Only two more answers to go! If you guessed that strip #75 was the inspration for the "comics! Comics! COMICS! and sci-fi expo" arc, you're right! Here's commentary from Phil and Joe.
Phil: I'm sure this has happened to all of us because there's always something that we're a fan of that no one else has a clue about. We forget that although we know who Theodore Gordon is, everyone else could give a hoot about him or the fact that he's the father of fly fishing...
This strip was actually one of the very first ideas I had for Matriculated. I knew that both Jeremy and Steve were both going to be comics and sci-fi fans. I knew at the very least they would connect on that level. And I love the fact that both of them are so star struck that the most they can manage is, "It's Chuck Hallenbeck!" as to an explanation of who he is.
I'm not sure where I came up with the name Chuck Hallenbeck... I'm very bad at naming things. I didn't want to use an actual name and coming up with a fake name that doesn't sound fake is tough. Chuck Hallenbeck sounds like a name an actor in a sci-fi series would use because he wanted to reserve his actual name, Charles Hallenbeck III for when he did serious acting. But instead, he got typecast and couldn't get any serious acting gigs...
Joe: Ok, Chuck Hallenbeck, I decided, was David Carradine. I had just gotten a Kill Bill poster signed by him at this dinky little con in New York. It was awesome. Phil and I were the only ones near him, and he was doing a crossword puzzle. You pay his helper walk to the end of the table, and wait. For what I'm not sure. I think he wouldn't sign until he got 9 across. It was still pretty cool. He got swamped as soon as we left.
Other notables - In the last panel just behind Jeremy's ear - That's Cyclops. and the green poster just bellow the "1.00" sign is Fred the Food critic, form our very own Free Lunch.
My favorite panel is the second one. I like the way the crowd of feet came out. I should use that more.
Check back next week for the final answer in the Matriculated contest, insight on the Matriculated strip from Joe and Phil and an announcement!