Something Positive - Running Gags

Running Gags

• Direct as well as oblique references to "the lovable, huggable Ed Gein" appear throughout the comic.
• Jokes about clichés of places and ethnicity, particularly concerning Canada and Texas.
• References to GURPS, a role playing game system.
• References to or appearances of the "Canadian Trap Door Alligator," who would leap out of the ground and eat characters (including Pepito and a Wiccan High Priestess). Most recently, one of Peejee's co-workers, a woman who was sexually harassing Peejee, fell victim to the Alligator, attacking from an over-head air vent rather than a trap door. Management hired an exterminator, but it's likely the alligator escaped.
• Choo-choo Bear's amorphous qualities.
• Peejee is type-cast by her friends as being attracted to gay men, following a long-time crush on Jhim, and later discovering her boyfriend of several years came out as gay shortly after she broke up with him (through a savage beating). Originally, Randy intended for Davan to have a history of being attracted to lesbians, and it was even implied that two of his ex-girlfriends became lesbians after dating him. This plot point was dropped, and changed over to Peejee instead.
• Mike's callousness and self-centered tendencies, and his longtime enmity with Peejee would provide major story lines earlier in the comic. This was somewhat dropped after the two reconciled.
• Silas, in character as an old country cowpoke, who would talk to the audience (apparently breaking the fourth wall, though it was revealed that he was actually talking to imaginary friends), explaining current events in the strip. The other characters would dismiss him as annoying and crazy. He was eventually run over and killed by Avagadro, and has been seen in Hell; it is implied in the cartoon of January 11, 2009 that he has been reincarnated, and is now a small boy.
• Jesus-Mickey, another gag character, who tried to pick up women while dressed as Jesus. It is implied that he, too, was killed by Twitchy-Hug.
• Character deaths: Milholland summarily killed off Silas, Twitchy-Hug and Jesus-Mickey in a very short period of time; being minor characters, their deaths involved little fanfare or effect on the story. Soon other, more important characters, such as Faye and Avagadro, also died, in these cases with more of an effect on the comic's plot.
  • A repeating means of almost killing characters is by a mysterious red car, which will run over characters. So far, only one character, Silas, has been successfully killed by the red car. Kestrel and Shirley Koklick were both run down by the red car but managed to survive after brief comas. It was originally believed that Avagadro and his nephew Ollie (who was giving Avagadro oral sex) were responsible for the hits, but Shirley was struck down long after Avagadro's death, leaving into question whether Ollie is responsible, or if it was merely a coincidence.
• Aubrey's schemes, one of which was a TV show so bad that the state took out a restraining order to keep her away from TV stations or recording equipment.
  • The rule among the cast members is that the person who accidentally inspires one of Aubrey's schemes is the one who has to help her until it either blows up in her face, or she loses interest. Eventually one of those schemes, Nerdrotica, a phone sex hot line meant for nerds, actually worked and thus this type of joke comes a lot less frequently and mostly in flashbacks.
• Religious humor.
  • Fundamentalist Christianity, including Christians acting in bigoted or stereotypical ways. (Note that not all Christian characters are negatively portrayed; counterexamples include Davan's parents.)
  • Wicca, with the implication that most of its practitioners simply follow it as a fad. (Note that not all Wiccan characters are negatively portrayed; Kim and Kestrel are shown in a positive light.)