But in late 2003 Team Useless made a totally unexpected reappearance. After the long break to refresh their creative juices, the team is armed with a slew of new, zany ideas. "We’re pretty sure the surly drunk stuff that wouldn’t fly 25 years ago has come of age today," says Johnson.

Ben Donovan has replaced Phineas, his grandfather; Jeff Bryk, a descendant of Hieronymus Bryk, has taken pen in hand to advance the cause of Uselessness. Mark Johnson continues to be the steady hand guiding the creative process.

Each day, Johnson commutes from his underground fortress, Donovan flies in from the island on his private jet, and Bryk hobbles in from his box over a steam vent outside City Hall. Each day they live the lives of successful cartoonists, meeting in their lavishly-appointed private club where they drink brandy, discuss the events of the day and plan the next episode of Captain Useless.

Rumors swirl that Bryk is trying to bring the operation down from the inside, but Bryk disclaims them. "If my great-grandfather vowed to destroy Captain Useless that doesn’t mean that I’m secretly trying to leech all the humor out from the strip, and just because the others live in luxury while I don’t even have a home I’m not jealous of them or anything. Why would anyone think that?"

Donovan is straight to the point about his role in the strip, "My family serves Mark Johnson, as is our duty."

With this kind of energy, the future looks bright for the Captain! Yes, nothing could possibly go wrong now, could it?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6