Space Moose is a Canadian underground comic strip that appeared in the University of Alberta's student newspaper, The Gateway, between October 3, 1989, and 1999."Space Moose's Home Page." () Space Moose. January 22, 2002. Retrieved on February 5, 2011. Almost all of the strips were penned by Adam Thrasher, a student at the university.Schoek, Ellen. I Was There: A Century of Alumni Stories about the University of Alberta, 1906-2006. University of Alberta, 2006. 635. Retrieved from Google Books on February 4, 2011. , . see segment: "Fall 1997-Fall 1998: Space Moose" For career-related reasons, many archives refer to the author by his post-production pen name "Mustafa Al-Habib".Space Moose (discussion archived at the Internet Archive.) Macleans Canada said that Space Moose "was deliberately provocative"."Vote for me." Macleans Canada. February 6, 2008. Retrieved on February 4, 2011. "The comic strip, created by medical sciences student Adam Thrasher, now a professor at the University of Houston, was deliberately provocative." Ellen Schoek, the author of I Was There: A Century of Alumni Stories about the University of Alberta, 1906–2006, said that Space Moose "left no subject unscathed, from fraternities to Christianity and obesity, from sexual proclivities to racism". In addition to The Gateway, the newspapers of the University of Manitoba (The Manitoban) and Langara College (The Gleaner) also carried Space Moose.Mandel, Charles. "Space Moose alive and well on the WWW." () Vue Weekly. September 10–16, 1998. Retrieved on January 30, 2012.
The strip follows the adventures of Space Moose, an anthropomorphic, nihilistic moose with asymmetrical eyes and a Star Trek uniform, as he violates every possible societal and behavioral norm. His roommates Marlo Smefner, Billy the Bionic Badger, and Bald Dwarf are often the accomplices or victims of his actions. Macleans Canada said that Space Moose was "probably the most famous comic strip character in Canadian university history".
A book collection, Triumph of the Whim, was published in late 1997. It consists of 94 pages of selected existing Space Moose cartoons and 6 pages of previously unpublished Space Moose strips."Space Moose Shoppe". ( Space Moose. October 18, 2000. Retrieved on February 5, 2011. Most strips were available on the Space Moose web site.
History
Thrasher said that he began drawing Space Moose while enrolled at Ross Sheppard High School in Edmonton in order to make a friend laugh. The first Space Moose comic premiered in the October 3, 1989, edition of The Gateway. In 1991 Thrasher left the University of Alberta and worked for Northwestern Utilities in Edmonton; during the four months he worked with the company, he did not produce any Space Moose comics, and the school newspaper replaced Space Moose's slot with Colby Christ, a comic about Colby Cosh, a friend of Thrasher. When Thrasher returned to the university, Colby Christ was replaced by Space Moose, which had resumed. Thrasher and Donald R. "Don" Husereau drew "Colby Christ meets Space Moose", a strip that was a segue between the series.Thrasher, Adam and Colby Cosh. "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about SPACE MOOSE." () Space Moose. Retrieved on February 4, 2011.
In 1997, Space Moose ran for Students' Union President and finished a close third with 1,400 votes (only 11 votes behind the second place candidate, Hoops Harrison). This led to changes being made in students' union rules that would prevent any future "joke" candidate from actually winning an election. Due to the increasing popularity of the cartoon, people took away Space Moose's campaign posters as collector's items.
Around 1997, the comic received 10,000 visits per month.Cosh, Colby. "No Space for this Moose". Alberta Report. November 10, 1997. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. In 1997, due to a controversy involving the strip "Clobberin' Time", the comic was moved from University of Alberta biomedical department servers to private servers. Thrasher said that Darkcore Networks, a web host in Edmonton and a subsidiary of OA Internet, one of the largest internet service providers in Edmonton, invited Thrasher to post his comics there. Thrasher established a new website which housed over 170 Space Moose comic strips, including "Clobberin' Time". The website included an advertising banner from Microsoft. It also had a hit counter which, as of September 10, 1998, stated that the site had been accessed 17,800 times since November 1997. The website included a section called "Clobberin, about the controversial comic strip. The section invited readers to "fume with the feminists who banned Space Moose from the university network".
A cartoon that was printed in The Gateway, "Antlers of the Damned", depicting an angel and featuring a dog sodomizing Space Moose. As a result, the University of Alberta campus chaplains published a joint letter of recrimination. Another Space Moose cartoon, that depicted Snow White facing sodomy at the hands of the Seven Dwarves, was published in Slur, a punkzine. As a result, A&B Sound withdrew its advertising from Slur and banned the magazine from its stores.
Author biography Thrasher was born on September 9, 1971, in London, Ontario. He and his family moved to Edmonton when he was 10 years old. Thrasher received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Alberta in 1994."Dr. Adam Thrasher ." University of Houston. Retrieved on February 5, 2011. Thrasher was scheduled to receive his doctorate in 2000. Cosh said "His need to complete his doctoral thesis explains the shocking paucity of strips in 1999." He received his PhD in medical sciences in 2002. As of 2011 Thrasher is now a professor at the University of Houston.
