The Adventures of Dr. McNinja (http://www.drmcninja.com), a popular online comic, depicts the adventures of a ninja who is a practicing physician. Incapacitating enemies is his stronger suit, however.  The doctor, taught under the clone of Benjamin Franklin, studies Batman comics and films because he desperately wants to become the Caped Crusader.

So, you might be asking, “What does this have to do with the Appalachian region?”  Well, creator Christopher Hastings was raised in Cumberland, and the comic takes place in a fictional version of the town.  On every page of this eclectic comic, signs of the Queen City are prevalent.  The steeples of the downtown churches and the Appalachians Mountains provide beautiful backdrop.  In the current story, Dr. McNinja drives around a wizard near the downtown area.  After taking the exit at Moose curve on Interstate 68, he runs into King Radical, his archenemy.

“Well, when I started Dr. McNinja, he was just in a sort of nameless, generic city,” Hastings said.  Looking back at issue ½ and issue one, that was the case.  “As the comic went on, it made more sense for me to just go flat out and make him from Western Maryland.  It's made it easier for me to work the story in a place where I know where everything is already.”  The first major appearance of a Cumberland building is in issue eight as the Embassy Theater located in the Cumberland Mall stands tall and proud.  From that appearance on the first page of issue eight, the references to the real Cumberland were commonplace.

The style of comedy in Hastings’ comic is akin to that of a slapstick movie or the odd ball affairs on Adult Swim, the adult-oriented comedy shows on Cartoon Network.  Western Maryland, however, caters to this surreal comedy.  Downtown Cumberland has its share of near comic-esque characters walking the streets.  “I don't think it was conscious, but surely it's because I grew up there, and had that odd, surreal humor around me my whole life.”

“[I] love Lions chicken,” Hastings, now residing in Brooklyn, NY, said after being asked about his favorite things in his hometown.  “Country Club Mall, Gabriel’s, and the Canal,” he said on places he would like to put into the comic.  The creative Hastings can figure out how to add any area of Western Maryland with his abilities.

The blending of absurdity with the aesthetics of Western Maryland has truly forged a unique comic.  When Dr. McNinja has a wizard in his backseat and the Potomac River is in the distance, it somehow feels normal.  Christopher Hastings has mastered the hardest skill of art.  Blending together different ideas, beliefs, and visuals can be a tough, arduous task, but here, it works.

http://www.drmcninja.com/mcdonalds.html

http://www.drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=1&issue=1

http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=1&issue=8