List of characters in The Suburban Jungle
The following is a list of main, secondary and guest characters in the ongoing webcomic series The Suburban Jungle.
- Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Main characters[edit]
Tiffany Tiger[edit]
- First Appearance: 1 February 1999 [1]
- Species: Siberian Tiger
Tiffany is the star of the comic — the website's main page even reads "The Suburban Jungle — starring Tiffany Tiger!" A young aspiring model, Tiffany struggles to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry, with varying degrees of success over the years. She has been in photo shoots, presented fashion awards, starred in a B-movie reminiscent of Barbarella called Tiffarella and is now starring in a similarly themed sci-fi television series called Kitten Kaboodle. For several years, she also worked in the Information Technology department of MegaHuge ConGloMaCo.
During this time, her love life has also been rather turbulent. Her good looks charm many, but until recently she hasn't managed to have a stable relationship, much to her dread. Her first serious relationship was with Conrad Tiger, but Conrad broke up with her after realizing that they both needed things the other could not offer. They were together for just over three years. Things are looking up again, however; Tiffany rediscovered love in the face of her longtime friend and admirer Leonard Lion, proprietor of #The Watering Hole. She has now been with Leonard for roughly as long as she was with Conrad, and they have become engaged.
Tiffany is ambitious, bright, and persevering; although the way to fame is strewn with many obstacles, she always fights to overcome them.
Yin the Panda[edit]
- First Appearance: 22 February 1999 [2]
- Species: Giant Panda
Yin is Tiffany's roommate, a believer in UFO's, alternate dimensions, and the like, and is working against "The Conspiracy", which refers to her as "No. 6 7/8". She was recently abducted by aliens, who picked up the signal from a micro-transmitter implanted in her spinal cord by The Conspiracy when it held her captive in "The Village", based on the one in the British television programme Wikipedia:The Prisoner.
Leonard Lion[edit]
Leonard Lion is Tiffany's current boyfriend and the bartender of The Watering Hole, a bar famous for its "No Predation" policy, which allows both predator-type and prey-type customers to use it. A sheep, for instance, could enjoy a drink without worrying if the wolf across the room is going to change his dinner plans. While Leonard's job is more stable than Tiffany's, he hasn't fared much better in love. He is divorced from Glory, an ambitious lioness who left him when he was fired from a job, and he had been completely lonely since... until Tiffany came along.
For more than two years, Leonard bantered, flirted, and supported Tiffany emotionally, but to no avail. Tiffany remained oblivious to his advances, not realizing that casual flirting had become something more. When she finally saw the light, Leonard had just managed to get over his pain and stepped aside in favor of Conrad. After he and Tiffany broke up, however, Leonard finally got together with Tiffany, and recently proposed to her (on national Television).
Leonard is wise-cracking, but also fair and loyal. His support of the "No Predation" policy in his bar shows a degree of compassion towards prey species, a compassion which he leaves at the door when he goes hunting.
Dover Cheetah[edit]
Dover is a computer programmer who worked in the I.T. Departments of MegaHuge ConGloMaCo and Amalgatronix Corporation. He is so good at his job that, until recently, working with computer code all day had afflicted him with a strange speech impediment: he could only talk in a strange amalgam of normal English and generic computer code, referred to by fans as D-speak or Doverspeak. For example, "Hello Tiffany, my name is Dover" comes out as:
SET GREETING=HELLO(TIFFANY)
LET MYNAME=DOVER
This impediment, coupled with Dover's somewhat geeky personality (he has been known to follow trends such as trading card games, online shooters, and console video games) did not make him popular with girls, until Tiffany's half-sister Comfort took an interest in him. The two quickly fell in love, later got engaged, and eventually married.
Dover began college at DeMontfort University in 1992 and got his friend Kurt Kingston to get him on the football team as the school mascot in an effort to win the affections of their R.A., Chase Cheetah. He later transferred to Tech after being involved in the incident that partially destroyed Richter Hall, which may ultimately have been better for him since Tech had a stronger computer curriculum and an athletic department focused on track and field.
Dover has a likeable enough personality, but being an only child in a rich family has left him somewhat spoiled. Until recently, he would go to great lengths to get his way — in the most memorable incident, he caused a "BIG HONKIN' CRASH!", sabotaging MegaHuge ConGloMaCo's computer system so that Tiffany would have to work overtime and miss her date with Conrad. Dover was fired for his actions, though he was eventually rehired with a major pay cut. He also hacked the company's system once before, to make the hiring system recommended Tiffany for the vacant programming position. Comfort has had a beneficial effect on his personality since she makes him so happy.
