Golden Era

The Golden Era extends over the years 6 to 10 (approx. 1995-1999) and roughly covers the time of primary school. The Maschinensäcke and Donnerstagland were invented and the stories were for the first time loosely connected in a shared fictional world with an underlying worldview that was not yet fully developed. Many games, experiences and unspent enthusiasm inspired the art of this epoch, which had an irretrievable childlike charisma and light-heartedness, without the feeling of constantly having to surpass oneself, without worries about profundity and continuity or about the storage and preservation of these valuable documents. As a result, many comics discontinue in the middle, because interests constantly jumped and we simply moved on to the next topic. During this time the classic characters were created, which became Schuschinus´ imaginary family. All this together gives this time a glorified feeling of soul home, carefree life in the moment without bitterness about one's own existence.

previous epoch: Prehistoric Era
next epoch: Era of great Failures

Artistic Development

Era of big Beaks (ca. 1995 - 1997)

Representations of people still had a beak in profile, but a mouth from the front. The eyes now had a pupil and a wider emotional range. Increasingly, accessories such as clothing or hair were added. Side views with a line as the floor and terraced elevations to enlarge the floor area were typical. Overall, the images became richer in details and narrative elements. The "long taped pictures" were introduced for particularly fruitful subjects by taping sheets on to another and continue drawing the scene seamlessly. The first comics and flip books were also made during this time. In some scenes it is already clear that drawing, as a technique that is easily available and implementable, is the most obvious means of choice for expressing the imagination, but that the idea and intention are already moving towards film. Some drawings are based on special effects or try to capture movement with a cinematic instead of a real image in mind.

Important sources of inspiration:

The first comics that Schuschinus came across were second hand Donald Duck Comics. While he was first puzzling over what the many fragmentary images meant, he soon recognized the potential of this format.

The Asterix films, with their action and snappier humor, were a refreshing alternative to other animated films.

Non-fiction books on history and science. There was old architecture and battle paintings to be admired here. The ancient Egyptians and the Middle Ages in particular met with a positive response. In addition, the aesthetics of purely functional things such as machines, laboratories or the typography of bank forms inspired.

Although Schuschinus was rather anxious, he was fascinated by creepy things like ghosts, skeletons, monsters, ruins and catacombs. Toys served this preference very well at the time.

TV series like Mission Top Secret and Spadla z oblakov sparked interest in science fiction and futuristic technology.

Era of midsized Beaks (ca. 1997 - 1998)

The beaks of the figures became a little smaller and formed bodies with actual limbs and clothing were introduced. The stick figures are still in use in parallel to this day. Significantly more spatiality was added, spatial levels and perspective were now standard, but were used freely and mixed with other styles of representation without placing great emphasis on correctness. For the first time, the drawings were stored in a large cardboard box, which ensures an easily traceable history.

Important sources of inspiration:

Particular milestones of inspiration are the TV-series Hercules and Xena. There were fights, monsters and special effects wrapped in a fantasy atmosphere that should have a lasting impact on the style of this era. To this day, stylistic influences can be seen in the Maschinensack culture, e.g. colorful vests.

Computer graphics: Schuschinus was still a long way from creating art himself with the computer, but the increasing use of 3D graphics in computer games and films stimulated the pursuit of realistic representations more than "reality" ever could. The yet limited of CGI offered a new visual experience with its reduced shapes and surfaces, the fluid camera movements and recognizable pixels and polygons. Light and shadow effects, transparent water surfaces and perspective buildings were tried out in drawings.

Schuschinus could only admire 3D games from others, he himself only owned a Game Boy. But the 2D graphics also stimulated the design of own obstacle courses and opponents. His first games were Donkey Kong, Disney´s Hercules and Lucky Luke .

Era of small Beaks (ca. 1998 - 1999)

The beaks became even smaller and more stylized. The lines are set very loosely and curved. The use of color became more common, which gives this period a particularly splendid sheen. The big topic was science fiction. Although this topic has been of interest for a long time, it had not yet been thoroughly explored due to limited television reception and overprotection. Now the images were dominated by spaceships, robots and aliens. This also further encouraged interest in film effects. But making our own films was still a dream, initially space battles were animated in flip books.

