Strong Bad Email

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Strong Bad Email menu
Strong Bad checks his email.
Strong Bad checks his email.

Strong Bad Email, frequently shortened to sbemail, is a feature in which Strong Bad answers an email sent by a real-world fan. Arguably the most recognizable feature of the site, it is occasionally joked that its success has led to Strong Bad becoming the most popular character in the Homestar Runner series — even surpassing Homestar Runner himself.

A typical email opens with Strong Bad humorously mocking the spelling and grammar of the sender, then transitioning to an anecdote or scheme related to a question asked by the email, concluding with Strong Bad returning to his computer to finalize his typed response. Strong Bad Emails include numerous Easter eggs and other hidden material, often found at the ending screen; many feature satirical views of aspects of popular culture such as Japanese cartoons, video games, and TV show theme songs. Originally introduced in 2001 as a small feature with brief animations, the responses gradually expanded in scope to establish numerous inside jokes, running gags, and catch phrases. Full-fledged Strong Bad Email spin-offs include Trogdor, Teen Girl Squad, 20X6, Strong Badia, Hremails, the secondary character Senor Cardgage, and even main character Homsar.

Strong Bad Email had historically been the most frequently updated feature of homestarrunner.com, with a new email being added to the menu most Mondays from 2002 through 2008. The pace of releases slowed after the 200th email in September 2008. Creative duo the Brothers Chaps took a self-imposed break at the bicentennial, returning to sbemail production in late 2009. Soon after this, Homestar Runner entered into an extended hiatus from 2010 through 2014; nowadays, as the site is updated irregularly, multi-year gaps are now common between sbemails and a new one is typically prompted by a special event or circumstance. The social media account @StrongBadActual has since become the main format for the character to respond to and otherwise interact with fans.

Contents

[edit] Strong Bad Emails

[edit] Lappier Era

(April 2015 – present)

[edit] Compé Era

(August 2009 – October 2009)

[edit] Corpy NT6 Transition

(July 2009)

[edit] Lappy 486 Era

(November 2004 – June 2009)

[edit] Compy 386 Era

(September 2002 – November 2004)

[edit] Tandy 400 Era

(August 2001 – September 2002)

[edit] History

See also Timeline of Homestar Runner

[edit] Prehistory

See also Strong Bad#Character Design and Conception

Strong Bad is one of the oldest Homestar Runner characters, created alongside the title character for The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest in 1996. As early as the release of A Jumping Jack Contest in 2000, the Brothers Chaps realized that he was "probably the most interesting character".[1] He swiftly became a fan favorite and breakout character; the Brothers Chaps took note of this, attributing it to his role as the antagonist and his humorously mild insults.[1][2] Also around this time, the brothers were exploring the potential of the characters in toons like A Jorb Well Done and new series formats like Marzipan's Answering Machine.[2] This led to the Chaps deciding to give Strong Bad "his own little feature": answering emails from fans.[33]

[edit] The first sbemails (2001)

The first Strong Bad Email toon was some kinda robot, released August 22, 2001.

An email address to contact the Chaps was listed on the site from its earliest days (it would be removed in late 2015). As of a few months before the launch of Strong Bad's email account, the brothers were typically receiving "five or ten mails a day" from fans;[3] one such fan had been Abdi LaRue. Requiring an email for Strong Bad to reply to, the Brothers Chaps reached out to LaRue: informing them of Strong Bad's then-new email address and suggesting they send him an email.[4] Abdi's email (inquiring if Strong Bad takes off his mask and boxing gloves when sleeping) was answered August 22, 2001 in the first Strong Bad Email: some kinda robot.

THE BROTHERS CHAPS: Strong Bad Emails were meant to be a really short thing to occupy the space between our longer cartoons. But they ended up turning Strong Bad into one of the most interesting characters.[5]

The original idea had been to write a reply from Strong Bad to every email he received, with one selected each week that would be voiced, animated, and posted on the website; this plan was almost immediately abandoned,[7][8] with the volume of responses (fifteen emails a day) immediately recognized as too much to deal with.[7] Even emails that were selected would not receive a reply, with the sender only realizing they'd been chosen upon viewing the resultant toon.