When Amalgatronix took over MegaHuge, Dover was made I.T. manager. He had almost continual conflict with his boss, Lagston Swine, and nonexistent support for I.T. combined with the lack of employees left Dover to fend for himself, much to his annoyance. After Amalgatronix went under, Dover worked at a Roebucks coffee shop for about a year, at which time he was offered a job as a programmer at a new company started by former MegaHuge CEO Oswald Proboscis.
Another distinctive trait of Dover is his total inability to hunt, partly because he has never had to, partly because of his squeamishness, and partly because of his severe case of prey empathy. Leonard makes an effort to teach him, but Dover proves to be hopeless as a hunter. The final blow to his predatory career was being beaten up by Ramses after trying to eat him.
A current development in Dover's personality due to a mixture of several months of no real work except for a job at Roebucks and the shock of being offered a new technical position by Eddie Ape, Dover's D-Speak was jolted out of him, he now speaks with a normal, understandable language which, at times can be a bit of an annoyance with how many words one breath can send off.
Drezzer Wolf[edit]
Gay and single, Drezzer Wolf is an English fashion photographer, and Tiffany's agent. He gives some surprising insights into the other characters, and provided support for Conrad before and after the tiger broke up with Tiffany. Though he flirts with Conrad at every opportunity, he is one of Conrad's closest friends, even though there was a point when they fought about this. Also, a possibly canon Basuke extra story at the end of Tough Breaks seems to tell of a disbandment. He also performs "Bad Pickup Line Theater" with a friend, Brody Coyote on 'filler' days.
Conrad Tiger[edit]
- First Appearance: 20 October 1999 [6]
- Species: Siberian Tiger
Conrad is a model and Tiffany's ex-boyfriend. He was often described by Leonard as Tiffany's "big orange Fabio". Conrad is fraught with emotional issues, including low self-esteem, depression, guilt, and confusion, which ultimately lead to his break-up with Tiffany. He realizes that he can't give her the stability that she needs in a relationship and knows how much Leonard cares for her, so, though he loves Tiffany dearly, he steps aside so she and Leonard can be together. Before and after the break-up, he found a caring and supportive friend in Drezzer, who always managed to have some insight to share or a little something to lift Conrad's spirits.
Comfort T. Tiger[edit]
- First Appearance: 23 February 2000 [7]
- Species: Siberian Tiger
Comfort is Tiffany's half sister, and is married to Dover. Though they were engaged in 2001, she and Dover did not marry until 2004 so Comfort could finish school at DeMontfort University. She was very much the teenager when first introduced, but matures significantly over time, though she and Dover still love to play console video games. She received some fan shock when she was first shown, as she wears no pants. But she overcame it and is now just as worshipped.
Leona Lioness[edit]
As another aspiring model and actress, Leona Lioness saw herself as a rival to Tiffany. She was at the same photo shoot for Rowr Magazine that launched Tiffany's career, but she did not make the cover. She and Tiffany have often been involved in the same projects, including the movie Tiffarella and The Goody Awards, which has contributed to Leona's resentment of Tiffany. She felt that Tiffany had stolen her career, and tried to undermine Tiffany whenever possible for the majority of the strip's history. Tiffany's recent efforts to help Leona get on the cast of Kitten Kaboodle as Hart O'Steele and her recent success as a singer have helped Leona mellow a bit.
Secondary Characters[edit]
Wensleydale[edit]
Named after a type of British cheese, Wensley is the brother of Ramses and co-owner of The Watering Hole-in-the-Wall. His personality is the polar opposite of Ramses — bright, friendly, and positive. He likes to ride on Tiffany's shoulder, since she doesn't like the taste of mice and other predators won't bother him there.
Ramses[edit]
Ramses is the brother of Wensley, and co-owner of The Watering Hole-in-the-Wall. Ramses also studies martial arts, and has been described as "the angriest mouse in the world", the origins of which have something to do with Byron the bat.
Eddie Ape[edit]
Eddie was Dover and Tiffany's boss at MegaHuge ConGloMaCo. When MegaHuge was bought out by Amalgatronix Inc., Eddie was downsized, but with the recent demise of Amalgatronix due to corporate fraud, he has started working for a new company started by Oswald Proboscis, former CEO of MegaHuge, in the summer of 2005.
Natasha Tiger[edit]
- First Appearance: 18 June 1999 [12]
- Species: White Siberian Tiger
Natasha is the mother of Tiffany, Comfort, and Louis T. Tiger. She escaped from Siberia in 1972 with the help of Tiffany's father, to whom she was married for five years. When extremely angry, she reverts back to speaking Russian [13].
Wally Roo[edit]
Wally was an Australian bartender at The Watering Hole, but has recently moved to Pittsburgh to study for his Ph.D. in Engineering at Carnegie Mellon. He still makes occasional appearances in the strip, such as when he comes home for holidays or spring break. Wally, who we discover is gay early on when he flirts with Drezzer, has a romantic interest in Mikey Hopkins.
