History ComicBook / EarthwormJim2019

Following the announcement of a new ''Earthworm Jim'' game for the UsefulNotes/IntellivisionAmico, reuniting several members of the team that worked on the original game, Doug announced an Website/{{Indiegogo}} crowdfunding campaign for a new graphic novel that would finally tell the full story of Earthworm Jim that he had wanted to do several years ago. The goal of $12,000 was surpassed within ''six minutes'' and ended with over $700,000, breaking the record for the highest-funded comic on the site as of this writing.\\

After 20 long years of dormancy and canceled games, the Earthworm Jim franchise has finally resurfaced with a graphic novel series both written and illustrated by the man himself, Creator/DougTenNapel.\\

* OnlySaneWoman: Princess What's-Her-Name, especially when compared to Jim, who just wants to hang out and have fun when there's a serious crisis at hand, while she is determined to stop her evil mother. Slightly downplayed as her time on earth makes her unaware of their customs, and tries drinking syrup and eating a stick of butter for breakfast.

* WomenAreWiser: Princess What's-Her-Name is as smart as she is tough, and is more on top of things than our title character is.

--> '''Jim:''' He had a [[IncrediblyLamePun snow-ball's chance]] in a hot place... like a desert or UsefulNotes/{{Venus}} or something.

* ThePowerOfFriendship: What ultimately helps Jim overcome his fear of Bob is that his friends have his back.
* ThePowerOfLove: To snap Jim out of Bob's mind control, [[spoiler: Launa kisses Jim on the lips]], and as far as he's concerned, it was love that did the trick.

* AmnesiacHero: Downplayed; After Earthworm Jim comes back to life, he only remembers everything leading up to Psycrow chomping him in half; meaning that he can’t remember that he spent 627 years cleaning up Evil the Cat’s litter box, and his death on Queen Slug-for-a-Butt’s ship. He only regains all his memories after Launa kisses him, albeit reluctantly.

** The trading cards included with the first book have Jim on his rocket depicted in a style similar to Ed Roth's "Ratfink".

* ClassicVillain: Most of the villains are given these traits. Psycrow is now driven by gluttony and greed, as his payment usually comes in the form of canned worms, and can't resist them. Monkey-For-A-Head is driven by pride as the Queen funds his science projects, and Evil the Cat on the other hand is just, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin evil]].

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Jim gets one two times from Princess-What's-Her-Name and one from Farmer Jim.

* PositiveDiscrimination: It's acknowledged in the "Making Of" book that Princess What's-Her-Name was a fun and ditzy parody of the SaveThePrincess trope, and while it was more acceptable in the 90's, it wouldn't fly well today, and she's been reworked into a fierce and intelligent ActionGirl.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: Invoked at the beginning when Psycrow tests out a suit to destroy a planet, which What's-Her-Name says is filled with pastel-colored ponies, unicorns, and pegasuses who apply glitter on each other.

* ShipTease: Plenty with Earthworm Jim and Princess What's-Her-Name. He falls for her the instant he meets her, which causes a lot of awkward moments between them. Although she insists there's nothing romantic between them, it's clear that she does grow fond of him over time, at least platonically. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen.
* SlaveMooks: The giant cats that Bob controls with his mind are this.

* WomenAreWiser: Princess What's-Her-Name is as smart as she is tough, and is more on top of things than our title character is.

--> '''Farmer Jim''': I'm gonna keep letting you do that because it's really funny.

* ZeroEffortBoss: [[VideoGame/EarthwormJim Remember that snowman mid-boss]] [[PlanetHeck in the fires of Heck?]] [[RealityEnsues Here, it melts the moment it appears]].

!!The ''Earthworm Jim'' graphic novels contains the following groovy tropes:

* AbusiveParents: Queen Slug-for-a-Butt is this towards her daughter, Princess What's-Her-Name. Like the rest of Insectica, the queen sees her daughter as ugly. The queen is also very dismissive of her daughter's protests against the idea of blowing up planets, and also claims that her daughter knows nothing of morality compared to a queen. To top it all off, Slug-For-A-Butt was perfectly willing to destroy Earth [[OffingTheOffspring while her own daughter is still on it!]]

