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, and Perry himself describes the book as a mixture of Indiana Jones and Final Fantasy.[1]
Publication history
Perry came up with the initial inspiration for Gold Digger during his tour of duty in the
First Gulf War,[2] and released the debut
one-shot in Antarctic Press' Mangazine in 1991. A four-issue
limited series 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 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.[1]
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 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,
superheroes,
computer games, animation,
manga, or even
internet memes.
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. –
ISBN0-9776424-1-0
Gold Digger II Pocket Manga, vol. 1 – Collects issues #1–8 of the colour series. –
ISBN0-9787725-3-9
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
^
abManning, Shaun.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2011.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link) "Perry Celebrates Twenty Years of "Gold Digger", Comic Book Resources (May 10, 2011).