Important sources of inspiration:

Star Trek was the best known and only receivable scifi series at the time. Schuschinus cannot boast that he consciously valued the intellectual and ethical messages at the time, the main interest were the visuals. The space battles of DS9 and the Borg were extremely formative. Nevertheless, the series as a whole left a lasting impression.

Even before Schuschinus had seen the Star Wars films, he owned a book about them, one of those visual encyclopedias with a shallow depth but many labeled pictures. This book has played an important part in the fact that we can marvel at the beautiful Encyclopaedia Hurdelhabadanica today. Of course, the films themselves made a huge impression as well and are considered to be one of the most important inspirations of all, which should shape the whole of the next decade.

In childlike impartiality and enthusiasm, quality differences are not that noticeable, and so the Power Rangers looked just as high-quality as Star Trek or Star Wars. The content didn't matter anyway, the important things were the action, costumes and effects. And here they had a unique aesthetic that Schuschinus did not yet know, but suspected that it was of Japanese origin. As "Power Bubis" they entered the Schuschiverse. The Tokusatsu style is still a point of reference for productions by Schuschinus.

The Plushie Battles, which have always been important, had now been cultivated to perfection and increasingly inspired the comics. To relive the inspiring action of a film in a Plushie Battle is a suitable intermediate step to intensify the mood before you put it on paper.

historical Events

All works by Schuschinus belong to the canon of the Schuschiverse. But the great saga officially began with the first comic "Maschinensäcke". The comics of the Golden Era each have a consistent style, because they usually deal with a certain topic, and that until a new comic is opened on a different topic. Often the plot is not relevant at all, the topic in question is exploited in great detail. Successful scenes were rehashed several times. This archaic form is called "good old showing comic" because it shows the subject from all possible perspectives. It is to be regarded as the successor to the long taped pictures.

Table explanation:
partially colored
fully colored
¹ main plot (Comics that advance the story of Hurdelhabadan or the House of Schuschinus)
² side plot (Comics whose actions have little impact on the fate of the Schuschiverse)
³ good old showing comic (Comics that are primarily there to sensually exploit a certain situation without advancing the plot considerably)

