Section 1: The Characters

Tongue

1. How does Tongue move around without legs?

Theories vary on this point. Some people think he uses his sticky tongue to pull himself along, others think he has little Tongue legs under his body. I guess we'll never know. Suffice to say, he moves, and that's all we need know right now.

2. Why don't the other characters call him Josh (His name when he was a human)?

He's not Josh Phelps anymore; he's a whole new person. I try to stress this in the comic, but I guess it's not obvious enough yet. It will be, though, in due time. Josh Phelps is a part of him that he left behind, and he's trying to forget about it. He's a little too successful, as you will see.

3. What exactly is Tongue? He's not really a tongue...

Well, since Earl wasn't really paying attention when he fired the transformation ray at Mr. Phelps, I guess rather than turn him into any specific thing; it just made him into a mess of random body parts. Tongue is the best description, though.

4. Why doesn't he ask to be turned into a human again?

He likes being a Tongue. Go figure.

5. What's his fixation with this Jane girl all about?

She was the love of his life. She meant everything to him. One of the few regrets he has is letting her go. He blames himself for it, so obviously it haunts him a lot. He still loves her a great deal, and will never give up on her. Though question remains; has she given up on him?


Rob

1. What did Rob do to become a traitor?

Lots of stuff. We know for a fact that she was a guard at some point with Earl, and that she used her position as a guard to hand out security clearance codes to certain rebel spies. It's also known that she once crashed a ship into a large automated military installation belonging to the Octagon Empire, though she claims it was an accident. All these treacherous acts added up to a permanent stint as a traitor for both her and Earl, since she was partnered with Earl the whole time. They were both exiled from Octagon as a result.

2. If Rob's mother died, how come we see her writing a letter to her mother in strip #344?

She does say as she's writing that she doesn't know if it will ever reach her mother, so presumably she is just writing it for herself and praying that her mother is able to see it.

3. Why does Rob like Earl if he's such a jerk to her?

Who knows? Maybe Rob sees something in Earl that other people don't. Maybe she pities him. More than likely, she sees him as one of her own children, as she was a motherly figure for him during his period in the Octagon Marine Corps training centre. He was just too young to realize. Negative influence from other Octid boys that he trained with turned him into something of a brat, but a mother never gives up on her children, no matter how bad they turn out.

4. How did Rob manage to disguise her gender for so long?

As shown in the comic, Rob hid her female markings with a special green-colored cream of some sort. Her birth-records state that she's a female, since her father, a well renowned doctor, was able to list her as such when her mother gave birth to her. Couple this with a great deal of luck and trickery on Rob's part, and you've got your reason.

5. Rob is hot; can I have a date with her?

No, you strange little man.


Earl

1. Why is Earl such a jerk?

Nobody really knows why, yet. Earl feels that everyone owes him something. He thinks Rob owes him an apology for turning them both into traitors, though he should probably be thanking Rob. He's probably the only one who doesn't see himself as a jerk. Except, perhaps, for Rob.

2. Does Earl really like Rob, or does he just hang around her because she's his partner?

Again, only Earl knows for sure. I think Earl likes her more than he does other people, but then, he doesn't much like anybody, so how much does that count for?

3. How did Earl become a traitor if he loves Octagon so much?

When Rob was accused of being a traitor, Earl had to take just as much blame. They were partners, and whenever one of them did something wrong, the other was just as guilty.

4. Why isn't Earl in command of the ship?

I guess even the Octid Marine Corps could see that Rob was more responsible than Earl was.

5. Earl is hot; can I have a date with him?

No, you strange little woman... wait, are you that strange little man from before? Who are you?! WHO?!?!


Marko

1. How did Marko go from being an evil mastermind to an innocent child?

He was never an evil mastermind. He was just trying to be what his mom wanted him to be, even if he didn't enjoy it very much.

2. Why does Marko's mother hate him?

Marko's mother is insane. She worships Marko, only it's a much more sinister kind of worship than you're probably versed in. Marko is all she has left of her family, and she'll be damned if she's gonna let him go. The only way she knows to keep him close by is to make him afraid to leave her.

3. Is Marko flat like paper, or is he like a box?

Flat like paper. More like a cardboard cut-out, actually.

4. What's with Marko's extreme dislike of Earl?

Marko loves Rob, and Earl is far closer to Rob than Marko feels he'll ever be. It's plain old, everyday jealousy.

5. What is Marko, anyway?

Marko is Marko. That answer your question? No? Good.


Computer

1. What is Computer's job?

He controls the ship and fixes your coffee and does your homework, he's your best friend for life! Well, at least that's what it says in the manual

2. Does he have a name other than just "Computer"?

Yes, but you humans with your limited capacity for understanding wouldn't be able to pronounce it.

