Super Haters

Justique and Nick finally found the Super Haters... only to be attacked by The Snatcher!

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Super Haters #499	Justique Woolridge Guest Week	THE END
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Wow. That's it. The end of the Super Haters. Finito. Completo. Dunzo.

Well, almost complete... a special gift to you for sticking with Super Haters for the past five years! (BTW, today is the webcomic's 5th anniversary.) Here's a special story by Kaylie McDougal (art) and yours truly (script, colors, and letters)! It's called Super Secrets.















Thanks so much to Kaylie for making this twisted tale happen!

Thanks SOOOOOOOOO MUCH to Justique for being my Super Haters co-writer on tons of fun tales over the years, not to mention being my sounding board for the above story (and countless others).

And thanks to you for reading all of these weird and wild webcomics over the years!

Although Super Haters might be done, my stories are just getting started! Stay tuned. More news coming soon! (*cough* San Diego Comic-Con 2014 *cough*)

Justique and Nick are searching in all the wrong places for the missing Mind's Eye and Destruct-O-Tron.

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Super Haters #498	Justique Woolridge Guest Week	Super Haters #500
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OMG... we found the Super Haters!!! But The Snatcher is being a totally dingleberry and trying to fry our faces off.

In other (far, far better) news, last night I got a sweet Tweet that had a link to a delicious treat... an incredible pinup of Destruct-O-Tron and Mind's Eye by Carrie Howarth! Doesn't it rock? Thanks, Carrie!



Okay, folks. Seriously. Tomorrow is it. The end of this webcomic. But... will it also be the end of Justique and Nick?!?!? Be back in one day for the scintillating conclusion!

Justique and Nick can't find Mind's Eye and Destruct-O-Tron anywhere!

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Super Haters #497	Justique Woolridge Guest Week	Super Haters #499
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GODDAMN IT!!! Where in the hell are the real Super Haters?!?!? *sigh* It seems hopeless by this point.

Oh, totally unrelated, here's a super special teaser for something that's coming your way on Wednesday:



That's all for now! Be back tomorrow as Justique and I continue our fruitless hunt for the Haters.

With the help of their spirit duck, Ron, Justique and Nick are searching for the Haters throughout different styles of art.

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Super Haters #496	Justique Woolridge Guest Week	Super Haters #498
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COMING SOON: Creator Haters, a new weekly cut-and-paste webcomic about two desperate webcomic creators who like to stand around and argue with each other instead of drawing fresh art for every panel.

Just kidding! We're not doing that. Definitely not. I'd do a Ron webcomic before I'd do that.

Anyway, that's all for this week. I was pretty worried that this meta story arc would be a dud for all of you, but you've been so enthusiastic and interactive. I really appreciate it!

On Monday? A truly trippy immersion into the weird world of alternate Hater-ness.

Distraught over the disappearance of Destruct-O-Tron and Mind's Eye, Justique and Nick have turned to drugs.

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Super Haters #495	Justique Woolridge Guest Week	Super Haters #497
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On a spirit guest with Ron! YAYYYYYY!!!!! Also, I learned the word omphalos in the process of creating this page, so that was cool.

Otherwise, ummmm, that's about it, I guess. So lemme end today's post with a teaser:



WHAT COULD IT BE?!? Sorry, but you won't find out for another week :(

In the meantime, be back here tomorrow as Justique and I continue our hunt for Mind's Eye and Destruct-O-Tron!

Justique and Nick took peyote so they can go on a spirit quest and find the missing Super Haters.

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Super Haters #494	Justique Woolridge Guest Week	Super Haters #496
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Damn. Peyote is a hell of a drug.

Speaking of peyote, I'm pleased to introduce a new fashion line inspired by yesterday's final panel! For the past 24 hours, our female fans have been clamoring for "It's Peyote Time!" clothing to meet the needs of the modern woman. That's why we're introducing these two luxurious Peyote Time t-shirts to kick off our new brand:


See you tomorrow as our spirit quest kicks into full gear!

Justique and Nick are determined to find their missing creations, and Nick thinks he knows the best way to hunt them down.

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trailer for Snatched!	Justique Woolridge Guest Week	Super Haters #495
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The final Super Haters story has begun. And because Justique and I are relentless jerkwads, we're gonna make it all about us!

When I asked Justique to join me for one last brouhaha, I didn't expect us to end up with this story. In fact, I thought it would be something goofy and predictable like "kid Super Haters" or "Destruct-O-Tron gets a job".

But waiting for our train to Newark at Penn Station in Manhattan, we hatched an evil plan to tell a twisted meta tale featuring all different styles of art. So thank you, New Jersey. You made this insane mess possible.

Be back here tomorrow to see more of what New Jersey hath inspired!

