Happy Wednesday, Dipkids! Here in Berkeley, most of the students are experiencing finals right now, and that means the end of another year, and the parting of ways with their current roommate in the dorms. We thought it would be interesting to find out the living situations of our favorite super heroes when they were in college, but we found out way more interesting stuff about the villains! Here are our brief interviews with the roommates of the Top Five Super Villains That Were Lousy College Roommates

5) Black Manta

A frequent sparring partner for Aquaman, Black Manta, otherwise known only as “David” (really, check his Wikipedia entry, it’s weird) attended a Southern Californian university on a water polo scholarship. We caught up with his roommate, Mike Richardson, for the inside scoop.
Roommate Says: David was kind of the worst. I guess he went surfing a lot, because the floor was always sandy, and everything smelled like fish. Oh, and one time, he took off his helmet, which he never did, and it turned out he was black, and when I said something, like “Oh, hey, you’re black”, he made it seem like this huge deal! I haven’t seen him in a while, but I think his major was Asian Art History. What’s he up to?

4) Diablo

Esteban Corazon de Ablo made his name as a villain of the Fantastic Four, specializing in the ancient art of alchemy. He attended a small Midwestern college for a brief period, trying to made use out of the credits he earned living in Transylvania in the 9th century, but most of them didn’t transfer, and he dropped out after three semesters. We tracked down his roommate for the second semester, Carl Flores, and learned what it was like living with the master of alchemy.
Roommate Says: Actually, Esteban and I got along okay… but then he transferred into my Chemistry 201 class and we became lab partners. The next morning, using my chemistry equipment, he turned all my stuff into platinum. I tried to tell him I wouldn’t be able to pass my trig final if my books were made of metal, but he pretended not to speak English and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. I never saw him again. Also, he ate my Easy Mac and thought I didn’t notice, but I did. I noticed every time.

3) Lord Zedd

You don’t just become the Emperor of Evil overnight. Lord Zedd (first name rumored to be “Kenneth”) bummed around a few schools in the Pacific Northwest before winding up at Angel Grove University, where he graduated with a degree in Putty Management. His roommate during that time, Gabe Korty, had this to say:
Roommate Says: Zedd? Zedd sucked! Okay, first, he narced me out when he found my stash like a little dickhead. That was the main thing. But before that, he had a girl over (how he managed that with his face, I have no idea) and needed another pillow, so he borrowed mine. Uh, dude, you don’t use another guy’s pillow if you have an exposed brain. That shit doesn’t come out in the wash.

2) Vandal Savage

A super intelligent caveman mutated by a fallen meteorite, Vandal Savage, originally known as Vandar Adg, spent four years at a college that no longer exists in a region now known as Cairo. He was valedictorian, of course, but his roommate, Grag, had a dissenting opinion of the genius warlord:
Roommate Says: Vandar never clean fire pit when he done using it! Grag always clean fire pit! Grag never even use fire pit, Grag go to communal fire pit and meet girls. But girls never come back with Grag, because Vandar trick them into becoming concubine! Why Vandar steal Grag woman? Grag like woman too! Grag good to woman! Grag promised himself he wouldn’t drink, Grag have bad last few years. You give Grag ride to liquor store after interview, yes?

And the #1 Worst Super Villain Roommate Is…

1) Red Skull

Raised in rural Germany, Johann Schmidt came to prominence as one of Hitler’s aides during World War II. Before that, he attended Schule von Furcht und von schrecklichen Briefen in Berlin, where his roommate was Moses Berkowitz. When asked what living with the Nazi general was like, Moses had this to say:
Roommate Says: I don’t wanna talk about it.

Well, that’s it for me! Good luck with finals, and I’ll see you guys next time!

Brought to You by a Movie Premiere

Quick piece that I did in the middle of studying for finals. Ugh, finals. On another note, I’m really, really excited for this movie! I don’t think I’ve been this amped about a film in a while. It might be the hype, but man oh man, my friends that have seen the movie in other countries have loved it, the reviews are good, so I really hope it’s everything I want. I guess you guys’ll find out what we thought later in the week. See you guys then!

~Tirumari

Hey there, Dipstickers! Summer’s coming up! Well, kind of, it’s only late April, but now is the time when people start planning their long vacations from work and school. And what better way to take advantage of your time off in the hottest months of the year than by reminding yourself of your own mortality? That’s right, it’s time for the Top Five Haunted House Vacation Destinations!

