Digital Strips Podcast 291 – Red’s Catchup (Red’s Planet)

Olympic fever, mis muchachos! And what better way to complement the games, pitting one country against another in the spirit of sportsmanship and domination than a podcast about webcomics? Tying that all together with a nice, big bow, did you see this week’s Chainsawsuit(8:48) about the Olympics, specifically the oddball mascots that they chose to represent the world’s greatest athletes? Other first segment-type things to discuss…

  • Have you caught up with Wondermark (9:28) lately? If not, you’re missing out on the best, old-school, new-school writing featuring repurposed Victorian-era drawings on offer today.
  • Erfworld (11:48). It’s a comic that I possibly thought was something else, but which is very well done regardless of that fact.
  • No, it’s not the latest movie in the Indiana Jones franchise (though I’d take just about anything that might wash the taste of Crystal Skull out of my mouth). Rather, Tales of the Emerald Yeti (13:05) is a mix of the fish-out-of-water basis of Superman and the man-inside nature of werewolf lore. Steve found an entertaining take on the comic books of the Silver Age, but the style and feel seems hollow after a few pages. Certainly worth a look, though.

During a Facebook conversation with a buddy while editing the show, I asked him if he would like to contribute the episode’s song choice. When asked for a proper piece that followed the intergalactic theme that Red’s Planet inspires, he requested something from the Halo series, specifically the third iteration. Luckily, Overclocked Remixhad only one such work.

We take looks at comics, sometimes for Horizons Watches, sometimes for awards show wrap-ups, that are not nearly long enough to put together the aspects of the story, art, and other pieces of the ever-elusive comic puzzle. While we’re not sure if this will be a regular thing, Red’s Planet (17:53) fit that bill more than perfectly. As a Horizons Watch pick from all the way back in Episode 213, our time with this all-ages, space-faring tale was much too brief. Here, we get a chance to catch-up (hence the hopefully one-time title) with the archives thus far and it is a wonderful journey, indeed. As always, we mention other comics in our discussions:

All this, plus: A tutorial on Mac and Me, the zeitgeist of E.T. vs. the endearing, enduring legacy of Mario, a new perspective on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Cameron Frye’s Ball-Trippin’ Day Off?), and Steve’s son makes his podcast debut while his dad focuses primarily on gentalia, particularly of the male variety. Join us!

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Digital Strips Podcast 280 – Horizons Watch – Runewriters and Unicorn Soup

They say that good things come in threes. Well, I say, then how do you explain Twix bars, huh? Those are good things and they only come in twos (and the super legendary fours). Continuing this tradition of things that are awesome coming in pairs, this week’s show takes a look at two new comics and lets you know which horse to back early so that you can look cool in front of your friends.

First up we had Runewriters, and yes, there’s more to this strip than that theme song I wrote for it a few shows back. It’s a fantasy tale full of magic, wonder and people overcoming their disabilities, whether they be deaf, or slowly turning into a tentacle monster and getting chased by a glowing talking wolf.

Continuing with our theme of two words per name, we move on to Unicorn Soup, a gaming comic for the over-30 crowd. I know they keep releasing reports that most gamers fall into this category but it sure doesn’t seem that way on Xbox Live or when I skim through any number of gaming comics. Unicorn Soup sets the record straight and does it in comic form, which is the only way I’ll read record straightening.

All this as well as chatting about the chance of a web comic making it in the non-web world and Jason makes the wrong kinds of friends.

As always, we deeply desire your feedback. Please leave a comment below.

Show Notes:

Toothpaste for dinner 4:00
@drewtoothpaste 5:00
Adulting 6:45
Dinosaur Comic 6:45
Buttersafe 7:30
Axe Cop 9:00
Ratfist 9:15
Battle Pug 9:15
The Abominable Charles Christopher 12:30
The Meek 17:00
XKCD 22:00

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Digital Strips Podcast 277 – Review – Delilah Dirk

April 2nd is always the saddest day of year for me because it’s the day that I have to face the fact that all the cool stuff I saw the day before isn’t real and will never happen (Google, if you’re reading that, that Mars thing still hurts). I hope we can make your April 2nd a little brighter with another episode and another great comic.

This week we’re taking a look a Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Luetenent by Tony Cliff. It’s a fun-fill, swash-buckling romp through the exotic lands of the Near East. Since the comic wrapped up in late Feburary this is a rare chance for us to talk about a full story arc as it was intended to be read by the creator. It’s a strange concept to us, but I think we handle it ok.

