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{{
[[File:Platypus_Comix_Over_the_Hill_3074.jpg|frame|[[Loads and Loads of Characters|A few]] of the characters you'll meet at The Site With Everything, plus some from discontinued comics.]]
{{quote|''"I ''love'' entertaining others with this stuff. And I'm always trying to make it better based on their feedback and what they tell me. People need to sit down to whatever you draw for a living, and know--just ''know''--that they're going to have a good time. I don't care if I particularly liked a certain story. What really matters to me is if YOU liked it."''
The self-proclaimed "Site with EVERYTHING!", [http://www.platypuscomix.net/ Platypus Comix] is home to five webcomics, not to mention countless one-offs, all courtesy of one Peter Paltridge. Each is updated one whole ''story'' (or at least several pages) at a time, instead of strip-by-strip like most webcomics.
As if that weren't enough, the site is also home to slapdash humor and nostalgia, including ''[[TV Guide]]'' ad archives, trivia on the [[Warner Bros]]. Silver Age cartoons, and [[Strip Archive
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* ''[[Mulberry]]''
* ''[[Electric Wonderland]]''
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{{tropelist}}
== Entire Site ==
* [[Accentuate the Negative]]: Peter Paltridge has admitted that some of the things he makes [[Take That]] comics about, such as [[That Guy With The Glasses]], aren't really things he hates.
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* [[The Bechdel Test]]: Paltridge's comics often pass this test with flying colors, since four of the five flagship comics have main character rosters where the females outnumber males.
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: Several characters have demonstrated this ability. The main characters of ''Mulberry'' and ''Scrambled Eggs'' in particular act as [[Animated Actors]].
* [[Christmas Special]]:
** Paltridge made at least one every year until 2008, and now seems to do so on a sporadic basis. Most of them are archived in [http://www.platypuscomix.net/kristmas/index.php?seriesID=8 Kristmas Klassics].
** Also, he has a special section for reviews of the good, the bad and the obscure of animated Christmas specials, dubbed "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/misfitsindex.html The Island of Misfit Christmas Specials]."
* [[Cliff Hanger]]: Most of the comics are released in at least two parts, then the parts are merged together in the archive (unless the parts come from different seasons, such as the chapters of "Keiki's Huge Christmas Epic").
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* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: The majority of recurring characters from each comic.
* [[Milestone Celebration]]: In honor of Platypus Comix's 10th anniversary, accessing the site during the week of February 7, 2011 brought up a page which resembles the homepage used in 2001, and links to old comics and articles through the Wayback Machine.
* [["Not Making This Up" Disclaimer]]: Some articles and comics have such disclaimers in their respective threads of the Platypus Comix forum.
* [[Reality Subtext]]: Numerous examples, such as the ''Mulberry'' comic "Murphy's Lawn" (built up on [[Brittany Murphy]]'s death) and the ''Keiki'' comic "Beefer in the Time of Cholera" (set during the economic recession of the late 2000s). Paltridge also traditionally makes comics about Dan Blather covering the [[Olympic Games]] and Mulberry trying to influence the Presidential Election.
* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: Usually by making the comics go over the top in terms of wackiness.
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Peter Paltridge called [http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=3&pageType=index&seriesID=7 "Raiders of the Lost Arc"], a comic from a discontinued series titled, ''Guava Guava'', his favorite Platypus Comix story. His website only includes the portion written in the year 2001. A recap summarizing the parts written in 1998 explains that [[Joan of Arc]] had become a [[Fish Out of Temporal Water]], risen from the dead, and fought [[Osama Bin Laden]]. As this part begins, Joan's period away from battle has led people to doubt her accomplishments and complain that she's not really as tough as they thought. She decides to prove them wrong by confronting Bin Laden again, who had just recently performed his infamous September 11 attacks.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Cassandra Truth]]: Twenty-first century reporters who think [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks|Joan appears too frequently in the media]] begin doubting her achievements.
* [[Enemy Mine]]: Joan's companions in her fight against Bin Laden came from England, the country Joan saved France from.