title	year	page count	content	comment
Era of big Beaks
Maschinensäcke¹	1997	46	On the way, 5 Maschinensäcke become friends. They wander around, fight monsters and now and then visit Schuschinus in the Golden Castle. They come across the Snek, a mysterious energy portal that initially sucks them in in an uncontrolled manner and brings them to different places. They meet the Fireman (Föma), who turns out to be a persistent opponent. He is a servant of Giant Hydra (Riehy) and pursues the heroes through all dimensions. They extinguish him, but he returns. They give him poison, which also kills immortals, after which he is temporarily defeated. Meanwhile, the Maschinensäcke learn to control the Snek and go into space. In doing so, they discover the Land of the Wicked. They return to Doland and continue traveling. The Fireman reappears. Schuschinus comes to the rescue and beats him until he explodes. The flame shoots into the sky, where the Fireman is rematerialized in many times the size of the planet. He falls into the depths of space. The Maschinensäcke celebrate their victory by flying around in their spaceship.	This comic is preceded by some concept art for a series called "Baby Banane", based on role-playing games and inspiration from Hercules and Xena. It is the same in theme and atmosphere, but nameless Maschinensäcke were used instead of the defined hero Baby Banane. Any character can be retrospectively projected into them and it is not a contradiction, that Baby Banane was one of the 5. This was also be determined later. The giant hydra as the main villain was also first introduced on the concept art.
Era of midsized Beaks
ohne Titel (Autorennen)²	1997	7	Schuschinus and Juliak hold a car race. They are driving the wronng way through a one-way street. The police are blown up. Juliak falls behind due to dust and exhaust fumes and Schuschinus wins the first round. The second is longer and more difficult. The police are already waiting with a large number, but are blown up again. They drive through an industrial area full of obstacles. Shortly before the finish line, Juliak's car is blown over by a gust of wind and Schuschinus wins, of course.	The race is extremely unfair. In the early phase it was about the good guys using cool gimmicks and the bad guys always losing out, regardless of whether it's fair.
no title (Pirates)²	1997	25	Schuschinus tests the building material compressor with Befan in an island laboratory. Then they go on a raid on a sailing ship. After boarding the first ship and finding rich booty, they find a boy ashore who also wants to become a pirate. Schuschinus shows him the ship and practices fighting with him. They come across another ship and the new one boards it single-handedly. In the evening there is a party. Meanwhile, a storm comes up. Despite the roaring sea, one does not miss the opportunity to board another ship. The next morning the hold is filled to bursting with treasures and they decide to go home. On the way they stop at a treasure island and dig out the chest. With great difficulty they cram it into the hold. They arrive at home at night, load the treasures into the castle and celebrate.
The first Timefight¹³	1997-1998	135	After Schuschinus has defeated a petrification demon in the oleibian mountains, he returns to his castle, which is attacked for no apparent reason by the Frms under the leadership of Juliak. They are successfully fended off, but attack a second time. The Maschinensäcke rise the retractable fortification walls around the castle and once again put the Frms to flight. Then the corpses are gathered in a large pile and cremated. The next day the Frms attack again. Schuschinus pours a brew on the ground that breaks up the earth and sucks Frms into the holes, but there are so many Frms that it's not enough. Schuschinus weaves the whole castle into a protective spider web. The battle spreads further into the surrounding area. A fortified base of the Frms is successfully destroyed. Meanwhile, the Msäcke unmovedly hold an entertainment show in which Dumpling is beheaded. Schuschinus goes for a walk in the jungle and makes a few preparations for the 2nd Timefight. He hires his friends to get building materials. After a detour into the future for the 3rd Timefight, the Msäcke penetrate to the fortifications of the Frms and finally destroy their main castle.	This comic holds the record for the number of pages to this day. It has no intended ending, but the events on the last few pages form a useful conclusion. Inspiration: Hercules, Xena, Spider-Man
no title (Knorf)¹	1998	27	By consuming compressed building material, Schuschinus gains even more superpowers than he already has and attacks Frland single-handedly. He defeats a frlandian superhero and rampages in the city. Then Juliak and his troops intervene. After exhausting fighting, Schuschinus withdraws to recharge his batteries in a power hole on Glöthis. The Frms follow him, but are surprised by an earthquake. Schuschinus teleports himself into an unknown cave, but there are Frms here too. He flies home through the Snek to get a bag. Back in the cave, he takes an armor out of the bag and beats up the Frms. But more are waiting at the cave exit. They throw Schuschinus into a swimming pool. Through the drain he gets into an underground secret passage that leads into the jungle. It is now clear that he is in Doland. Schuschinus comes home through another secret passage and calls in reinforcements to fend off the Frm invasion. This is called the 2nd Timefight, but after some action the comic abandones.	Inspiration: LTB 249: Phantomias gegen Wackermann; Kribili
Juliak in Hell (lost comic)²	1998	2 preserved	Juliak and Schuschinus fight each other in a fiery environment (an area of the Golden Castle or Glöthis?). Schuschinus sends Juliak to hell.	This comic was probably thrown away because it was supposed to be removed from the canon. That decision wasn't any more wrong at the time, than today's desire to have the comic back. Only the irreversible transience of nature is wrong. Now some beautifully drawn fire and morphing effects are lost.
