...All righty! ^_^
Seems Crystal Crawler from the Mirthworms series is carrying a basket of goodies into Fairy Tale Forest. Let's see what happens!
Also, yes, my scanner is still eating my lettering. :P
CRYSTAL: "Oh my! A horrible, dreadful wolf! Mamma warned me about wolves"
WUFF: "Rightfully so! What'cha got good for me in that basket?"
CRYSTAL: "Cottage cheese?"
WUFF: "Disgusting!"
CRYSTAL: "Diet soda?"
WUFF: "For crying out loud! What do I look like---a grandma!?"
CRYSTAL: "Dr. Pepper?"
WUFF (excited): "Hot with lemon slices!?"
CRYSTAL: "Ice cold and refreshing"
WUFF: "That'll do!"
[Wuff drinks the Dr. Pepper]
CRYSTAL: "...Aren't you going to turn into a handsome prince?"
WUFF: "I'm no prince, I'm a *pepper!"
*I acknowledge I 'should' have drawn the wolf transformed into a pepper, but I wanted an excuse to draw him in full-body again. ^^
And don't worry---Crystal will have a smooth rest of her day. The wolf won't bother her anymore, as he was quite harmless to start with (but knows an opportunity when he sees one). :3
More on the characters later---I should probably explain the comic now. ^^
The 'story' is based loosely on this (somewhat furry) Dr. Pepper commercial from 1984 (link tested 11/13/2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TijkFX1Cfg
In case the link doesn't work, the commercial is basically of Red Riding Hood being confronted by a werewolf. Upon giving the werewolf a Dr. Pepper, the werewolf reverts into a charming man (albeit, he keeps his wolf tail).
That's pretty much it. ^^
Our comic takes place in Fairy Tale Forest (where enchanting things may sometimes happen), so Crystal had the idea that the wolf might turn into a prince after drinking the Dr. Pepper. Of course, Crystal had her tales mixed up, so no luck. ^^
That said, the little wolf isn't part of any fairy tales---he's still growing, not yet big and bad: no powerful wind in his chest or visible claws on his toes, and only one (silly-looking!) fang to boast (he's not even all that mean---he's just rebellious enough to sit on a wall upon which a 'No Loitering' sign is posted).
Mirthworms...
The mirthworms were worm characters from animation. There were (at least) three Mirthworm specials: A Merry Mirthworm Christmas (1984), A Mirthworm Masquerade (1987), and Mirthworms on Stage (1989).
These three specials were produced by Russ Harris and Jerry Reynolds (both men also voiced various characters from the specials).
Of the three, my favorite is 'Mirthworms on Stage' ...which may be seen here (link tested 11/13/2022): https://youtu.be/YBaUTjb9hqQ
Yes, that's my YouTube Channel. :p
YOUTUBE: "Hooray—it's your channel's birthday! You've come so far! Just imagine where you and your community will be next year. Keep doing you!"
I literally didn't plan this---just noticed when I checked analytics. ^^
Anyway, the video was supplied to me by our friend \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
| \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tzfqfmb\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
And, yes, I will eventually draw a Mirthworms ACO. I have a pencil in mind to feature with the card, presuming I can get my paws on the pencil (time will tell).
Speaking of...
The featured pencil is among those very strange ones I encounter from time to time on my pencil journey.
The pencil is green with white lettering that reads, 'I Stole this From' and then shows a brown 'Dr. Pepper' logo (effectively reading, "I stole this from Dr. Pepper').
The lettering of the logo is similar to the font Dr. Pepper used in the mid 1950s (pre-1958), so the pencil may date back to that time (though I cannot say for certain).
"Your search - 'I stole this from Dr. Pepper' - did not match any documents"
Yeah...
I dunno anything certain about this pencil. I dunno if it was sold in stores, offered as some sort of promotion or ad campaigne, or if it really did belong to to Dr. Pepper's bottling company.
This pencil was included in a small auction lot that also had two sealed-in-package 'Dispencils' (disposable, mechanical pencils sold in individual packages ...very wasteful, IMHO). The other pencils in the lot were junk---I'll never feature them. ^^
Someone else liked this lot, too (several bids were placed)---it was kinda lucky that I won! ^^
Anyway, I thought the Dispencils were funny, and with the addition of the novelty that is the featured pencil, well... how could I say no?
This, again, is that odd sort of pencil that says "Feature Me!". Sure, it's not a 19th-century square core or a rare $75 Eagle, but it's fun and is of the sort that goes well with my dumb cartoons. :3