Comic:Sundae Connection
From CGWiki
| Sundae Connection | |
|---|---|
| |
| Artist: | J. Goude |
| Writer: | J. Goude |
| Characters: | The Cast |
| Updates: | No longer updated |
| Began: | January 1, 2001 |
| Ended: | May 31, 2002 |
| Art style: | Hand-drawn images, computer-colored, hand/computer-lettered |
| Rating: | Web-PG |
| Website | Website |
Sundae Connection was a webcomic that was written, inked, colored and lettered by J. Goude. The comic began on January 1, 2001 and ended on May 31, 2002. Its follow-up, Seriously Suzy, began on March 1, 2004.
Contents |
Comic History
Sometime during early 1996 (generally believed to be on or around March 5, 1996), the future cartoonist misses a day of school and decides to sleep in the rest of the morning. During the subsequent dream, he finds himself in a strange room, and he picks up a hard-bound comic anthology titled Sundae Connection. Though it is unclear in the dream why the anthology was given such a strange title, it is strange enough to make an impression on Goude. He also recalls going through the book, seeing in one of the comics a character that featured many characteristics of Suzy Peach today (wild red hair, high cheekbones, freckles all over the place, etc.) After waking up, Goude writes down the strange title as well as some of the details of the dream (including the character he saw.)
It does seem like an unique beginning to a comic, but keep in mind that this was a dream, that it happened over 10 years ago, and that the details that were written down were subsequently lost (as were most of Goude's papers during this time period.) However, the cartoonist remembers most of the dream even today.
As Goude focuses on school and work, the dream and its unique character were put aside, only to be revisited in late 1998: the cartoonist was drawing some characters and almost subconsciously he recalls the unique character from March 1996. Though the original pencil illustration is lost, the scanned image (created to test a new scanner) survives. This image can be seen at the Seriously Suzy gallery (the first image, "Susan".)
Another revisiting of the dream and the character came in the fall of 1999. Once again, Goude is doodling some characters and scenes and suddenly he remembers that comic from the dream. After a few refinements the young teen girl we come to know as Suzy was born. Soon, Suzy becomes interesting enough that Goude doesn't know what to do with her. Some ideas tossed around included a low-budget cartoon (possibly to be filmed with an old Super 8 camera) and some art projects. During this time of indecision Goude creates some of the history associated with Suzy and her surroundings.
It was around this time, in late 1999 and early 2000, that Goude becomes familiar with the webcomic scene. He had finished reading the notorious Space Moose, as well as a few others, and before he knew it, he had the idea to create a webcomic starring Suzy. Since some of the webcomics he had read were hosted on Keenspace (as it was known back then), he became attracted to Keenspace's generous hosting terms (especially the one banner ad per page requirement, since he had been turned off by pop-up ads from other hosts like Geocities) and soon received his Keenspace account in September of 2000. By that time, a few of the comics of what was to become Sundae Connection were pencilled, inked, lettered, scanned, and colored.
It was decided by Goude to premiere Sundae Connection on January 1, 2001: it would give Goude some time to complete more comics and have a buffer so he could work on more comics, and also the format of the chosen date was rather unique (01/01/01). As the comic continued, the cartoonist sought promotion from several sources to increase his readership. One way to promote was the creation of the Kleenspace dropdown: an idea tossed around by a few Keenspace cartoonists in 2000, then jumpstarted by Goude in 2001, in which comics with little or no objectionable content would be featured in a specialty dropdown.
The cartoonist now feels that the drive for more readership, along with other factors including a cross-town move and a failed comic crossover attempt, led to a creative burnout that culminated in June of 2001. He announced the end of Sundae Connection to message boards and mailing lists related to Keenspace; to his surprise the news wound up being repeated on various sites including RPG World. After some encouragement and some needed time off to recover from burnout and the move, he resumed the comic's production (he had some comics in the buffer so that there was a shorter hiatus) and focused on ways of improving it.