no title (booze)²³	1998	10	Knutschi gets drunk with a buddy. They throw up and smash bottles. They keep drinking and smoking cigars, after which they flood the whole street with vomit. Days later they lay in the garbage boozed up, but continue to drink. They can't sleep, so they fight the neighbor. After that, they consume other drugs besides alcohol and enjoy hallucinations.	Inspiration: Werner
no title (spider brawl)²³	1998	16	Schuschinus fights Frms. This is a rehash of well-known elements, such as the spider web from the 1st Timefight and the armor from Knorf. Comic discontinues.
no title (space)²³	1998	18	After showing various spaceship scenes, Schuschinus presents Muckelfatz a computer that can suck you into a virtual world. Muckelfatz is flying through a psychedelic trip. Then they visit the laboratory, where rock samples are examined. A found Totarus contains a microscopic world. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: Various sci fi comics from LTBs. The computer is taken up again in "Rearing Up Part I"
The Cheese Thieves²	1998	11	After a raid, the Cheese Thieves are pursued by the police, but can shake them. In the evening they enjoy the cheese in their hiding place, but the police discovered them. A brawl follows. In the end, balls are thrown at the police officers and they are dispersed. Tefan comes to visit and there is still a fight with the cops. Comic discontinues.	First appearance by Tefan. Inspiration: An advertising comic for a cheese brand
Car Crash Dudes²	1998	24	A car of the Car Crash Dudes races ruthlessly through the area and destroys a lot. When they arrive at the clubhouse, they play cards and brawl. More and more Car Crash Dudes join and it becomes a battle. After many cars have been blown up for amusement, they decide to go on a raid into the city. The hordes riot and pillage the shops. Then they go for a ride. An armada of cars wreck everything. Comic discontinues.
no title (Shuttle)²³	1998	7	Tefan visits a flight simulator in the amusement park. After a film to get warm, the spaceship really takes off and folds out into a space station. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: flight simulator in an amusement park
no title (magic potion)²³	1998	21	A guy dumps various ingredients into a cauldron for 21 pages. It smokes and bubbles and the guy has a lot of fun.	Inspiration: Asterix and the Big Fight
no title (Sewer Man´s House)³	1998	5	Tefan takes care of the abandoned building, in which the Sewer Man, the ragged and filthiest bum, lives. Comic discontinues.	The Sewer Man is called Lalli here, which is a typo, he should be called Kalli. Lalli was later called the pirate captain, but at point it was thought to be the same person. Lalli would have been a pirate before, now a bum. This idea was not pursued any further, and we didn't care about chronology back then.
Era of midsized/small Schnäbel
no title (Pirates)²	1998	26	A small boat is shattered in a storm. The crew collects the planks and uses them to build a large sailing ship. Captain Lalli is sick afterwards. The others take care of him. A Frms ship appears and a battle ensues. The turmoil is so stimulating that Captain Lalli gets well again and joins in. At the nightly victory celebration, Fettklopps joins them, who simply appears in the middle of the high seas. The next day they encounter an F-ship that is transporting an exposed emerald that shines from afar. They board the ship and steal the emerald. More and more people appear and join the team. Comic discontinues.
no title (Tortsurg)¹	1998	30	The Frms have an emerald again, which they display to be stolen. Tefan will come over and do them the favor. He is imprisoned, but escapes with the help of his hidden tools. He is fighting his way through the guards when Kartoffelsack comes to fetch him to defend the Tortsurg. They go through a secret passage to the castle, where the battle is already raging. The Msäcke bring even more reinforcements. The next day they attack Frland and the second attempt at the second Timefight takes place, which, however, discontinues after several pages of slaughter.	This comic was put together from several parts, some of which originally belonged together. A Plushie Battle on the red bed is the template for the castle with a secret passage.
no title (Treasury)²³	1998	26	In this prequel, Schuschinus inspects one of his gold mines. At home he reports about it. The newborn Muckelfatz is presented. In the castle, Schuschinus and his family go to the treasury (a crossed-out picture shows a link to the lost comic "Juliak in Hell"). Schuschinus feasts on his riches and remembers old adventures and the building of his empire.	In this comic the information is given that Schuschinus became the boss of Hurdelhabadan through material wealth. According to today's orientation, this is wrong, since Schuschinus was chosen by the universe and money is completely irrelevant. According to the current definition of property in the Values of Maschinensackdom, however, it can be interpreted as a metaphor for intellectual wealth. Inspiration: Scrooge McDuck's money bin
no title (Tefan´s workshop)²³	1998	10	Tefan tinkers in his workshop and makes various inventions, including a magic pendant and a little robotic doppelganger. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: Gyro Gearloose
no title (Archeology)²³	1998	7	The Schuschinus family goes on a trip to the western oleibic mountains to do digs. They find a totarus, bones, and the last specimen of the olickitorirumi plant. Comic discontinues.	Based on experiences at the school yard. There was a clay floor that dried out in summer so you could break out pieces.
no title (Bums)³	1998	5	Bums lie under the bridge and are bored. They consume various stimulants.
no title (Drug Man)²³	1998	4	The Drug Man is selling doping to his buddy. After that, they go to his secret laboratory and eat lots of drugs.	Inspiration: a scene in a soap opera
