The Adventures of Easily-Discovered Man

The Adventures of Easily-Discovered Man is an ongoing Classic LNH series by Rob Rogers. Published continually (if sporadically) since November 1993, it is the longest-running title on rec.arts.comics.creative.

Series Description

The series follows Theodore Wong, a physics professor at Dave Thomas Deluxe University in Net.ropolis. Convinced by years of reading comic books that becoming a super-hero is the best way to serve humankind, Wong exposes himself to microwave radiation, gaining the ability to glow and be detected at great distances by anyone with a Geiger counter. Calling himself Easily-Discovered Man, Wong begins a quest to prove himself as a super-hero. His eagerness to do battle with the forces of evil often lands him in situations where only dumb luck and his sidekick, Easily-Discovered Man Lite, are able to rescue him from certain doom.

It has earned many plaudits over the years, winning RACCies:Favorite Series in the year 2000. ...and 2002. ...and 2004, 2006, and 2007. It's won RACCies:Favorite Parody/Comedy six times, and four different issues have won RACCies:Favorite Single Issue. It's really good!

Issues through #47 are here, while more recent issues are below:

• Issue #48
• Issue #49: Part 1, Part 2
• Issue #50: Part 1, Part 2
• Issue #51: Part 1, Part 2
• Issue #52: Part 1, Part 2
• Issue #53: Part 1, Part 2
• Issue #54
• Issue #55
• Issue #56
• Issue #57
• Issue #58

Cast

Heroes

• Easily-Discovered Man: The glowing green hero will always do whatever he believes Superman or Captain America would do in any situation, even though he lacks the super-powers to back up his brave intentions. Although most people consider him insane, he is actually quite knowledgeable and thoughtful in matters that do not concern comic books or super-heroes. Drives the Easily-Discovered Van, a vehicle possibly more garish than he is.
• Easily-Discovered Man Lite: High school student Hector Lopez agreed to become Easily-Discovered Man's sidekick as an afterschool job, doing his best to keep Wong alive while making as much money as possible from endorsement deals and get-rich-quick schemes. Since then, Lite has matured, and has come to respect Easily-Discovered Man's heroic ideals – though he still prefers making wisecracks to fighting crime.
• Substitute Lad: Unsure of himself or his powers, fellow super-hero Jack Truman latched on to Easily-Discovered Man during one of his early adventures. He has since become a close friend of Easily-Discovered Man Lite.
• Superconductor: A government agent-turned-hero with energy powers who became the subject of a rivalry between Substitute Lad and Easily-Discovered Man Lite.
• The InterKnights: An idealistic hero team from Eng.LAN.d.
• Cynical Lass: An acid-tongued British super-hero and member of the InterKnights who becomes Easily-Discovered Man's intern.
• Apocalypso: A ska-dancing former cosmic herald.
• Screen Saver: A teenage net.hero hounded by Waffle Queen's "counsulting agency".

Villains

• Plummet: The World's Fallingest Man. EDM's former student, who now seeks to reduce him to a crater.
• Londonbroil: The flaming Brit. Sometimes dastardly, occasionally helpful.
• Waffle Queen: Guidance counselor by day, sticky temptress by night!
  • Team Waffle: The Waffle Queen's gang of nogoodniks, Captain Belgium, Mrs. Butterworth, and Downyflake.
  • GLURGE: The Gelatinous Living Ultra-Reassuring Genetic Entity. A sticky-sweet storyteller who controls men's minds with sappiness.
• Can't Get a Break at the Lights, Man: This commuter's gonna take out his road rage... on you!
• Barrage: A telekinetic kitty with a mad-on for humans.
• Deathstocker: The Icon of Inventory, the Baron of the Back Room, the Sultan of Supplies. A native of the Pocket Bureaucracy with a secret connection to...
• Alt.imate Ninja: AKA Malcolm the Pizza Guy. What happens when you ask a computer to create an unbeatable opponent?
• White Dwarf: A mind-controlling albino who takes control of the InterKnights, Londonbroil... and Lite!
• My-Dall, Man of 1,000,000 Mood Swings: AKA Michael Dahl, a psychologist who attempted to rid himself of sleep and, in the process, rid himself of emotional stability.
• Apocryphal Man: An immortal evil, trapped in another universe!
• Quartermaster: The cruel controller of Comic Book Time! Dramatic and flamboyant.
  • Two-Bits: Quartermaster's assistant. Isn't overly concerned with the niceties of net.villainy.
• Death Thoreaus: A team of transcendentalist terrors, with a magic ring that can simplify anything to its very base.

