Gold Digger

Gold Digger is published by Antarctic Press. The Current price per issue is $2.99

Last Issue

 * Gold Digger vol. 3 #66: 24 Aug 2005

Current Issue

 * Gold Digger vol. 3 #67: 21 Sep 2005

Next Issue

 * Gold Digger vol. 3 #68: Oct 2005

Status
Monthly on-going.

Main Characters

 * Gina Babette Diggers - Oldest of the Diggers sisters. A world-class archaeologist/adventurer and inventor.


 * Brittany Elin "Cheetah" Diggers - Adopted sister of Gina. The last surviving werecheetah. Aggressive and fun-loving. Married to Stryyp'Gia. Mother of Tifanny 'Gia.


 * Brianna Diggers - Created by Gina as a genetic cross between herself and Brittany; treated by Gina & Brittany as their younger sister. Combines Gina's love of technology and Brittany's love of aggression into a love of aggressive technology. Brianna came into being when Gina and Brit came home from one of their earliest expeditions, the fresh recipients of a curse of exponentially increasing bad luck. Gina created a biomass bearing hers and Brit's genetic signatures, hoping to trick the curse into focusing on it instead of them. It worked too well- the curse magically animated the biomass, turning it into "Grave Digger", a being with most of Gina's brains, most of Brit's strength and speed, and an unholy desire to destroy both of them. Gina managed to fend off Grave Digger's attacks until Theodore could cast a Remove Curse on the being, which rendered it no longer evil, but still alive. Brianna has always had identity issues, she was "born" with both Gina and Brit's memories, and has had a constant struggle to form her own identity. She eventually succeeded, after a magical mishap caused the Grave Digger persona to split off from her and she defeated it, coming to terms with her own insecurities. Brianna is a unique construct being, and there may be much more to her than meets the eye, if several clues dropped by Fred are any indication. Her ethereal form reveals strong untapped magical potential, and she has shapeshifted into an unknown form at least once. In once instance, she forgot to load her weapons, yet they still fired- somehow she unwittingly manifested magical ammunition. As one of the most complex and interesting characters in the GD-verse, she certainly bears watching.

Allies

 * Stryyp'Gia (aka Stripe) - Former ruler of the Kryn, a race of humanoids who once dwelled in El Dorado, whose origins lie far across the galaxy on the planet of gold, Aebra. Married to Brittany Diggers. Father of Tifanny 'Gia.


 * Dr. Theodore Diggers - Earth's most powerful aura mage. Husband to Julia (Brigand) Diggers. Father of Gina, adoptive father of Brittany and Brianna.


 * Julia (Brigand) Diggers - Armsmaster from the otherdimensional world of Jade. Wife to Theodore. Mother of Gina. Adoptive mother of Brittany and Brianna. Two-time Arms-Master of Jade, and one of "the Ten" Weapons-Masters of Jade. Julia is the only acknowledged Master of the Shun-Leep martial arts style aside from Master Leep himself. She is also Champion of the Barbarian Clans, a title she had to defeat her mother Brunhilda in single combat for.


 * Penny "Pincher" Pincer - Gina's former arch-rival in the archaeological adventurer world, they are now allies yet still very competitive. One of the few African American characters in GD. She and Gina are pretty equal in brains and talent, with each of them having a few specialties the other doesn't. They make a far more effective team than they did rivals, able to fill in the narrow cracks in each others' expertise to solve mysteries that might have taken one or the other of them far longer to unravel alone.


 * Gennadrid - Genn is a Rakshasa, a long lived race of magical shapeshifters. Normal form is androgynous, but can assume male or female form "depending on who's buying dinner". Can change into the form and mimic the abilities of anyone nearby, or of anyone in the memories of anyone nearby. Provides nearby allies with telepathic language translation. An auravore, Genn feeds off other beings' etheric energy. Rakshasa are somehow related to the ancient Djinn race. Genn's mother is Madrid, one of the five remaining Djinni in existence.


 * Ancient Gina - A version of Gina from an alternate future who has mastered magic in addition to science. Is able to operate outside of normal space/time. As the larger story arc of the GD-verse unfolds, and the disparate plot threads start to weave together, it looks more and more like Ancient Gina is not only one of the enigmatic Nomad Artificiers, a lost race from the universe before our own, but that she is somehow pulling the strings on all the other characters in order to prevent an ultimate catastrophe that threatens existence as we know it.


