Emily Strange

Emily the Strange (sometimes written as Emily Strange) is a fictional counterculture character, created by Rob Reger and his company Cosmic Debris Etc. Inc.

History

Prior to receiving press coverage and becoming the object of product placement, Emily Pennell appeared on a sticker, a freebie distributed at concerts, record stores and skate shops to promote Cosmic Debris, the clothing line founded by skateboarder Rob Reger and racecar driver Matt Reed. Reger's friend Nathan Carrico designed Emily in 1991 for a skateboard company in Santa Cruz, where Cosmic Debris was born. In his Santa Cruz garage (and later an artist warehouse in San Francisco) Reger created the designs and with Matt Reed brought them into the fashion world by creating t-shirt designs that captured the essence of this mysterious young girl with 4 black cats. Since then, Cosmic Debris has grown into a multi-million dollar firm with dozens of employees. Cosmic Debris has most recently moved its operations to Berkeley, California, and plans to open an Emily retail store there soon. With the momentum of mainstream success, several comics about Emily have also been made. Key creative people over the years (designers, graphic artists, illustrators), who have worked with Reger's Cosmic Debris design house are Buzz Parker, Brian Brooks, Grace Fontaine, Liz Baca, Noel Tolentino, Fawn Gehweiler, Jessica Gruner, Adele Pedersen and Nicomi "Nix" Turner. Rob Reger remains the key creative force behind the brand, and Buzz Parker is the key illustrator for the comic books and Web site. Buzz Parker runs EmilyStrange.com from his offices in Arcata, California.

Emily

Emily is a 13-year-old (birthday: 9/23) of exceptionally pale complexion. She has jet black hair, and wears a black dress and black tights, set off by large white Mary Jane shoes. She has a dark, gothic world view. The character's appearance and demeanour could be likened to those of Wednesday Addams.

Accompanying Emily are her four black cats. Sabbath, who is distinguished by a scar on his left ear, is the troublemaker of the four and rarely seen close up and also says dude a lot. Nee-Chee, who has a black and white striped tail, is the schemer. The creative cat, Miles, has a white X on his right eye. Mystery, the leader of the group, has a white star on her right eye. Because she is the leader, she is the closest to Emily.

Tie-Ins

Emily the Strange has gained a reputation as something of a feminist comic iconFact|date=February 2007, and the franchise has a considerable merchandising catalog, including clothing, stationery, stickers, and accessories, all featuring Emily's distinctive appearance and frequently featuring one of her sayings (such as a beach-towel emblazoned with "Wish You Weren't Here"). Emily The Strange fashion is popular and attractive in the Goth subculture with young adults and teenagers.Fact|date=August 2008

Comics

Emily the Strange is published by both Chronicle Books and Dark Horse Comics in the USA.

The Chronicle Books hardback graphic novellas include:
*"Emily the Strange" (2001)
*"Emily's Secret Book of Strange" (2003)
*"Emily's Good Nightmares" (2004)
*"Emily's Seeing is Deceiving" (2006)

In 2005, the first two issues of her comic book were released through Dark Horse Comics: "The Boring Issue" (#1) and "The Fake Issue" (#2). "The Dark Issue" (#3) was published in 2006. The collected edition of the first three comic books ("Emily the Strange: Lost, Dark, and Boring") was published in November 2006. "The Rock Issue" (#4) was published in 2007. An ongoing monthly, standard length series has been published since March 2008.

Since 2008 Emily the Strange is published in France by Soleil Productions.

Clothing

In July/August 2003 "V" magazine ran a double page spread of clothing inspired by the character, created by Chanel, Gautier, Helmut Lang, Marc Jacobs, and others. [ [http://www.emilystrange.com/beware/Scrapbook/PRINT/43V.cfm V Magazine ] ]

Emily has been shown in "Vanilla Sky" and on "MADtv". Celebrities including Julia Roberts, Britney Spears, and Björk have all worn the brand. Epiphone have created an Emily Strange themed SG guitar, based on a Gibson 310 Custom. [ [http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=238&CollectionID=3 link] ]

Novels

In October 2007 it was announced that four young adult novels based on Emily the Strange will be published by HarperCollins. They will be co-written by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner. [ [http://www.publishersweekly.com/enewsletter/CA6492460/2788.html#Rights_Report Rights Report] , "Publishers Weekly"]

Film

An Emily the Strange feature film is in the works with Mike Richardson, of Dark Horse Entertainment, as producer. [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i07a95797894eac5624cffd8f0227d2f9 Emily the Strange heads to big screen] , "Hollywood Reporter", May 30, 2008]

ociety Of Strange

The Society of Strange is the official, online Emily the Strange fan-club, forum and message board. It is found in a self-titled section of the Emily the Strange website but can also be accessed from a separate .net address. [ [http://www.emilystrange.net The Society of Strange on EmilyStrange.net ] ] The Society of Strange is referred to as 'the S.O.S.' by its members. There are 92609 members (known as 'strangers') as of June 23, 2008 however this number is ever increasing as new fans register for access to the forum. It is unknown the number of active accounts from the total number of registered accounts as some users create multiple, alternate accounts and others are created but never used. Registered members may add friends (known as 'fiends') akin to a mySpace or Facebook profile and also take advantage of a member message service known as 'Strange Messages' to contact their 'fiends'.

The Society Of Strange is popular with fans of Emily The StrangeFact|date=August 2008, however it is also utilized as a forum for other popular cultural topics and subjects such as television shows, bands and anime. There has been some member debate over the upcoming Emily The Strange film and whether it will be good for the brand's imageFact|date=August 2008. Fans are highly concerned with how Emily will be represented if she is to 'talk' (as Emily has only ever 'spoken' in a read, comic format) and who will play Emily if she is displayed in a live-action contextFact|date=August 2008. Until more information is released about the film, fans are suggesting that Christina Ricci would be suitable for the role of Emily with her background in the Addams Family films of the 1990s.Fact|date=August 2008

Notes

The brand was displayed in Australian soap opera and television program, 'Home and Away' by the character 'Belle'.

References

*comicbookdb|type=title|id=10625|title="Emily the Strange" (2005)
*comicbookdb|type=title|id=15727|title="Emily the Strange" (2007)

External links

* [http://www.emilystrange.com/beware/indexmain.cfm Emily the Strange official website]
* [http://www.buzzparker.com Buzz Parker's website]
* [http://www.emilystrange.net Emily the Strange Official Fansite]
* [http://emily.unprettyful.org Unofficial Emily the Strange Fanlisting]
*myspace|emilystrangerealdeal|Emily The Strange
* [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2008/06/27/2008-06-27_emily_the_strange_has_reason_to_smile_sh.html Emily the Strange has reason to smile: She's got her own media empire] June 2008 interview with the New York Daily News.
* [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2008/09/07/2008-09-07_emily_the_strange_is_seein_red__and_gree.html Emily the Strange is seein' red - and green, and blue] September 2008 Emily and Manic Panic's new hair and cosmetics products.