Original run 1995 – 1998 Originally published 1997 Genre Science Fiction | Collected volumes 2 | |
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Illustrator Tavisha Wolfarth-Simons Publisher Tavicat Comics
(2 issues)
Sirius Entertainment
(12 issues, 2 being reprints) Magazine Super Information Hijinks: Reality Check! Similar Shutterbox #1, Ranklechick and His Three‑Le, Shutterbox #4, Shutterbox #3, Shutterbox | ||
Reality Check! (full title: Super Information Hijinks: Reality Check!) is a comedic science fiction original English-language manga series written by Rikki Simons and drawn by Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, together known as Studio Tavicat; unlike conventional manga, Reality Check!'s art is full-color, painted by Rikki Simons (although it appears black-and-white in print). Set in a near-future world of 2012, the story centers on Collin Meeks, a young cat owner who discovers his cat, Catreece, has been regularly entering the world of online virtual reality gaming and the general "Virtual Internet System" (VIS). The story covers the online and offline activities and interactions of the Colin and his friends (including Catreece), who all utilize form of virtual-reality (VR) headgear called a "True Virtual Reality (TVR) Helmet" to experience the futuristic internet and gaming environs.
It was originally available online in full color (the pages painted by Rikki Simons) but was also released as comic book in two volumes. The first in 1995, consisting of two black and white issues published by Tavicat Comics, and the second from 1996 to 1998, consisting of 12 full color issues published by Sirius Entertainment. The Tavicat issues were reprinted in color in the first 2 issues of the SIRIUS run. TOKYOPOP picked up the title in 2003 and reprinted the SIRIUS run in a black and white digest-sized format consisting of two volumes.
Catreece
When Catreece is connected to VIS via the TVR helmet, her avatar takes the form of a catgirl. Since she has at least near-human intelligence and can communicate with humans through ordinary speech in the online worlds, she is effectively a technologically enabled werecat, albeit one which started as a cat rather than human. This rule also applies for Catreece's sister, Mimi, who is not only owned by Lili, the younger sister of Colins' friend Maiko, but also taught Lili everything she learned from an internet hermit.