Sbemails were initially envisioned as a simple and short feature,[5] in the manner of a farcical advice column.[6] Early sbemails typically ran for a minute or less, and frequently would only feature Strong Bad typing at his computer. At this point, both brothers still had full-time jobs[2][8] and lived in different states (Mike in Georgia, Matt in New York),[2][3] necessitating a split production. Mike, who worked freelance and had more free time,[2][3] would animate while Matt provided voices; writing duties were shared between the two.[3] Some early entries had no script, with Matt simply reading through then riffing on a fan's email and sending the resultant audio file to Mike for animation.[6][9][10]

Sbemails, much like the rest of HomestarRunner.com, were not being updated on a set schedule at this point: they were released on varying days of the week, usually with over a week elapsing between them. A total of seven email toons were released in 2001.

[edit] Weekly schedule (2002–2008)

MATT CHAPMAN: I'd been living in New York, and then I moved back [to Georgia] and we decided "Hey, let's start doing something every week." We'd done a few Strong Bad Emails at that point, but we decided "that's the easiest thing we could do. We could do one of those a week." So that was 2002 — I feel like just the weekly updating of Strong Bad Emails was really when [the site's popularity] started to go crazy.[11]
Sbemails released in 2002, such as techno, gained significant traction and led to the burgeoning popularity of Homestar Runner.

2002 was a significant year for Homestar Runner. Matt moved back to Georgia, with the brothers sharing an apartment, and now that they could collaborate in-person they strove to dedicate more time to the website. The then-simple Strong Bad Email toons were selected as something that could be done every week.[11] The email that established this weekly pace was brianrietta[10] on January 10, 2002; the subsequent email, i love you (released January 14), standardized the practice of releasing a new sbemail every Monday. Most updates released in 2002 were Strong Bad Emails.

The site's popularity gradually increased throughout the year,[12] boosted by the new weekly schedule.[5] At the time, high-speed internet in homes was less common and the site's fans were more likely to watch the toons at work (often in technical jobs) or at colleges, its popularity spread via word-of-mouth; fittingly, viewership and merchandise sales saw a spike in September coinciding with the beginning of the school year.[11] Both brothers still had full-time jobs at the beginning of the year,[8] but income from the store allowed both to leave their other work to focus on Homestar Runner full-time by the September spike.[12][13] Matt would later recall the 2002 emails guitar and techno as being particularly popular, influencing their selection of emails to focus on humorously disparaging specific niches.[11]

Strong Bad Email's popularity surged in the following years. At the beginning of 2003, Strong Bad was receiving hundreds of emails a day[7] — this figure would increase to 2,000–5,000 within mere months,[6] remaining as the standard for years. The deluge of messages peaked in summer of 2003 at nearly 8,000 a day[6] (with the caveat that a significant portion was simply spam).[14] Mondays in 2003 were seeing nearly 300,000 visitors coming to the site to watch the new sbemail,[13] compared to 200,000 on other days.[15] A common inquiry — addressed on the FAQ page and its predecessor — was whether the emails Strong Bad answers were genuinely sent by fans: they all are,[2][7] with the exception of mile (which was purportedly made up by The Cheat).

Though the brothers had hoped to add another weekly feature,[2][9] the demands of running their own business restricted their time.[9][16] Additionally, as Strong Bad Emails continued to increase in runtime and complexity, their production took away from opportunities to make other types of cartoons;[15] the Chaps estimated that "at least 60 to 70 percent" of the site's updates were sbemails.[17] However, they did not feel limited by the popularity of the series, with Matt reflecting that "when we feel Strong Bad Emails are getting old, we can quickly jump into something else."[18] The toon Sbemailiarized!, released in 2009, joked that the difference between sbemails and other cartoons on the site was "not all that much!"

[edit] Milestones

Sesquicentenn-email, 2005! ...I—I mean six.

Emails that reached a centenary milestone, or a significant division thereof, often focused on (or at least made note of) the landmark. Thus far, five emails have commemorated a significant number of emails; several of these had been teased with an additional toon released the week prior that played off viewers' anticipation.

