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==History== ===1996β2000: Development=== ''Homestar Runner'' was created in [[Atlanta]] in 1996 by [[University of Georgia]]<ref name="bostonglobe">{{Cite news |last=Aucoin |first=Dan |date=August 9, 2003 |title=Lookin' At A Thing In A Bag |pages=C1 |work=The Boston Globe }}</ref><ref name="penguinbros">{{Cite web |title=Homestar Runner Interview |url=http://www.penguinbros.com/interviews/homestarrunner.html |last1=Strick |first1=Jacob |last2=Samuel Strick |date=May 26, 2003 |publisher=Penguin Brothers |access-date=December 25, 2006 |archive-date=June 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627090923/http://www.penguinbros.com/interviews/homestarrunner.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tlchicken">{{Cite web |title=Homestar Runner's The Brothers Chaps |url=http://www.tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=1374 |last=Chinsang |first=Wayne |date=June 2003 |website=Tastes Like Chicken |access-date=December 25, 2006 |archive-date=November 16, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116055258/http://tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=1374 |url-status=live }}</ref> students Mike Chapman and friend [[Craig Zobel]], who wrote the original picture book, ''The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest'', while working summer jobs surrounding the [[1996 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="Wired" /><ref name="original book">{{Cite web |title=The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest |url=http://www.homestarrunner.com/book1.html |last1=Chapman, Mike |author-link=The Brothers Chaps |last2=Zobel, Craig |year=1996 |website=homestarrunner.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010628163835/http://www.homestarrunner.com/book1.html |archive-date=June 28, 2001 |access-date=December 19, 2006}}</ref> Matt described the origin of the name "Homestar Runner" as an in-joke between themselves and [[James Husband (music project)|James Huggins]], a childhood friend of the Chapman brothers while growing up in [[Dunwoody, Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strong Bad's the Brothers Chaps β Interview |url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18236 |last=Allin |first=Jack |website=Adventure Gamers |date=December 12, 2008 |access-date=January 15, 2015 |archive-date=March 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325161349/http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18236 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="io9 oral" /> {{blockquote|It actually comes from a friend of ours [James]. There was an old local grocery store commercial, and we live in Atlanta, and it advertised the [[Atlanta Braves]]. It was like, "the Atlanta Braves hit home runs, and you can hit a home run with savings here!" And so there was this player named [[Mark Lemke]], and they said something like "All star second baseman for the Braves". And our friend [James] knows nothing about sports, and so he would always do his old-timey radio impression of this guy, and not knowing any positions in baseball or whatever, he'd just be like, "homestar runner for the Braves". And we were just like, "Homestar Runner? That's the best thing we've ever heard!"<ref name="kevinscott" />}} When Mike and Craig were in a bookstore and made a remark about how "awful" the children's books were, the idea to write their own children's book occurred to them.<ref name="io9 oral">{{Cite web |title=An Oral History of Homestar Runner, the Internet's Favorite Cartoon |url=http://io9.gizmodo.com/an-oral-history-of-homestar-runner-the-internets-favor-1791519879 |last=Winkle |first=Luke |date=January 24, 2017 |website=[[io9]] |access-date=January 24, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125100338/http://io9.gizmodo.com/an-oral-history-of-homestar-runner-the-internets-favor-1791519879 |url-status=live }}</ref> They spent around two hours designing the look of Homestar Runner, Pom Pom, Strong Bad, and The Cheat, and completed the book within a day. They only printed about five to ten copies to share with friends, and had no intention to publish it. However, they had no idea that their father had sent out the book as a manuscript for submission to about 80 different publishers, but they only got rejection letters back, if anything. The pair began to work on a sequel, ''Homestar Runner Goes for the Gold'', which would have introduced Strong Bad's brothers, Strong Mad and Strong Sad, but was eventually abandoned.