so, first off the whole reason for "Collegeville" is Chopper. the Chopper mask is a Ben Cooper mask/costume from 1973 (i can't attach pictures here but search "Ben Cooper Battling Bunny" and you should see an Ebay listing pic). i bought one from Etsy in 2019 i think. i was really into vintage Halloweeny kitsch at the time and wanted to have a mask, that one just called out to me.

Chopper became a character before my fictional town of Collegeville was a thing. i don't think it was until i adopted Mary's design and resurrected Kilroy that i started connecting dots and thinking about where these characters could live. i kept thinking about Ben Cooper/Collegeville (two different mask/costume making companies from that era, they filled the same niche though) and how all the characters are connected to Chopper and i thought it would be fun to have them live in the town where the masks are made, that would make it all the more strange that Chopper was there. i ditched that idea later down the line but i still liked the ring of a town called Collegeville. i found out the Collegeville costume company was located in Collegeville, PA, but i looked at the place and it just didn't feel right. so i searched up other Collegevilles in the US. i wanted to keep it in the midwest, since write what you know and all that, and after poking around Collegeville, IN i just thought this is it. i've been there 3 times since and idk, i just love it there. it felt right! felt close enough to places i've been to in my home state of Ohio without actually being located there too.