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Just a typical day for the pygmies.

Pocket God Comics is a digital comic book adaptation of the Pocket God video game for iPhone and iPad.

The series follows the adventures of a tribe of pygmies who can resurrect from death with the help of their Gem of Life. Unfortunately for them, they die a lot.

Originally planned as a four-issue miniseries, the comic was very well-received and was made into an ongoing series. Bolt Creative, the creators of Pocket God, has a website here, where you can order print copies of the comics.


Pocket God Comics provides examples of:

  • Adaptation Expansion:
    • The series provides an explanation for the pygmie's respawning abilites with their Gem of Life. It also places them on a larger island.
    • In the games, the pygmies are all identical. The comic gives the pygmies distinct personalities and character designs to distinguish them from each other.
    • A tribe of female pygmies was introduced later on. A common complaint about the games is that there are no female pygmies.
  • A House Divided: The story arc "A Tale of Two Pygmies" revolves around this. Klik doesn't like how Ooga treats the tribe like a joke and is jealous at him for meeting the gods. When their hut burns down, he accuses Ooga and exiles him. However, Nooby and Booga go with him; splitting the tribe in two. Turns out the culprit was a female pygmy named Sun, who manipulated the tribe into fighting amongst each other so she can steal their Gem of Life.
  • All There in the Manual:
    • Pygmy Peril, Pocket God's newsletter, sometimes contains information not found in the comics. For example:
      • Booga's hair-bone is a horn that he can blow into to alert the other pygmies. He has yet to use it.
      • Dooby's hair-bone is a bone flute, but he never plays it.
    • Bolt Creative's website has bios for the characters, including their likes, dislikes and favorite food.
  • Always a Bigger Fish: In "A Tale of Two Pygmies", Ooga and Nooby fall into piranha infested water, but the laser shark zaps the fish to eat the pygmies first.
  • Ancient Astronauts: In issue 3, the tribe finds a temple with hieroglyphics depicting UFOs and aliens. They were the ones who put the laser gun on the shark.
  • Art Evolution: The pygmies originally had round heads and large, round eyes. As the series went on, the pygmies became slightly shorter, their heads more elliptical, their eyes smaller, and there was more definition and improved shading.
    • The girl pygmies gain wider hips from issue 20 onward.
    • Sun and Teela get longer grass skirts in issue 15.
  • Beast Men: In issue 23, Klik's group meets a settlement of benevolent bird people. They offer to help Ooga's group and worship Nox; the Spirit Advisor Klik sees in his dreams.
  • Black Comedy: Much of the humor comes from the deadly mishaps that befall the tribe. Fortunately for them, they can resurrect. In fact, they die so often that they treat it like a normal occurrence, with Nooby playing with their corpses and the tribe creating games revolving around who stays alive the longest.
  • Blood Sport: Squidball, a dodgeball-like game that uses a killer squid instead of a ball. Last one alive wins.
  • Bloody Hilarious: In issue 2, Booga gets most of his blood drained by a giant tick. The tribe pulls it off and smashes it, covering them head to toe in blood.
  • Canon Foreigner: Pretty much everyone that's not the original six male pygmies.
  • Canon Immigrant:
    • Sun appeared in episode 47 of the Pocket God video game. She's also a playable character in Ooga Jump.
    • Some of the comic's designs for the original six have been put in the games. In the Facebook version of Pocket God, Klak's design is a possible costume choice. Ooga Jump has Nooby's design as a playable character.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: The first couple of storylines were more comedic and had the pygmies die often. Later storylines started to get more serious and the pygmies started to die less often. The story arc, "The Pygmies Strike Back", gets stone cold serious when Nooby is killed off for real.
  • Character Focus: With twelve main characters, some are going to have more focus than others at times.
  • Cross Through: With IDW Publishing's Infestation. A woman named Britt comes to the island and reanimates the previous corpses of the pygmies to make a zombie army.
  • Crucified Hero Shot: When Sun tries to hold off the giant robot to save Kinsee, it grabs her by the arms and holds them outstretched before cutting her in half.