 * Ryan Tabbot - A fellow explorer and treasure hunter (and sometime boyfriend of Gina), Ryan is a computer whiz and excellent martial artist. Although not as good a fighter as, well, most of the other martial artists in the GD universe, he does have the special talent of "photographic reflexes", allowing him to mimic perfectly any martial arts technique he sees performed. This ability often allows him to best more skilled opponents. In an earlier adventure, Ryan fought a ninja named Galford (who later became known as Daishi) who used chi attacks. Ryan could mimic his motions, but his chi was not sufficiently developed to actually use the techniques. Frustrated, Ryan dedicated himself to learning to manipulate his chi, and has since taught himself techniques similar to the ones Galford used against him. However, his unique abilities allowed him to master the technical aspects of a limited range of chi-manipulation without really knowing what he was doing, so his mastery of the art is spotty and untutored.


 * Kevin "Ace" Koss - Ace is Penny's boyfriend (although she might say fiance). He is a third generation pilot and one of the most talented natural fliers in the world. If it flies, he can pilot it, and probably pull off maneuvers that would make astronauts lose their cookies. He transports Gina and company to most of their destinations, and ends up having to outwit pursuers almost every time. Fortunately there's nobody better at it than him... or is there?


 * Charlotte - Penny's friend and bodyguard, serving a similar function as Brittany does with Gina. Charlotte is a bio-construct in the form of a harpy, created by Dr. Peachbody as a weapon. When his psionic link with her was severed, she was rendered inert, without any identity or motives of her own. Penny managed to befriend her, and although she's very naive and insatiably curious (she's only 2 years old, after all), her loyalty to her friends and plain common sense are unquestionable. Charlotte is generally shy and would rather be nice than fight, but Brittany has been giving her fighting lessons, and she has shown dramatic improvement in self-confidence and bodyguarding abilities.


 * Tarkanian and Meshala - Tark and Mesha are Grey Elves, former slaves of Dreadwing the dragon. Brit and Gina freed them when they defeated Dreadwing, and they became paranormal research assistants in Gina's lab. They use aura magic, and although not as powerful as Dr. Diggers, they have been fighting side by side so long that they make an exceptionally effective team. Grey Elves mate for life, which in their case is several milennia.

Enemies

 * The Lich King - The undead form of the late Jonathan Leonard Diggers, grandfather of the Diggers sisters. A magical experiment gone awry transformed him into a force of unmitigated evil. His schemes to claim first Gina, then later Tiffany, as a new vessel for his waning powers, has caused immeasurable trouble for the Diggers family. Recently, those very same schemes were turned around on him, and the transformation that changed him into the Lich King was reversed, releasing his soul (a la Anakin Skywalker) and restoring his love for his family. His last act as a spirit was to warn Brunhildagarde Brigand that she would be needed to keep the rest of the family from utter defeat.


 * The Dynasty - An ancient family of incredibly powerful beings that traverse the galaxy in their fortress-ship, enslaving planets and draining them of life force. They were once Gardeners, galactic caretakers who nurtured all life, but Rio, the patriarch of the Dynasty became corrupt and led his family to slay the other Gardeners and turn down the path of evil.


 * Dreadwing of Iron - A dragon Gina and Brit encountered and defeated on their first big adventure. Dreadwing had gained control of Merlin's Time Raft (later revealed to be Ancient Gina's design) and tricked Gina into repairing it for him. When he revealed his true colors, Gina set off the self-destruct, tearing Dreadwing from our reality and casting his dessicated body into chronospace, where he drifted for aeons, until found by...


 * Dr. Alfred Steiner Peachbody - A time traveling, superintelligent dog from an alternate future ruled by canines. He and his trained attack boy Benji meddled with the time stream in an effort to ensure their future came to pass, but they were foiled by the Diggers' sisters, among others. He plotted vengeance against them, eventually fusing himself and Benji into one composite being of supreme intelligence and strength. He was still defeated, and banished to primordial Earth. From there he spent decades using Benji's chi to pull what he thought was the wreckage of his time-cruiser from chronospace, only to accidentally summon the remains of the dragon Dreadwing, whom Gina had supposedly destroyed in her very first major adventure. Their mutual hatred of Gina led Peachbody to use his fusion power again, absorbing Dreadwing and forming an even more powerful entity, which plots Gina's destruction from prehistoric Earth.

