Captain Goodvibes, a.k.a. the Pig of

Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

, is the creation of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

Tony Edwards Tony Edwards is an Australian comic book artist and illustrator, best known for his creation, '' Captain Goodvibes''. Biography Tony Edwards was born in Strathfield in 1944 and originally trained as an architect. Edwards' best known creation ' ...

and an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

of Australian

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

from the 1970s. In 1992 Captain Goodvibes was named by ''

Australia's Surfing Life ''Surfing Life'', formerly ''Australia’s Surfing Life'', the magazine was founded in 1985 by Peter Morrison In 2016 it was purchased by Morrison Media publisher and General Manager Craig Sims (former owner of Atoll Media, publisher of Zigza ...

'' magazine as one of "Australia's 50 Most Influential Surfers." The character was inspired by American cartoonist Gilbert Shelton's

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority ...

character,

Wonder Wart-Hog Wonder Wart-Hog (the "Hog of Steel") is an underground comic book character, a porcine parody of Superman, created by Gilbert Shelton and first published in 1962. Over the years, Shelton has worked on the strip in collaboration with various writer ...

, a.k.a. the "Hog of Steel."

Fictional character biography

Captain Goodvibes started life as a pork chop, mutated by a chance nuclear plant explosion. According to ''The Encyclopedia of Surfing'', Goodvibes is a "hard-drinking, drug-taking, straight-talking pig with a tunnel-shaped snout.

Origin and publication history

The Goodvibes

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

were first published in Australian surfing magazine '' Tracks'' in May 1973 and appeared regularly until July 1981. Their popularity led to the publication of several Goodvibes

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

, including the ''Whole Earth Pigalogue'' (Tracks Publishing Company, 1975), ''Captain Goodvibes Strange Tales'' (Tracks Publishing Company, 1975) and ''Captain Goodvibes Porkarama'' (Soundtracts Publishing, 1980). In 2011 an anthology of the comic strip, ''Captain Goodvibes — My Life As A Pork Chop, 1973-1981'', was published by Flying Pineapple Media.

In other media

Captain Goodvibes' popularity led to publication in calendars, a short film — ''Hot to Trot'' (1977), co-written by Ian Watson and Tony Barrell — and a maxi-single record, ''Mutants of Modern Disco'', in 1978. Captain Goodvibes also had a cinematic cameo in the 1973 surfing documentary, ''

Crystal Voyager ''Crystal Voyager'' is a 1973 Australian surf film directed by David Elfick. It was filmed by Albert Falzon, written and narrated by surfer, photographer and filmmaker George Greenough who had previously made the 1970 surfing film '' The Innermo ...

'', appearing in a brief animated sequence during the film. Goodvibes starred in a radio series on

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

radio station Double J (now

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

) voiced by Tony Edwards and Tony Barrell.

References

External links

''Hot To Trot'' on YouTube
Australian comic strips Australian comics titles Fictional Australian people Fictional pigs Comics characters introduced in 1973 1975 comics debuts Parody superheroes Parody comics Animal superheroes Male characters in comics Underground comix {{Comics-char-stub