''Gold Digger'' is a comic book series, written and drawn by Fred Perry, and published by Antarctic Press. Counting all the regular series issues, in addition to all the connected limited series, annuals, special issues, and handbooks produced by the author, ''Gold Digger'' is the most extensive, long-running, self-contained North American comic book in history that has been consistently written and drawn by the original creator. The artwork and design of ''Gold Digger'' are strongly influenced by Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

, and Perry himself describes the book as a mixture of ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

'' and '' Final Fantasy''.

Publication history

Perry came up with the initial inspiration for Gold Digger during his tour of duty in the

First Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, and released the debut

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

in Antarctic Press' ''Mangazine'' in 1991. A four-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

followed in 1992 and 1993, followed by a regular monthly black-and-white series, and finally the current color series beginning in 1999. In 2011, Perry discussed being inspired by the way the contemporary ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' television series develops story arcs, and he adapted ''Gold Digger'' to a similar consistently self-contained format from issue #101 and onwards, with each issue easily accessible and possible to enjoy for new readers.

Summary

''Gold Digger'' focuses on the adventures of Gina Babette Diggers, polymath superscientist, archeologist, teacher, adventurer, nerd, and idealist extraordinaire, accompanied by her colourful extended family, friends, students, and acquaintances, as she explores the strange and ancient hidden histories of the world, spanning a wide distinctive variety of characters, stories, environments, worlds, societies, times, species, and universes of magic and science fiction, in a world filled with possibilities.

Plot influences

Thanks to the author's very diverse interests, and personal experiences ranging from the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

to physics studies, the stories have included tongue-in-cheek references to a wide variety of popular culture, spanning anything from science, fantasy, science-fiction, television series, books,

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es,

computer games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...

, animation,

, or even internet memes.

Characters

''See:

List of Gold Digger characters The ''Gold Digger'' series has a large ensemble cast, in total spanning hundreds of characters. Diggers family Gina Diggers Archaeologist, super-scientist, and adventurer, lover of all things Monty Python, Roddenberry and Lucas. After many years ...

Collected editions

*''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 1'' – Collects the original miniseries issues #1–4. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 2'' – Collects the first issues of the Gold Digger regular series. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 3'' – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 4'' – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 5'' – Collects vol. 2 #17–21. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 6'' *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 7'' – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 8'' – Collects vol. 2 #32–35 plus '' Ninja High School'' #54–57. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 9'' – Collects vol. 2 #36–40. *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 10'' – Collects vol. 2 #41–45. – *''Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 11'' – Collects vol. 2 #46–50. *''Gold Digger Max Pocket Manga'' – Collects the ''Asrial vs. Cheetah'' and ''A Science Affair'' miniseries, plus the ''Gold Digger Beta'' and ''GD Minus 18'' one-shots. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 1'' – Collects issues #1–8 of the colour series. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 2'' – Collects vol. 3 #9–15. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 3'' – Collects vol. 3 #16–21. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 4'' – Collects vol. 3 #23–30. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 5'' – Collects vol. 3 #31–36. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 6'' – Collects vol. 3 #37–42. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 7'' – Collects vol. 3 #43–47. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 8'' – Collects vol. 3 #48–52. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 9'' – Collects vol. 3 #52–56. – *''Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 10'' – Collects vol. 3 #57–61. – *''Gold Brick, vol. I'' – Collects vol. 2 #1–25 *''Gold Brick, vol. II'' – Collects vol. 2 #25–50 *''Gold Brick, vol. III'' – Collects vol. 3 #1–25 (51–75 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. IV'' – Collects vol. 3 #26–50 (76–100 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. V'' – Collects vol. 3 #51–75 (101–125 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. VI'' – Collects vol. 3 #76–100 (126–150 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. VII'' – Collects vol. 3 #101–125 (151–175 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. VIII'' – Collects vol. 3 #126–150 (176–200 overall) – *''Gold Brick, vol. IX'' – Collects vol. 3 #151–175 (201–225 overall) – *''Gold Digger Platinum, vol. 1'' – Collects vol. 3 #101–105. Starring Gina and her new batch of supernatural archeology students. – *''Gold Digger Platinum, vol. 2'' – Collects vol. 3 #106–110. *''Peebo Manga Vol. 1'' – Starring Brianna, Peebri, and the Peebos. *''Peebo Tales TPB'' – Collects "Gold Digger: Peebo Tales #1–6". *''Tifanny & Charlotte Pocket Manga'' – Collects the first miniseries. *''Tifanny & Charlotte, 2nd Semester Pocket Manga'' – Collects the second miniseries. *''Throne of Shadows Pocket Manga'' – Collects "Throne of Shadows" #1–4, starring the wererats. *''Maidens of Twilight Pocket Manga'' – Starring Gennadrid and Seance. *''Gold Digger Tangent Pocket Manga'' – Starring Ayane and the Northern Edge Guard. *''Gold Digger Sourcebook TPB'' – Collects the Gold Digger Sourcebook #1–17. *''Gold Digger Tech Manual'' – Collects Gold Digger Tech Manual #1–9

DVDs

*''GD-ROM 1.0'' – Collects ''Gold Digger'' vol.1: #1–4, vol.2: #1–50, vol.3: #1–75, and '' Ninja High School'' #54–57. *''GD-ROM 2.0'' – Collects ''Gold Digger'' vol.1: #1–4, vol.2: #1–50, vol.3: #1–100, and '' Ninja High School'' #54–57. *''GD-ROM 3.0'' – Collects ''Gold Digger'' vol.1: #1–4, vol.2: #1–50, vol.3: #1–125, and '' Ninja High School'' #54–57. *''Gold Digger: Time Raft'' – A full length OVA movie.

Awards

In 2013, Perry received an Inkpot Award for his work on the series.

External links

Fred Perry's Deviantart profile page
– Contains drawings, news, and comic strips.
Antarctic Press page
– Publisher of the ''Gold Digger'' series, collections and spinoffs, with an online store for ordering collections and back issues.
Antarctic Press Library
– Official free online celebration preview of the 199 first Gold Digger issues.
GD Tangent
– A webcomic by Fred Perry featuring drawings of various Gold Digger characters, ''Lvlup'', set in Vana'diel (the world of '' Final Fantasy XI''), and two Gold Digger subcomics, ''Ayane'', set on Earth, and ''Northern Edge'', set in the world of Jade.

References

{{Antarctic Press Original English-language manga Feminist comics Comics about women Fictional archaeologists 1992 comics debuts