Minor Characters

 * Tiffany Target 'Gia - Infant daughter of Brittany Diggers & Stryyp'Gia. Her middle name is pronounced as if it were French (Brit named her after her two favorite places to shop). Tiff hasn't played much of a role as a character yet, but she has acted as the MacGuffin in several major plots. With her mother a werecheetah and her father an alien prince infused with powerful nano-artifacts, it remains to be seen just how special Tiffany will grow up to be- if she survives that long!


 * Brunhildagarde "Grammy" Brigand - Mother of Julia Diggers. Native of Jade-Realm. Former champion of the Barbarian clans, before Julia defeated her in order to claim the right to represent the clans in the Tournament of Arms.


 * Tsunami Brigand - Julia's father and Brunhilda's husband. He has ninja-like stealth, and aside from Julia, is the only person to have ever defeated Brunhilda in single combat. He never speaks, but Brunhilda seems to understand his silence as if he did. He has only smiled twice to anyone's knowledge: once on the day Julia was born, and once on the day Julia won the Arms-Master of Jade title for the second time.


 * Eldrin Gneiss - Theodore Diggers' mentor and teacher in the arts of magic. He has a strange sense of humor, which combined with his powerful and unpredictable magic, sometimes makes life interesting for those around him. At one time he was working on a Guardian spell to protect Brittany (why just her and not Gina is anybody's guess). The Guardian got out of control, and Theo and Julia had to team up to defeat it, which they only barely did. Recently, it seems Gneiss completed work on a second Guardian- this one using Brit's husband Stripe as a template. It serves and protects her as loyally as the real Stripe would.


 * Master Shun-Leep - Julia's sensei, the greatest martial arts teacher on Jade. Once a handsome young man, the object of all his female students' interest, he let it go to his head and became a lecherous old man who only trains females and forces them to wear embarrassingly skimpy workout uniforms. His favorite method of discipline is goosing his pupils, but since he only trains women who are already masters of at least one other fighting art, normal methods (beatings, punishments, privations, etc) would hardly be effective. Theo dislikes him for the way he treated Julia, but daren't do anything about it, since even though Theo is an archmage, Master Leep could still wipe the floor with him. Recently Master Leep granted Julia the title of fellow Master of the Shun-Leep style, and bid her start a school of the art on Earth.

Other Characters/Places/Things

 * Jade - An other-dimensional magical realm, home to nearly all of the magical and "mythical" races that once resided on Earth before the age of Mankind. Essentially the prototypical fantasy world. Recently it has been revealed that Jade, both the planet and the pocket dimension is resides in, were constructed by the Nomad Artificiers.


 * Peebos - Small, mobile, artificially intelligent bombs created by Brianna Diggers. Many have additional, specialized functions, and personalities to match. Examples include Peegi, Peebrit, and Peebri (with Gina, Brit, and Brianna's personalities loaded into them, respectively). Peebri especially gets into a lot of trouble.


 * the Nomad Artificiers - Perhaps the most enigmatic of the vanished races, in a universe choc-full of enigmatic vanished races. It's beginning to seem like all the threads of the story, no matter how far-flung and circuitous, may lead back to them. Further, it seems as though Gina herself may be one of them! Time will tell...


 * the Djinn - Possibly the most ancient race in this iteration of the universe, the Djinn are possessed of nearly limitless power, but cannot use it for their own benefit. The Djinn seem to have evolved from the Pau, strange but cute little monsters that may have been kept as pets by the Nomad Artificiers... although the final truth may be even stranger.

Gold Digger vol. 3 #67
This is the current issue, and therefore no story information will be posted about this issue. Please check your local comic shop for copies of this issue.

Gold Digger vol. 3 #65
"The Black Gate," part 1. Theodore's arch nemesis, wererat elder Gowthrain, has engineered the capture of Brittany and Tiffany and arranged affairs so that her family and friends have no choice but to pursue the leads to the secret wererat city of Darkhome. Gowthrain is pulling out all the stops to make sure the party will be at a disadvantage by the time they reach him, and Brittany's loved ones are forced to give their all in a desperate bid to rescue her. Meanwhile, in the pocket dimension of Oblivion...