Mind's Eye and Destruct-O-Tron have gone missing. Justique and Nick need to find them.

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Super Haters #493	Snatched!	Super Haters #494
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That's right... our final story arc is going meta!

Snatched! features Justique and I as we go on an adventure to recover our missing characters.



If you read the previous story arc, Get Lost, then you know who snatched Todd Purvee and Nilufa Nahari out of existence. But in this story, Justique and I have no fucking clue where the Super Haters have gone. They've literally been ripped out of our lives!



So how are we gonna find 'em? You've gotta be back here tomorrow for Super Haters #494, where Justique and I formulate our plan to crossover and rescue the Haters! See ya then :D

It looks like Destruct-O-Tron figured out a fucked up backwards way to fight crime despite the fact that it nearly killed him.

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Super Haters #485	Francisco Gruel Guest Week	Super Haters #487
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Will Destruct-O-Tron choke to death on that nasty piece of cake he's eating? Will our culinary crime expert slit his throat with a straw? Will Mind's Eye get back from the bathroom in time to stop both of these horrible things from happening?!? Find out never because this is the final page of Super Hungry! You're just gonna have to live with this cliffhanger.

I want to send out a truly heartfelt thank you to Francisco Gruel, whose artistic vision and twisted sense of humor made the creation of Super Hungry a true delight for me. He's such a thoughtful collaborator and unique artist. I can't wait to see what he does next!

In other news, an odd twist of fate has left Super Haters reader Rob Powell bedridden in the hospital just like Destruct-O-Tron! Rob is an artist and the hubby of my former podcasting partner, Kaylie McDougal. Kaylie had to rush Rob to the hospital yesterday to have his appendix removed right around the same time that Mind's Eye was rushing Destruct-O-Tron to the hospital! If life truly imitates art, then Rob will be healing up and choking on nasty cake in no time. Feel better soon, Rob!

So what's next for Destruct-O-Tron and Mind's Eye? Find out tomorrow when the trailer for our next story drops. See you then!

Destruct-O-Tron's hunger strike backfired, inspiring supervillains to ravage the city with crime.

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Super Haters #484	Francisco Gruel Guest Week	Super Haters #486
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Whoa!!! Destruct-O-Tron (sorta) actually fought crime for once. And he only had to kill himself in the process. That's impressive.

As I've been posting this story arc here on the blog, I've also been sharing some of the unlettered art from this tale on some other sites. For example, on deviantART you can get a high res look at my colors for Super Hungry. And on Tumblr you can take a gander at Francisco's line work, my colors, and the final unlettered art. I hope you dig those peeks at the building blocks of this tale!

Next: It's the end of the line for Super Hungry. Has Destruct-O-Tron finally self-destructed? Find out tomorrow!!!

Destruct-O-Tron went on TV and announced that he's going on a hunger strike to end crime in Megaville.

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Super Haters #483	Francisco Gruel Guest Week	Super Haters #485
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Not much to say today... it's Friday, so I gotta go paaarrr-taaayyy! And film a Super Haters trailer. That's right. I said film. Don't forget -- donate to NEDA and I'll match your donation and give you art. Also, hit up Francisco's deviantART page and peep his doodles.

See you on Monday with the penultimate page of this story!

Seeking to lose some weight, Destruct-O-Tron asked Mulldusa for help. That was a bad idea.

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Super Haters #482	Francisco Gruel Guest Week	Super Haters #484
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And now for... THE SECRET ORIGIN OF SUPER HUNGRY!

Francisco Gruel began interacting with the AudioShocker during our legendary Garbage Pail Kids Movie review era in late 2010. (Well, legendary to me... probably not to anyone else.) He shared some amazing GPK Movie fanart, not to mention some great Julia Child fanart (thus foreshadowing this story). And then... he disappeared.

But he returned like a phoenix in late 2013, contributing to a couple of our fanart contests for Iron Man and ALF. Around the same time, Francisco posted some pages from a 2008 minicomic that blew my mind. Salivating to see more of his art, I approached Francisco about collaborating on a Super Haters story and to my delight he said yes!

We plotted Super Hungry together until we whittled down it down to a core story that we both enjoyed. I scripted the pages, he drew the shit out of them, and then I added some color and letters to his astoundingly intricate lineart. And that's the origin!

As for our informal NEDA fundraising drive, I'm still waiting to get that first email from you telling me that you've donated!!! Remember, there's original art in it for you too ;)

As for the story, be back tomorrow to watch Destruct-O-Tron's best laid plans hatch a real fucking mess!

Feeling ashamed of his body after a negative interaction with Mind's Eye, Destruct-O-Tron has sought out his best friend.

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Super Haters #481	Francisco Gruel Guest Week	Super Haters #483
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Wow. Mulldusa. He's a real piece of work shit.

