Americanisms in the Comic Book
Emily the Strange: "The Lost Issue"
Sanna Sillanmäki, 2007
FAST-US-1 (TRENPK2) Introduction to American English (Hopkins)
The FAST Area Studies Program
Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere

"Emily the Strange" is a fictional comic book character created by Rob Reger. Emily the Strange's story first started as bumper stickers and t-shirts (What is). Quickly these products reached the public eye and now Emily the Strange products and comic books are widely popular, especially in the United States. There are also Emily the Strange products on sale in Finland. Several of these have been translated into Finnish.

"The Lost Issue" is the second in the series of Emily the Strange fantasy/horror comic books, written by Jessica Gruner, Rog Reger, Buffy Visick and Brian Brooks. The illustration is by Buzz Parker. The Lost Issue was published on December 14th, 2005 (Emily). The publisher is Dark Horse Comics, Inc. The comic book was printed in the U.S. (Gruner et al.).

The Lost Issue consists of seven stories: Lost-in-a-Vision, Lostco, Lost City, Lost in Space, Scarytale Theater, Lost in the Woods and Lost My Mind. There are also three short "stories" called Lost & Found, The Lost Art of... and Beauty is Lost (Gruner et al.).

When I was reading the comic book for the first time I was really puzzled. I had never read anything similar. But after having gotten used to the strangeness of Emily I got the hang of it. Even the creator, Rob Reger, admits that Emily the Strange is not for everybody. He also says that he could not have predicted Emily's success and popularity, especially since the concept of the comic runs counter to popular taste; Emily does things that other people would never do (Life).

About Emily

Nobody knows much about the comic book's main character except that she is a strong character who believes is herself and who has integrity (Life). Emily is a thirteen-year-old girl with long black hair. She is famous for her black outfit and pale skin. She has four black cats that follow her everywhere she goes. She is the antihero for the "Do it Yourself" movement. Her favorite expression is "Get Lost" (Who).

Emily's Four Cats

  1. Mystery: Mystery is the leader and therefore closest to Emily. She is an old-school cat. She was born on the 13th of May, but no one knows which year. Her most distinguishing feature is a star-shaped eye and a star in her collar (Mystery).

  2. Miles: Miles is a genius. He was born on the 13th of April under a full moon. He is famous for being the fastest cat in town. He has lost his right eye in a fight and has an X replacing it (Miles).

  3. Sabbath: Unlike Mystery, Sabbath is the new school kitty. He was born on the third of December and is the youngest one of the pack. His favorite word is "dude". Sabbath is good at finding trouble and in order to prove that he has battle scar in his right ear (Sabbath).

  4. Nee Chee: Nee Chee is the pack's thinker and schemer. He was born on the 25th of August. He is a nihilist and rarely looks anyone in the eyes. He is a talented lock picker due to his six-toed paws. Nee Chee is the only one who is not completely black: the end of his tail has white stripes (Nee Chee).

References to American Culture in Emily the Strange

The comic book is full of references to American culture, as well as other national cultures. There are references for example to people, movies and literature. There are many references to British culture as well, for example to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Sir Francis Bacon and Led Zeppelin. There are also references to well-known fairy tales, for example to Hansel and Gretel and Snow White.
  • The Wonderful Blizzard of Ozz. Ozzy Osbourne's album that was released in 1980 in England and 1981 in the United States. Although born in England Osbourne nowadays lives in the United States (Ozzy). Osbourne was referenced as follows:

      "I am Ozzy the Great and Terrible... and I can't find the f**k!ing remote!"
      "Sharon!"
      "You're no wizard but you are The Prince of Darkness."

  • John Cage. An American composer born in Los Angeles on the 5th of September 1912. He died in New York on the 12th of August 1992. He was also a writer and a philosopher and had a great influence on the musical world (Kozinn).

  • Prince. An American musician who was born in Minneapolis on the 7th of June 1958 as "Prince Rogers Nelson". (Prince).