  • Death is Cheap: Did a pygmy die? No worries, they'll just pop back into existence thanks to the Gem of Life. However, if the gem is somewhere dangerous, they can get caught in an neverending cycle of death and resurrection with no way out.
  • Distaff Counterpart: In "A Tale of Two Pygmies", the tribe encounters Sun, a female pygmy. The next story arc, "A Quest Called Tribe", revolves around finding the rest of her all-female tribe.
  • Don't Create a Martyr: In issue 25, Newbie is choosing which of the pygmies to kill with the Gem of Death. He refuses to kill Ooga because as the leader, he'll die a martyr.
  • Dwindling Party:
    • The first story arc had most of the tribe die one-by-one before they can revive their Gem of Life. By the end of the arc, Ooga manages to revive the Gem and bring his tribe back to life.
    • The Pygmies Strike Back has Klik's group get captured by robot panthers one-by-one. Fortunately, they're saved by a tribe of bird-men.
  • Energy Weapon: The laser shark, naturally. In issue 16, Teela manages to remove the laser so they can use it to make another Jewel of Life after their first one is destroyed. The pygmies also use it as powerful weapon, but it needs to recharge if shot too much.
  • Epic Fail: This comic being what it is, when somebody fails, it doesn't end well.
    • Klak tried to break a meteorite by throwing a spear at it. It deflected back and impaled him.
    • Ooga once made a tent that looked sturdy enough, but when Booga went inside, it not only fell apart, a piece of it hits Ooga and sends him flying into a piranha-filled lake.
  • Establishing Character Moment: the first issue introduces the pygmies and their reactions to a meteorite shows off each one's personality. It also sets sets the tone of the series.
  • Everything's Deader with Zombies:
    • Near the end of the first story arc, the pygmies that died came back as zombies.
    • the Infestation Cross Through has a woman named Britt appears on the island and reanimate the old corpses of the pygmies, along with a zombie T-Rex. While the pygmies battle the zombies, Nooby befriends the T-Rex and has him eat Britt.
  • Face Death with Dignity: In issue 25, When Nooby is permanently killed by the Gem of Death, everything becomes clear to him and he dies a happy pygmy.
  • Fantastic Flora: During the "Gem-Cell Research" arc, the tribe gets attacked by a giant seaweed monster. In issue 19, it's revealed to be a robot covered in seaweed. This raises the question: who sent it? Issue 23 reveals where it came from.
  • Fastball Special: In issue 17, Booga tries to stop the seaweed monster by throwing Ooga at it. The monster smashes him between its claws like a mosquito, leaving him comically flattened.
  • The Fog of Ages: When Klik asks Teela when she made her gadgets, she replies that she remembers making them, but not when. Kilk admits he's been experiencing similar memory loss as well and thinks it's a side effect of their Resurrective Immortality.
  • Foreshadowing: In issue 2, the pygmies find a piece of wood that says "Beware the bark". This doesn't come into play until issue 4, where they're attacked by a giant barking spider.
  • Funny Background Event: In issue 21, while everyone is deciding whether to leave the island or not, Nooby is playing with his "thingy" (the cosmic wayfinder) behind them.
  • Fridge Logic: Done in-universe when Ooga asks the Gods how the tribe was born if there has never been a female pygmy on the island note . Their response?
    The Gods: Who said anything about you being born?
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Most of the messier deaths tend to be obscured or off panel.
  • Human Resources: With the corpses of their previous lives lying around, the pygmies find ways to make them useful.
    • Nooby likes to play with the corpses, oblivious to how messed up that is. He once made a decorated hair-bone out one of his own corpses to give to Sun.
    • In issue 16, Klik tries to catch the laser shark by using Klak's corpse as bait. He admits how wrong it is, but the shark loves to eat pygmies. When Klak finds out, he gets fed up with how much crap the tribe gives him and starts demanding respect.
  • Informed Ability: Booga and Dooby are said to be the best squidball players. When the game starts, they're the first two to die.
    • Informed Flaw: Likewise, Klak and Nooby are said to be the worst squidball players, but Klak is the third to die and Nooby is actually the last one alive.