One method of improvement he recognized was based on the fact that the URL was too long to remember: sundaeconnection.keenspace.com. So he registered for his own domain name: www.sundaeconnection.com and later www.sunconn.com (both are now defunct.) This in turn led to him signing up for another Keenspace account with a shorter URL (after he found out to his surprise and delight that suzy.keenspace.com was not claimed), receiving the new account on Sept. 11, 2001 (yes, September 11, 2001! "While America was in the midst of its darkest day ever, and as I was tuned in... no, glued... to TV and Internet news reports of the destruction, I received my e-mail from Keenspace saying that my suzy.keenspace.com account was ready to go." - J. Goude.)
With some occasional comics after the Sept. 10, 2001 comic, Sundae Connection resumed regular updates on January 31, 2002. This specific comic, as well as its follow-up, featured some hallmarks that were to be found in Seriously Suzy: it was six panels, stacked vertically instead of horizontally, and featured a character (Azalea Bohannon) who would be central to Seriously Suzy. To save some production time, Goude switched from pencilling, inking, and coloring each comic to scanning comics that were only inked (the lower-quality black-and-white series.)
Though at the time he wasn't planning on ending Sundae Connection, the May 31, 2002 comic turned out to be a way to end it. By the time it showed up on readers' screens, Goude was focused on other activities, and eventually he devoted some time to the creation of Sundae Connection's follow-up, Seriously Suzy.
(Further history after Sundae Connection can be found in the Seriously Suzy article.)
The Story (before Seriously Suzy)
These events occurred within the storylines of Sundae Connection. They are grouped according to each grade that Suzy was in. This is useful for new Seriously Suzy readers who want to quickly catch up on the story without trudging through the Sundae Connection archives. Click on a link to read the associated comic.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Suzy in eighth grade
Sundae Connection begins around the middle of eighth grade, sometime after the Christmas break. The first character we see is Chad Mitchell, who is spending yet another day in detention. He wonders why he keeps winding up in detention, but he soon vows never to return there again.
That all changes when a redhaired fellow eighth-grader enters the room. Chad notices her immediately; he has never seen this girl before, and he would like to get to know her. She takes the seat next to him; Chad begins to break the ice by writing a note. He throws the note onto her desk, causing her to lose her place in her book. Upon unfolding the note, she finds that it isn't a love note like she'd originally feared. She writes back and Chad soon knows her name: Suzy Peach.
Chad wants to write some more, but he doesn't want to break his vow and risk spending more time in detention. He reasons that it would be worth it, in that he would get to know more about Suzy. But Mr. Stewart, who is keeping watch over the detention students, catches Chad and Suzy passing the note around. He issues another day of detention for both of them; Suzy is not pleased with Chad for causing this.
After school, Suzy rides the bus home. She enters her apartment, which is located above an ice-cream parlor and grill called the Sundae Connection. She walks past her exhausted mother sleeping on the couch, picks up the cordless phone, and calls her best friend Maggie with the news about detention. Maggie, who lives across town and attends LeBonne, a private academy, asks Suzy if it was the same person who had caused Suzy to get into trouble. [Note: Maggie's dialogue was an error by the cartoonist. Originally Maggie wasn't supposed to know that Suzy was sent to detention until the phone call. But it could be implied that Suzy had called Maggie from school, perhaps during lunch, after the trouble that got Suzy sent to detention.] Suzy says that it was someone else, and his name was Chad Mitchell. Upon hearing Chad's name, Maggie expresses surprise; Suzy asks if Maggie knows Chad (more importantly, does Maggie *like* Chad?) and Maggie gives her answer.
The next day of school comes around, and with it comes the next day of detention for Chad and Suzy. Mr. Stewart is called to the school office; without him around, Chad takes advantage of the situation (now he can actually talk to Suzy.) He apologizes for yesterday's actions, but Suzy doesn't want to hear it; she accuses Chad of purposely getting them in trouble so that they can both spend another day in detention. Faced with this accusation, Chad admits guilt (to help bolster his apology.)