[edit] Bicentennial and Break (2008–2009)

MATT CHAPMAN: 200 was a nice round number to take a break from [Strong Bad Email] and do other stuff on the website.[19]

The milestone of 200 emails was reached on September 23, 2008 with email thunder. The narrative of this cartoon quickly shifts from celebrating Strong Bad's achievement to the surprising reveal of Homestar Runner's competing email show — hremails — which have been running parallel with sbemails. Though the toon ends with Strong Bad gleefully destroying Homestar's computer, the coming months would see the release of additional hremails and other cartoons while the Brothers Chaps took a pause from producing more sbemails. In interviews, the brothers expressed that this hiatus was taken to vary their output and that, though they were enjoying the change, this did not necessarily signal the end of sbemails.[17][19]

"I've got other plans for the Lappy today."

Another landmark in 2008 was the release of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, produced by Telltale Games in partnership with the Brothers Chaps (the first time Homestar Runner had been licensed out to a third party). This five-part episodic video game centered around Strong Bad's adventures, kicked off by answering emails in the manner of the site's toons (notably, these emails were created by Telltale's writers rather than sent by fans);[20] each game also featured additional, optional emails the player could guide Strong Bad to read, respond to, or delete. Though the release of the game's episodes overlapped with sbemails going on hiatus, the brothers were quick to specify that the decision to pause sbemail production was not a result of the SBCG4AP workload.[19]

Strong Bad Emails returned in 2009, with Strong Bad reclaiming the fanmail format from Homestar in hremail 3184 on June 30. Four more emails were subsequently produced, albeit now at a monthly rate rather than the previous weekly pace. The 205th email, videography, was released October 5, 2009; though this toon was not particularly noteworthy or conclusive on its own, it would prove to be the last email for over five years.

[edit] The Big Hiatus (2010–2013)

See main article: Hiatuses
sbemail206 was first teased more than three years before its eventual completion.

Updates to HomestarRunner.com began to slow in late 2009, quickly and dramatically dropping to where only three toons were produced in 2010. The site entered an extended hiatus in 2011, with no new toons for over three years.

During this hiatus, Matt occasionally posted to his Twitter account @ronginald. He affirmed that the site would continue to be updated "forever! just sporadically and without warning", and hinted that a new Strong Bad Email could be released "Someday, when you least expect it...".

[edit] Modern Era (2015–present)

MATT CHAPMAN: We're not expecting [Homestar Runner] to be our full-time gig [again], we just want this to be fun. There were points in the initial run where it was a great job, but it was also stressful. If we want to make a great cartoon, every couple months it will be something new. But we're not going to stay awake all night just to finish a Strong Bad Email.[21]

HomestarRunner.com became active again in 2014, albeit without a schedule and with a slower pace of updates as the new standard;[21] as the main pages put it, the site is now "updated every someday". Strong Bad Emails returned with sbemail 206 on April 1, 2015. The email cheekily acknowledges the time that had passed between emails; however, befitting its release date, it is primarily an April Fools' Day cartoon that is not centered around Strong Bad replying to a message from a fan.

Sbemail 206 also began the practice of ending with a prompt for fans to "email" Strong Bad by making a post directed at @StrongBadActual on Twitter (rather than emailing strongbad@homestarrunner.com). This social media account began posting regularly in 2014, and is presented as being run by Strong Bad with nearly all posts being written in-character to some degree. In the post-hiatus era, it has become the most active facet of the body of work and superseded many features: acknowledging fan works, sharing production artwork, and announcing new toons and projects have all been done through this account. Though only two full Strong Bad Emails have been made in response to fans' tweets, the account has generally substituted for sbemails' primary function of allowing Strong Bad to interact directly with fans.

Four Strong Bad Emails have been made since 2015. As there is no longer a set schedule for the feature, they are typically motivated by a holiday or made as a reward for a fan contest rather than simply checking Strong Bad's inbox at an arbitrary time:

[edit] Releases

[edit] DVD

The six-disc DVD reprint set, released in 2020.

