Superguy was originally a creative fiction writing group on the now-defunct UMNEWS mailing list service. After UMNEWS collapsed, the mailing list became internet-based.
Originally a spinoff of another writing universe (
SFStory SFStory was originally a creative fiction writing group on the now-defunct UMNEWS mailing list service. After UMNEWS collapsed, the group was merged in 1991 with the more active Superguy creative fiction writing group and mailing list, with which ...
), Superguy was a forum for the posting of original, comedic fiction based loosely on
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 and related concepts, and is one of the first examples of a shared-fiction universe on the Internet. Superguy has the additional distinction of having been active for over two decades, with new stories posted as recently as 2011. Superguy existed during the birth of the modern Internet culture, and along with SFStory helped illustrate the potential of the medium to mainstream users right when the Internet began to actually see mainstream use. It has survived much longer than similar Internet-based shared universe writing groups, diminishing in activity along with SFStory only when the webcomic trend became widespread.
Alumni
*
Jimmy 'Jimbo' Wales was an early contributor and collaborator, in part because a number of the people involved with UMNEWS's SUPERGUY list were also involved with the same server's POLITICS list. Wales was one of the regulars of that list, and there was considerable cross-pollination between the two.
*
Randy Milholland
Randal Keith Milholland (born November 25, 1975), better known as R. K. Milholland, is an American webcomic author. His works include ''Something Positive'', ''New Gold Dreams'', ''Midnight Macabre'', ''Classically Positive'' and ''Super Stupor'' ...
of Something Positive wrote for Superguy from 1995 through 1998. He has been known to put references to his Superguy writing into Something Positive, includin
A cameo by his lead character Betty Yeh.* Eric Burns of
Websnark was one of the first and most prolific writers for Superguy, having contributed to the very first digest, and writing from 1989 through 1996 regularly, with sporadic entries following. Burns has more than once drawn comparisons between modern webcomics and Superguy, believing that Superguy and other fiction lists like it filled the same niche as webcomics before the web made sharing graphics simple.
*
Ken Cooney
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
wrote for Superguy 1990-1992 regularly with a handful of stories written in 1995, 1997, and 2009. He also wrote stories for SF (Sci-Fi) and WM (Metaworld). His series included: Legion of Stuperheroes, Quarters Quarterly, Stan the Toilet Man (a 2-D plumber shot into the 3-D world) as well as MW series Mind Trekker and Slate.
Slate by Ken Cooney
/ref>
See also
* SFStory SFStory was originally a creative fiction writing group on the now-defunct UMNEWS mailing list service. After UMNEWS collapsed, the group was merged in 1991 with the more active Superguy creative fiction writing group and mailing list, with which ...
* Legion of Net. Heroes
References
{{reflist
External links
Superguy mailing list infoSuperguy Autocollector for Archives 1988-2010Superguy Archives 2011-presentSuperguy Discussion Community on LiveJournalOld Superguy web pagesSuperguy FTP archivePaleo E-books: The Superguy Mailing List -- article by Chris Meadows on TeleRead.org
Science fiction franchises
Superheroes