  • Irony: For some time, Klik questioned his faith in the gods because they showed themselves to Ooga instead of him. In "The Pygmies Strike Back", Klik's questionable actions cause the tribe question their faith in him.
  • Killed Off for Real: Since the pygmies are immortal, one way for there to be danger is to throw the possibility of permanent death into the mix.
    • The first story arc centered around the pygmies going on a quest to revive their Gem of Life before they die for good.
    • When the girls' Jewel of Life was destroyed, the possibility of permanent death became very real for them.
    • In issue 17, Teela is shot by a stray laser. In the next issue, the tribes try to save them by transferring the energy of the the first Jewel of Life to the replacement, but it fails. During the funeral, they're attacked by a seaweed monster. When the boys are knocked out, Sun tries to fight it and gets cut in half. The monster's about to kill the rest of the girls when Teela and Sun return alive and well with the laser cannon in tow. Turns out the replacement Jewel needed to recharge.
    • Issue 24 gives us the Gem of Death; in which anyone killed with it stays dead. In issue 25, Newbie uses it on Nooby because he not only hates him, but knows that Nooby's the heart of the team. When he doesn't respawn afterwards, it's clear to everyone that Nooby is dead for good.
  • Lame Pun Reaction: In issue 12, Dooby makes a pun about carpe diem after seeing a carp, and Kinsee groans at it.
    Kinsee: Oh for crying out loud. I don't know what's more annoying about your tribe, the fact that you're all a big, lame joke, or the big, lame jokes themselves.
  • Let's Split Up, Gang!: In "The Pygmies Strike Back", the tribes split up. One groupnote  goes after whoever is sending the killer robots and the other groupnote  going back to the boy's island for safety. However before Klik's group can leave, his Spirit Advisor tells them that Ooga's group is walking into a trap. Klik instead leads his group deeper into the jungle to find a way to help Ooga's group.
  • Marshmallow Hell: In issue 9, Nooby meets Britt, a woman from another dimension. He becomes curious of her soft fleshy chest bumps and at one point hugs his face into them while she looks confused as ever.
  • Mechanical Monster:
    • In issue 21, a giant robot panther tries to capture Klak and Moon, but they knock it into a tar pit along with themselves. Issue 22 has more robot panthers hunting down the pygmies.
    • In issue 23, Ooga and his group find a temple that is guarded by large, laser wielding robots. Inside is the creator of all the robots: Neeboo.
  • Mistaken Identity: In "A Tale of Two Pygmies", Sun steals tribe's Gem of Life because she mistook Nooby for his evil clone Newbie, who stole her tribe's Jewel of Life.
  • Mood Whiplash:
    • A humorous one happens when Ooga tries to save Nooby from being eaten by a giant fish. He fails and gets all dramatic about it, but Sun reminds him that Nooby will just ressurect when he dies.
    • The ending of issue 17. The pygmies are having a party to celebrate the near-completion of the girls' replacement Jewel of Life. Suddenly, Linsee accidentally shoots Teela with a stray laser and everyone looks in horror.
    • In issue 18, everyone is preparing for a funeral. During the funeral, the giant seaweed monster from issue 17 appears and the tribes are forced to fight.
  • Mythology Gag: Many things from the game make a cameo in the comic.
    • Issue 2 has Klik get snatched by apes. When he comes back as a zombie in issue 4, his face has been peeled off; like how the monkeys peel off pygmy faces in the game.
    • Issues 2-3 have the tribe get chased by a T. Rex after messing with its egg.
    • Issue 5 has the ice monster from the game's ice island appear.
    • In issue 11, the tribe goes to the island from the games. They comment on how small and pathetic it is.
    • In issue 15, Ooga loses his hair-bone and his hair falls over his face; like one of the game's Idle Animations.
  • No Party Like a Donner Party: In issue 23, Ooga's group has spent days trekking across the desert; with their food and water running low. Kinsee gets so hungry she considers eating the others. While they can always resurrect, they keep her from doing it because they don't want to be cannibals.
  • Official Couple: A few of the pygmies have shown hints of romance between each other.