Emails 1–200 were released on the strongbad_email.exe 6-disc DVD series. Multiple DVD-exclusive emails were also featured in this set.

[edit] Podstar Runner

Strong Bad Emails & More!

The Podstar Runner feed distributed various Strong Bad Emails in .m4v format, designed for viewing on an iPod, from 2006 through 2008. This feed additionally featured toons and Teen Girl Squad issues alongside Strong Bad Emails.

These are all of the emails that were featured through this service (in order of Podstar Runner release, earliest to latest):

[edit] YouTube

The homestarrunnerdotcom YouTube channel was registered on October 1, 2007. When it first began uploading Strong Bad Emails on March 31, 2009, they were direct rips of the DVD versions (featuring title cards with the email names in Title Case and ending with The Paper reading ">> The End <<"), with independent being uploaded in a previously unreleased DVD-style version with altered scenes. Starting in 2017, 1080p versions of the emails have been uploaded, with email titles in all lowercase and the paper reading "> THE END <", often incorporating the Easter eggs from the original website versions.

These are all of the emails that have been uploaded (in order of YouTube release, earliest to latest):

[edit] Not Quite Strong Bad Emails

The following were originally associated in one way or another with the Strong Bad Emails. They are numbered fractionally to indicate when they were released chronologically relative to the above list.

*Not linked to from anywhere on the site.
†Neither released to nor hosted on homestarrunner.com.

[edit] Fun Facts

[edit] Trivia

At the peak of his popularity, Strong Bad was receiving thousands of emails every day.
  • In 2001, prior to the introduction of Strong Bad Email, the site received five or ten emails a day from fans.[3] By January 2003, the daily number had climbed to "500 or more",[7] peaked in mid-2003 with five to eight thousand daily emails,[14] and by 2004 had leveled out to between two and five thousand a day.[6]
  • During the Tandy 400 era (until at least July 2002), emailing Strong Bad would result in this automated response:
Thanks for your freakin email. I hope it's not stupid.
Once I finish these swiss cake rolls I'll read it and if it's awesome enough,
I'll answer it on the site.
But if your email is terrible, then it gets R.E.D. alright.
The Cheat Reads it, Strong Mad Eats it, and I Deletes it.
Click Here to see us in action!
Check back every Monday to see if your email has what it takes.
Watch me while I'm awesome,
Strong Bad
  • The Brothers Chaps would frequently remark that a significant portion — or even the majority — of emails they received were asking the same low-quality questions over and over again, and were thus invariably deleted. These offending subjects were so consistent that the brothers had even considered making a meta email where Strong Bad would address the topic.[14][25] Such topics included:
  • Emails typically are presented on the site with all-lowercase titles, and use the URL format number-name (for instance, homestarrunner.com/sbemails/186-environment)
  • Email #22, sb_email 22, was actually made between emails 40 and 41. This number was originally skipped as the 23rd email followed the 21st, with the 22nd later made and released under the title "the lost email".
    • It is unknown if there was any intent behind this irregular order or if it was the result of a numbering error.
  • During active periods of updates, an extended delay between emails would occasionally be acknowledged at the start of the new email — as seen in army, geddup noise, redesign, hremail 3184, and sbemail 206.
  • Although viewers were originally prompted to email Strong Bad at strongbad@homestarrunner.com, as of sbemail 206 the CGI Paper has directed viewers to "email" by tweeting @StrongBadActual.
  • Email #208, the next april fools thing, was originally hidden inside a holiday toon, and wasn't listed on the Strong Bad Email menu until the post-Flash site update on December 31, 2020.

[edit] Statistics

See main article: Strong Bad Email Statistics
The runtime of sbemails slowly increased over time, with a runtime of 3–5 minutes becoming the standard by the late Compy era.
  • Not including Not Quite Strong Bad Emails, Strong Bad has checked 238 emails as of parenting.
  • As of parenting, it would take 10 hours, 7 minutes, and 19 seconds to watch every Strong Bad Email, including the DVD exclusives but excluding clickable Easter eggs. Including clickable Easter eggs, it would take 11 hours, 33 minutes, and 3 seconds.
  • As of September 2022, Strong Bad Emails make up about 43% of the toons on the site by volume; as of May 2021, they make up about 26% of toons on the site by runtime.

