Emergency Exit
Delaine: Apparently your little trip didn't go exactly as planned. Wait, for that you'd actually need a plan. |
Emergency Exit (first strip) is the primary web comic of NJ Huff. Initially a very random gag comic, it successfully pulled a half-Cerebus to become a story and humor comic. Basically, it's about the residents of an apartment building guarding a portal to other worlds, with lots of general weirdness and even downright absurdity.
As the dramatic narrative elements have matured, so has the art style. In August, 2009 the artist replaced the first 12 pages with a new intro storyline to help new readers adapt to this. One of the biggest influences in its evolution seems to be the massive crossover with Ben Fleuter's somber Parallel Dementia from 2006-12-25 to 2007-06-14 seemed to bring out the best in both webcomickers.
The comic went on a two-month long hiatus before starting a semi-reboot on July 1st, 2011, the comic's eighth birthday. The artist said that she was sick of the confusing continuity of the old comics, and wanted to start looking at doing something more serious with the comic. The comic ended in July 2018.
Be warned / encouraged, it has Loads and Loads of Characters.Here are the main protagonists, who all live in the same apartment building:
- Bob McKile is just your average, ordinary, orange-haired Celibate Hero with a Super-Powered Evil Side.
- Eddie is a tall Cloudcuckoolander with a Hyperspace Mallet. He's also a Mad Scientist with a lab and everything -- for example, he can make a "coolness enhancer" that actually works, just like that -- but that doesn't really apply outside of his lab, so he's rarely The Smart Guy.
- Saya Caelan is a purple-haired Deadpan Snarker and Badass Normal.
- Karl Tameron is a green-haired gamer geek and techie who controls their most important Applied Phlebotinum.
- Sal Declan is Bob's cousin and an orange-haired witch.
- Fred is a light brown cat. Excellent gamer and one of the smartest people in the building, but only Karl can understand her, even when Sal turns her into a Catgirl. Team Pet.
- Jason Saskia is a late addition with black hair. Ex-circus. Kind of gay (although he did say he was "open to either"), with an obvious crush on Karl. Originally a Drop-In Character, but has come into the main cast.
- Affably Evil - Kyran
- Although Not So Harmless...
- Alien Blood - It was recently revealed that Merfs have black blood. Although Vladic says he "wouldn't say it's the same thing as blood, but close enough."
- Apparently, their blood also smells like licorice.
- Ambiguously Gay - Jason, at first.
- Another Dimension - In Karl's cupboard.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking - Don't touch the hair.
- Art Evolution
- Bloody Hilarious / High-Pressure Blood
- Stabs a medusa in the head. "Ew! Snakes! (pulls out gun) *Blam* *Blam* *Blam*"
- "...Head hurts." "I would think so."
- Buffy-Speak - good examples here and here.
- Cloudcuckoolander - Eddie
- Kyran too, to a lesser extent. It comes out most prominently when he's talking with Eddie.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass - Well... just for the trifecta, it's Eddie once more.
- Deadpan Snarker - Saya
- Emotionless Girl - Saya again
- Enemy Without: Karl gains one.
- Everything's Better with Chickens - Or worse, if you ask Eddie.
- Everything's Better with Bob - Eddie would agree.
- Evil Overlord List: Kyran apparently reads it, specifically the part about having a fifth grader look over your plans before putting them into action. Good thing too; his plans are terrible.
- Eyes Always Shut - Harvoc, the mailman with a hook for a hand.
- He recently opened them, which apparently means death.
- The Faceless - Played with in this strip. Kyran deliberately uses very dim lighting to create a sinister atmosphere for his guest. The guest, however, would really rather just have some lights on.
- Fan Nickname - Karl's Enemy Without has been nicknamed Darl, and the shipping thread calls this squirrel Bill.
- Feel No Pain - Vladic implies Eddie can do this at will for a period of time.
- Foreshadowing: Occasionally; minor example would be this. Might double as a Brick Joke.
- Fusion Dance - Regfarious!
- Genki Girl - Orulla. She just doesn't really get the point of stalking someone.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly - Gods, apparently, embody one emotion or another. The more people who feel that way towards them, the stronger they are. For example Lord Kyran is a god of hate; therefore, he goes to a great deal of effort to try and make every mortal he comes across hate him. It doesn't always work out that way.
- Groin Attack - Saya does this to a squirrel while shrinked.
- Grey Haired Pretty Boy - Jurinjo
- Hammerspace Hair - Eddie (literally!)
- Healing Factor - Eddie, apparently.
- Healing Hands - Jurinjo, Kyran and Sal, sort of.
- Hook Hand - Harvoc
- Hyperspace Mallet - Eddie
- It Runs on Nonsensoleum - Eddie's "Coolness Enhancers".
- Impossibly Cool Weapon - Eddie's coolness enhancer has the potential to turn any weapon into one of these, but the best example is when it turns his Hyperspace Mallet into twin double-headed hammer-chucks. Which he swings around with way more skill than he has any right to.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Vladic, apparently, especially when Eddie's involved
- MacGuffin Delivery Service - Lord Kyran's preferred method. Though it hardly works, it allows him to try and keep his enemies alive whenever necessary.
- Mad Scientist - Eddie, and apparently Karl
- Minion with an F In Evil - Jurinjo, Orulla
- Mismatched Eyes - Vladic
- Mood Whiplash: Here especially.
- Mug Joke: Also with beets.
- Mundane Fantastic
- No One Could Survive That: Uhh...
- Orphaned Punchline: Kyran kisses Delaine on the cheek. Cut to him talking to Jurinjo--"And that's how I found out I'm bulletproof!"
- Can this really be considered an OP?
- This is a Gilligan Cut - she shot him for kissing her.
- Pistol-Whipping - Evidently, Delaine doing this is the only way to stop a crazed Eddie.
- Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies - Don't kill the final boss on your first hit.
- Rule of Cool - The Coolness Enhancer.
- Rule of Funny - And how!
- Super-Powered Evil Side - Nefarious is Bob's
- Sweet Tooth - Nefarious can be prevented from murderous rampages by being given candy.
- Tear Jerker - This.
- The Medic - Jurinjo is a sort of Villainous version.
- Transforming Mecha - Karl's couch.
- Unfazed Everyman / Badass Normal - Saya and Jason. Also Delaine on Team Evil.
- That's right, a gay clown is this group's idea of normal. Love it!
- Not just normal, but "fairly boring, considering."!
- Webcomic Time - A recent[when?] day in the story has taken up two years real time and over 250 pages.
- Weirdness Censor - The Apartment
- Weirdness Magnet - The apartment building and everyone in it
- Written Roar - provided the page pic
- You Meddling Kids - said by a villain in this strip