Bill Reinhold, Badger issue 6 page 18, First 1985

"We're loading up the woody ..." from the issue entitled "Surfin' USA." One of the more endearing traits of Mike Baron was his ability to ground both his insane superhero (Badger) and his space opera set 500 years in the future (Nexus) in our reality through the use of pop culture references - even if they were out of date by the time they were made. The first verse of the Beach Boys' song Surfin' Safari includes the line "we're loading up our woody ..."

In both Badger and Nexus, Baron continually has the characters playing and singing songs by the Beach Boys and referencing surf culture, for no other apparent reason than Baron was a fan. In this issue, Ham Thorndyke (nee Hammaglystwythkbrngxxaxolotl) has used his weather generating wizardly powers to surf a wave for 2000 miles, the wave ultimately ending up as a tidal wave, quite literally surfing to the USA. One of the most indelible images of the series.