TITLE The Bastich By Hart
PANEL 1 (FAITH walks up to BASTICH as he reads a comic book.) FAITH: Hey, Stich... Do you mind if some of my friends come over to watch "The X-Files" tonight? BASTICH: No problem. Bring 'em on!
PANEL 2 (A bald guy with a soul patch waves at BASTICH.) GUEST 1: Hiya, Bastich! BASTICH: Wow, Faith, I'm impressed. These folks are nothing like the drooling zombie fanboys one usually associates with Sci- Fi Shows... FAITH: Shh - it's starting...
PANEL 3 (BASTICH, FAITH and three guests sit on the couch under the glow of the TV as dialog is heard.) MULDER: Look, Scully, this is obviously an alien tracking device. SCULLY: That's a Glade Plug-in, Mulder. MULDER: What about this? SCULLY: No, that's a Thumb-tack. Now you're doing it on purpose!
PANEL 4 (BASTICH gives a thumbs up.) CAPTION: 1 hour later... BASTICH: Now THAT was an excellent episode... So, what did y'all think of "Dark Skies" last night?
PANEL 5 (The three guests suddenly freak out, now with fangs and spiraling eyes.) GUEST 2: DARK SKIES?! You DARE evoke the name of the PRETENDER?!
PANEL 6 (BASTICH and FAITH hide behind an overturned table while their guests tear up the place.) BASTICH: Nice FRIENDS you have here, Faith! FAITH: Just BITE me, 'Stich!
CREDITS Bastich (c) 1996 Joshua Adam Hart All right reserved (so play nice!)
Commentary
Let's pick on some more nerds! Let's just say Bastich comes up short when it comes to self-awareness.
Dark Skies was a short-lived 1996 TV series that tried to capture some of the paranormal-obsessed audience that belonged to The X-Files. There's also a sneaky jab at The Pretender, which had a similar vibe and had much better staying power at 4 seasons.
The back-and-forth between Scully and Mulder in Panel 3 was indicative of the earlier seasons of X-Files. I'm more of a Scully-type in real life, preferring mundane explanations over invoking the supernatural, but her skepticism became downright silly as it became more clear that paranormal stuff was real in her universe.