[edit] Remarks

[edit] References

  1. ^ Coyle, Michael. "The Creators of Homestar Runner, The Brothers Chapman". ResExcellence. January 2003.
  2. ^ Carriveau, Derrek. "Legion Interviews Mike Chapman of Homestarrunner.com". Legion Studios. 2002.
  3. ^ Stephan. "Interview: Mike Chapman from homestar runner". wtf i'm l33t. Summer 2001.
  4. ^ some kinda robot (DVD commentary); @StrongBadActual tweet (16 Apr 2020)
  5. ^ Allin, Jack. "Strong Bad's the Brothers Chaps". Adventure Gamers. 12 Dec 2008.
  6. ^ Carlson, Jay. "The Inkhole Exclusive Interview with Homestar Runner Co-Creator Matt Chapman". The Inkhole. July 2004.
  7. ^ Neutron, C. "Interview with Mike and Matt Chapman, creators of Homestarrunner.com". Run Devil Run, 2003.
  8. ^ Chapman, Mike and Matt Chapman. "How and Why Homestar Runner Cartoons Get Made". Flashforward 2006 Seattle conference, 28 Feb 2006, Seattle. Lecture.
  9. ^ Scott, Kevin. "The Homestar Runner Interview". UMFM, 20 May 2003.
  10. ^ halloweener (DVD commentary)
  11. ^ Rubin, Jeff. "Homestar Runner's Matt Chapman". The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show, episode 123. 7 July 2014.
  12. ^ Chinsang, Wayne. "Homestar Runner's The Brothers Chaps". Tastes Like Chicken. June 2003.
  13. ^ Aucoin, Don. "Looking at a Thing in a Bag". The Boston Globe. 9 August 2003.
  14. ^ Dan. "Matt Chapman Interview". Club Aquatica. 29 October 2003.
  1. ^ Hirsch, Deborah. "Tooned In". The Orlando Sentinel. 22 July 2003.
  2. ^ Carriveau, Derrek. "Legion Interviews Matt Chapman of Homestarrunner.com". Legion Studios. 2002.
  3. ^ Raugust, Karen. "Catching Up with Homestar Runner". Animation World Network. 14 May 2009.
  4. ^ Simpson, Aaron. "Homestar's Show Runners, Part 2". Cold, Hard Flash. 4 October 2006.
  5. ^ Ashby, Alicia. "One year of WiiWare: Matt and Mike Chapman on Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People". OMG Nintendo. 12 May 2009.
  6. ^ Henning, Jesse. "Hands-On: Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People". GameCyte. 16 May 2008.
  7. ^ Montgomery, James. "Homestar Runner Returns! Inside a Cult Classic's Comeback". Rolling Stone. 3 Oct 2014.
  8. ^ Homestar Runner. "Backer Submitted Strong Bad Email!". Trogdor!! The Board Game (Kickstarter). 1 April 2022.
  9. ^ Goldstein, Ben. "Mike Chapman: Homestarrunner Co–creator" & "Matt Chapman: Homestarrunner Co-creator". Giant Magazine. 2005.
  10. ^ Edathil, JG. "The Brothers Chaps What Made The Homestar Runner". Late Nite JengaJam, episode 45. 4 Oct 2007
  11. ^ Chapman, Mike and Matt Chapman. "Homestar Runner Comes to the GT Library!" Georgia Institute of Technology Multimedia Studio, 26 Apr 2007, Atlanta. Lecture.
  12. ^ BLINK. "My Interview With The Brothers Chaps!". homestarrunner.net. 21 May 2003.
  13. ^  Ydstie, John. "Strong Bad Walks in Footsteps of Darth, Lex, J.R.". NPR, "All Things Considered". 8 May 2005.

