Suckermouth Year-In-Review Part 3: Series and Featurettes

by Aaron Mystery

For my penultimate 2009 Year-In-Review article, I'm left to focus on Featurettes, which have been spun off into a variety of series, most notably Transformation Fantasy Force. There was never a better year for Featurettes and series than 2009.

The last episode of Wand Day After Another, "A Cold Day in Hellen," debuted in January. It was a fantastic and drastic change from the previous two episodes, chucking the flat "Adult Swim" style animation for the vivid 3D experience that better suits Breast Expansion. This episode had everything, from Giantess to pygmy growth/shrinking, breast expansion, Ace the Zombie, and two magic wands! Oh, and the whole thing takes place in Hell! Also of note is that this was the last Alpha Omega storyline crossover to date.

Another series that appears to have come to an end in 2009 is the Big Brethren concept. "Twittersode" was a questionable start, featuring a nude (but obscured) Mr. Romance-Oh and Wheeler bickering over Twitter. Although I accomplished what I wanted with this animation, it is not what I should be doing. To correct this uneventful and unattractive vid, I created "Lick My Crack: A Lesbian Experience" featuring Geena Bahoobie and Vanessa. It was hard core lesbian action - one of the only examples you'll find on Suckermouth. And it was wonderful!

Ace the Zombie's Nightmare Hour failed to gain traction this year. The Kate Moss skit was a bit of a dud, and subsequent attempts to make more segments of this mock late night show have gone nowhere. I don't think this is a concept I'd ever call dead, but "in a coma" might be appropriate. (Note: Had this Nightmare Hour episode had played more like the following B.E. Quickie "Vegas," it would have been a hit.)

As old series began to fade into obscurity, new ones rose to take their place. I had two ideas that I was looking to implement for years: First, Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies and second, a super hero team with members that had the power to transform. Both got lots of attention in 2009.

Bimbos Vampires vs. Zombies is a relatively simple concept: Bimbo Vampires are just like regular vampires, except they have giant boobs - if they bite a person or zombie, it transforms into a Bimbo Vampire. "The BEginning" serves as the Prologue, and seemed a reasonable place to start. I made the creative decision to start the vampires out as ugly, distended bald creatures, which made it hard to promote with. Luckily, Ace works his magic just in time, and all three hideous vampires are transformed into the first Bimbo Vampires. What's cool about this is it's the first animation to show Ace the Zombie operating in the past, as he is about 400 years old.

As the Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies project is essentially a feature-in-progress, I saw it fitting to do the Epilogue next - "Growing Ratings." An outright parody of the final scene in The Howling, this animation shows a reporter transforming into a Bimbo Vampire while on the air delivering a news report on the vampire epidemic. A gorgeous model and a lengthy vid make this a winner, and a lot sexier than the Prologue.

Although there were plenty of other animations in between, the next BVvZ was "Ambush," an adventurous little vid featuring a female zombie hunter; our unnamed heroin blasts a couple of the walking dead before a Bimbo Zombie bites her, causing her breasts to swell and rip through her shirt, the latter detail being a first for a Suckermouth cartoon. (Another personal breakthrough - depth-of-motion blur - occurred in "Ambush.") A solid piece of work.

The final BVvZ episode to date is "Chamber of the Zombies," which - although it failed to contain any transformations or big-breasted women - was a noble attempt at a more traditional zombie segment. A friend I made on Twitter, Jennifer Hudock, was wonderful enough to donate her time and talents to the voice of Dr. Holder. Whether I cut too many corners or just failed to have the faith to follow it up with a proper conclusion, "Chamber of the Zombies" was probably an unwise use of my time, and - despite being very happy with it initially - convinced me the Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies project was on the wrong track.

If Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies failed to live up to my expectations, then Transformation Fantasy Force exceeded all of them. TFF was preceeded by its sub-series, What's Breast for Women - possibly my most popular and successful concept to date. "What's Breast for Women" Parts 1 and 2 featured a new character, Priscilla Minx, giving advice to a petite model on how big her breasts should be by expanding her on the spot. Priscilla has become my favorite character (sorry, Ace) - her snooty personality, British accent, and breast expansion powers making her the most original character since Mr. Romance-Oh, with a lot more sex appeal. The What's Breast for Women sub-series would continue, featuring a "fat bottomed girl" in Parts 3 and 4, and moving on to the strip club in Parts 5 and 6, when Priscilla gives advice to a mediocre dancer. It is likely you'll see further episodes in 2010.

The main portion of the Transformation Fantasy Force series - essentially, the work-in-progress superhero feature - kicked off with an Origins tale. "The Shrink Must Die," also covered in the previous Giantess article, showed me that I could do things I didn't think possible. It was huge, colorful, alive, and a ball to watch. TFF was definitely off on the right track.

"The Gladiator" wasn't every bit as good, if not better. Taking place in the present, "The Gladiator" featured Priscilla Minx (nude and expanded for the first time) and The Giantess from "The Shrink Must Die," this animation moved me up another rung on the ladder. It's impossible not to enjoy this one. Also of note is Jen-Der Bender and The Fat Girl make their first appearances here, although only in cameo form (they're the prisoners seen in the hangar bay). My brother did an awesome job on Maleteki's voice.

Transformation Fantasy Force got even more adventurous with "Thar Be Monsters" Parts 1 and 2, the former featuring the H.P. Lovecraft creation Cthulhu, and the latter featuring everything else, from a male-to-female transformation to a weight-loss morph. And both episodes had amazing scenery. Monsters plus big-breasted women make for some great cartoons.

Uploaded in between the two "Thar Be Monsters" episodes, "TFF Origins: Jen-Der Ben-Der" gave us a proper introduction to the member of Transformation Fantasy Force with the ability to transform from man-to-woman (though not on purpose). This is an animation to be proud of, and still sits at the top of the Suckermouth Members Index as I write this.

While it's likely I'm neglecting something with all these various Featurettes and series I completed throughout the year, I'd like to wrap up this article by giving Ace the Zombie his due. While his talk show may have stalled, he contributed to what are possibly the best two Suckermouth cartoons of all time: "Tasty n' Juicy (Ace Has Talent)" and "BErater."

"Tasty n' Juicy" took advantage of the Susan Boyle hysteria that raged throughout much of 2009. A trio of young women working at the mall tease each other over their bodies when Ace the Zombie shows up to give them the bodies they want. When one demands to hear Susan Boyle, Ace dons a gold gown and belts out a tune of his own, creating age progression and breast and butt expansion in the process. (Two weeks was as long as I spent on one animation in 2009, and the process involved a render than lasted for three days and had to be restarted when the power went out 24 hours in.) The results were fantastic, hilarious, and sexy. Yum, indeed!

When a fellower Twitterer (Tweeter? Tweerson?) tore into me for making Breast Expansion cartoons, I responded the best way I know how: Revenge as parody. When our obnoxious model types about hating B.E., Ace the Zombie sneaks up behind her, expands here breasts, and cuts her shirt off with a pair of scissors. Man, what a great animation! Ones this good are few and far between.

Funny enough, I almost forgot to mention the last two animations of 2009 - "I Am Tiger" Parts 1 and 2 - which answer the question What if Tiger Woods met "I Am Legend" met Breast Expansion? The answer is An insane and sexy parody that will continue into 2010, just like Suckermouth.

Please join me for one last (and hopefully much shorter) Year-In-Review article, when I take a look at the ups and downs and politics of running Suckermouth and being a full-time animator this year.