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Over the course of 15 years, Mike and Matt Chapman, “The Brothers Chaps,” have created the most impressive body of work in the history of the Internet. Homestar Runner—a viral phenomenon that preceded YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr—is a website, a character, and a profoundly realized, self-contained universe.
Originally drawn as a children’s book (mostly to prove to the world how easy it is to draw children’s books), Homestar Runner became a conduit for the Brothers Chaps’ silly, innocent, referential, satirical, loving humor. The site is full of all the colorful debris of American culture: discount electronics, text adventures, hip-hop tapes, glam metal, hot wings from the concession stand, and a town full of about 15 people who are all completely comfortable in their existence.
The most popular recurring feature of the site, familiar to any fan, are the Strong Bad Emails. Strong Bad sits down at one of his ancient computers, takes a question from a fan, and answers it in his usual aggro, 15-year-old-boy-as-Mexican-wrestler fashion. The Brothers Chaps have done 206 of these so far, and though updates to the site are more infrequent now, I don’t think they’re going to stop until they’re either dead or Flash finally caves in on itself. I take comfort knowing that no matter what, no matter how bad things get, Homestar Runner were always be there, ready to tell me about love, rock and roll, and breakfast cereal.
Congratulations, Homestar Runner, you’re in the hall of fame. To celebrate, we went ahead and ranked every single Strong Bad Email for your shock, perusal, and entertainment.
Originally drawn as a children’s book (mostly to prove to the world how easy it is to draw children’s books), Homestar Runner became a conduit for the Brothers Chaps’ silly, innocent, referential, satirical, loving humor. The site is full of all the colorful debris of American culture: discount electronics, text adventures, hip-hop tapes, glam metal, hot wings from the concession stand, and a town full of about 15 people who are all completely comfortable in their existence.
The most popular recurring feature of the site, familiar to any fan, are the Strong Bad Emails. Strong Bad sits down at one of his ancient computers, takes a question from a fan, and answers it in his usual aggro, 15-year-old-boy-as-Mexican-wrestler fashion. The Brothers Chaps have done 206 of these so far, and though updates to the site are more infrequent now, I don’t think they’re going to stop until they’re either dead or Flash finally caves in on itself. I take comfort knowing that no matter what, no matter how bad things get, Homestar Runner were always be there, ready to tell me about love, rock and roll, and breakfast cereal.
Congratulations, Homestar Runner, you’re in the hall of fame. To celebrate, we went ahead and ranked every single Strong Bad Email for your shock, perusal, and entertainment.
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