Expedition to Quyrxulr²³	1998	7	The syrup collectors are surprised that the syrup level in their tanks is dropping and they become suspicious of one another. The syrup was secretly tapped by Drubdlautis, who take a bus back to Quyrxulr. Without any direct connection, a team of explorers goes on an expedition to Quyrxulr, a previously unexplored gas planet. There are communication problems with the Drubdlautis as they speak an untranslatable language. They are sensitive to the researcher's lamps and a fight ensues. The Drubdlautis steal the syrup that the researchers have with them as provisions. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: A Scrooge McDuck comic with syrup; a vehicle from a video game
no title (Attack on F-house)²	1998	12	The Msäcke storm a building of the Frms and destroy everything.	A rehash of a storyline from the 1st Timefight comic
no title (Duel)³	1998	7	Schuschinus duels with Juliak. Comic discontinues.
Watter Männchen¹	1999	8	In the distant future, the age of the posete, Doland is flooded, the Posaidies rule over the sea. Tefan, Befan and Muckelfatz fight against them. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: Waterworld
no title (Mafia)²	1998-1999	19	The mafia boss goes to jail, but breaks out again immediately and begins to roam around, robbing and murdering. He escaped the police several times. He runs a theater where people are beaten up on the stage and sold as slaves. The audience is enthusiastic and offers vigorously. A spy is beaten up in the back room. The police storm the theater and arrest 688 mafia members. A few days later they all broke out again and are in a car chase with the police. During a raid, the mafia besieged the police station. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: various scenes from crime films and soap operas; a film where they throw melons out of a helicopter
Stress Mann²³	1998-1999	20	The Stress Man has a lot of telephones in his office. While he is busy on the phone, colleagues come by who bring mail or want something done. The office is sinking into paper. Stress Man throws everyone out, but then Bubi Nuss comes by, a math genius who overtexts him with complicated formulas. During the lunch break, he stuffs himself and goes to the toilet. Then he picks up papers for the Nofk and the stress continues. Countless telephone receivers on the ear, the Stress Man learns that the Nofk has been dissolved. It is very tragic. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: the newspaper makers, Scrooge McDuck
Era of small Beaks
no title (Fun in the castle)²³	1999	4	The Schuschinus family wakes up, takes a bath, has breakfast and enjoys the luxury. Comic discontinues.
no title (Jetri Temple)²³	1999	3	The Explorers are exploring a temple ruin that is collapsing above them. In the rubble, they make a discovery that we will never know. Comic discontinues.
no title (high security bunker)²³	1999	5	Schuschinus inspects a new building where a magical gem is kept in order to demonstrate numerous traps and security mechanisms. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: Scrooge McDuck´s money bin
The Tortsurg War²³	1999	5	There is war at the Tortsurg. It is not evident who is fighting who. Comic discontinues.	There is no plot here, but the comic is important because it is based on an important Plushie Battle that used the red bed downstairs in the apartment as a castle with a secret passage on the wall at the back.
Power Bubis¹	1999	30	The cube is attacked by the trolls, but the Power Bubis rush to help. More and more heavy equipment is brought up. The plot consists only of action. Comic discontinues.	This comic is also based on a Plushie Bbattle on the red bed, as well as the Power Rangers, mainly of the season "in Space".
no title (Mud surfing and Angry Man)³	1999	6	A guy is surfing down a muddy hill on a plain board. At the bottom he falls and continues on foot. He wades through the swamp, through the dust and through the bushes. Then he rolls down another slope where 2 friends are waiting for him. The Angry Man wants to hitchhike. He verbally abuses passing cars until he is hit by one. He bursts through the windshield and harasses the driver until he drives him. While driving he is constantly complaining. When he arrives in the city, he pushes his way violently through the crowd. In the shop he beats up the salesman because he has no beer. Then he chases a dog with his pocket knife.	actually 2 Comics
no title (Supertefan)²	1999	6	Tefan attacks Frland. He is dueling with a F superhero. Comic discontinues	Rehash of the second Timefight Comic
no title (motor biker)²	1999	4	A motorcyclist gets into a traffic control. The police produce a huge pile of parking tickets. The motorcyclist escapes and has an accident in a robber's den. He is being pursued by the robbers. Comic discontinues.	Inspiration: Werner
no title (Casino)³	1999	3	Good old Zeigecomic about people in the Casino. Discontinues
Power Bubis Milchreis¹	1999	26+3	In the desert, the Power Bubis are attacked by tin can fighters. After a lot of fighting, they escape before the planet explodes. On the Sphere they save Aniovi. They pick up his spaceship, on which Muri is. The tin can fighters destroy the ground station computer. When the spaceship reaches the Sphere, it is shot down. The Power Bubis face a large army of tin can fighters. Comic discontinues.	In the planned end, the Power Bubis should receive a new spaceship, of which a schematic drawing is available. There are 3 isolated pages of a sequel with a Star Trek-oriented theme.
no title (Pirates)¹	1999	6	A musketeer goes out to eat. In the middle of it all, he is called by his colleagues because pirates are raiding a tavern. Captain Lalli's ship docks. His people kidnap a sleeping bum and force him to peel potatoes. A ship from the governor arrives and there is slaughter.	This was supposed to be a new big pirate comic in color, but only 6 pages with incomplete plot were produced. However, this is not yet one of the great failures, as we did not suffer from it. Inspiration: Die Piraten der Karibik
no title (paper eater)²	1999	4	A little monster eats paper and gets bigger and bigger. When it gobbles up a fitness magazine, it becomes a huge muscleman and eats houses. Baby Banane defeats the monster that spits out all the pieces of paper.	Inspiration: LTB Comic
The Fireman²	1999	5	5 Msäcke fight against the fireman. Comic discontinues.	Rehash of first comic