5) Whipstaff Manor from Casper

For those unexperienced with the paranormal, it’s wise to start small: meet some friendly ghosts, and work your way up. Here at Whipstaff Manor in scenic Friendship, Maine (… really? “Friendship”? Okay, sure, whatever), you’ll meet Casper, the friendliest ghost you’ll know, and you just have to keep your mouth shut and pretend to sleep when he hovers over you. But hey, they make a killer continental breakfast.
Amenities: Fabulous ballroom for throwing parties, extensive underground caverns, and, if you subscribe to the theory that Casper is a dead Richie Rich, probably a lot of money and robot butlers buried somewhere.

4) The Maitland Home from Beetlejuice

Located in the most nondescript part of New England, the Maitlands, Barbara and Adam, lived in tranquility until they drove off a bridge and died (there was a dog in the road; a likely story, I know). They turned into ghosts and were tasked with haunting their former home and defending it from the Deetz family, who planned on making it gaudy and modern with their gross, weird art. This lead to a whole clusterfuck with a seance and sandworms and a certain “bio-exorcist” who shall remain nameless, at the risk of summoning him in the middle of this article (aside from naming him in the title of this section, but that’s only once).
Amenities: Where to begin? We have the lovely miniature model of their quaint New England town up in the attic, a dense collection of Delia Deetz’ irregular “art”, room service from two of the nicest ghosts you’ll ever meet, and nightly re-enactments of that awesome “Day-O” scene. And, don’t worry, visits from Beetlejuice haven’t been a problem for years. (Shit! That’s twice. Oh well, we’re still okay.)

3) The house from Betrayal at House on the Hill

Are you part of the kind of family who gets tired of the same old thing? Well, this is the place for you! Located on… a hill… this stately, ever-changing manor features many rooms and is never the same twice. Sometimes the master bedroom’s upstairs, sometimes it’s in the basement! There’s an elevator that goes in all directions! Some of the rooms have dead bodies, constantly burning furnaces, or no floor! It’s a wonderland of adventure and terror for the whole family!
Amenities: Fully stocked self-service kitchen (which can be anywhere in the house), rustic victorian architecture, sturdy walls (in case a blob or dragon attacks), and every visitor is guaranteed to have some kind of paranormal adventure. Maybe a ghostly groundskeeper runs from the walls and attacks you with a shovel. Maybe you turn into a werewolf. Maybe aliens happen. The possibilities are limitless! (Note: the possibilities are limited at 50.)

2) The Addams Estate from The Addams Family

Vacation critics have called this location many things. Notable among them include creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky, and all-together located close to popular tourist landmarks. Visit the lovely (and enormous) Addams Family graveyard, with some of the most intricate and lifelike headstones you’ll ever lay your peepers on. Spend some time in the torture chamber, which appears to only be maintained by a couple of middle schoolers. Ogle at the severed hand that runs around unaided and will kick your ass at chess.
Amenities: Exotic foods prepared by the haggard old witch woman whose jibbering is difficult to understand, an extensive library of books with paranormal properties, and, if you wish to read after lights out, a creepy bald guy will come into your room with a lit bulb in his mouth and stand behind you until you ask him to leave. It might be a good idea to leave your comfort zone at home.

And the Number One Haunted House Vacation Destination is…

1) The Haunted Mansion from Disneyland!

Ignore the Eddie Murphy movie, this place has everything: ghosts, ghouls, five busts that sing barbershop, trees that look like they’re screaming at you, a severed gypsy lady head in a crystal ball that floats around and summons more ghosts… it’s got everything you could possibly want out of a haunted house. Sure, the doors don’t open, the rooms stretch and change shape without warning, there’s a ghost bride running around finding men to marry and murder, and the owner hanged himself, but it beats the Motel 6.
Amenities: It’s a fabulous social gathering, hence this mansion being called the place where “Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize”. There’s a massive ballroom where ghosts keep a birthday party going at all times, whether they’re aware anyone’s watching or not. Out in the graveyard, it’s a constant party, with the same song looping over and over for decades, as ghosts from all over the world congregate to sing about how great it is to be dead. On your way out, you’re accompanied by one of the former residents at the house, who might try to make a grab for your goodies, so stay on your guard. And be sure to try a glass of their famous, extra-frothy beetle juice! Oh, no, wait, I didn’t-

Well, that ended poorly. See you next week!

Brought to You by Me Not Drawing a Comic

So, I totally suck at managing my many projects. I have presentations on marine invertebrate diversity and vertebrate endocrinology, I got animation cycles to draw, comics to sketch, a term paper to write, I have videos to edit, and the possibility of learning Flash. Ugh. So, here is a new sketch we released;

We have another sketch all lined up for the coming weekend, and we’ll be filming more soon. I have cover art coming up, and tshirt designs as well. I hope you guys can look forward to it, and I apologize for missing today’s update. Bleh. Ugh. Yuck.

~Tirumari