Chicken Wings (comic)
Encyclopedia
Chicken Wings is an aviation
related comic series that is published as a webcomic
as well as a regular comic strip
in various aviation magazines around the world. It was created by the two brothers Michael Strasser and Stefan Strasser in late 2001 and was first published 2003 in Germany
based magazine Aeromarkt with many other magazines to follow. Since 2004 a weekly strip is being published regularly on their website.
The comic is especially popular among people who have some relation with or affinity to this particular industry, from pilot
s over airline personnel to modelers or flight simmers. As the artists try to appeal to this niche market of aviation fans, a few of the jokes are hard to understand or simply not funny for outsiders.
. His brother Stefan Strasser is a cartoonist and illustrator who lives behind a drawing table in Vienna
. Together they combine the background knowledge and artistic skills needed for this project.
lers because of his one-of-a-kind sense of direction and knowledge of radio procedures. Chuck likes to think of himself as a womanizer, or rather a "chickenizer", but usually ends up alone due to his mouth and his inability to think before he speaks (or, as other cases prove, inability to think at all).
who can fix everything from a helicopter
turbine engine
to Sally's coffee machine. He doesn't talk too much and doesn't really like pilots a lot. They tend to break "his" planes and never treat them the way he would like. His nickname is "Sparks", which seems to have originated from an unlucky hand with electricity, so he's not very proud of it.
next door. He is a duck from the south and pretty much Julios only shoulder to lean and cry on when it comes to mechanical questions.
Chicken Wings strips and cartoons are published regularly in the following magazines: Trade-A-Plane (USA), EAA Sport Aviation Magazine (USA), Americas Flyways (USA), Atlantic Flyer (USA), Pilot Magazine (UK), Siivet (Finland), Flynytt (Norway), Take-Off (Portugal), Aeromarkt (Germany), Fliegermagazin (Germany) and JP4 (Italy).
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
related comic series that is published as a webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
as well as a regular comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
in various aviation magazines around the world. It was created by the two brothers Michael Strasser and Stefan Strasser in late 2001 and was first published 2003 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
based magazine Aeromarkt with many other magazines to follow. Since 2004 a weekly strip is being published regularly on their website.
The comic is especially popular among people who have some relation with or affinity to this particular industry, from pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
s over airline personnel to modelers or flight simmers. As the artists try to appeal to this niche market of aviation fans, a few of the jokes are hard to understand or simply not funny for outsiders.
The creators
Michael Strasser is a helicopter pilot and flight instructor who lives and works in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. His brother Stefan Strasser is a cartoonist and illustrator who lives behind a drawing table in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Together they combine the background knowledge and artistic skills needed for this project.
Characters
Many characters are based on one or more real life persons. E.g. "Captain Ed" is based on the airline captain/author Ed Owen (Your Captain Speaking) and the name "Chuck" was inspired by Chuck Aaron, currently the only helicopter aerobatics pilot in the USA.Chuck
Chuck is the pilot of "Roost Air" and features all the stereotypical characteristics that are associated with pilots: He always wears big and expensive sunglasses and a big and expensive watch. He is known and feared by air traffic controlAir traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
lers because of his one-of-a-kind sense of direction and knowledge of radio procedures. Chuck likes to think of himself as a womanizer, or rather a "chickenizer", but usually ends up alone due to his mouth and his inability to think before he speaks (or, as other cases prove, inability to think at all).
Julio
Julio is the typical aircraft mechanicAircraft Maintenance Technician
Aircraft maintenance technician, as used in the United States, refers to an individual who holds a mechanic certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration; the rules for certification, and for certificate-holders, are detailed in Subpart D of Part 65 of the Federal Aviation Regulations ,...
who can fix everything from a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
turbine engine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
to Sally's coffee machine. He doesn't talk too much and doesn't really like pilots a lot. They tend to break "his" planes and never treat them the way he would like. His nickname is "Sparks", which seems to have originated from an unlucky hand with electricity, so he's not very proud of it.
Sally
Sally is the flight dispatcher and secretary of "Roost Air". She's a very nice and good looking girl (at least for a chicken) and can make a killer coffee that can keep pilots awake for two nights in a row. Sally is always motivated and in high spirits, but unfortunately, aviation seems to be sort of a foreign language to her.Hans
Hans is the boss of "Roost Air" who has inherited the company from his uncle and used to run yogurt factory before. But in his opinion "there can't be that much difference between yogurt and airplanes", so his resourceful management strategies turn out to be the main cause of things going wrong and turning complicated in the company. He has a slight German accent which he can't alwaysJason
Jason is Chuck’s flight student. He is very interested in everything related to aviation and has serious difficulties to hold his curiosity in check. While Sally and Hans love him, because he owns a chocolate factory, and Chuck can usually endure Jasons inquisitive manner, he often drives Julio crazy with his drumfire of questions.Captain Ed
Captain Ed is Chuck’s uncle and also a pilot. But that’s where the similarities end. He works as a captain for a major airline but is often burdened with straightening out the mess at Roost Air, trying to keep his nephew on the right track. Unlike Chuck he is known for his experience and his calm and positive manner.Ray
Ray is the mechanic from the FBOFixed base operator
A Fixed-base operator or commonly abbreviated FBO is a term developed in the United States after the passage of the Air Commerce Act of 1926...
next door. He is a duck from the south and pretty much Julios only shoulder to lean and cry on when it comes to mechanical questions.
Nobu
Nobu is the pilot from the FBO next door. He is Japanese but has been living in the United States long enough to really master the language and to get used to a Roost-Air style of corporate culture. His full name is Nobutada Yakitori, but since nobody can pronounce it right, they call him Nobu.Chicken Wings in print
So far the Strasser brothers published two books with their collected material. The first book was first published by Infinity Publishing. Later on the brothers decided to re-print and publish it by themselves, successfully selling it through pilot shops around the world and through their own webshop. Chicken Wings – The First Book (ISBN 1-59975-787-7) and Chicken Wings 2 – Full Throttle (ISBN 1-4243-1029-6).Chicken Wings strips and cartoons are published regularly in the following magazines: Trade-A-Plane (USA), EAA Sport Aviation Magazine (USA), Americas Flyways (USA), Atlantic Flyer (USA), Pilot Magazine (UK), Siivet (Finland), Flynytt (Norway), Take-Off (Portugal), Aeromarkt (Germany), Fliegermagazin (Germany) and JP4 (Italy).