H. Wood "Woody" Wolf[edit]
Woody was Leona's talent agent, but conflict arose when he wouldn't sign the deal for a part in Kitten Kaboodle. Leona's belligerent attitude was ruining his reputation, but he wasn't willing to release her from her contract because he didn't want it to get around that he had client problems, so he was trying to make Leona disgusted enough with the business that she would give up and leave town. He eventually struck a deal with Athena for Leona's contract that protected his reputation and satisfied his greed.
Jessica (Chessie) Cheetah[edit]
Chessie is Dover's mother. She runs a shipping company and is very generous with her family's wealth, bringing the hired chef to her first meeting with Natasha after Dover] and Comfort's engagement, and buying Natasha a new car, since her old one had broken down.
Kurt Kingston[edit]
An old high school buddy of Dover's, Kurt began college with him at DeMontfort University in 1992 and is currently an English professor there. After not seeing Dover for nine years, he was best man at Dover's wedding. He also assisted Dover in his problems in saying "I do" in English and eventually recorded part of Dover saying "I do" in D-speak and played it at the wedding.
Mikey Hopkins[edit]
- First Appearance: 25 April 2003 [18]
- Species: Kangaroo
- Original Strip: The Class Menagerie by Vince Suzukawa
A student at DeMontfort University, Mikey is also a love interest of Wally Roo. He meets Wally in the school library, then goes with Wally to a Roebucks coffee shop. Once there, Wally asks him out on a date, which Mikey is not at all prepared for, since he has never given romantic interests any thought. Mikey is still very much in the closet and quite paranoid about being found out.
Glory Lion[edit]
Glory is Leonard's ex-wife. She comes to him for help after being displaced as alpha female in her pride by Athena Lion.
Gregory Lion[edit]
Gregory is Glory Lion's second husband. He's the wealthy head of a large Public Relations and advertising firm that represents big names in everything from music to acting. He's first introduced as Glory relates her story to Leonard, and then is reintroduced in a later subplot involving Athena Lion and Leona Lioness.
Athena T. Lion[edit]
Athena is the new alpha female in the pride of Gregory Lion, to which Glory belonged. She is a ruthless lawyer and showbiz agent who now owns Leona's contract. Unable to have children of her own, she asked Leona to act as surrogate mother for her and Gregory, but was turned down because Leona didn't feel ready for the task.
Katie Kodiak[edit]
- First Appearance: 8 October 2003 [24]
- Species: Kodiak Bear
Katie is the new bartender at The Watering Hole from Alaska, taking Wally's old job.She is relatively nice and has only been featured a few times since her employment.
Byron the Bat[edit]
Byron was in prison, having stolen money from Ramses and Wensley, and returns to them after his release because he wants to make it up to them. Despite Ramses's strong misgivings, Wensley and Leonard agree to give Byron a job as janitor for both The Watering Hole and The Watering Hole-in-the-Wall, because neither bar can afford another employee on its own.
Brody Coyote[edit]
Another gay character with a perky, outgoing personality, Brody, like Tiffany, is completely obsessed with 80's music. He once worked at his family's record store, but when they decide to sell the store and retire, Brody ends up job searching. Refusing Drezzer's offer to help him get into the music industry, he ultimately begins working at the local Roebucks coffee shop with Dover, starting on the same day that Dover gets the new programming job offer from Eddie.
Squash[edit]
The brawn behind 'Squash and Stretch, Private Investigators', Squash is generally easy-going but not terribly bright. He loves fish. He and Ramses have also struck up a friendship after a brawl at the Watering Hole-in-the-Wall where the two were mutually impressed with each others' fighting prowess, much to Stretch's chagrin.
Stretch[edit]
The brains behind 'Squash and Stretch, Private Investigators', Stretch is hired to find Yin after her recent alien abduction. The series involving Stretch parodies film noir and Mickey Spillane. He comes off as rather annoying at times, harassing the majority of the Watering Hole-in-the-Wall staff during his investigation and quickly inciting Ramses' wrath, getting violently thrown out of the bar and then later threatened by him.
Noted guest stars[edit]
- B.J. Buttons: The most current guest star, and a regular with cartoony jokes, including a guest spot from Yogi Bear. He is a brown bear who wears a vest covered with several buttons, and is often seen with Katie Kodiak.
- Punk Tiger: An orange tiger with a wild white mohawk hairdo. He has appeared in two (if not more) guest strips and usually comes complete with a reference to a band.
- Arden: A dimension hopping polar bear who's unofficially involved with Yin. He's the creation of the strips primary colorist, K. "Hikaru" Dickinson, and is the main character in an on-line epic story Identity Crisis.
- Zig Zag: A famous furry character (a skunk/tiger cross-breed) appearing in many webcomics, she appeared in Tiffarella.