| Author: | Alec Robbins |
| Status: | Concluded on January 1st, 2021 |
| Url: | https://mrboop.net/ |
| Followed By: | Crime Hot |
| Began: | February 28, 2020 |
| Preceded By: | Show Me Less Like This |
Mr. Boop was a satirical webcomic created by Alec Robbins about him being married to Betty Boop. The comic launched on February 28, 2020.[1] The comic comprises four "books" made up of 217 strips.[2]
Alec enjoyed the notion that a character designed as a sex symbol was now mostly remembered by grandmothers.
Robbins' comedic style was influenced by a company he works for, Abso Lutely Productions, especially Jon Benjamin Has a Van, The Birthday Boys & Nathan for You.[3]
Book III features a meta-narrative about Betty Boop's father breaking up the marriage between Alec and Betty as it breaches copyright law. The arc was fuelled by a "scare" Robbins had with copyright violation combined with a want to shift gears into other topics.
Book III concluded with a series of two short videos, featuring appearances from Tim Robinson, Mara Wilson and Justin McElroy.[4]
Book IV contains horror elements. Robbins had his reservations about the ending, unsure if he was sending out the right message. He noted that he didn't want the message to be that "it's bad to fall into fantasy worlds and enjoy them."
The physical releases of Book I, II, and III featured guest strips drawn by other artists, notably Kate Leth, Ryan North, Julia Kaye, and Night in the Woods creator Scott Benson.[5]
Mr. Boop was shortlisted for Heidi MacDonald's 2021 Cartoonists Studio Prize,[6] and was nominated for an Ignatz Award.[7] Zachary Jenkins of ComicsXF said "Until the team behind Sonic understands our dark desires, we will have to fulfill our needs with underground art like Mr. Boop."[8] In 2022, Silver Sprocket released a hardcover collection of the entirety of Mr. Boop, which won the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Collection later that year.[9] [10]
The Verge called it "a hilarious, sometimes existentially troubling interrogation of what’s fascinating about fandoms and dumb about copyright law" and "a note-perfect satire of a very specific time on the internet".[11]