3. How come sometimes Computer is helpful, and at other times he's really stubborn?

Computer is the first in a long line of machines that have been given a personality. Computers with personalities were monitored so that they would be caring about their owners, and would never fail to brighten up your day with a digitized song or two. That kind of thing. When Rob and Earl were exiled from Octagon, Computer was cut off from the regulatory personality upgrade network (RPUN). Rather than remain chirpy and polite, he became lazy and sarcastic, though his helpfulness does still pop up occasionally.

4. You know, if you turn Computer upside-down he looks like a...

Yeah, I know... I mean... you pervert, get out of here!

5. Why does Computer like Rob so much, yet doesn't care for the others?

Rob actually bothers to talk to Computer as if he really were a person. Plus it's hard not to like Rob, anyway.


Section 2: The Setting

Octagon

1. What's Octagon's status in relation to the rest of the universe?

Octagon is the equivalent of the centre of the universe, in terms of trade and power. Octagon's people are among the oldest in the galaxy, and certainly the most common. Experienced diplomats and tacticians, their intellectual capacity is dwarfed only by their age limit, and thus they have become incredibly wealthy and dominant in comparison to the other, "little" races. Every planet in the known reaches of space is owned in part by Octagon's grand empire.

2. Why do the Octids discriminate against the female half of their population to the point of slavery

It all stems from a simple disagreement that the first Octid Emperor had with his ex-girlfriend. Octids are well known for being sexist, and he was no exception. Bitter and dejected, he ordered, on a whim, that every female be locked away under the planet's surface after his imperial palace had been constructed. He had intended to take it back after the female population had finished his new habitat, but alas, he died before the task could be completed. His son, who had grown up without a mother due to his father's inherent sexism, took the order to heart and had every female locked underground. Over the years, more and more Octid males have had the misfortune of never having had a really bonding relationship with their mothers, and have been taught to blame this on the women who bore them. Thus, the cycle continues, and the more hateful the male population becomes of their other half.

3. If Octids live so long, what stops them from over-populating their planet?

They colonize other planets, of course. What a silly question.

4. How do the Octids counter-act the Rebellion?

Octagon's military force is second to none. Although they are not able to locate the exact source of the Rebellion which continues to snap at their heels, any attack made by the Rebellion against Octagon is deftly stopped in no time. Several security nets surround Octagon's orbit, and it is nearly impossible for a Rebel craft to penetrate their defences.

5. Why don't the female Octids fight back?

Those females that are allowed to survive are only given this luxury if they are able to bear a child. They then raise him for ten years so that the male Octids don't have to take them through the trivial, disgusting things like potty training, and can go right into the military work. Females such as this are kept in line by having the lives of their children threatened, in case they were to even contemplate standing up for themselves.


Aliens

1. I've seen many different types of alien in your comic, what are some of their names?

Funny you should mention it... Try Clicking Here for a species list.

2. How do you come up with the names for these aliens, anyway?

I use the technique perfected by George Lucas in the classic Star Wars trilogy, I tie a guy up in the back room and jam a baseball bat into his gut every two minutes and record the noises he makes.

Wait... that's not how George Lucas did it?

Oh boy... I'd better go untie Jordan...

Nah... I think I'll let him alone for a while.


Section 3: The Comic

1. I'm new, what's the basic story line?

Josh Phelps, a manic-depressive, has his life changed when two aliens crash in his backyard, destroying his life and what little there was of his life. He's then transformed into a talking tongue, aptly named Tongue, and he starts his life over. The story is basically his adventures with the crew of the ship, which includes the two aliens (Rob and Earl), the shipboard computer (Computer), and a rectangle (Marko).

2. How long does it takes to draw a comic?

A few hours, usually.

3. What program do you use to draw the comic?

Somethin' that came with my scanner, called Ulead iPhoto Express. Can you tell I'm not an expert?

4. Why does the art suck at the beginning?

Because I didn't really care about the quality of what I was producing. The writing wasn't that good, either, though that seems to be a matter of opinion. I wasn't used to the characters, or drawing in general, back then. I've never taken a real art course. I guess I attended art class at school a few times.

5. I really like the Redrawns, how come they don't update regularly enough?

I'm not really motivated enough these days to keep that section updated, and I don't want to do it sloppily. I'll try to get it updated as soon as possible. It's an important section for me, but it's hard to update a comic every day and then do another five strips... anyway, you get the idea.

6. Why's it called "The Tongue" when Tongue isn't really the central character?

That's the name I gave it before I really knew what I was doing, so it stuck, and it is kinda catchy. I tried giving it a decent explanation in strip #482, but I don't know if anybody caught on. The Tongue's character is rather central, as he's probably the first one to undergo such a drastically positive change of personality that everyone in the comic eventually goes through themselves.