* [[Gone Horribly Right|Gone Horribly]] {{spoiler|[[Gone Horribly Right|Right]]}}: {{spoiler|Joan's defeat of Bin Laden proves so effective, all the terrorists cease their attacks, and the US Army dissolves.}}
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== "True Believers" ==
Peter Paltridge called 2008's [http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=11&page=1 "True Believers"] his second favorite Platypus Comix story. The characters from the flagship comics have gone on strike, so the Head Executive tries to tide readers over with a [[Spider-Man]] comic, hoping he could get away with featuring characters he doesn't own when the characters he does own won't cooperate. The resulting story became Platypus Comix's [[Take That]] against [[Marvel Comics]]' reviled ''[[One More Day]]'' comic, which had concluded two weeks earlier. In a 48-page, two-month-long, ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?|Roger Rabbit]]''-ish storyline, Spidey and Mary Jane Watson fight to save their marriage from being wiped out by their own editor, Joe
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=== This comic provides examples of
* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: Peter Paltridge said that "True Believers" started out as a less dramatic story for the fourth week of the Character Strike. He first published the early chapters under the title, "Peter Paltridge, The Amazing Spider-Hack."
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: After turning down the offer to become Jackpot, Mary Jane carries a stamp out of Quesadilla's office. {{spoiler|During the climax of the comic, she presses the stamp against Quesadilla's forehead and [[Retcon
* [[Death Is Cheap]]: Comic book characters "always come back", as {{spoiler|Mary Jane}} explains after a revitalization.
* [[Despair Event Horizon]]: After Spidey discovers that Quesadilla erased ''everything'' that happened in the last 30 years, he asks Dr. Octopus to kill him. He gets better, "five miniseries, three crossovers, and one apocalyptic battle later."
* [[The Final Temptation]]: During the climax, Quesadilla offers Peter the revivals of Uncle Ben, Richard and Mary Parker, and/or Gwen Stacy if he lets him erase the marriage. {{spoiler|He nearly accepts, but after deciding [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|he wants MJ to be happy]], he asks her what to do, then follows her request to decline the temptation.}}
* [[Homage Shot]]:
** In a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[Dallas]]'', Spidey wakes up in bed, walks into the bathroom, and finds {{spoiler|Venom}} in his shower.
** Some panels of {{spoiler|the surprise party various comic characters hold at the end in honor of Peter's and MJ's anniversary}} closely resemble {{spoiler|the party held at the end of ''One More Day''}}.
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== Miscellaneous Comics ==
* [[Affectionate Parody]]: "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=17&pageType=index&seriesID=7 Schoolhouse Bootleg]," of ''[[Schoolhouse Rock]]''.
* [[Clip Show]]: The Head Executive of Platypus Comix showed [http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=8&pageType=index&seriesID=7 one] during the first week of the "2008 Character Strike". This evolves into a
* [[Crisis Crossover]]: "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=2&pageType=index&seriesID=7 Riot Act #2]" features characters from various Platypus Comix series, although several of these series have since been removed from the website.
* [[Dolled-Up Installment]]: The second week of the Character Strike brought [http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=9&pageType=index&seriesID=7 a story] titled "[[Terminator]]: [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles|The Mulberry Sharona Chronicles]], which actually featured artwork from ''[[Shadowgirls]]''.
* [[Follow the Leader]]: During the third week of the Character Strike, the Head Executive tried to create [http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=10&pageType=index&seriesID=7 his own comic], starring talking pigs who engage in [[Family Guy|offensive activities, random cutaways, and liberal lecturing]].
{{quote|
* [[Fourth Wall Mail Slot]]: The fifth and final [http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=12&pageType=index&seriesID=7 installment] of the 2008 Character Strike featured the Head Executive replying to emails readers sent Peter Paltridge.
