Super Penguin saves the day

Many, many years ago, deep in Antarctica, before many of you were born, a comically large egg began to wobble and crack — and out hatched an extraordinary penguin. A little larger than the others, he helped solve problems for his colony, chasing away “bad birds” and beating up “mean ole sharks.” Today, he’s known as the Super Penguin. 

That’s how resident David Zimmerman’s comic book saga begins. For the last five years, the Ardenwoods resident has spent his days dreaming up offbeat villains and sticky situations for the high-flying heroics of Super Penguin and his sidekick Dust Bunny.  

Flipping through a large binder, where the last several years of his daily comics are neatly displayed in clear plastic sleeves, Zimmerman recounted Super Penguin’s adventures in detail: “Here’s when Super Penguin was in Patagonia,” he said, pointing to a one-panel comic. “And here’s where he learned to fly. He hit the wall — splat! — and slid down like a pancake. So, the fire truck comes to get him unstuck, but instead of having a hook and ladder, it has two big spatulas that scrape him off the wall.” He paused and smiled. “That’s my wife’s favorite.”  

Originally created to amuse the kitchen staff during the pandemic lockdowns, Zimmerman’s comic is now a community-wide hit, broadcast panel-by-panel on Ardenwoods’ in-house TV channel. With a pen, a sense of mischief and the day’s dinner menu as his canvas, Zimmerman gets to work on Super Penguin’s next misadventure.  

“It all started because, during COVID, we weren’t meeting for group meals, so I started drawing on the backs of the menus to send messages to the kitchen — just for fun,” he said. “At first, it was just stuff like this.” He flipped over a menu and began drawing to demonstrate. After a few moments, he passed the paper back to reveal a sweet yet simple flower with “Thank you!” scrawled across the bottom. “That’s how it started, and it sort of evolved over time.”

Quick doodles soon turned into longer messages from the world-famous Kilroy, who let the chefs and servers know, among other things, that he “was here.” And then there was “a wooly worm in there that was 40 feet long,” Zimmerman recalled. “But every foot had shoes and little bow ties on.  

“It was just to say something to the staff,” he continued. “And one of the servers was a pretty good artist and would send things back. We’d go back and forth like that just for the fun of it. And that’s when Super Penguin got involved.”  

Strong enough to join the circus, savvy enough to foil bank robbers and kind-hearted enough to help Santa Claus navigate a snowstorm at the North Pole, Super Penguin stuck out as a staff favorite right away.  

“The idea was: What's the least heroic character you could think of?” Zimmerman explained with a laugh. And for his trusty sidekick, Zimmerman created Dust Bunny, a lovable fluffball our hero picked up while investigating a moonshine distillery. “Now, everywhere they go, Dust Bunny is always having family reunions,” Zimmerman added, smiling. “He’s got the largest family in the world.”  

Together, the duo zips from Antarctica to Spooky Hollow, via a detour through the “Boozy Way” — and, along the way, they battle mischievous marshmallow monsters, rescue turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving dinner and outwit shady politicians (including one aptly named Phil A. Buster). “They’re just silly stories,” Zimmerman said. “They’re not political, not offensive, just something to make you smile. Hopefully.”

Every episode is hand-drawn in ink — no erasing allowed — and the stories often veer off course in the best possible ways. “If I make a mistake, I just keep going,” he said. But Rosemary, Zimmerman’s wife and in-house proofreader, keeps an eye on his spelling. “That’s why there’s white-out all over,” he continued. “She does a lot of crossword puzzles, so she knows when something’s wrong.”

Though Zimmerman never pursued art professionally — he spent his career as a social worker helping children with disabilities — he said he’s been drawn to drawing since he could hold a pencil. “I was seriously thinking of doing a comic strip once,” he said. “It was going to be called ‘Salty,’ a sailor take on ‘Beetle Bailey.’ But I had other things to do; I needed to make a living.” Now, in retirement, his creative side is free to shine.  

From his days as a staff in-joke to his debut on Ardenwoods’ TV, Super Penguin has become an icon full of his own community-grounded lore. Look closely at the background of some editions, and you may catch a glimpse of familiar places around campus — or pieces of art — that have found their way into Super Penguin’s world. Despite his character’s newfound fame, Zimmerman remains humble about his work. “It’s just something to do,” he said. “I just want to make something that maybe gives you a chuckle.”  

Sitting in the Grille with his binder of backlogs, Zimmerman pulls out his latest yet-to-air comics, along with a few of his recent storyboards, where he roughly sketches out ideas for upcoming editions. When asked what comes next for Super Penguin, he shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still working on it,” he said. “Some of my neighbors have asked me that too, and that’s always a good sign.”

More adventures of Super Penguin