<ref name="io9 oral" /> They later used the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] video game ''[[Mario Paint]]'' to create the first cartoon featuring the characters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Super NES |url=http://www.homestarrunner.com/supernes.swf |year=1996 |website=homestarrunner.com |format=SWF |access-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910143859/http://www.homestarrunner.com/supernes.swf |url-status=live }}</ref> ===2000β2009: Launch and initial popularity=== Around 1999, Mike recognized how popular [[Adobe Animate|Flash]] animation was taking off, and he and his younger brother Matt Chapman started to learn Flash on their own.<ref name="io9 oral" /> Looking for something on which to practice, they found inspiration in the old "children's" book.<ref name="kevinscott">{{Cite web |title=The Homestar Runner Interview |url=http://members.shaw.ca/kevinscott/Homestar/index.html |last=Scott, Kevin |date=May 20, 2003 |website=Kevin's Spot |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20051222112111/http://members.shaw.ca/kevinscott/Homestar/index.html |archive-date=December 22, 2005 |access-date=May 28, 2006}}</ref> Their initial cartoons were launched on their dedicated website, homestarrunner.com, by 2000. Mike animated the cartoons, Matt provided the voices of the male characters, and Mike's girlfriend (now wife) Missy Palmer provided the voice of Marzipan.<ref name="Wired" /><ref name="FAQ" /> They initially started off with shorts that featured competitions between Homestar Runner as a heroic character and Strong Bad as the villain, but these did not really capture viewers. Mike and Matt came up with the idea of animating the scenes between competitions; Matt stated "that was the stuff that was funnier, the stuff happening between the plot points, which is hilarious because we hadn't even established a routine of making cartoons about competitions, we'd made like one".<ref name="io9 oral" /> From May 2000 to February 2001,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homestar Runner Evolution Photo |url=http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/homestar-runner/images/37785/title/homestar-runner-evolution-photo |last=Temptasia |year=2002 |publisher=Fanpop |access-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526141235/http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/homestar-runner/images/37785/title/homestar-runner-evolution-photo |url-status=live }}</ref> the website and cartoons started out with different art styles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Original Website! |url=http://www.homestarrunner.com/oldflash.html |last=The Brothers Chaps |publisher=Homestar Runner |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011227035300/http://www.homestarrunner.com/oldflash.html |archive-date=December 27, 2001 |access-date=May 26, 2013}}</ref> In February 2001, it gained a new look, which has largely remained consistent to the present with minor changes. The site grew slowly at first and primarily through word-of-mouth. They were able to sell a "few dozen" T-shirts by 2001.<ref name="io9 oral" /> Mike moved back to New York in mid-2001 and he and Matt started crafting the first Strong Bad Email ''some kinda robot'', intending this to be a weekly feature.<ref name="io9 oral" /> The Strong Bad Email series proved very popular, generating significant interest in the site; when the brothers were late in publishing a new Strong Bad Email, they received angry emails asking where the new short was, which Matt said was "a cool feeling to know you're as important as a cup of coffee or morning crossword to some folks".<ref name="io9 oral" /> Their father suggested Matt quit his full-time job to devote time to creating more Homestar Runner shorts.<ref name="io9 oral" /> With the number of visitors to the site growing, by January 2003 the site had outgrown its original web host, [[Yahoo]]. Merchandise sales paid for all of the costs of running the website as well as living costs of the creators, whose retired parents managed many of the business aspects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy crap |url=http://www.dennews.com/media/paper309/news/2004/04/23/TheVerge/holy-Crap-669677.shtml |last=Meinheit, Matt |date=April 23, 2004 |website=The Daily Eastern News |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230404/http://www.dennews.com/media/paper309/news/2004/04/23/TheVerge/holy-Crap-669677.shtml |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=August 18, 2006}}</ref> The brothers considered the period between 2002β2005 to be their most creative and successful, exploring various different media for the shorts and having a large quantity of merchandise. Matt considered a day in February 2004 to be the highlight of the series, having received a demo tape from [[They Might Be Giants]] for a song to use in a Strong Bad Email short and a life-sized replica of [[Tom Servo]] from ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' producer [[Jim Mallon]] on the same day.