Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire: Difference between revisions

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'''''Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire''''' is a science-fiction/action/comedy comics series by [[Phil Foglio]], featuring the adventures of private detective/bodyguard-for-hire Buck Godot, operating out of the Lawless planet of New Hong Kong.

The supporting cast include Al, the manager of Buck's favourite bar (who looks like a [[Little Green Men|short green]] cartoony version of the critter from ''[[Alien (~~Film~~)|Alien]]''); and Madame Louisa Dem Five, a pillar of the local *ahem* [[Band of Brothels|service industry]].

The supporting cast include Al, the manager of Buck's favourite bar (who looks like a [[Little Green Men|short green]] cartoony version of the critter from ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]''); and Madame Louisa Dem Five, a pillar of the local *ahem* [[Band of Brothels|service industry]].

The series started as a string of short pieces in various anthology comics, some of which were collected in the first ''Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire'' collection. In these stories, Buck protects a woman pursued by fanatical sun-priests, finds a lost heir despite the hindrance of being followed around by a freelance conscience, defends a cargo ship from space pirate attack, and attempts to learn the secret of teleportation from an enigmatic alien (with the fate of worlds hanging in the balance).

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There's also a one-off graphic novel, ''PSmIth''. An attempted ongoing comic book folded, due to scheduling and other problems, after a single story arc; but that story arc, ''The Gallimaufry'', is the crowning achievement of the series, the added length allowing new levels of depth and complexity in plot and worldbuilding.

Following the success of ''[[~~Girl Genius (Webcomic)|~~Girl Genius]]'', the series was re-released in [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buck.html web-comic form]. The last installment of ''The Gallimaufry'' went up on June 20th, 2009. The following week saw a reprinting the three-page "True Story of the Winslow". And that appears to be that. ([http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20091101 Almost.]) One of the original short stories (the one with nudity) is not included at the above site. We're sure you can find it if you look hard, though.

Following the success of ''[[Girl Genius]]'', the series was re-released in [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buck.html web-comic form]. The last installment of ''The Gallimaufry'' went up on June 20th, 2009. The following week saw a reprinting the three-page "True Story of the Winslow". And that appears to be that. ([http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20091101 Almost.]) One of the original short stories (the one with nudity) is not included at the above site. We're sure you can find it if you look hard, though.

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=== ''Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire'' provides examples of: ===

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* [[Anything That Moves]]

** Louisa Dem Five

** And yet her employee Sizzlin' Sue manages to make her look like a nun. Especially when she's off her meds and drags [[Double Standard Rape (Female On Male)|a protesting total stranger into her bedroom]].

** And yet her employee Sizzlin' Sue manages to make her look like a nun. Especially when she's off her meds and drags [[Double Standard Rape (Female on Male)|a protesting total stranger into her bedroom]].

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]

** The fourteen Accepted Signs of Divinity, as listed [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080318 here], include: "call down the lightning, corrupt the innocent, eat the moon, answer the phone before it rings".

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* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: The board of X-Tel.

* [[Cute Monster Girl]]: Hyraxx D'Mofiti

* [[Cut His Heart Out ~~With~~ a Spoon]]: [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080228 It's actually a really effective threat where he comes from.] [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080717 There is also some related creative use of dental floss.]

* [[Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon]]: [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080228 It's actually a really effective threat where he comes from.] [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080717 There is also some related creative use of dental floss.]

* [[Data Crystal]]: Info Points.

* [[Deadly Euphemism]]: Don't accept an invitation to a "New Hong Kong wake".

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* [[Drunken Master]]: [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20070116 Buck in the early strips]. Later ignored.

* [[Dude, Where's My Respect?]]: The conclusion of the {{spoiler|Gallimaufry}} storyline.

* [[Due to ~~The~~ Dead]]: A New Hong Kong Wake is a very dark example. You find the murderer, have a chat over their drug-induced confession, and leave them to die.

* [[Due to the Dead]]: A New Hong Kong Wake is a very dark example. You find the murderer, have a chat over their drug-induced confession, and leave them to die.

* [[Encyclopedia Exposita]]: ''The Herodotus Complex'', a history of Earth's involvement in galactic affairs; a relevant extract appears at the beginning of each book and each issue of the comic

* [[Energy Weapon]]: Starting with zap-guns and working up from there.