Gold Digger vol. 3 #64
"Tangent" - In Negative Infinity, a model of reality, the evil dragon Dreadwing ruminates on his origins and realizes that he has been constantly manipulated by Ancient Gina, who is trying to change time so that she doesn't cease to exist on her 33rd birthday. Meanwhile, on Jade-Realm, Gina, Brianna, Seance & Genn encounter Brunhilda, Gina's maternal grandmother. Also meanwhile, Brittany's other friends and family are gathering on Earth-Realm to attempt to find and rescue Brittany from Oblivion-Realm.

Gold Digger vol. 3 #63
"Edge of Oblivion," part 4 of 4. Britanny faces off against The Lich King and his minions over the life of her daughter Tifanny. She saves her daughter and frees her grandfather's spirit from control of The Lich King, but remains trapped in Oblivion.

Collections

 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 1 - "In this collection of the very first Gold Digger stories, Gina and Brittany must foil the dragon Dreadwing's attempt to control Merlin's Time Raft. Then it's a wild journey to mythic places around the globe and off it, all to stop the Atlantean wizard Gyphon from using his people's ancient artifacts to rule the world."


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 2 - "Collects the first issues of the Gold Digger regular series! Join Gina and Brittany as they search a desert ruin, encounter ancient curses, militant locals, and most frightening of all, a terrifying, ancient demon mouse, and witness the miraculous creation of Brianna, the third Diggers sister."


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 3 - "Supersonic dogfights, giant mutant crabs, and the Lost City of El Dorado—the life of Gina Diggers is a roller-coaster ride that never slows down. When you're the world's most successful archaeologist/super-scientist/adventurer, it can be pretty hard to find a moment's peace to spend with your boyfriend, especially when a Daemon Mouse is hot on your trail."


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 4 - "Gina and Brittany investigate an ancient alien city-ship in Antarctica and tangle with cosmic canine Dog Supreme! Then, in Ireland, they escape from heavily armed leprechauns, only to find out that the infamous werewolf Brendan, traitor to both the werewolves and werecheetahs, has been freed, and Brittany's first on his vengeance list!"


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 5


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 6


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 9 - Collects vol. 2 #32-35.


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 10 - Collects vol. 2 #41-45. "Brianna is on a quest to resurrect Raphiel and guess who runs in to some Beta Phantoms"


 * Gold Digger Pocket Manga, vol. 11 - Collects vol. 2 #46-50. "Brianna's quest to save Raphiel accidently revives her Grave Digger personality. Then two local mages try to split the two. And then weaponsmaster G'nolga and her crew show up and everything hits the fan."


 * Gold Digger Gold Brick, vol. 1 - Collects vol. 2 #1-25.


 * Gold Digger Gold Brick, vol. 2 - Collects vol. 2 #25-50.


 * Gold Digger Gold Brick, vol. 3 - Collects vol. 3 #1-25.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 1 - Collects vol. 1 #1-4.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 2 - Collects vol. 2 #1-4.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 3 - Collects vol. 2 #5-8.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 4 - Collects vol. 2 #9-12.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 5 - Collects vol. 2 #13-16.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 6 - Collects vol. 2 #17-20.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 7 - Collects vol. 2 #21-24.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 8 - Collects vol. 2 #25-28.


 * The Collected Gold Digger, vol. 9 - Collects vol. 2 #29-31.


 * Gold Digger/Ninja High School: Time Warp - Collects vol. 2 #32-35 & Ninja High School #54-57.


 * Gold Digger vol. 3 TPB no. 1 - Collects vol. 3 #1-6.


 * Gold Digger vol. 3 TPB no. 2 - Collects vol. 3 #7-12. "Follows Gina and her friends as they journey to Uhm di Turrok, 'The Halls of the Extremely Dead,' where they must deal with lethal ancient traps and the dragon Fauntleroy in their quest to learn the Djinni's origins. Then Julia departs for Jade to defeat her archival G'nolga and regain her lost honor in the Arms-Master Tournament. However, first she [must] face her old lecherous and perverted teacher."