Well, yesterday I told you that things were going to get worse for Destruct-O-Tron and I think we can all agree that I definitely held up my end of the bargain. Now I need you to hold up your end! (Actually, now that I think about it, you never agreed to anything... you just randomly showed up to read these comics. Sooooooo, yeah...)

I'm asking you to donate to the National Eating Disorders Association. Even though I've shamelessly exploited all manner of subjects for Super Haters over the years, I'm not a callous, insensitive bastard! I take the real life physical and emotional toll of eating disorders seriously and that's why I'm imploring you to contribute to an organization that promotes education, prevention, and recovery.

And I'm going to sweeten the pot with an incentive -- for every $10 that you donate to NEDA, Francisco will send you a panel of original art from this story arc! Trust me, you want that art. It's fucking sweet. (Not to mention that I'm matching every dollar you donate... visit yesterday's post for details.)

Speaking of art, make sure you're back here tomorrow because I'm going to reveal THE SECRET ORIGIN OF SUPER HUNGRY featuring secrets and origins and links to other art and more. It twill beith a truly splendiferous occasion. See ya then!

It's the beginning of the end for the Super Haters! And it all starts with this...

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Super Haters #480	Francisco Gruel Guest Week	Super Haters #482
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My collaborator on this tweaked out tale is Francisco Gruel, a longtime AudioShocker listener with an incredibly unique and detailed art style. In fact, Francisco's Super Haters pages are so detailed that I'm adding larger versions of his pages for you to enjoy. Just click on the comic to check out a special 1800 px wide version.

As you can see from the last panel of today's strip, Destruct-O-Tron is struggling with some body image issues. And this is just the beginning for him. Lest you think it's done entirely in thoughtless jest, the truth is that Francisco and I have both dealt with similar situations in the past. We discussed our experiences a bit in the comments to Everything Blows with Ross and Nick #17.

While I've been fortunate to never need medical treatment for an eating disorder, I struggled for most of my teen years and early 20s with thoughts that I was inadequate based on my appearance and I tried to control that through eating. I've also had many people close to me battle eating disorders, from anorexia and bulimia to related conditions like exercise addiction.

I think a big part of the problem is that eating disorders were rarely discussed in an open and personal way when I was growing up. I knew they existed but I never had any education about the underlying cultural and social issues that could lead to them.

To coincide with Super Hungry, I'm running a fundraising drive for the National Eating Disorders Association. And to kick things up a notch, I'm going to match every dollar that you donate to NEDA. In fact, I already got the ball rolling yesterday with a $100 donation (which won't count towards my matching donations):



When you donate, just forward your NEDA confirmation email to me or take a screencap of the confirmation page and email it to me at nickmarino@gmail.com. No amount is too little to give -- from $20 to $10 to $5 to $1. I'll match it.

As for the comics, be back tomorrow for the one and only enigmatic redneck with the world's deadliest hairdo... MULLDUSA!

Things take a turn for the twisted as the talented Francisco Gruel joins me to tell the terrific tale teased in this tense trailer:*



And the best part? The juice is loose starting tomorrow!!!



As I've mentioned over the past few months, Super Haters is ending with #500 on June 25th. To make that happen, the webcomic is running Monday-Friday from now until the 25th. So get ready to get stuffed full of Mind's Eye, Destruct-O-Tron, and the rest of the crew as we embark on a month of madness!

*How's that for alliteration, suckas!!!

Thanks to a bit of last minute Mind's Eye muscle, the Super Haters turned the tide and defeated the Diablo Bros.

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Super Haters #479	Shawn Atkins Guest Week 2	Super Haters #481
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And that's a wrap, folks! The sad, depressing, soul-crushing, giant-breasted end to HaterMania.

Shawn and I began work on this story back in May 2012 when I lived in Pittsburgh. We used to meet up at the Crazy Mocha coffee shop in Bloomfield (along with past Super Haters artist Virginia Shields).

Shawn said he wanted to draw a wrestling story and we cooked up a brief plot. He prefers to work from a page breakdown rather than a panel-to-panel script, so I emailed him a brief page-by-page synopsis and he started thumbnailing.

But life got in the way for both of us! I moved across the country and he had a baby. Still, Shawn slowly chipped away at the pencils and inks for these pages. Fast-forward 19 months (!!!) and the line art was done!!!

I started coloring last month and then made us a trailer for HaterMania. After that, Shawn and I dialogued the story together and I lettered it. The only remaining piece of the story was this final page, which Shawn banged out last Sunday as I finished up the lettering.

It's been a long journey, but I'm so thrilled I had the chance to collaborate with Shawn Atkins again. This story was a ball of fun for me and I hope it was for you too!! Shoutout to Justique for her color input (and for saying "YES!" when I proposed last Tuesday).