* AnthropomorphicTransformation:
** Psycrow uses a device from Monkey-For-A-Head to summon crows and transform them into human-like beasts to retrieve Jim's suit.
** After Peter Puppy discovers [[spoiler: that the Queen created Bob from fairy dust]], he uses it on himself in an attempt to cure himself, which mutates his appearance to that on the cartoon show.
* ArmyOfLawyers: Evil has a legal team of four lawyers that he uses to sic on Jim.

* AwkwardKiss: Jim plants one on What's-Her-Name out of nowhere, and promptly gets slapped for it.
* BarBrawl: Psycrow is on the receiving end of one after he shoots their beloved mechanical riding bull.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe:
** Princess What's-Her-Name actually becomes fond of Jim because he pays her a small compliment when no one has ever said anything nice to her in her whole life. [[spoiler: She even grieves for him when he dies]].
** Proto Pooch joins Jim after our hero decides to spare his life, and is the first being to ever call him a good dog.
* BerserkButton:
** Slug-For-A-Butt hates it when Psycrow calls her "Queenie".
** Never mention [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates "America"]] near [[DirtyCommunists Evil the Cat.]]
* BigGood: Princess What's-Her-Name now appears to be this, as she's the one who takes a stand against the queen, tries to inform Jim of the danger that they're facing, and serves as a foil to his naive and childlike innocence.
* BigNO: Psycrow when he gets a wedgie. Evil the Cat when he hears the word "America". Queen Slug-For-A-Butt when she loses the super suit.
* BlankWhiteEyes: Bob's cat slaves are given these as a result of their mind control.
* BornOfMagic: Jim, thanks to the suit being granted this ability by a space fairy.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Jim and the princess get in an argument while the [[ItMakesSenseInContext farmer's house is under attack.]]
--> '''Jim:''' That's the problem with you! Everything is about this fight, and you never stop to enjoy ''what you're fighting for!''
--> '''Princess:''' Because if we don't fight, ''nothing'' will be left to enjoy!
--> '''Jim:''' ({{beat}}) That almost makes sense!

* CallingTheOldWomanOut: The princess lays a big one to the Queen at the end of the second issue, now that she knows the truth behind her past, and swears to destroy her.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Jim's butt after he gets torn in half by Psycrow. After Jim sacrifices himself, the suit lands where his butt is buried, bringing him back to life]].
* ClassicVillain: Most of the villains are given these traits. Psycrow is now driven by gluttony and greed, as his payment usually comes in the form of canned worms, and can't resist them. Monkey-For-A-Head is driven by pride as the Queen funds his science projects, and Evil the Cat on the other hand is just, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin evil]].
* CompanionCube: The guys at the bar are livid when Psycrow blows up a mechanical riding bull. Although Psycrow says it's nothing more than a dumb machine, he's informed that it was the state darts champion for 18 years, won a purple heart in the Gulf War, won a gold medal in the '96 Olympics, won the Nobel Peace prize, and was also on the verge of curing cancer!
* ContrivedCoincidence:
** The sandworms of Heck embrace Jim as TheChosenOne, as a prophecy foretold of a giant earthworm that would work in Heck for 626 years.
** [[spoiler: Launa is thrown in prison right next to an earth fairy who turns out to be her real mother. Alaura just happens to be the ex-wife Farmer Jim spoke about, making him Launa's real father]].

* DestructiveSavior: When Jim fires his plasma gun inside Farmer Jim's house, it destroys a good portion of it.
* DirtyCommunists: Evil the Cat freaks out when Jim starts singing "God Bless America". Not because of the first two words, but the last. Just to drive the point in, a HammerAndSickle appears behind him.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: The comic opens with the Queen hiring Psycrow to test out the suit's power, which he uses to blow up a nearby planet. This prompts What's-Her-Name to take off with it so no other planet suffers the same fate.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Psycrow has the ability to speak with the spirits of deceased crows and isn't happy when he meets the one who met its end at the hands of Jim's gun.
* {{Facepalm}}: Farmer Jim does this with Earthworm Jim leaves Planeta de Agua and ends up causing more destruction in the process.
* FunWithFlushing: Jim discovers a giant plug on Planeta de Agua, and uses it to [[spoiler: drain the water from the flooded planet and free its inhabitants from Bob's control]]. Peter lampshades how fast the water drained and how cartoonish the effect was.