Meanwhile, Mr. Stewart deals with another concerned parent; it seems that her son needs extra help in grasping the material. Before Mr. Stewart can leave the office, Principal Goldstein wants to meet with him. Back in detention, Chad asks Suzy why she wound up in detention. It appears that a jock-type student in one of her classes made a crude remark to her. The remark upset Suzy a lot, that she hit the jock in response. [Note: Suzy's encounter with the "jock" was originally intended to be the first ever comic, but for several reasons it wasn't drawn.] Chad wants to know what the remark was, but Suzy responds that she's not feeling well, which causes Chad to back off.
In the principal's office, Mr. Goldstein informs Mr. Stewart of the fact that the school's test scores are the lowest in the entire district. Not wanting to settle for last place, Mr. Goldstein wants to improve the situation, making sure that all of his teachers are of high-calibre. He orders Mr. Stewart to take a competency test. A few days later, Mr. Stewart is informed that he didn't pass this test.
In the hallway, upon hearing that Mr. Stewart was let go by the school, Chad asks Suzy if she knew what had happened. Suzy replies that she has no idea, and most of all, she tells Chad that she doesn't care. After school that day, she stops by the Sundae Connection before going upstairs. She places her usual order and talks with the cook. Suzy laments that since her father left, her mother doesn't have much time to spend with her. The sympathetic cook arranges to give Suzy's order free of charge.
During one entire school day, Chad manages to keep his vow of not returning to detention. While he is surprised at this startling development, there's a fellow student in his math class who's in worse shape than him. Jeana Jones wears sunglasses so her teachers won't notice that she's asleep. Her plan's somewhat successful; one of her teachers wakes her up after class is through, and tells Jeana that she's eligible to drop out of school when she turns 16. Jeana replies that she cannot wait for that to happen.
Eighth grade is drawing to a close, but before it ends, there is a school dance about to take place. Suzy calls up Maggie and invites her to the dance, since the dance would be the first time in a while that the two of them will meet in person. The school dance begins, and Suzy looks around until she finds Maggie. Again, it has been a while since the two of them met face-to-face, so Suzy expresses her surprise upon seeing Maggie.
Meanwhile, Chad has arrived at the dance. He sees Suzy and decides to try to make a better impression on Suzy. But before he can talk to her, someone calls his name. It is Rich, and Chad is somewhat glad to see him. It turns out that Chad used to be a part of Rich's group at LeBonne Academy; Rich and the rest of the group figure out what to do at the dance. Chad tries to leave Rich with his friends, but Rich informs Chad that he's sticking with the group (like in the old days.)
Elsewhere in the school gym, Maggie and Suzy are conversing; Suzy tells Maggie about the crazy boy named Chad, and Maggie blurts out that she once gave Chad a Valentine's Day card. Maggie reveals that she was disappointed that Chad never called her or paid attention to her. As the dance is winding down, Chad wanders around the place; stepping outside he finds Rich and his friends attempting to steal the party DJ's van. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Chad is caught, along with Rich's group, by the DJ. Inside, Maggie tells Suzy that her father, who was promoted to the position of product manager, is now being transferred to another division... out in El Paso, Texas. Therefore, Maggie is moving away soon.
During another day of eighth grade, Suzy enters her next class to find Jeana asleep in her seat. Jeana wakes up, informing Suzy that she isn't sure why she gave up on school. Upon learning that eighth grade will end in a few weeks, Jeana doesn't want to go to summer school, so she enlists Suzy's help in order to pass eighth grade. Before going to the study hall, Jeana finds Chad and asks to borrow his math and history notes. Chad states that his history notebook is in his locker, so Jeana comes along with him. [Note: the comic with Chad and Jeana's meeting was done at a later time, explaining the differences in Jeana's appearance.] In the study hall, Suzy informs Jeana that she'll have to catch up on what she'd slept through in class. Realizing that the school will close soon, Suzy offers to tutor Jeana at her apartment.
Soon, Chad has his day in court for being part of Rich's group, who were attempting to steal the DJ's van. The judge realizes that Chad has had no prior criminal record and that he could have potential; therefore the judge drops all charges, while ordering Chad to stay out of trouble and to get academic help. [Note: like the previous comic with Chad and Jeana exchanging notes, this comic was also done at a different time.]
