D.R. & Quinch: Difference between revisions

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Hey, man, let me tell you about something that's, like, [[Totally Radical|totally amazing]]...
 
While [[Alan Moore]] is mostly known nowadays for writing dark, serious stories set in [[Crapsack World|crapsack worlds]], such as ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'' and ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', ''[[DR and Quinch]]'' stands out as something very, very different.
 
It all began at [[Two Thousand2000 AD (Comic Book)|The Galaxy's Greatest Comic]] where a young, budding [[Alan Moore]] was frequently tasked with writing for the ''Tharg's Future Shocks'' and ''Time Twisters'' strips. These would always be brief, self-contained stories that are rarely over five pages long and would usually end with a [[Twist Ending]] of sorts (often of the [[Cruel Twist Ending]] variety).
 
Somewhat breaking the trend, a young Moore decided to write up a [[Totally Radical|Totally Amazing]] [[Black Comedy]] adventure [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/comics/2000adstrips/drandquinch/drandquinch01.shtml comic strip] about two teenage alien miscreants who steal a [[Time Travel|time machine]] and head out to a little planet way out in the boondocks that no one else in the galaxy would ever care about called "Earth," all in part of an elaborate revenge scheme on their college dean for [[Disproportionate Retribution|suspending them after he found stolen goods and laser guns in their locker]]. Originally intended to appear only once in the pages of ''[[Two Thousand2000 AD (Comic Book)|Two Thousand AD]]'', the two characters became so popular with readers that they would [[Spin-Off|get their own series]].
 
In what can best be described as "[[Rule of Funny]] [[X Meets Y|meets]] [[For the Evulz]]," ''D.R. & Quinch'' tells the [[Rule of Three|totally amazing]] story of one [[Magnificent Bastard|Waldo "D.R." Dobbs]] (the "D.R." stands for "Diminished Responsibility"), a skinny, lanky, teenage [[Delinquents|delinquent]] who boasts a genius IQ, enjoys acts of extreme violence and destruction, and looks like a cross between [[Gremlins|a gremlin]] [[X Meets Y|and]] [[Marvel Universe|a skrull]] with a [[Good Hair, Evil Hair|pompadour]], and Dobbs' best friend [[Dumb Muscle|Ernest Erroll Quinch]], a large, purple-skinned [[The Brute|brute]] who is [[The Quiet One|much, much quieter than Dobbs]] as he prefers writing to talking. Together, these two [[Comedic Sociopathy|deeply sociopathic]], [[Faux Affably Evil|evilly affable]], [[Omnicidal Maniac|omnicidal maniacs]] do as they please, and what pleases them usually involves death and destruction on a tremendous scale; it helps that, in their part of the Milky Way, [[Nuke'Em|nuclear warheads]] are [[Talks Like a Simile|as easily obtainable as a handgun in the]] [[Deep South]].
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Along with their two occasional companions (and, presumably, only other friends in the galaxy, besides each other) Crazy Chryssie (D.R.'s equally violent girlfriend) and Pulger (a [[Shell-Shocked Veteran|war veteran]] who is always prepared for combat, just in case [[The Vietnam War|Charlie]] launches a sneak attack), the [[Delinquents|delinquent]] duo have been on a handful of adventures in which they influence all of human evolution (including, very fittingly, the Survival of the Fittest) and a lot of Earth's history, get drafted by the army to fight in a war similar to [[The Vietnam War]], and even making a [[Cult Classic|cult film]].
 
Unfortunately, the strip, [[Short Runners|did not last long]] at ''[[Two Thousand2000 AD (Comic Book)|Two Thousand AD]]'', as [[Alan Moore|Moore]] had a tumultuous falling out with illustrator Alan Davis after [[Creative Differences|a disagreement]] over the reprinting rights to other works the two had collaborated on in the past. Needless to say, Moore abandoned the characters in the aftermath of this, marking the end of D.R. & Quinch's appearances in ''2000 AD'' save for small collection of one-page-long strips known as "The Agony Pages," written by Jamie Delano and Alan Davis.
 