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: When Jim returns in the second issue and is too afraid to go after the princess after she's kidnapped, Farmer Jim slaps him to snap him out of it.
%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GroinAttack: The princess delivers one to one of Bob's cat slaves when they attempt to kidnap her.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: In the first issue, [[spoiler: Psycrow bites Jim in half, although Jim is still able to survive with just his head, and the heroes mourn the loss of Jim's butt]].
* HeelFaceTurn: Proto Pooch betrays Psycrow and the queen and embraces the name Jim gave him, Peter Puppy.
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: When Jim tells Bob's cat slaves not to touch his girlfriend, the princess retorts that they're not going out.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: When Psycrow is about to destroy the earth using the suit's power again, Jim sacrifices himself by using himself as bait to distract Psycrow, taking the full brunt of the blast instead. It not only saves the Earth, but also destroys much of the queen's ship and causes her to lose the suit once again]].
* HulkSpeak: Peter Puppy does this whenever he's in his monstrous form.
* HumanAllAlong: [[spoiler: ''Fight the Fish'' reveals that Princess What's-Her-Name was kidnapped by Slug-For-A-Butt, and was actually born from a human father and a fairy mother, making her half-human and half-fairy. In terms of appearance, she's indistinguishable from any other human.]]
* HumansAreUgly: Similar to the cartoon, What's-Her-Name is seen as a hideous abomination by the other Insecticans for her human-like features, and has left the poor girl with some [[IAmNotPretty serious self-esteem issues]].
* HypnoticEyes: Bob the Killer Goldfish uses these to enter people's minds, and manages to control and enslave them by tapping into their deepest fears.
* IAmNotPretty: At the beginning of ''Fight the Fish'', after finding a dress that belonged to Farmer Jim's ex-wife, the Princess is hesitant to put it on because she's been told all her life that she's ugly. After Farmer Jim convinces her otherwise, everyone at the breakfast table is stunned at how gorgeous she looks.
* IControlMyMinionsThrough: Bob can only control others by tapping into their fear. Once he learned that cats fear water, he was able to enslave an entire planet filled with them.
* IdiotHero: Jim's kindness is only rivaled by how childish and naive he is, which is justified because he's thrown straight into the foray within hours of just being born.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Peter Puppy sees himself as a monster and just wants to be normal, and isn't happy when his attempts to cure himself don't work out.
* ImAHumanitarian: Jim decries himself as a cannibal moments after being born after he accidentally eats another worm while eating dirt.
* ImprovisedWeapon: When his house is being attacked by monster crows, Farmer Jim grabs Snott and uses him as a whip.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: When Farmer Jim offers Jim and the princess a bed for the night, Jim believes they can both sleep on it, or she can sleep on top of him since "it can hold a lot of weight". She slaps him so hard that he has to find his eyes and mouth.
* {{Irony}}: When she's kidnapped by Bob, the Princess asks how any self-respecting cat takes orders from a goldfish.
* JekyllAndHyde: Proto Pooch/Peter Puppy. Like the cartoon, he can be brought back to normal when he's tickled.
* JustDesserts: Like the second game, [[spoiler: Bob ends up being eaten, but by Number 4]].
* KissOfDistraction: [[spoiler: After Jim is put under Bob's mind control, the Princess gives Jim a big smooch to snap him out of it. It works, and she insists there was no romantic intent behind it]].
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After disintegrating Evil's army of lawyers with his Plasma Blaster, Jim finds a sheet of paper from amongst the ashes. It's was an N.D.A to the [[VideoGame/EarthwormJim "EWJ game",]] [[CreatorCameo signed by none other than]] Creator/DougTenNapel. Jim then questions who Doug is [[SelfDeprecation and what "EWJ" stands for.]]
* LoveAtFirstSight: You guessed it. Jim immediately falls for the Princess the moment he lays eyes on her and is more concerned about winning her over than saving the world.
* MeaningfulRename:
** Not knowing what "P.P." stands for, Jim gives Proto Pooch the name Peter Puppy instead. Proto then abandons his old name when he [[HeelFaceTurn switches sides]] and embraces the name Jim gave him, Peter.
** To hide her from the Queen's forces, Farmer Jim decides to give Princess What's-Her-Name a different name: Launa. The princess is quick to embrace her new name, especially when she discovers [[spoiler: Slug-For-A-Butt was never her real mother, and Farmer Jim happens to be her real father]].
* MobileShrubbery: Psycrow moves in a bush to get his blaster back after his fight with a bull.
* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: Jim experiences this when Proto Pooch goes into monster mode and tries to eat him. He recalls everything that happened, and since he's been alive for four hours, it's not much.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** After Jim [[spoiler: spares Proto Pooch and has him run away, he tries fooling the princess]] by blasting his gun into the air, and the light it gives off alerts Psycrow to his presence.
** On Planeta de Agua, Jim decides to hide himself, Farmer Jim, and the Princess in a prison cell. They get locked up.
** Upon leaving Planet de Agua, Jim crashes the ship into a statue, causing a domino effect as more end up getting destroyed.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: One of the lawyers in Heck is a caricature of Nick Rekieta.