Others

• Mr. Lopez: Lite's dad. A retired assassin, who approves of his son's career.
• Mrs. Lopez: Lite's mom. Less enthusiastic about sidekickery.
• Juan Lopez: Lite's brother. A somewhat-oblivious Michael Jackson fan.
• Trevor Blount: A servant of Anubis, hunting down an unearthly spirit escaped to the world of the living.
• Mrs. Wong: EDM's wife, who has separated with him more than once over his ridiculous heroery.
• Summer Meadows: A Christina Aguilera lookalike and Lite's sometime girlfriend.

Stories

Story Arcs

• Lite's First Day (issues #1-8): Mildly-mild-mannered Hector Lopez is instructed by his guidance counselor to seek employment as a sidekick. But instead of a normal net.hero, he's apprenticed to Easily-Discovered Man!
• Alt.imate Fighting Championship (issues #10-14): Cyborg ninja pizza boys? All in a day's work for EDM and Lite!
• Breakfast in America (issues #15-16): The Waffle Queen's back, and she's serving up a hearty helping of mind control!
• Death of a Hero (issues #17-18): Continues on from the Substitute Lad mini. Tragedy has struck, but life continues - and so do the schemes of net.villains!
• Finding Easily-Discovered Man (issues #20-24): Professor Wong is Easily-Discovered Man no longer! Lite and Londonbroil take a plane to Eu.rec to get him back in the swing of things, but there's more than one supervillainous scheme in their way! Featuring the InterKnights!
• Wraith For Your Life (issues #28-30): An underworld miscreant has escaped to the mortal world, and unless EDM and Lite return her to her rest, it'll mean Pointless Death – for everyone!
• Same As It Ever Was (issues #31-34): Secrets! Revelations! Characterization! And ska!
• Quarter Time (issues #35-36): Tsar Chasm isn't Tsar Chasm! Time isn't flowing at its normal rate! And whatever happened to Copyright Kid and Trademark Lass?
• The Saga of Screen Saver (issues #38-39): The Waffle Queen is back, but this time, she's got more than mind-control and world domination in store! Can Lite save a fellow teen from X-Men-style persecution?
• Walden Wars (issues #41-44): EDM, Lite, and Cynical Lass go to the mall. But the Death Thoreaus say: Simplify, simplify, destroy!
• Apocrypha Now (issues #45-): Stopping one of the Waffle Queen's schemes is all in a day for Lite. But where is he going in life? Why, to the Apocryphal Universe!

Crossovers

• Issue #9: Bad Forms
• Issues #26-27: The Employee-Empowered, Paradigm-Shifted, Individually-Owned, Downsized, Streamlined, Re-Invigorated Crimes of the Brotherhood of Net.Villains
• Issue #37: "The Demon Butcher of Scavenger Avenue", a Teenfactor crossover

Stand-Alone Issues

• Issue #19: "'Twas the Week Before Christmas"
• Issue #25: "When Titans Tango"
• Issue #40: "Tights Situation"

Awards

Easily-Discovered Man has won many plaudits from the readers of RACC. The series won RACCies:Favorite Series in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2007, Accies:Favorite Series in 1993, 1998 and 2000, as well as RACCies:Favorite Parody/Comedy in deep breath 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2014, and 2015. Issues #25, 41, 43, and 45 all won RACCies:Favorite Single Issue.