Four Fan Arts Entry

Characters in this #FourFanArts Challenge Entry: AOL Instant Messenger Running Man, The Peanut Butter Jelly Time Dancing Banana, Jennifer (Hebereke), Star Pixie (MapleStory).

You have heard about the #SixFanArts Challenge. But what about the lite variants such as the #ThreeFanArts Challenge and the #FourFanArts Challenge? Well, this comic is taking on the #FourFanArts Challenge.

Do you remember the time when AOL Instant Messenger once ruled the messaging scene? Its mascot, a yellow Running Man, became an iconic figure because he was everywhere—on the login screen, in the ads and even on AOL CDs that flooded mailboxes in the late 1990s.

The Dancing Banana needs no introduction whatsoever. Created by Trym Stene in 1999, the Dancing Banana GIF only soared in popularity when it got combined with the song "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" by DJ Chip-Man and The Buckwheat Boyz in the early 2000s. And yes, there is a lot of fan art of this Dancing Banana on the Internet.

You may have heard about Hebereke, but what about the titular character's other friends? Jennifer the green anglerfish deserves some love too since he's the 4th member of the main cast and is able to walk underwater.

While MapleStory fans often like to talk about the Orange Mushrooms, the Slimes, and several major bosses such as Pink Bean and Zakum, the Star Pixie, however, gets very little attention from Nexon and MapleStory fans. It may have been featured in a few official MapleStory wallpapers, but it rarely got the spotlight from Nexon. So much for being overshadowed by multiple different characters.

Australia at 125

Fun Fact: The tanks that are talking about how much they miss the Australia of 2001 in this comic are tanks that served in the Australian Army. The tank on the left is an M1 Abrams, and the tank on the right is a Leopard AS1. Both tanks have a fan-made roundel specially made for this comic featuring a seven-pointed star one can find on the Australian flag.

It's sad to think about it, but the Australia of today is a far cry from the Australia of 2001. Back in those days, Holden was still around and it was manufacturing great cars such as the Holden Commodore. The early days of 2001 were also a much simpler time for Australian netizens back when they only had GeoCities and AOL Instant Messenger, and draconian internet regulations were non-existent. Today, the demise of Holden in 2021 is starting to become a forgotten memory, especially when Australia is now struggling to rein in violent crimes, cyberbullying and cyberterrorism through enforcing draconian regulations that are ironically doing more harm than good. In other words, Australia has become a prison like it's 1788 all over again, and it's all because Australians under 16 are prohibited from using social media, and don't even get started on the Bondi Beach Hanukkah Massacre...

To my Australian fans, Happy Australia Day.

Positive Wishes for the Future

The AOL Instant Messenger Running Man finally makes his debut in Neo Retro Union along with the Lemming from Exient's version of Lemmings.

With 2025 drawing to a close, we all wish for 2026 to be an Annus Mirabilis. Unfortunately, this may not be possible. However, this cruel Age will finally end, and the wishes of the AOL Instant Messenger Running Man, the Lemming and Pac-Man will finally come true because there will be no such thing as a Splinternet (A Balkanized version of the World Wide Web), stupidity will no longer exist, which will make Dietrich Bonhoeffer happy since he claimed that stupidity is a far greater threat than malice, and the flavours of the fruits that we eat will be drastically improved as a result of agricultural authorities going back to Nature's Laws of soil enrichment. All of these positive wishes will finally come true when the Demon King is finally kicked off his throne forever and locked up in the Bottomless Pit for 1000 years.