Leftover Useful Information
This is the spot for any useful information that doesn't fit into the above categories.

Creative Team
Gold Digger vol. 3 #66 - Story & Art: Fred Perry, Editors: Doug Dlin & Paul Kilpatrick, Cover: Fred Perry

Gold Digger vol. 3 #65 - Story & Art: Fred Perry, Editors: Doug Dlin & Paul Kilpatrick, Cover: Fred Perry

Gold Digger vol. 3 #64 - Story & Art: Fred Perry, Editors: Doug Dlin & Paul Kilpatrick, Cover: Fred Perry

Gold Digger vol. 3 #63 - Story & Art: Fred Perry, Editors: Doug Dlin & Paul Kilpatrick, Cover: Fred Perry

Publishing History
Gold Digger originally appeared in 1991 as a feature in Mangazine Vol. 2 #11-14.

The Gold Digger mini-series (vol. 1) lasted for 4 issues from 1992-1993

The Gold Digger black & white series (vol. 2) lasted for 50 issues from 1993-1999

The Gold Digger color series (vol. 3) started in 1999 and is the current series.

(All of the above were published by Antarctic Press)

Order Codes
These are the order codes and prices as provided by Diamond Distribution. Your local comic shop should be able to order these for you.


 * JAN05 2450	GOLD DIGGER #62	$2.99
 * FEB05 2540	GOLD DIGGER #63	$2.99
 * MAR05 2560	GOLD DIGGER #64	$2.99
 * APR05 2593	GOLD DIGGER #65	$2.99
 * MAY05 2462	GOLD DIGGER #66	$2.99
 * JUN05 2730	GOLD DIGGER #67	$2.99
 * AUG05 2674	GOLD DIGGER #68	$2.99
 * SEP05 2723	GOLD DIGGER #69	$2.99

Other

 * MAR05 2566	GOLD DIGGER SWIMSUIT SPECIAL 2005	$4.50
 * MAR05 2570	GOLD DIGGER ORIGINAL ANIMATION VOL 1 DVD (O/A)	$29.95
 * JUN05 2731	GOLD DIGGER SWIMSUIT END OF SUMMER SPECIAL 2005 ED	$4.50
 * JUL05 2605	GOLD DIGGER ANNUAL 2005	$4.50
 * AUG05 2675	GOLD DIGGER HALLOWEEN SPECIAL #1	$2.99
 * AUG05 2676	GOLD DIGGER MANGA FIVE PACK SPECIAL	$30.00

Collections

 * JAN05 3127	GOLD DIGGER PINK SLIP GN (JUL042591)	$9.99
 * MAR05 3324	GOLD DIGGER VOL 2 COLOR SERIES TP (STAR19030)	$15.95
 * MAR05 2561	GOLD DIGGER VOL 3 GOLD BRICK COLL TP	$50.00
 * MAR05 2567	GOLD DIGGER VOL 3 PERFECT MEMORY (O/A)	$5.95


 * JUL05 2607	GOLD DIGGER VOL 1 PKT MANGA TP (STAR19895)	$9.99
 * JUL05 2608	GOLD DIGGER VOL 2 PKT MANGA TP (NOV032020)	$9.99
 * JUL05 2609	GOLD DIGGER VOL 3 PKT MANGA TP (MAR042220)	$9.99
 * MAR05 2562	GOLD DIGGER VOL 5 PKT MANGA TP	$9.99
 * JUL05 2606	GOLD DIGGER VOL 6 PKT MANGA TP	$9.99

Future Publication Dates
Dates subject to change at the whims of the publisher or distributor. Please see the Diamond Shipping Lists for current information.

(note: currently this comic is running behind schedule)


 * Gold Digger: End of Summer Swimsuit Special 2005 Edition: Aug 2005
 * Gold Digger Annual 2005: 31 Aug 2005
 * Gold Digger vol. 3 #68: Oct 2005
 * Gold Digger Halloween Special #1: Oct 2005
 * Gold Digger vol. 3 #69: Nov 2005

Links

 * Antarctic Press - The Publisher of Gold Digger
 * Cheetaholics - The Official Gold Digger Website. Includes character bios and issue summaries.