The Trio of Trouble blips back in time to witness firsthand the rise to power of history's greatest madman, Adolf Hitler. However, when the Nazis get a hold of the Time Couch, the mission gets more half-baked, saltier, and twisted than a bag of Bavarian pretzels. Can Jon and company get the Couch back and make it home? Or by the time they see 2006 again, will our heroes be collecting social security?
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Episode #: 202
Issue #: 14
Release Date: May 26, 2006
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Cover
A mock-up poster for Brokeback Mountain, winner of three Oscars and nominee for best motion picture (2006). Billy uses a quote from the film, and the bottom text parodies the tag line "Love is a force of nature".
Pontotoc is the county seat of Pontotoc County, Mississippi. It's noted for its large flea market.
Goofs and Nitpicks The release date and the price have been inverted due to a layout error.
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Title: "Nutzi Nazis"
Story (out of 24 pages): 12 p.
Writer: Jonathan M. Sweet
Penciller: J. M. Sweet
Letterer: J. M. Sweet
Colorist: Jack Staten Monahew
Summary:
Josh, Jon, Ben, and Angela plan a trip through time to "the cobbled streets of Berlin, Germany, near the end of WWII", thanks to Josh's Time Couch. However, unbeknownst to them, Monty has gotten too close to the launch, and winds up getting sucked into the gravitational pull of the machine's wormhole. He travels with the crew to 1941, whereupon they discover that he's accidentally hitched a ride, but it's too late to take him back home. Leaving the couch to recharge its power packs, the gang goes on a walking tour of the German capital. Monty is thrilled to hear his hero, Adolf Hitler, is delivering "an anti-everything" speech in the town common; Angela is disgusted by his unbridled excitement. However, while trying to get an autograph, Monty is arrested and locked up. To make matters worse, while the others are busy springing Monty, the Couch is stolen.
Disguising themselves as stormtroopers, the gang finds their ticket home--and the Third Reich's possible new ultimate high-tech weapon for world domination--sitting in front a crowd at a Nazi meeting hall, guarded by two of Hitler's top lieutenants. The gang has to try to get it back, or be stuck in 1941 forever.
Notes
"Quadragammaquotient" is a reference to "quadraquotient", which is what powered the time machine in The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones.
page 1: Like in #7, when Josh types in the coordinates, he hits the remote and it makes a high-pitched whining sound. This is a reference to the way Al the holgram on Quantum Leap would often strike the Ziggy remote to activate it, and the noise it made.
page 2: Look hard: Buddy still seems to carry his torch for Guanine from "Canine Calamity".
Hitler, Martin Bormann and Ludwig Stumpfegger are modeled after the Three Stooges, a nod to "You Nazty Spy!" (1940) and its followup a year later, "I'll Never Heil Again".
Hogan's Heroes (1965-71) was a sitcom about a group of prisoners in a German stalag, or prison camp. It starred Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Larry Hovis, Ivan Dixon, and a young pre-Family Feud Richard Dawson. Several oblique references to the series are made throughout the story: graffito reading "Kinchloe wuz heer" and "Klink is a meany" carved on the walls of Monty's cell (pg. 7), and a caricature of John Banner (complete with Sgt. Schultz's catchphrase "I know nothing!") as a guard on page 8.
A Jim Nabors caricature, of Gomer Pyle fame, appears as the other guard, identifiable by his drawn-out "Well, gohhhh-leee!". An unusual choice, as Gomer was a United States Marine, not a Nazi, and his show was made and set in the sixties.
The Invalidenstrasse is an actual historical street in Germany. Specifically, it was where the bodies of what were purported to be Bormann and Dr. Stumpfegger were discovered in April 1945, following the fall of the Third Reich and Hitler's suicide in the Fuhrerbunker.
On page 10, the German phrase Hitler uses means, roughly, "Move, motherf***ers!" Monty's mangled German on the following page translates to "I am a Berliner" (referring to the famous John F. Kennedy gaff that translates to "I am a jelly doughnut") and (roughly) "I crapped my pants".
Yes, Hitler did love creamcakes.
Goofs and Nitpicks The copyright date was erroneously listed as "May" in original printings; this has been corrected in subsequent releases.
Some historical (or perhaps hysterical) license has certainly been taken here. Hitler never appeared in public with his mistress Eva Braun, much less would have her at his side in a public rally.
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Title: "Ear-Phonies"
Story (out of 24 pages): 10 p.
Writer: Jahnesta T. Owen
Penciller: Ethan W. "Meat" Jackson
Letterer: Noah Jewett
Colorist: Jack Staten Monahew
Summary:
Ben is enjoying a sandwich of Dagwoodesque proportions when his mother gives him a new pair of earphones. He wants to go outside with them on, so Mom charges Billy with the responsibility of keeping an eye on him. Since he's completely unaware of the dangers around him, Billy has to repeatedly risk life and limb to keep his friend safe.
Notes This story was actually concieved as a fanscript for Animaniacs and featured Buttons and Mindy in the main roles; however, the series was cancelled before it could be submitted.
The original script was sixteen pages, but was cut down for publication.
"Whitman Mayo" (first panel, p. 14)--seen previously in "Home Alien"--refers to the actor who played Grady Wilson on Sanford and Son.
page 14. The name "Sternecky" is an industry in-joke, referring to one of the pencillers for the Animaniacs and Looney Tunes comic books, published by DC.
page 16: The poster for "The Weak Stink" is a parody of The Weakest Link, right down to a caricature of host Anne Robinson. Note the APEX logo on the poster looks very similar to the famous CBS eye...and the channel number is a decidely looney 6 7/8.
The jackhammer operator (the heavyset man on the left on the first panel on 17, and seen again later further down the page) is the same man who was driving a truck in the final panel of page 4 back in "Hiss Hole Comes to Town".
That's an actual photo of Smoking Cat editor/writer/artist Jonathan Sweet on the campaign billboard in the background of the panel in the middle of page 18.
page 23: Billy strikes a Ren Hoek pose when angry.
Goofs and Nitpicks
When the first car strikes Billy, a sound effect that might make it a bit clearer just what is happening is noticeably absent.
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The Trio of Trouble blips back in time to witness firsthand the rise to power of history's greatest madman, Adolf Hitler. However, when the Nazis get a hold of the Time Couch, the mission gets more half-baked, saltier, and twisted than a bag of Bavarian pretzels. Can Jon and company get the Couch back and make it home? Or by the time they see 2006 again, will our heroes be collecting social security?
A mock-up poster for Brokeback Mountain, winner of three Oscars and nominee for best motion picture (2006). Billy uses a quote from the film, and the bottom text parodies the tag line "Love is a force of nature".
The release date and the price have been inverted due to a layout error.