On the last day of eighth grade, Jeana tells Suzy that she'd passed the end-of-grade tests, making her eligible for ninth grade. Suzy congratulates Jeana on this accomplishment, and Jeana thanks Suzy by hugging her (to Suzy's utter surprise.)
After eighth grade is over, it is time for Maggie to bid Suzy farewell. Maggie promises to call Suzy when Maggie and her family arrive in El Paso.
During summer break, Suzy sits around the apartment; she is all alone, her best friend now moving halfway across the country. The telephone rings, but it isn't Maggie. It's Principal Goldstein; acting upon the advice of the school counselor, he offers Suzy a chance to go to Camp Kahlil. Suzy packs her bags and boards the bus with Mr. Goldstein.
As Suzy goes off to camp, Maggie finally calls. But with Suzy not there and her mother being fast asleep on the couch, Maggie gets no answer. As Maggie wonders why she hasn't been able to reach Suzy, Chad meets Jeana outside the school. He is glad to be finished with summer school, and the two of them walk off... holding hands?!
Jeana's older brother Mark is driving the couple in his van. He asks how the two had hooked up and Chad explains the course of events that happened during the last days of eighth grade. Jeana then asks Mark to drop them off over at Chad's house. Maggie, disturbed that she has been unsuccessful in reaching Suzy, calls Chad's house in a last-ditch effort. She interrupts a make-out session between Jeana and Chad, and Chad has no idea on Suzy's whereabouts.
A day later, Suzy returns home from camp; the apartment is dark since her mother is working a late shift again. Aware that summer break is winding down, Suzy rests on her bed and soon falls asleep. Her sleep is broken by a phone call: it is Maggie, who'd finally reached Suzy. Suzy then explains where she was during the past few days. [Note: the abrupt end to the summer camp was caused by several real-life issues that will be documented later.]
As summer break draws to a close, a customer enters the Sundae Connection. Buzz McCain, the proprietor, notices that this customer looks a lot like the daughter of one of his apartment tenants. Turns out that the customer is Lindsey Peach, a cousin of Suzy who's in town.
Lindsey buzzes the apartment upstairs, which wakes up Suzy who was resting during the last days of summer. Lindsey greets her cousin and goes back downstairs to get lunch for the two of them (while Suzy gets dressed.)
Lindsey notes that it has been quite a while since she and her cousin Suzy had met; Lindsey also reveals that she's going to the same high school that Suzy's going to. Earlier, Lindsey and her father had moved to Delphia City so that her father could get a position at the local community college. The conversation between Suzy and Lindsey gets interrupted suddenly, when the front door opens...
From the front door to the kitchen comes Suzy's mother Mary, who confronts Lindsey and demands that she leaves. Mary asks about Lindsey's uncle Roger (Suzy's father), wondering if he's "still a bum." This enrages Suzy, who asks her mother to leave Lindsey alone. Lindsey leaves in a hurry, and Mary tells Suzy not to let anyone from the Peach family inside the apartment again.
Suzy in ninth grade
One morning, the alarm clock rings and Suzy gets ready for school. As Suzy waits downstairs in the Sundae Connection for the school bus to arrive, Lindsey meets up with Suzy. Suzy apologizes for her mother's actions, and Lindsey offers to give Suzy a ride to school. Meanwhile, Jeana is riding in Mark's van on the way to school. They stop by Chad's place and pick him up.
During one afternoon, Lindsey calls Suzy with the news that Danny, Lindsey's boyfriend, is moving to Delphia City from Charlotte. It appears that Danny was tired of being so far from Lindsey, so he'd dropped out of college and had packed his bags.
As the holidays approach, Mary uses up a vacation day in order to decorate the apartment and be at home with Suzy. But Suzy laments the fact that things haven't been the same since her parents' divorce.
