Everybody's Happy

It's often the smaller touches of colour and references that help sell the illusion of the MC2 as a real living and breathing world that the characters inhabit. For today's post, I'll be looking at the fictional sitcom Everybody's Happy.

A show mentioned throughout the MC2, 'Everybody's Happy' was a sitcom about an 'All-American Family' that starred actors Leonard Groote and Melissa Carsdale (Wild Thing #2, Spider-Girl Annual '99). The show was apparently popular enough to have been watched by several of the MC2's denizens (A-Next #11, Spider-Girl #13 Wild Thing #2).

Melissa and Leonard became intimate while working together on the set of the sitcom, with Melissa describing the two of them as 'co-workers...friends...and much, much more.' The couple had shared their ambitions with each other and apparently planned a future together (Spider-Girl Annual '99).

Initially Everybody's Happy was intended to star both Groote and Carsdale as the shows leads. However Groote convinced the show's producer to focus on his character. In the spotlight with his character receiving the major storylines, Leonard became a breakout star, soon dumping Melissa and quitting the show when he was offered a lead role in the film 'Portrait Of A Young Artist' (Spider-Girl Annual '99).

The show was cancelled and Melissa blamed Groote for ruining her career, crushing her dreams and tarnishing her self-respect after she had taught him to act and helped him mold his own career. While things were going south for Carsdale, Leonard's fame continued to rise when he starred in another film called 'The Sensitive Man' (Spider-Girl Annual '99).

Seeking revenge, Melissa attacked Leonard on the set of a new movie as it was filming in New York. Melissa assumed the guise Misery, utilized globes filled with acid, electrified gloves and smoke bombs in her attempt on Groote. Misery was unable to use her final weapon- 'The Grief Machine'- on Groote due to the interference of Spider-Girl, who was placed in the device intended for the actor. Spider-Girl soon broke free and ended Misery's new career as a criminal with a single punch (Spider-Girl Annual '99). Misery would return once more to ensure a bigger ending to her autobiography by attempting to defeat Spider-Girl but was once again thwarted (Spider-Girl #90).

There's probably a few more post's worth of stuff to explore with the character of Misery, so check back soon to see what else I've got in store for you!

Until I stop watching trashy sitcoms and start my new career in acting, I remain

frogoat

Mayday's Diary

While re-reading through some MC2 comics, I realized I hadn't talked about a small narrative device that actually plays a small part in the plot years later. As we learn in a short back-up story from Spider-Girl Annual '99 (written by editor Bill Rosemann, instead of Tom Defalco himself) May 'Mayday' Parker keeps a diary.

In this first appearance of Mayday's Diary, it's used to recap readers on the events of the past year's-worth of published Spider-Girl stories, presented in May's own words.

Mayday's Diary is again used as a framing device when the series was relaunched with Amazing Spider-Girl #0, providing a more plot-relevant recap of the events of the previous Spider-Girl series.

Finally making the leap to a physical in-story appearance, Mayday's Diary shows up in Amazing Spider-Girl #25 when 'April Parker' uses it to catch herself up on recent events in 'her' life.

  

Probably apropos of nothing, but the diary looks different here, though there is still a flowery-theme.

Perhaps May's old dairy simply ran out of blank pages and this is a new one she started in Amazing Spider-Girl #0?



I realize this is nothing earth-shattering or exciting, but it helps ground a fictional character like Mayday in the real-world when she uses such a mundane, everyday item like a diary. A nice touch. I may be mistaken but I believe these are the only instances we see Mayday's Diary. Please do let me know if I'm wrong.

Until I get replaced by my symbiote-clone hybrid, I remain

frogoat