Slave Status

The coercionn to go to school was obviously abhorrent to Schuschinus and homework was an unforgivable robbery of valuable lifetime. Although he preferred leisure time, school was still rather acceptable for the first two years. The class time was limited to a reasonable amount and the design of the lessons with their relatively large amount of fun and creativity were still humane. The classmates were not yet affected by the adult disease, which leads to rejection and incomprehension of play and imagination. So Schuschinus' social withdrawal was not quite as pronounced. Of course there were always occasional assholes. Reports from teachers about violent older boys and child predators, as well as individual lying classmates, however, led to a massive loss of trust in people. Here, too, Schuschinus had no real friends. There was an arranged friendship through the parents. This went well for a few years, but there was no deeper harmony of interests.

After 2 years, the class was disbanded due to a lack of teachers and distributed between the parallel classes. Change of environment and new people were always a great burden. Adolescent antisociality was slowly dawning here, the atmosphere was noticeably more tense. The teachers also showed their incompetence by misinterpreting Schuschinus' behavior based on introvertedness and mental underload as Stupidity. Here Schuschinus had a self-chosen buddy for the first time, who was also a freak and outsider. A rather ambivalent relationship, because he tended to be annoying. Regarding art classes, it should be noted that Schuschinus liked it, but the tasks were below his level and did not improve his skills. If you compare school pictures with private pictures, the latter show a much higher degree of originality, richness of detail and liveliness.

At home, it was very harmonious. There was lunch with the grandparents, dinner with the parents. Schuschinus was able to organize most of his free time himself and did not have to go to any clubs. In his grandmother (called Omchen) he found an excellent playmate who could also put herself in the imaginary worlds. Many characters and stories were created in role-playing games. Only the sunday strolls were annoying, as they were often just stubborn marching and did not satisfy the desire to discover things off the beaten track. Celebrations and family get-togethers were exciting events back then, even if Schuschinus found old people talking about old times mostly boring.

Philosophical Development

Schuschinus was increasingly bothered by rules of conduct and was critical of social conventions. But these had not yet been systematically questioned. Anger over violation of the ego was directed against the immediate culprit. At the end of the Golden Era, Schuschinus began to write his Beef Book. At first it was supposed to be a general diary, but from the 2nd entry it was used for purely negative reporting. Exactly the opposite of what the shrinks advise. But positive experiences were not ignored, but processed in pictures. Overall, the balance was still balanced.

Due to the tutelage of adults, Schuschinus wanted to be the boss. In his comics, he drew himself as a ruler, rich and sublime, but always right in the middle of the action and at eye level with his friends. The Frms were the assholes with bad taste from the start, but their portrayal reflected the still relatively easy attitude towards life. They were outnumbered and stupid wimps who often looked less cruel than the Msäcke who demonstrated cool attacks on them.