elder's signature style, with extra humorous detail added upon humorous detail, is routinely described as "chicken fat," a reference to soup preparation. as elder told an interviewer, "the term just came out of what we both [kurtzman and elder] knew were the parts of the strip that gave it more flavor but did very little to advance the storyline. that's what chicken fat does... it advances the flavor of the soup and, as we all know now, too much chicken fat will kill you!"