    • Ooga and Sun started out Volleying Insults, but they warmed up to each other.
    • Klik and Teela were the only scientific pygmies of their respective tribes and thus grew on each other.
    • Klak and Moon. Moon initially used Klak for deadly stunts, but her encouragement made Klak grow a spine and now they're inseparable.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In issue 25, Nooby actually drops his third person talk and starts talking sensibly when he's trying to relate to Newbie. Everyone is shocked and it really gets under Newbie's skin.
  • Our Gods Are Different: The pygmies are polytheists from which their gem of life is derived from. When Ooga meets them in the first story arc, they turn out to be five colorful balls of light that mess with the pygmies for fun. It's also heavily implied that they are really people playing the Pocket God video game; which explains why they like messing with the pygmies.
  • Oxygenated Underwater Bubbles: In "A Quest Called Tribe", the pygmies meet a tribe of anthromorphic crustaceans called Bubble Breathers. True to their name, they blow bubbles with their oxygenated saliva; which the pygmies use to breathe underwater.
  • Real After All: In The Pygmies Strike Back, Klik is told by his Spirit Advisor to have his group find a race of bird men deep within the jungle. He tells the other tribe, but they are skeptical, with Klak bing the most vocal. Issue 22 ends with Kilk sinking under a river, but a talon reaches out to grab him.
  • Robotic Reveal: In issue 19, the seaweed monster that has been attacking them since the previous issue is revealed to be a robot when the damage it takes knocks off the seaweed covering it. It's then defeated when they remove it power source, a green gem.
    • This is foreshadowed when Ooga thrusts a spear at it and the spear just snaps, as if it hit something hard.
  • Series Continuity Error: In issue 2, the pygmies bury Klik when they think he's permanently dead; marking his burial site with a gravestone. However, in issue 14, everyone but Klik is perplexed when they come across some graves; not knowing about burials because they are immortal and never had to bury one of their own.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Nearly all the pygmies tie their hair with a bone of some sort.
    • Ooga, Klik, Sun, and Kinsee wear a Stock Femur Bone.
    • Booga wears a horn.
    • Klak wears three tiny bones in his hair.
    • Dooby ties his dreadlocks in a flute made out of a bone,
    • Nooby has half a bone. Newbie's bone is broken on the other side.
    • Linsee wears a claw.
    • Moon wears a tiny skull and a stick.
    • Teela uses two tiny bones in her pigtails.
    • Toola doesn't wear a bone, but what appears to be coral in her hair.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: Justified and Lampshaded in issue 14. Ooga tells the girls (and Klak) to stay put while boys find supplies for the raft. Kinsee claims that's sexist, but Ooga retorts that without their Jewel of Life, the girls' can't risk dying or else they'll stay dead.
  • Super-Deformed: Emphasized during the Infestation Cross Through in issue 9. When they meet the more realistically-proportioned Britt, the pygmies only come up to her knee.
  • Super-Persistent Predator: The laser shark really likes eating pygmies and will go to great lengths to eat one. Lampshaded in issue 5.
    Dooby: That is one persistent aquatic carnivore.
  • Town with a Dark Secret: The Bird People village looks peaceful and friendly, but it starts to become clear that things are not what they seem. In issue 24, Klak gets kidnapped by one of them.
  • Vague Age: The pygmies may appear to be small children given their size, but most of them don't act like it. They don't even know their own ages or how long they've been around; probably as a side effect of their immortality.
  • Verbal Tic: The Bubble Breathers pepper their sentences with their names when they speak. This is because they have bad eyesight and need to identify each other.
  • Wham Line: From issue 25:
    Nooby: Box Newbie is angry. Nooby upperstands anger. Nooby upperstands confusion too.
    Newbie: I'm not confused!
    Nooby: Nooby knows how it feels to not be accepted. Noob... I know what it feels like to be the odd pygmy out.
  • You Mean X Mas: In issue 5, the pygmies celebrate Fishmas; in which they give each fish to each other as presents. They're also visited by Red, a fat Mad Scientist in a grass skirt who abducts Nooby and clones him; the first attempt creates an Evil Twin named Newbie.

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