  • Metallica (an American heavy rock band)

  • Black Flag (an American punk band)

  • Oddisee (a half-Sudanese half-African-American rap artist and record producer (Biography)

  • In the "The Lost Art of..." Emily presents thirteen lost arts. The 11th one is drawing straws. There one of the cats says: "You got the Creech." The Creech is a comic book series created by an American author Greg Capullo (Creech).

  • The Wizard of Oz. A classic American fairy tale; one of the most-read children's books. There have been many sequels, movies and television shows based on the book (Wizard).

  • "Leggo my ego!". The original expression is "Leggo my Eggo," which originated from an ad campaign for Eggo brand waffles. In each commercial "character A" would attempt to steal "character B's" Eggo brand waffles, forcing character B to yell out "Leggo my Eggo" to express his disdain at character A's lack of respect and rude actions (Jerry). The expression can be used when someone attempts to take anything of personal importance from you, but will rarely succeed in helping you retrieve your possession (Jerry).

  • The Lost City. An American movie from 2005 directed by Andy Garcia. (Lost).

  • Land of the Lost. Aelevision show by Sid and Marty Krofft. The show aired from September 1974 to December 1976 (Land).

  • Lost in Space. A 1960's science fiction/drama television show (Lost in).

American English Vocabulary in Emily the Strange

  • Lost & Found (SBE: Lost property)

  • "I've lost my wallet, cell phone and keys!" (SBE: mobile or mobile phone)

  • "...and you'll need a cart!" (SBE: shopping trolley)

  • "Gas powered carpet fluffers" (SBE: petrol)

  • "Reusable diapers." (SBE: nappies)

  • "Candied arugula." (SBE: rocket)

  • "I saved $1.42!", "So that'll be $66.99."
    Dollar is the unit of currency used in the United States.

  • "Jeez, I need to chill out!"
    Jeez is an interjection that is mainly used in American English. It is used when one is very surprised or angry about something (MacMillan 768).

  • "That's it, I'm outta this place."
    Outta is colloquial language and means out of.

  • "Wicked! Someone lost their treasure map!"
    Wicked is an informal way of saying something is really good.

  • "I predict that tonight I'm gonna sail around the multiverse in my solar sailer with 40 of my closest friends."
    Gonna is colloquial language and means going to.

  • "We gotta go!"
    Gotta is colloquial language and means got to.

  • "No thanks, I've got my Mary Janes."
    "Mary Janes" are women's strapped shoes.

  • "You're a lost cause, kid."
    Kid is an informal way of referring to a child.

  • "Yikes!"
    Yikes is an interjection that is used to express slight fear.

  • "You can call me Auntie Emily."
    Auntie is an informal way of referring to an Aunt.

  • "You guys suck!"
    The word suck is mainly used in American English and it means that something or someone is bad or annoying (MacMillan 1435).

  • "Ma'am? I lost my mommy and my puppy and my blanky!"
    Ma'am: An American expression used for talking politely to a woman whose name one does not know (MacMillan 858).
    Mommy: American English informal way of referring to mother (MacMillan 917).
    Blanky: Informal way of referring to a blanket.

  • "Fargin' outdated maps!"
    Fargin' is a mis-pronounced version of "fucking", from the movie Johnny Dangerously (Bredos). Johnny Dangerously is an American comedy directed by Amy Heckerling (Johnny).

American English Spellings in Emily the Strange

  • "Frozen tires" (SBE: tyres)
  • "Black licorice" (SBE: liquorice)
  • "That's the color you should wear today." (SBE: colour)
  • "Get lost in your favorite movie with a push of the button!" (SBE: favourite)

American English Colloquial Phrases in Emily the Strange

  • "Lost marbles, got enough."
    If someone has lost their marbles, it means that they have gone mad.
  • "Cat got your tongue?"
    This phrase is used when someone is not speaking even if they are expected to be.

Works Cited:


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Last Updated 22 November 2010