Only five complete adventures were written by [[Alan Moore]] after D.R. & Quinch's first appearance, but despite there being such a small amount of material, the characters remain tremendously popular with the readers of ''[[Two Thousand2000 AD (Comic Book)|Two Thousand AD]]'', and the strips continue to be reprinted in paperback trade editions. Overflowing with [[Running Gag|totally amazing]] [[Black Comedy]] and with a sprinkle of [[Surreal Humor]] here and there, ''D.R. & Quinch'' stands out as some of [[Alan Moore|Alan Moore's]] funniest, most entertaining work and serves as evidence that he has one incredible sense of humor.
 
When you read ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'', you think Alan Moore is a genius.
 
When you read ''[[DR and Quinch]]'', you think Alan Moore is [[Overused Running Gag|totally amazing]]!
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* [[Evil Genius]]: Waldo "D.R." Dobbs. As his best bud puts it,
{{quote| '''Quinch:''' He has an I.Q. of 280 and he blows things up and I respect him totally.}}
* [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]]: The title of every story. "D.R. & Quinch Get Drafted"? Guess what happens. "D.R. & Quinch Go to Hollywood"? Guess where they're headed.
* [[Faux Affably Evil]]: Our starring duo in a nutshell.
* [[For the Evulz]]
* [[Good Hair, Evil Hair]]: Waldo's pompadour would rightfully categorize him with the other [[Delinquents|delinquents]] and [[Anti-Hero|anti-heroes]].
* [[Great Escape]]: Pulger's master plan to escape from the penal stockade on Ghoyogia. The plan consists of {{spoiler|a bar of soap that was molded to look like a gun, half a pound of plastic explosive that was molded to look like a bar of soap, a hidden escape tunnel, and Pulger in drag. What's going to happen is Pulger will blow up the explosive, then after the guards come to investigate, they'll confuse Pulger in the dress for an actual woman and immediately fall in love with him at which time he'll brandish the "gun" and force the guards into the escape tunnel and hide them there and refuse to tell anyone where the guards went until they agree to let him go.}}
{{quote| '''Pulger:''' It's an old trick, but it just might work.}}
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* [[Love Makes You Crazy]]: While D.R. was romantically involved with Chrysoprasia {{spoiler|before she snapped}}, he was much less willing to commit acts of violence.
* [[Love Makes You Evil]]: Chrysoprasia's reaction upon finding out what the ''[[Omnicidal Maniac|real]]'' Waldo Dobbs is actually like, and thus {{spoiler|inspiring her transformation into Crazy Chryssie}}.
* [[Memetic Mutation]]: [[Alan Moore]] actually provides an [[In -Universe]] example: The line, {{spoiler|"Mind the oranges, Marlon!"}} from D.R.'s big-budget film adaptation of {{spoiler|a script he can't even read}}. It even helps the movie attain a [[Cult Classic|cult film]] status afterwards.
* [[Mumbling Brando]]: There's a Marlon Brando caricature in "D.R. & Quinch Go to Hollywood." The fact that he's [[The Unintelligible]] isn't really much of a surprise.
* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Subverted for as far as legal rights can go. The story "D.R. & Quinch Go to Hollywood" consists of several alien characters who look like caricatures of various Hollywood legends; the main one, based on Marlon Brando, is always called "Marlon."
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** ''Everyone'' admitted to Massacre House counts, really.
* [[Short Runners]]: Only six adventures were written by [[Alan Moore]] in the span of two years.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The {{spoiler|oranges}} that {{spoiler|crush Marlon}} in "D.R. & Quinch Go to Hollywood" are a clear reference to ''[[The Godfather (Film)|The Godfather]]'' in how they always signify that {{spoiler|danger}} is looming a character. Both stories also include {{spoiler|[[Marlon Brando]]}}, cementing this as a clear movie reference.
* [[Spin-Off]]: Their first adventure was supposed to be a one-off for ''[[Two Thousand2000 AD (Comic Book)|Two Thousand AD]]'''s ''Time Twisters'' strip. It proved popular enough for D.R. & Quinch to get their own strip.
* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]: Seeing how, Waldo Dobbs, has a a 280 I.Q., it doesn't come as much of a surprise that he says an occasional "sophisticated" word here and there mixed in with his more usual lexicon that's based around more [[Totally Radical]] words (i.e. Asking for [[The Judge|The Judge's]] '''appellation''', rather than his '''name''').
** His recitations of Shakespeare sound like something translated into a foreign language through Babblefish and then back into English.