Kaijucliff - Part One
On March 2, 2024 Heathcliff drove a car at night while wearing sunglasses. But the more important aspect of this day’s strip was an idea that is really what inspired me to start making these videos. The so-called “crescent moon” in the inky black splotch of night sky is no moon at all, but the glowing eye of a kaiju!
I had to take it a step further for those who couldn’t quite imagine what had infected my own brain. What do these kaiju look like if we expand the frame?
I should note that I didn’t start using the phrase “kaijucliff” regularly until a few weeks ago. I thought I might think of something more clever. Nah.
This first batch of edits were quickly rendered just to get the idea out there: There are kaiju EVERYwhere in the world of Heathcliff! But over time I would try to match Peter Gallagher’s style as much as possible.
More to come!
Heathcliff Investigation - Grandpa’s Gambling
In the July 15, 2023 strip I referenced to find Heathcliff’s usual height, TikTok user Senus Aperiendus realized that Grandpa may be wearing a “Cat” helmet due to losing a bet. Grandma Nutmeg says “I don’t allow them to bet for money.”
On March 1, 2024 the family are very happy to see Grandpa arrive home on Payday which made me wonder what kind of work does he do?
Clues in this strip:
He takes a lunch pale to work.
He wears comfortable clothes.
After finding more Payday gags over the years, and evidence that Heathcliff seems to be capable of doing the same job, a Heathcliff comic book reveals all: he’s not going to work, he’s going to the race track to gamble! The payday is whenever he wins big at the track!
It’s nice that Grandma Nutmeg, Iggy, and Heathcliff are excited on these occasions, but it is sad to think about how they must be scraping by the days and possibly weeks when all of their money is being poured into Grandpa’s gambling session. It’s obviously a big enough problem that betting actual money isn’t allowed at home!
Heathcliff Investigation - Probe Season
On February 28th, 2024 the alien who often hangs out with Heathcliff mentions “probe season.” Just over a month earlier the alien mentions probe season, and back in September the alien had the probe to the grindstone! This alien’s been going on about it for five months!
Perhaps probe season happens every quarter? The next day, leap day February 29th, got me thinking more about calendars and seasons. I realized an alien wouldn’t necessarily base their schedule on Earth seasons! Going back further to August and January 2023 the alien makes no mention of probe season, and therefore must be on break. Looking at our solar system’s years and seasons, Mars makes the most sense as the alien’s home planet. Martian seasons are approximately twice as long as Earth’s seasons which lines up pretty well with the five months of strenuous probing!
You’re probably wondering if these dates then line up with the actual Martian seasons… well, no. The closest Martian season, starting with the Summer Solstice July 12, 2023 and ending with the Autumnal Equinox January 12, 2024 is a couple months too early to match up. But I return to the idea that it could be a time of the year that doesn’t match up with the astronomical seasons such as: hunting season, growing season, breeding season, and tax season. Probe season might even be a combination of all of those. Yikes!
But don’t worry, by my calculations the next Probe season isn’t due to begin until July, 2025.
Heathcliff Investigation - Tiny?
Back on February 28, 2024 I embarked on a video-making journey on TikTok looking deeper into Heathcliff comics, and eventually creating my own Heathcliff Edits.
My first video’s topic: Is Heathcliff Tiny?
Read the original strip here on GoComics.com
The investigation was especially intriguing as a dedicated Heathcliff Editor (I believe we might be called Hamposters) is Tiny Cliff (follow on BlueSky) whose specialization is, as you might have guessed, making Heathcliff tiny.
This strip seems to be a nod to TinyCliff’s contribution to the community, very cool!
(d)appreciation
A boss shows his appreciation to an employee.
A boss shows his appreciation for an employee.