[edit] External Links

[edit] See Also

Strong Bad Email Info
Site Components Menu (Scroll Button Songs), Irregular Back Links, Irregular URLs, Page Titles, Descriptions, Podstar Runner
Emails by Title, Length, Intros (DVD, Part 1; Part 2), Subject, Greeting, Closing, Sender, Place, Outros, Release Dates
Running Gags Intros Relevant to the Email, Crapfully Yours, Until Next Time..., DELETED, Draw Trogdor Again, How do you type with boxing gloves on?
Spin-offs, Emails Edited by Strong Bad, Emails Taken in a Different Direction
Abdi LaRue, Ali and Ali's Sister, Bogus Mathematical Theorems, DNA Evidence, Edgar, Tape-leg
Email Number References, Acknowledged Update Delays
Background Emails, Nonexistent Emails
Technology Strong Bad's Computers (Malfunctioning, Surpassing Their Assumed Capabilities, Relationships, Stylized Text), Papers (Preeeeow), Floppy Disk Container
Analysis Statistics, Emails That Meet Strong Bad's Approval, Poorly Written Emails


Strong Bad Email
Info Email Titles | Sender's Name | Sender's Location | Email Lengths | Email Greetings | Email Closings | Email Release Dates | Email Intros | Email Outros | Page Titles | Statistics | Menu | Scroll Button Songs | Computers | Floppy Disk Container | Subjects | Spin-offs | Irregular Back Links | Poorly Written Emails | Emails That Meet Strong Bad's Approval | Emails Taken in a Different Direction
Tandy 400 some kinda robot | homsar | butt IQ | homestar hair | making out | depressio | halloweener | brianrietta | i love you | trevor the vampire | i rule | credit card | i she be | duck pond | the basics | band names | studying | stand-up | tape-leg | spring cleaning | cartoon | sb_email 22 | little animal | the bird | super powers | CGNU | 3 wishes | 1 step ahead | superhero name | 12:00 | sugarbob | flag day | gimmicks | weird dream | sisters | guitar | dullard | helium | property of ones | vacation
Compy 386 invisibility | action figure | little questions | lures & jigs | techno | your friends | new hands | ghosts | theme party | 50 emails | website | island | comic | morning routine | cheat talk | current status | japanese cartoon | dragon | marzipan | huttah! | monster truck | interview | fingers | english paper | unused emails | the show | autobiography | caper | personal favorites | big white face | 2 emails | crazy cartoon | mascot | privileges | funny | sibbie | suntan | anything | the process | stunt double | date | impression | labor day | kids' book | 2 years | no loafing | mile | couch patch | local news | colonization | caffeine | kind of cool | army | video games | the bet | lackey | monument | stupid stuff | different town | flashback | car | lunch special | haircut | theme park | replacement | dangeresque 3 | cheatday | pom pom | crying | for kids | other days | old comics | pizzaz | the facts | time capsule | extra plug | montage | virus
Lappy 486 animal | radio | part-time job | dreamail | origins | secret recipes | rock opera | best thing | long pants | rampage | garage sale | do over | boring (really) | modeling | bottom 10 | record book | lady...ing | geddup noise | bedtime story | space program | portrait | high school | death metal | secret identity | technology | narrator | myths & legends | pop-up | lady fan | disconnected | candy product | alternate universe | senior prom | isp | redesign | keep cool | theme song | road trip | trading cards | cliffhangers | retirement | coloring | 4 branches | the chair | what i want | looking old | strong badathlon | unnatural | the movies | your funeral | from work | rough copy | underlings | more armies | the paper | mini-golf | concert | hygiene | original | bike thief | pizza joint | slumber party | web comics | business trip | yes, wrestling | diorama | nightlife | environment | winter pool | fan club | pet show | licensed | buried | shapeshifter | rated | specially marked | love poems | hiding | your edge | magic trick | being mean | email thunder | hremail 3184
Corpy NT6 imaginary
Compé independent | dictionary | videography
Lappier sbemail 206 | too cool | the next april fools thing | parenting
Bonus Greeting Cards | E-mail Birds | Videro Games | Family Resemblence | Real-Live E-Mails | Accent | Comic Book Movie


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Holidays

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