* [[Heart Is an Awesome Power]]: The title character of "Awesome Blossom" exclaims "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=1&page=14&seriesID=7 Heart Power!]" every time she tries to solve a problem. It proves effective, but the second time she uses it [[It Got Worse|angers others]]. In a possible [[Subverted Trope|subversion]], her adversaries use "Liver Power!" and "Pancreas Power!" to get what they want.
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* [[Pandaing to the Audience]]: "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=7&pageType=index&seriesID=7 Rice Cub]" stars a talking panda with a personality similar to that of Mary Lynn Rajskub, who played Chloe O'Brian in ''[[24|Twenty Four]]''.
* [[Product Placement]]: The first issue of Paltridge's publication, ''BANG! The Entertainment Paper'', [http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=17&page=6 appeared] in "Schoolhouse Bootleg" at least six months before it became available in stores.
* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: After Paltridge learned of the existence of [https://web.archive.org/web/20130514202747/http://www.kevhines.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi a website] called "Platypus Comi'''cs'''," he wrote about his characters' reactions to the [[Similarly Named Works|similarly named work]] and its debatably enjoyable content in "Riot Act # 2."
* [[Stylistic Suck]]: "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/miscellaneous/index.php?issue=1&seriesID=7 Awesome Blossom]," intended to feel like an unaired [[Filmation]] cartoon.
{{quote|
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As a [[Couch Gag]], Peter Paltridge regularly changes the banner at the top of the Platypus Comix homepage to say something new and funny.
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=== Banners include examples of
* [[Angels Pose]]: [http://platypuscomix.net/top169.jpg Starring] Mulberry, Shroomy (from ''Electric Wonderland''), and Princess Pi.
* [[Crossover]]:
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** [http://platypuscomix.net/top187.jpg The death] of Steve Jobs.
** The death of [[Osama Bin Laden]] got a banner which looked more cheery than the ones listed above.
* [[Logo Joke]]:
** One banner featured Mulberry dressed as the [[Columbia Pictures]] [http://www.platypuscomix.net/top48.gif Torch Lady]. It served as this page's image for most of 2010.
** [http://platypuscomix.net/top161.jpg This banner] superimposes the Platypus Comix logo over that of Gracie Films.
* [[Milestone Celebration]]:
** The week of Platypus Comix's 10th anniversary brought the banner providing the current page image.
** Paltridge displayed [http://platypuscomix.net/top191.jpg this] a few days after [[Joan of Arc]]'s 600th birthday.
* [[Missing Episode]]: Several of the oldest banners got deleted to save space.
* [[Take That]]: Sometimes the banner at the top contains one.
** Mulberry offering [http://platypuscomix.net/top132.jpg a code] for 100 free Disney Movie Rewards points and explaining, "I, myself, will never buy enough teenybopper garbage and ''[[Hannah Montana]]'' pantyhose to earn the one worthwhile item offered in this program, the ''[[DuckTales (1987)]]'' movie DVD."
** [[Disney]]'s announcement of plans to buy [[Marvel Comics]] led to the creation of a banner featuring a demonic [[Mickey Mouse]] telling [[Spider-Man]], "[http://platypuscomix.net/top140.jpg I want...our marriage!]"
{{quote|
** Mulberry dressing as [[Friday the 13th (film)|Jason]] and preparing to [http://platypuscomix.net/top136.jpg kill Flo, the Progressive Insurance Girl].
** [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Aang]] [http://platypuscomix.net/top152.jpg punching] [[M. Night Shyamalan]] after the release of ''[[The Last Airbender]]''.
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* [[Viral Marketing]]:
** Some of the banners displayed in Fall and Winter of 2010 have [http://platypuscomix.net/top162.jpg the number pi] [http://platypuscomix.net/top166.gif displayed] for reasons that didn't seem very clear until New Year's Day 2011, when Paltridge released the first ''Princess Pi'' comic.
** During the week of April
* [[Xtreme Kool Letterz]]: "[http://platypuscomix.net/top50.gif The 'X'
== Articles ==
* [[Actually Pretty Funny]]:
** "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople/weirdgarfield.html World's Most Baffling Garfield Strips]" ends with Peter Paltridge clarifying that even though a number of ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'' strips rose too many unanswered questions, he still loves the comic, and ''[[Garfield and Friends]]''.
