This *might* be a reference to Smokescreen’s, uh, habit. What he’s actually smoking is a broken LEGO piece (yes, after thirty years, I’ve accumulated a stash of broken ones too and I just won’t throw them away – you never know when one might be useful).
As far as the possible drug reference, all I can say is behave yourselves, kids. This will be dealt with in the strip. 🙂
Yes, I’m poking fun at the X-Men here. They had a dragon named Lockheed.
Smaug is, of course, the dragon from The Hobbit. Puff is the Magic Dragon from the song and movie. Proginoskes isn’t technically a dragon, it’s a cherubim. But in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wind In The Door, when the characters first encounter it, they call it a dragon. Close enough for me.
It doesn’t clearly identify the “shouter” at the end of this strip, but I imagine it to be Stretch.
I debated about the use of the word “turd” in a strip I’ve made a conscious decision to be something I don’t mind my kids reading. But then I realized if “crap in a hat” is a constant, “turd” is probably okay.
I was originally going to have Sandstorm say something like “eeek!” in Panel 3, but at the last minute decided that was too timid of her. I think it’s funny that the dragon says “Howdy!” though. And I don’t think Science Guy is really too certain about Sandstorm coming around.
I love how Science Guy says Important Scientific Things, like that makes all the difference. And the dragon makes an excellent point; when you’re that big, you don’t do anything part-way.