<ref name="io9 oral" /> They also reflected on how Homestar Runner had been a common point of reference over which newly formed couples bonded and how [[Joss Whedon]] incorporated references to Homestar Runner into his television shows ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel (1999 TV series)|Angel]]'' as further signs of success.<ref name="io9 oral" /> ===2009β2014: Hiatus=== Through 2010, Homestar Runner remained financially viable for the brothers through sales of related merchandise. Both brothers were married by 2010 and had their children to care for, and they recognized that they would need to find other jobs to support their respective families.<ref name="io9 oral" /> When Matt had a second daughter, the two agreed to put the series on hiatus, knowing they would want to come back to it but could not guarantee a time frame. Mike also noted that they had spent nearly ten years delivering a weekly cartoon, and believed that, creatively, they needed a break.<ref name="io9 oral" /> The success of Homestar Runner led to Matt and Mike getting writing jobs for television animated series ''[[Yo Gabba Gabba!]]'', ''[[Gravity Falls]]'', ''[[The Aquabats! Super Show!]]'', and ''[[Wander Over Yonder]]''.<ref name="io9 oral" /> During this hiatus, the brothers released a small number of Homestar Runner cartoons, including ones for 2010's [[April Fools' Day]] and Decemberween holidays. They also made a special video featuring Homestar and Strong Bad for the 2013 [[San Diego Comic-Con International|San Diego Comic-Con]] to introduce a panel regarding the history of [[W00tstock]]. ===2014βpresent: Return=== Matt, after completing work on [[Gravity Falls]], moved back to Atlanta in 2014 where Mike was living, and the two agreed that they now had the opportunity to return to ''Homestar Runner'' on a semi-regular basis. Their first short in nearly four years, posted on April 1, 2014, poked fun at how they had not updated the site in years.<ref name="io9 oral" /> Matt confirmed their commitment to continue the series in July 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homestar Runner's Matt Chapman |url=http://jeffrubinjeffrubinshow.com/episode/123-homestar-runners-matt-chapman/ |publisher=The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show |access-date=July 7, 2014 |archive-date=July 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712140609/http://jeffrubinjeffrubinshow.com/episode/123-homestar-runners-matt-chapman/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since then, the site has featured occasional updates, usually for holidays. Until 2017, this was mostly due to the brothers' involvement in developing the [[Disney XD]] animated show ''[[Two More Eggs]]''.<ref name="io9 oral" /> With the impending discontinuation of [[Adobe Flash]] in December 2020, most new ''Homestar Runner'' animations were released directly as videos to [[YouTube]]; the brothers also worked to transfer the older Flash content into video format for archival purposes. Prior to Flash's discontinuation, the [[Internet Archive]] included Homestar Runner content in its collection of Flash animations and games. The content is directly viewable in modern browsers through the [[Ruffle (software)|Ruffle]] Flash emulator.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bonifacic |first1=Igor |title=Flash content like Homestar Runner lives on in the Internet Archive |url=https://www.engadget.com/internet-archive-flash-emulator-233338419.html |website=Engadget |access-date=2 October 2024 |date=19 November 2020}}</ref> The ''Homestar Runner'' website itself was also updated to use Ruffle, restoring much of its original functionality.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Pot |first=Justin |date=August 6, 2023 |title=How to Play All of Those Old Flash Games You Remember |url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-play-old-flash-games-ruffle/ |access-date=2 October 2024 |magazine=Wired}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Burlingame |first=Russ |date=2024-02-19 |title=Homestar Runner Returns for First New Video in Over a Year |url=https://comicbook.com/anime/news/homestar-runner-returns-for-first-new-video-in-over-a-year/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=ComicBook.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
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