You know when we talk about both reality TV and Dr. Strangelove in the same episode that we have the makings of something discordant and chaotic. Luckily, we agree on the things that matter. The others, not so important (if you don’t know which is which in that scenario, then I feel sorry for you).
Should this feel dirty? Because it feels dirty.
Speaking of disagreeing, it’s time once again for Horizons Watch! We pick two fresh-ish comics and bring them before our two-man tribunal (hush) for judging, mockery and entertainment. Before we get to those more in-depth looks, we have other comics that have crossed our paths recently:
(5:39) The Sundays
(7:26) Rocket Robinson and the Pharaoh’s Fortune
The big news this (past) week was the launch of Penny Arcade’s much-anticipated reality competition series …
(9:10) Strip Search
While Steve has long since sworn off shows like this that don’t involve sweaty dudes rolling around together and 30 Rock parodies, I watched the first episode and came away feeling like it was a show that was produced by a production company (Bionic Trousers Media). More thoughts can be found in the podcast proper. During our discussion, we couldn’t help but pick out one contestant who we’ve previously talked about and reviewed on the show:
(11:03) Skadi
I read an article recently about the purpose of video game reviews in the modern gaming culture, specifically with regards to setting discourse. Many reviewers find themselves tasked with establishing the faults and/or strengths of a particular property and leaving it for the audience to judge whether they are right or wrong. While it can debated whether or not this should be the goal of a critic, it is certainly true that I have set the discourse for this series and the remainder of its episodes will have to work to change that. For me, at least, I hope you will tell us if your experience was different.
One of our featured comics has the word “diablo” in the title, so naturally I picked something from the game series of the same name for our midshow chat.
(15:30) ‘Wet Grass Inspired’ by AmIEvil
Two great comics come over our Horizons this time, both wildly different, and showing how things should be done in comics while also displaying some missteps in their lives on the Web. First up, Kris Straub’s newest comic confection:
(19:34) Broodhollow
If you want a comic that looks like Starslip (a previous, now completed Straub creation) but has a sinister undertone, Broodhollow has what you’re looking for. Protagonist Wadsworth Zane represents the everyman while also possessing demons, both figurative and (possibly) literal. It makes for a fun read that offers just enough mystery to keep you coming back for more.
Our second pick:
(28:02) Muscles Diablo
In the fun and nothing but category, Muscles Diablo stands second to none. Muscles is, as described by creator Pat N. Lewis, “a tough guy with a shady past who punches a lot of things”. No mystery there! The only question we had is why would you host such a great comic on such a terrible template for Tumblr (re-reading comics is a chore, though this may not affect non-reviewing types). We’ve encountered this problem before, and speaking of that, here are the comics that naturally came up in our conversations:
(24:51) Lovecraft is Missing
(24:56) Sin Titulo
(27:39) Epicsplosion (still no idea if this currently has a home on the Web, if you find it, please let us know!)
(30:41) Little League (now JL8?)
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Few episodes take care of themselves as well as this one. Everything kind of falls into place and the segments just find their way, usually led by a webcomic or two. Our only news mention is of Table Titans (3:50), and the only news to note is that Twitter can be an awesome tool sometimes. I mentioned that the responsive design (web design term, Google it) for the site was breaking the viewing experience at certain dimensions to Scott Kurtz. Then, later that evening, I was going back and forth with whoever runs the Table Titans Twitter account.
