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the growth of Trudy? Can her growth be attributed to real life?

J: Very early in the comic's history, I had a few people complain that Trudy was extremely one-dimensional as a character. I tried to explain then that Trudy was actually extremely complex, but hid most of that depth under many layers of conflicting emotions and facades. It would take time to reveal everything about her, which of course had to be fit into the puzzle with other aspects of the strip's continuity. I begged people to remain patient, and it was only after "Surreptitious Machinations" that we began to peel back the layers to see the disturbed, frightened woman underneath.

I can't say Trudy's growth draws from real world experience. I'm afraid that I don't know many failed evil despots, deposed and rejected by the one person they loved, only to find unlikely redemption and an extremely unlikely second chance at life. That said, I do know of anecdotal evidence of others who have lived lives of questionable morality only to reach rock bottom and find salvation of sorts, as well as a new lease on life. Just like the "Star Wars" saga can be summarized as the rise, fall, and redemption of Darth Vader, so too can GPF be said to be loosely about Trudy's undulations of character. Only time will tell whether or not she will blow this second chance she's been given, and if so, what the consequences will be.

A: How did you come up with C.R.U.D.E. and the other special forces involved in the GPF?

J: C.R.U.D.E. was created specifically to serve the needs of "Surreptitious Machinations". I wanted to provide a plausible, if silly and unlikely, way for a crafty marketing director (Trudy) with few resources to eventually take over the world and fulfill her role as the Empress. C.R.U.D.E. came about as a way to consolidate that mission, since the organization's goal was to conquer the world as a united group and then let the megalomaniacs sort things out for themselves later. It's also a bit of a parody of various super-villain groups in other media; they all go into this knowing they will eventually duke it out for supreme power after the world is theirs, whereas many other evil alliances involve hidden backstabbing that everyone except the audience hasn't seen well in advance.

As for the Undisclosed Government Agency (U.G.A.), Fooker's spy employer, that was made up on the fly as part of the back story of "Secret Agent Geek", the story where we learn of Fooker's covert activities. I thought it would be funny

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