** The [http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/misfit37.html review] of ''[[For Better or For Worse]]: The Bestest Present'' dismisses most of the special as sappy and predictable, but praises some of Mike's snappy remarks.
* [[Beary Funny]]: Averted in a 2008 installment of "The Island of Misfit Christmas Specials." Paltridge deemed ''[http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/misfit19.html The Great Bear Scare]'' "the [[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer|King Moonraiser]] (sic) of the misfits" due to its ''very'' cheap animation and nonsensical story elements. (The networks that syndicated it didn't even air it during the proper holiday, as it was originally intended for Halloween!)
** Also averted in the "Worst Comix Ever!" installment reviewing ''[http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople/worstcomixever/bearsinlove.html Bears in Love]'', which Paltridge deemed even less funny than ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'', ''[[Hagar the Horrible]]'', ''[[Family Circus]]'', and ''[[Marmaduke]]''.
* [[
* [[Call Back]]: Part 2 of the ABC Afterschool Special ad gallery references [http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/afterschool8.html one of the oldest specials] when Paltridge jokingly remarks that [[Milestone Celebration|the 100th special]], ''[http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/afterschool41.html The Gift of Amazing Grace]'', could have benefited from {{spoiler|Timer the Cheese Guy exploring Tempest Bledsoe's brain}}.
* [[Caption Humor]]: Articles that rely on this include those included in "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/tvguideadsindex.html The Lost Art of 'TV Guide' Advertising]", "Things You Can't Ever Have" (found in the [http://platypuscomix.net/interactive/index.html Interactive Entertainment Celebration Section]), and "What's Powell's Throws Out" (found in the [http://www.platypuscomix.net/fpo/survival/index.html Oregon Survival Guide]).
* [[Chuck Norris Facts]]: [http://www.platypuscomix.net/educational/chucknorris.html Of course].
* [[Continuity Nod]]: A 2011 update to the [http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/misfitsindex.html menu] for The Island of Misfit Christmas Specials added references to ''[[Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer]]'', ''Up on the Housetop'',<ref>The first "Misfit" Paltridge reviewed</ref>
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Peter Paltridge.
* [[Forced Meme]]: [http://www.platypuscomix.net/kidzone/errorsinjudgment.html Errors in Corporate Judgement] included several failed attempts for entertainment materials to appear relevant to late '80s-early '90s children. Among them, a Magic Eye puzzle using "Froggy" as a synonym for "awesome." Paltridge subsequently decided to close the article by declaring "Froggy" official slang for his website.
* [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]]: Lampshaded in "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/people/waltblech.html Walt Disney: One Man's Nightmare]." The TV special Paltridge reviewed in that article came out in 1981, and had Michael Landon as a host. In one of the segments promoting Epcot, concept art for an airplane capable of space travel appears, and Landon says, "Hope I'm still around," unaware he would die only 10 years later.
* [[Harsher in Hindsight]]: Lampshaded:
** One of the pictures in [http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/tvguideads3.html Volume 3] of "The Lost Art of ''TV Guide'' Advertising" promotes a ''[[The Love Boat|Love Boat]]'' episode, in which several Miss America winners gather to honor the then-newest Miss America, Vanessa Williams. Peter Paltridge subsequently asks, "Why do I get the feeling this episode was going to live in infamy for a while?"<ref>Williams would later lose her title after nude pictures of her turned up in ''Penthouse'' magazine.</ref>
** The Neil Goldschmidt quote in one of the TV special ads included in [http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/tvguideads6.html Volume 6] of "The Lost Art of ''TV Guide'' Advertising" mentions giving teens "special attention." Below the ad, Paltridge comments, "...Neil Goldschmidt really meant it when he talked about giving teens special attention."<ref>Goldschmidt was later revealed to have committed sexual abuse.</ref>
* [[Hilarious in Flashback]]: In "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/tvguideads11.html The Lost Art Of TV Guide Advertising: Spring 1997]", one of the ads shown was for the series premire of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', and it was annotated with this:
{{quote|
* [[Homage]]:
** The layout of the [http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople/bcc.html Bloom County archive page] resembles one of the strip's recurring splash panels.