[Note: there is quite a bit of continuity space between the Sept. 10 comic, the Oct. 31 comic, and the Dec. 24, 2001 comic. When time allows, there may be flashback comics detailing events between these comics in Seriously Suzy.]
After Christmas break, Suzy returns to her English class and finds that a student from the previous class had left their binder on her desk. Suzy puts the binder in her bookbag, but forgets to turn it in to her teacher. At home, she looks through the binder and looks for the binder's owner in the school yearbook.
The next day at school, as Chad and Jeana heckle one of the smarter students, Suzy wonders how she could have helped Jeana pass the eighth grade. When the student closes her locker, Suzy realizes that it is Azalea, the owner of the lost binder. But the school bell rings and Suzy heads to her class.
After class, Suzy looks for Azalea but doesn't find her. Suzy heads outside to catch a ride from Lindsey, who tells Suzy that Danny has been unable to move due to a lack of funds. Lindsey also tells her more about Suzy's father and invites Suzy to her house. Inside, Suzy meets her uncle Stuart (Lindsey's father) for the first time in ages. Stuart is glad to see Suzy, but when Suzy asks about her father, Stuart grumbles about some money that he had sent to his brother. Before they leave, Suzy asks for her father's contact information and learns that he had moved up north after the divorce.
During the next day of school, Suzy finally gets a chance to meet Azalea and return her binder. Azalea is grateful for Suzy's act and invites Suzy to her lunch table. At lunch, Suzy locates Azalea's table; Azalea can't stay long to talk to Suzy but she gets the rest of the table to introduce themselves. Suzy gets introduced to Patrick (11th grade), Marlene and Gerald (10th grade), Chauncey and Yvonna (9th grade), and Heather (12th grade.) They thank Suzy for saving Azalea's paper and welcome her to the lunch table. Chauncey comments that Azalea's always busy, and Marlene asks if Suzy's in any higher-level classes.
After school, Suzy is waiting for her meal at the Sundae Connection; she spots a recently installed machine that dispenses calling cards. She gets the idea of using a calling card to call her father without having any long-distance charges appearing on her mother's phone bill. Later on, at night, Suzy has a strange dream: it is the future, and there's a guy who looks a lot like a boy she had met earlier.
While students are gathering outside between classes, Jeana hears someone calling her name. It is T.J., who was Jeana's first-ever boyfriend, and he has come around to try and win Jeana back. But Chad's coach tells T.J. to leave the school premises, and Chad asks Jeana who that "creep" was. Jeana is visibly upset at a part of the past coming back to haunt her, and is even more upset that she didn't come clean to Chad about her misadventures with T.J. She calls Chad over, and tells him everything (and noting that she was fortunate to get away with little consequence.) They talk for a while, realizing that they had both encountered a certain redhead student...
Meanwhile, Suzy gets the cordless phone and goes to her room; she has her newly-purchased calling card ready, along with her father's phone number. She makes the fateful call... the call that reconnects Suzy to the father she hasn't heard from in over four years.
During lunch at school, Azalea and her group tell Suzy that she's missing out by not taking honors courses. While riding home on the bus, a younger student harasses Suzy; he is stopped by Chauncey, who happened to be riding the same bus so he could meet a friend on it (but his friend didn't ride the bus at all that day.)
The end of the school year draws near, but it is time for the junior and senior proms (for Heather and Patrick) and the school dance (for the ninth and tenth graders.) Gerald, Chauncey, Yvonna and Marlene plan to go to the dance; Suzy plans to be there too, but Azalea has to check her schedule first.
Suzy arrives at the dance, but Azalea couldn't make it. Chauncey offers to buy Suzy a drink, and the two begin to talk. Upon learning that Suzy never danced with anyone at last year's dance, Chauncey offers to teach her. Suzy learns the steps, nervous at first but soon she is enjoying herself and Chauncey's company. The comic Sundae Connection ends with this scene.
Spoilers end here.
Links
- Sundae Connection
- Sundae Connection comic archive
- Seriously Suzy, the successor to Sundae Connection
- Sundae Connection on OnlineComics.net
