The Dr. Seuss v. Penguin books case was decided in favor of the complainant (that's Dr Seuss Enterprises, fyi) because the Penguin "parody" turned out to be a satire. Instead of parodying Cat in the Hat, the Penguin book parodied the OJ Simpson trial, using the artistic and lingual style of Theodore Geisel.
Penny Arcade's "Tart as a Double Entendre" comic didn't simply use Strawberry Shortcake as a vehicle of expression to parody American McGee. It parodied the artistic style of Strawberry Shortcake and the thematic style of American McGee simultaneously. By altering the artistic style of Strawberry Shortcake to resemble the latest in Gabe's "sketchy" art (rather than using the gothic art design of American McGee), he conjured up the essence of the cultural icon while transforming it in a sexually charged yet personalized parody. Because of that ARTISTIC change, he explicitly targetted the innocent style of the copyrighted Shortcake.
The comic meets both requirements of parody, both of American McGee and CR'ed Shortcake. And yes, parody can target more than one subject at a time.
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The Dr. Seuss v. Penguin books case was decided in favor of the complainant (that's Dr Seuss Enterprises, fyi) because the Penguin "parody" turned out to be a satire. Instead of parodying Cat in the Hat, the Penguin book parodied the OJ Simpson trial, using the artistic and lingual style of Theodore Geisel. Penny Arcade's "Tart as a Double Entendre" comic didn't simply use Strawberry Shortcake as a vehicle of expression to parody American McGee. It parodied the artistic style of Strawberry Shortcake and the thematic style of American McGee simultaneously. By altering the artistic style of Strawberry Shortcake to resemble the latest in Gabe's "sketchy" art (rather than using the gothic art design of American McGee), he conjured up the essence of the cultural icon while transforming it in a sexually charged yet personalized parody. Because of that ARTISTIC change, he explicitly targetted the innocent style of the copyrighted Shortcake. The comic meets both requirements of parody, both of American McGee and CR'ed Shortcake. And yes, parody can target more than one subject at a time.