So what's next? I'm pretty sure (but not 100% sure) our next story will be out in April. It'll either be a story scripted by me and drawn by Francisco Gruel, or a tale scripted by Justique and drawn by me! Either way, I can't wait. Thanks for reading and I'll see ya soon!!!

The Diablo Bros have beat the snot out of Destruct-O-Tron and now it's Mind's Eye's turn to tangle with 'em.

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Super Haters #478	Shawn Atkins Guest Week 2	Super Haters #480
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Damn, Mind's Eye! You really got some skills in the wrestling ring.

Normally, this would be the time where I say, "Well, that's a wrap! Thanks to my awesome collaborator for making this such a great story. See you in a month or two!" BUT NOT THIS TIME, DAMN IT! Nooooo, nooooo, noooo. See, #479 isn't the end of this story arc.

Tomorrow the stupendous Shawn Atkins and I present a HaterMania epilogue where we reveal the fate of Tiny Tina, the li'l scamp who got Destruct-O-Tron into this tag team mess in the first place.

But first... news from yesterday! I posted the colors from #478 on deviantART. Justique and I are still engaged. And Pussy Riot released what is probably the greatest music video I've ever seen. Seriously. I watched it so many times that I lost count.

Anyway, tomorrow's no Pussy Riot protest song but it is the conclusion to HaterMania, so come back for this tale's twisted end!

Destruct-O-Tron is determined to win that boob job money for Tiny Tina, even if it kills him... which it probably will.

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Super Haters #477	Shawn Atkins Guest Week 2	Super Haters #479
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OH YEAH, BABY! There's a new Hater in the ring. Will she take a disgraceful dive like "Deadweight" Destruct-O-Tron? You're just gonna have to come back tomorrow to find out!

In the meantime, there's a new episode of Everything Blows with Ross and Nick. We podcast about a bunch of fun stuff, from a soymilk shortage to the new character designs in the upcoming TMNT movie. And towards the end of the episode, I reveal that I've reached the end of my podcasting journey. After 6.5 years of weekly episodes, I've gotten what I wanted from the pursuit and I'm ready to move on.

Oh, and here are the colors from #477. Beware... they're really colorful.

That's it for today. Be back tomorrow for more awesome Shawn art and insane Haters action!!!

Destruct-O-Tron wants to help Tiny Tina fulfill her dying wish, but he's sure doing a shitty job of it.

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Super Haters #476	Shawn Atkins Guest Week 2	Super Haters #478
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Has the tag team tide turned for Destruct-O-Tron? I mean, it seems like he has a renewed vigor for underage boob jobs and piledrivers, so let's wish him the very best.

Today's the day when Shawn would normally post a new page of Gello Apocalypse. But he started a new job this week (HINT: rodeo clown) so instead of a new page he's got this Gello Apocalypse / Star Wars mashup pinup that's sure to get him sued by Disney faster than you can scream "ass cactus!!!"

In other news, I got engaged yesterday. And I posted the raw colors for #476.

See you tomorrow when Shawn and I bring you "Destruct-O-Tron's revenge" a.k.a. "How I learned to stop worrying and love the mat" (or something else clever like that).

Mind's Eye and Destruct-O-Tron are wrestling to win money so a terminally ill six-year-old can get a boob job.

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Super Haters #475	Shawn Atkins Guest Week 2	Super Haters #477
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Wow. Destruct-O-Tron is no Rowdy Roddy Piper, that's for sure. He's so bad that he makes I.R.S. look like Hollywood Hulk Hogan.

If you haven't already figured it out, my wrestling knowledge is relegated to the mid-80s WWF stuff. Between that and the Saturday morning cartoon, Hulk Hogan's Rock'N'Wrestling, I know nothing about professional wrestling. I'm pretty sure the same goes for Shawn.

So should we have done a wrestling story? Probably not. But we did it anyway, damn it!!! And here we are, sharing our limited knowledge of pro wrestling and unlimited passion for comics with you.

In other news, today there's a new episode of Shawn's Figure It Out podcast (featuring past Super Haters guest artist Jared Catherine). I have my own podcast out today too, a new episode of the Allegheny Teen Center Reading Program wherein we discuss the seminal manga series Battle Angel Alita.

Today's also my anniversary! On this day eight years ago, Justique (my awesome girlfriend and long-running Super Haters co-writer) and I met in my bedroom. Well, it used to be my bedroom. She was at a party in an apartment where I used to live in Pittsburgh, standing right where I used to keep my air mattress. I think it was an omen.

Last and least, I've started sharing my bare colors from these comics over on my deviantART account. Here are the colors from yesterday's #475. And that's all for today, folks! See ya tomooorrrrrooow!