* NotQuiteDead: In ''Fight the Fish'', everyone's surprised to see that [[spoiler: Jim's alive and well after he died at the end of the previous story]].
* OffingTheOffspring: Queen Slug-For-A-Butt was willing to have her own daughter killed by destroying a planet with her on it. It ends up being a SubvertedTrope when the next issue reveals [[spoiler: the princess isn't her actual daughter]].

--> '''Farmer Jim''': I'm gonna keep letting you do that because it's really funny.

* PapaWolf: In ''Fight the Fish'', Farmer Jim isn't happy after [[spoiler: his daughter kisses Jim]], and takes it out on him instead.
* ParentalBonus
** When Jim and the gang see a bull...
---> '''Jim:''' Look! It's my father!
---> '''Farmer Jim:''' Bull!
---> '''Jim:''' No, seriously, he's ''my pop!''
** In one scene, Earthworm Jim invites Princess What's-Her-Name to sleep on the couch with him. What's-Her-Name thought it wouldn't be appropriate and the couch might be too small for both of them. To which Jim responds, "Not if you sleep ''on top'' of me!" The princess blushes in embarrassment.

* ThePowerOfFriendship: What ultimately helps Jim overcome his fear of Bob is that his friends have his back.
* ThePowerOfLove: To snap Jim out of Bob's mind control, [[spoiler: Launa kisses Jim on the lips]], and as far as he's concerned, it was love that did the trick.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: The whole comic is filled with these. One example is when Psycrow retrieves his blaster and is about to be attacked by the bull again, he says "Time for you to [[{{pun}} meat]] my little friend!" as he blasts it and turns it into a literal stack of hamburgers.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Queen Slug-For-A-Butt possesses four large ones.
* RealityEnsues: A giant snowman appears and attempts to attack Earthworm Jim, but then it immediately melts because it showed up in a fiery place. This was lampshaded by Jim afterwards...
--> '''Jim:''' He had a [[IncrediblyLamePun snow-ball's chance]] in a hot place... like a desert or UsefulNotes/{{Venus}} or something.
* ReluctantHero: When the princess confronts him, Jim isn't interested in fighting evil or anyone else for that matter, but wants to have fun. Then again, he's been alive for three hours.
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler: When Proto Pooch is revealed to be a spy for the queen, What's-Her-Name presents Jim with one: Either he kills him or loses her, Snott, Farmer Jim and everything he loves about the planet. Jim does take P.P. out back but can't go through with killing his friend who almost accidentally killed him]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When Evil the Cat gets the suit and learns that the Queen plans to blow up Earth, he ditches the suit and returns to Heck where he can avoid Armageddon.
* SequelHook: At the end of ''Launch the Cow'', [[spoiler: [[TheHeroDies Jim actually dies saving the world]], but the suit happens to crash on where his butt is buried, reviving him]].
* ShipTease: Plenty with Earthworm Jim and Princess What's-Her-Name. He falls for her the instant he meets her, which causes a lot of awkward moments between them. Although she insists there's nothing romantic between them, it's clear that she does grow fond of him over time, at least platonically. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen.

* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Once Jim frees everyone from Bob's mind control and no longer fear him, they quickly turn on him.

* YouAreNumber6: Bob's cat slaves all go by different numbers, which quickly gets confusing when they refer to using the bathroom as going "Number One" or "Number Two".

* ZeroEffortBoss: [[VideoGame/EarthwormJim Remember that snowman mid-boss]] [[PlanetHeck in the fires of Heck?]] [[RealityEnsues Here, it melts the moment it appears]].

* ArnorPiercingSlap: Jim gets one two times from Princess-What's-Her-Name and one from Farmer Jim.