 1994's "The Melonpool Movie."

Genres: Comics, Webcomic

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really cool collection- and not just for the collected webcomic strips. The Ultimate Melonpool lives up to its title, covering every aspect of the Melonpool universe up to 1997- from the earliest sketches to the college strips and the movie (!) to comic book and, finally, the webcomic. It also details Steve Troop's development as an artist and writer, from childhood to the present (well, 1997), making for a fascinating study of a cartoonist's growth.

To boot, the strips are heavily annotated, bringing out new insights into the strips for those who read them once already (like me). Sections devoted to outtakes and sketches of technology round out this excellent book.

I have only two tiny nits. One, some of the annotations depend on the reader having already read the comic past 1997, making them meaningless (or worse, spoilerish) for someone who's reading the strips for the first time. (That said, I don't think the book is aimed at a newbie audience.) Two, I think it detracts from the book that The Melonpool Chronicles comic books weren't included. Neither of those nits negate the neatness of the book, though.

Highly recommended for Melonpool fans, or fans of all quality comic strips.

[German Chaparro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool compilation of the beginnings of the classic Sci-Fi/pop culture Melonpool comic strip. The sidenotes were nice but detracted from the reading experience. Four more to go!