Forever 16 - B19

For my 500th deviation, I wanted to do a personal project. And what's more personal for me than "Forever 16", my favorite of all my original concepts? So to commemorate half a thousand drawings, here's the cover to the strip's 19th book collection. "Vote or Dance", published in October 2005, covers every strip from August 2, 2004 to May 22, 2005. What happens to the gang in that crop of stories? Well...

- After watching the premiere of “Entourage” on HBO, Aaron pays a group of middle school kids to follow Westworld around
- William sets his sights on beating Lance Armstrong in the next Tour de France and takes up cycling, only to find that he’s grossly out of shape for the sport
- Steve makes his friends promise never to speak of Catwoman again
- Joel accidentally knocks Tom Servo’s litterbox out of the garage and into the passing car of an out-of-towner, who tries to sue Westworld for the incident
- Aaron is ticked off at Kevin Federline for keeping Britney Spears off the market; Joel and Steve try to steer Aaron towards dating girls whom he actually has a chance of coming in physical contact with
- The gang tries to figure out how art thefts like the one in Norway keep happening; Michelle’s still life is subsequently stolen out of the art room
- Jocelyn makes a list of people who she thinks would make better Republican candidates for the 2004 election than George W. Bush
- Abby is concerned about the impending re-election for student body president, but Joel and his friends all use the cues they got from Napoleon Dynamite to help cinch her victory, including distributing "Vote For Abby" shirts and Steve's impromptu performance of a wild dance to Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat" during the final debate
- Katy and Ashleigh try to fill the void left by the end of “Friends” by tuning in to “Joey”, but it’s just not the same
- Aaron gets a surge of inspiration from Green Day’s “American Idiot” album and endeavors to write a full concept album for Westworld, but can’t think of a decent story
- With Martha Stewart in prison, Tina decides to take a shot at publishing her own cookbook now that the competition no longer exists
- Westworld plays a show on a day when Aaron is suffering from a sore throat; he opts to use backing vocals, but the same fate that befell Ashlee Simpson on "Saturday Night Live" happens to him too
- William gets sick and tired of hearing all the Boston Red Sox fans coming out of the woodwork to celebrate the team’s World Series victory
- In the wake of George W. Bush’s re-election, Jocelyn decides to strike out for Canada, under the belief that America is full of morons; Steve manages to change her mind
- Joel dreams that he and his friends are trapped in the world of Saw, but they manage to outwit Jigsaw at every turn
- Tina has to construct her own flowchart just to follow the first few episodes of “Lost”
- Steve pitches a higher-concept version of “Drawn Together” featuring well-known copyrighted cartoon characters
- William goes for the Hugh Laurie look from “House”, but his cane causes trouble
- Joel takes Michelle to the movies on Christmas Eve, but they can’t decide on which movie to see; the theater closes before they can choose, but Michelle assures Joel that she appreciates the gesture
- After watching “Desperate Housewives”, William suspects that Tina might be up to something when he’s not home
- Katy develops a crush on Gerard Butler from The Phantom of the Opera and plays the movie’s soundtrack endlessly, much to the annoyance of her family
- William shudders to think of how the producers of “Law and Order” will try to replace Jerry Orbach
- Steve goes to see Elektra, but Jocelyn thinks he’s just got a thing for Jennifer Garner
- Aaron tries to follow the example of music stars the world over by holding a tsunami relief concert, but only two people show up
- Joel gets sucked in by the new “Battlestar Galactica” on the SciFi Channel
- The guys exhibit an unprecedented interest in “Family Guy”, with its approaching return to FOX; Jocelyn is more interested in “American Dad”
- Joel and Aaron go to see Son of the Mask and are sorely disappointed
- A Hammerhead story that parodies Constantine
- Aaron decides it’s time to put an end to the Hollywood trend of casting action stars in family comedies after seeing The Pacifier
- Katy can’t figure out if “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is anime or not
- After hearing the disgusting “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent, Michelle finds that she’s lost her taste for sugar
- Tina is outraged upon seeing “Wonder Showzen”, not realizing that it’s not really a kids’ show
- Steve dreams himself and his friends into the world of Sin City
- Aaron sets up a YouTube account and begins recording his friends doing stupid stuff so he'll have something to fill it with
- Tina discusses the death of Pope John Paul II with her first-grade class; the kids somehow get it into their minds that any of them could be the next Pope
- Abby tries to pique Joel’s interest by inviting him to see The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; she has him read the book first, but he gives up halfway through, insisting that he just doesn’t get British humor
- Jocelyn is disgusted at the notion that Paris Hilton got a part in House of Wax, noting that the woman has gone about her celebrity status entirely backwards
- Katy turns back into a Mariah Carey fan after buying “The Emancipation of Mimi” album
- Joel and his friends can’t manage to buy tickets to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith before they sell out; Jocelyn convinces them to just download the movie instead

Heck yeah.