** [http://www.platypuscomix.net/onlyme/index.html The Section Only I Will Care About Reading] resembles [[John Kricfalusi]]'s blog. It also includes a link to the blog, so visitors could compare them.
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* [[Name's the Same]]: Lampshaded in "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople/nemivsnemi.html Nemi vs. Nemi]"(short for, "[[Nemi|Nemi Montoya]] vs. [[The Jonas Brothers|Nick Jonas]] and [[Demi Lovato]]").
* [[Negated Moment of Awesome]]: Paltridge has acknowledged "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/tvpilots.html Failed TV Pilots]," a recap of an ABC special about [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|failed TV pilots]], as a negated moment:
{{quote|
* [[Older Is Better]]: Before listing his favorite [[Limited Special Collectors' Ultimate Edition]] DVD or Blu-Ray box sets, Paltridge begins "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/educational/bestsets.html The Five Best Sets Ever]" by noting that old DVDs often have better picture quality and more bonus features than he might get if he streamed those movies and shows instead.
** A chance exists that this trope doesn't apply 100%; he says these qualities of streaming media could bring people back to the "primitive lifestyle" of VHS.
* [[Older Than You Think]]: [http://www.platypuscomix.net/bored/tvguideads6.html Volume Six] of "The Lost Art of ''TV Guide'' Advertising" included a cover promoting a 1988 TV movie of the novel ''[[The Bourne Series (novel)|The Bourne Identity]]'', prompting Paltridge to remark, "[[The Bourne Series (film)|Everything's a remake these days.]]"
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* [[The Stinger]]: Most of the articles hosted at Platypus Comix itself end with two links: one that leads back to the home page, and one that varies on each article, leading to a page that has either an adequate or nonexistent relation to the article's subject. Articles written on Paltridge's Toon Zone blog bear neither links.
* [[Stylistic Suck]]: Like several of the amateurish articles RetroJunk features, "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/websurfin/retrojunk.html Retrojunk's Greatest Article Ever]" contains plenty of bad spelling and grammar. Also, its attempts at [[Fetish Fuel]] fail since many of the "Top Ten Hottest Cartoon Women Ever" have inadequate pictures, the top two choices are male, and [[Christopher Walken|the # 1 choice]] is not a cartoon character.
* [[Time Marches On]]: "[http://www.platypuscomix.net/kidzone/comingtodvdnever.html Why you may never see some of your favorite childhood shows on DVD]" originally included ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' among the shows whose fans needed to [[Keep Circulating the Tapes]]. After Time Life went and released ''all'' the episodes on DVD, Nicktoons and ''[[
* [[Totally Radical]]: [http://www.platypuscomix.net/videos/index.html Totally Rad Videos!]
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<small>'''Back Row''': The Head Executive (from various comics), [[Nintendo Power|Nester]] (from "Nester and Wii-ner"), Rice Cub (from "Rice Cub"), and Lyman (from ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'', not Platypus Comix).</small>
<small>'''Second Row''': Jennifer (from ''Henry and Jennifer''), Henry (from ''Henry and Jennifer''), Lillian Muck/Ivy (from ''Guava Guava''), Buzz (from ''Guava Guava''), Lana Ying (from ''Guava Guava''), and Dan Blather (from various comics).</small>
<small>'''Third Row''': NJ (from ''[[Electric Wonderland]]''), Princess Pi (from ''[[Princess Pi]]''), [[Spider-Man|Mary Jane Watson]] (from "True Believers"), Shroomy (from ''[[Electric Wonderland]]''), and Beefer (from ''[[Keiki]]'').</small>
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[[Category:Popular Webcomic Sites]]
[[Category:Platypus Comix]]
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