"Clobberin' Time" controversy Macleans Canada stated that the most controversial strip in Space Moose's history was "Clobberin' Time", which satirized the Take Back the Night march, an annual event held on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton to protest violence perpetrated by men against women. In that strip Space Moose prepares to attack demonstrators, and opens fire on women in the rally while using a machine gun,Sadava, Mike. "Cartoon stirs anger for showing 'moose' shooting feminists." (), The Edmonton Journal. October 21, 1997. Retrieved on February 6, 2011. hitting his targets. A large masculine-appearing woman captures Space Moose, and in the following strip he is incarcerated in a "Womyn's Studies re-education camp". There he is forced to constantly watch reruns of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
In October 1997, The Gateway refused to publish the strip "Clobberin' Time". The strip was nevertheless available on the cartoonist's web site, which was hosted on university servers, and The Gateway mentioned the URL which led to the comic strip.Fraser, Garnet."Digital deer tastes outer cyberia." () The Edmonton Sun. Saturday January 18, 1998. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. The strip's presence ignited a controversy across many campuses.
Nine women said that they felt frightened by the strip, and asked the university administration to take action. The women, including faculty and students, wrote ten letters to the president of the University of Alberta. One of the complainants, a University of Alberta political science professor named Linda Trimble, said that "I was shocked. I was upset. I was amazed that someone would draw such a misogynist, hateful cartoon. This is trivialization of a hate crime."Mandel, Charles. "Cartoon draws fierce criticism." () The Globe and Mail. Wednesday October 22, 1997. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. The university governed the web servers which hosted Space Moose, so it took action to remove the comic from its servers.Ciccocioppo, Lucianna. "Cartoon controversy saunters into cyberspace." () Folio. University of Alberta Office of Public Affairs. Friday October 24, 1997. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. Burton Smith, the acting dean of students, said that the administration asked Thrasher to voluntarily remove the comic strip from the university servers, and that if he did so, he would continue to be able to use his university computer account.Journal staff. "Campus Web site moose to go." () Edmonton Journal. October 23, 1997. Retrieved on October 22, 2011. Thrasher moved his comic to a privately hosted web server in Edmonton.Lazin, Dan. "Thrasher fined for insensitivity." () The Gateway. Tuesday January 13, 1998. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. The controversy garnered media attention throughout Canada. Thrasher said "I'm an underground cartoonist -- I've always tried to keep a low profile."
Some members of the University of Alberta community complained about the activities of The Gateway in relation to the controversy to the university administration. The University of Alberta had no editorial control over The Gateway, and by law the publisher, the University of Alberta Students' Union, was responsible for the production. The Universities Act of the province of Alberta dictated that the student union was a corporate body separate from the university. Therefore, Burton Smith asked that complaints about the newspaper's activities be directed to the union, rather than to the university administration.
Disciplinary proceeding and appeal The administration started disciplinary proceedings against Thrasher. In December 1997 the administration charged Thrasher with discrimination against women as per the university's code of student conduct.Lazin, Dan. "Space Moose beats the rap." () The Gateway. Thursday November 5, 1998. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. The author was sent to a university disciplinary hearing. On December 15, 1997, Gretchen C. Hess,"IN THE MATTER OF THE CODE OF STUDENT BEHAVIOUR, and IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL FROM THE DECISION DATED DECEMBER 15, 1997 OF THE STUDENT DISCIPLINE OFFICER BETWEEN: MR. ADAM THRASHER (APPELLANT) -and- CAMPUS SECURITY SERVICES (RESPONDENT) DECISION OF THE UNIVERSITY APPEAL BOARD." () University of Alberta. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. the university's discipline officer, reviewed the university's charges. Hess declared Thrasher guilty of violating s. 30A.3.2 of the Code of Student Behaviour, and the university punished Thrasher by issuing him a written reprimand that said "We reprimand Mr. Thrasher for failing to treat women with dignity and respect. In future, Mr. Thrasher should be more sensitive to some members of his reading audience in his depiction of issues" and that he would be fined $200 ($ when adjusted for inflation) by making a contribution of that amount to the Graduate Students' Association Food Bank. After the fine was announced, Thrasher said that he had no intention of immediately paying the fine and that he would seek legal advice from Student Legal Services. He also stated that he had no intention of withdrawing from the university.
On January 23, 1998, Thrasher filed an appeal against the university's decision. The appeal hearing began on Monday September 28, 1998. It was supposed to conclude that afternoon, but the meeting ran too long and had to be adjourned. The meeting was scheduled to conclude on Thursday October 8, 1998.Lazin, Dan. "Space Moose in appeal hearing." () The Gateway. Tuesday September 29, 1998. Retrieved on January 30, 2012. Five of the women who had initially sent complaints against Thrasher testified during the appeal hearing. The appeal process was completed on Monday November 2, 1998, with the university overturning the charges against Thrasher. The front page of the November 5, 1998 The Gateway stated "Space Moose Beats the Rap". According to Thrasher, he spent around $300 ($ when adjusted for inflation), which was more than the fine, even though his lawyer had worked pro bono. Thrasher said that he spent the money on the appeals because he was attacking censorship and that he, as an artist, had a responsibility to do so. The University Appeal Board announced that it reversed the punishment decision on November 20, 1998.