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* [[Girl-On-Girl Is Hot]]: [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20081220 Louisa's approach to abnormal hormone levels.]

* [[God Guise]]: Many of the religions that surround the Winslow. He MAY be actually Divine (immortal, indestructible, and showing signs of [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]), it is just that everyone thinks he is for the wrong reasons.

* [[Grievous Harm ~~With~~ a Body]]: [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20070308 Check.]

* [[Grievous Harm with a Body]]: [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20070308 Check.]

* [[Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal]]: Well, half-dressed cartoon aliens.

* [[Heavyworlder]]: Buck and the other Hoffmannites -- suprisingly, given the rest of the comic is actually fairly high into the "Hard" scale of sci-fi, they're the fantastical "big and portly" types, rather then the scientifically accurate dwarf (i.e. short, squat, and lean) types. (This may be related to the fact that they didn't evolve, but were engineered -- by a group of genetic engineers whose other projects included a race of centaurs.)

* [[He Knows Too Much]]: Why {{spoiler|Par ultimately decides Godot ''and the Prime Mover'' have to die.}}

* [[Hive Mind]]: {{spoiler|Psmith}}

* [[Hooker ~~With~~ a Heart of Gold]]: Louisa Dem Five and the ''Velvet Fist''; she even made a cameo in ''[[XXXenophile]]''! Has Strong opinions about hookers Without a heart of gold.

* [[Hooker with a Heart of Gold]]: Louisa Dem Five and the ''Velvet Fist''; she even made a cameo in ''[[XXXenophile]]''! Has Strong opinions about hookers Without a heart of gold.

* [[Humans Are Special]]

** Parodied. Lots of species think we're [[Cloudcuckoolander|entertainingly crazy]], at best. Mmmm, [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080103 popsicles.]

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* [[Interfaith Smoothie]]: The Church of Slag-Blah who are "militant agnostics" who celebrate a different religion's holy day every day.

* [[Interspecies Romance]]: Subverted by Buck/Louisa (Hoffmanites find humans underdeveloped and also "a wee bit... delicate") and Buck/Tal (since she's a reptilean alien, as Buck points out, even if he were inclined to perv he wouldn't know what to look at. {{spoiler|Turns out he's lying}}.)

* [[Jerk ~~With~~ a Heart of Gold]]: The Klegdixal. EVERYONE in the galaxy thinks that they're jerks, but they've actually dedicated their vast knowledge of biotech to preventing biowarfare; see also [[Morality Pet]] below. This is not to say that they are not, in fact, jerks.

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: The Klegdixal. EVERYONE in the galaxy thinks that they're jerks, but they've actually dedicated their vast knowledge of biotech to preventing biowarfare; see also [[Morality Pet]] below. This is not to say that they are not, in fact, jerks.

* [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner]]

* [[Knight Templar]]: Security Chief Parahexavoctal is not above opening entire embassies to space to keep order. {{spoiler|And that's only the beginning of the lengths he'll go to.}}

* [[Love Is in ~~The~~ Air]]: When she chooses, Louisa can become a walking pheromone factory. It's a treatment anyone can acquire, but it requires stringent licensing.

* [[Love Is in the Air]]: When she chooses, Louisa can become a walking pheromone factory. It's a treatment anyone can acquire, but it requires stringent licensing.

* [[MacGuffin]]: The Winslow, so very much -- he could have been an inert lump of [[Made of Indestructium|indestructium]] for all the difference it would have made to the plot. Given a great big [[Lampshade Hanging]], with much discussion of the fact that although everybody knows he's very important, there's no general agreement on exactly ''why''.

* [[Mass Teleportation]]: In one story, Buck has to gain the trust of a mysterious alien which has the mass teleportation technology needed to evacuate all the people off a planet that's about to be wiped out by a supernova. {{spoiler|When he finally manages to explain the situation, the alien casually suggests that it would be just as easy to teleport the entire planet.}}

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* [[One World Order]]

* [[Paparazzi]]: Hyraxx D'Mofiti

* [[Pie in ~~The~~ Face]]

* [[Pie in the Face]]

* [[Plant Aliens]]

* [[Porn Stash]]: Even nigh-omnipotent aliens have them.