We also talk about the “proper” way to read a long form story based comic, the proper way to handle sexy characters and violence in comics and the proper way to searve burgers and tacos. It’s a good time. Please join us.

Show notes:
Space Trawler
Reptilius Rex
Not invented Here
Dawn of the Ninja
Diesel Sweeties
Boumeries
Gunnerkrigg Court
The Dreamer
Questionable Contact
Order of the stick
Realm of Atland
Schlock Mercenary
Shortpacked
Corporate Skull

Mmpph the way you mmpph

The Meek
Next Town Over
Rice Boy
PVP
Bug

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Lovecraft Is Missing Book 5 Begins September 2nd

I have watched TV shows for so long that the concept of seasonly delivered content is nothing new to me. And if comics want to be thought of in that same manner, so be it. I consume so much content online that I am never left wanting for something to read, watch, or experience. Combine that with the fact that Lovecraft Is Missing, the terrific occult suspense webcomic from Larry Latham, is returning next Friday after a summer hiatus and I have no reason not to shout this information from the rooftops.

Sure, Larry was kind enough to set this date in stone the moment the previous “season” ended, but time is a harsh mistress in the world of the Web so consider this your official reminder. The full rundown of what’s in store, straight from Larry himself, can be found below the image.

The mysteries begin to unfold as Nan Mercy, Win Battler and Father Munsford Jackey delve deeper into the disappearance of an obscure pulp fiction writer in 1926. Cosmic horror and pulse-pounding adventure swirl around the multiple factions moving towards an as-yet unknown goal, with the only certainty being that the result is not in the best interests of humanity. Is Lovecraft the key to defeating the evil, or is he merely a pawn in a larger game that somehow centers around his creations? Or is there a more terrible truth waiting to be uncovered?

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SMBC Theater Proves The Internet Is An Awesome Place To Be, Fully Funded Kickstarter Project Is A Go

But you know what’s not awesome about the Internet? Fleen. But it is Fleen we have to thank for news that the Kickstarter project for SMBC Theater Goes To SPACE! has not only achieved funding five times over for the upcoming webseries, but celebrated doing so by putting the entire first DVD’s worth of content up on YouTube for everyone to enjoy, cheapskate and gracious contributor alike.

If only Congress could work together on this level and get something done, we wouldn’t have to rely on geniuses like Weiner and his crew to lampoon political snafus like that and…

Wait, on second thought… Congress! Keep on screwin’ that pooch!

Slackers Rewarded, Exchange High-Fives; Gary Tyrrell (Fleen)

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Trenches Comic By Super Team Kurtz, Holkins, and Krahulik Launches

It was just this past episode of the Digital Strips Podcast (or the one before that, can’t specifically recall which) that Steve and I were wondering what had happened to this instant homerun of a comic concept. The man behind PvP, originally a gaming-centered gag comic, and the creators of Penny Arcade, itself a comic about video games and the culture they encourage, got together (i.e. walked down the hall to one another) and came up with another gaming comic idea, this time chronicling the depressing life of a video game tester, and it’s called The Trenches.

Remember, that profession that everyone wanted as a kid? Yeah, you don’t want this. It also looks like the blog will feature true horror stories from actual, former testers, so there’s even more to come to the site for than the regular comic update.

The Trenches

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Chris Jones Has A New Portfolio Site

Do we talk about portfolio sites around here? No. If you’re a professional artist, or want to be thought of as one, you should have one.

But for Chris Jones, creator/collaborator on numerous (Grumps, Captain Excelsior/Stupendous, Byron Pinkleton, and Snowflakes, just to name a few) webcomics, it feels appropriate to mention such an announcement. And it’s an easier way of linking to all of his stellar, grotesque, hilarious work in one shot. So click that image below and get to browsin’. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

The Chris Jones Portfolio website

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Sin Titulo Is Updating Again

Sin Titulo returnsAgain, there is nothing else that need be said to this matter. Sin Titulo is an Eisner Award winner, it is created by the immensely talented Batman collaborator, Cameron Stewart, and it features a mystery that still, to this day, baffles the fluff out of me. Cameron was busy with other comics of equal awesomeness, but with those now on hold for the foreseeable future, he is jumping back into Sin Titulo whole-hog, hoping for updates at least three, if not four, days a week.

I think you know what to do.

*whispers* 1… 2… 3…

(together) Thank you, Cameron!

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Now That RatFist Is Over, Go Tell People About RatFist

RatFist coming to bookstores in DecemberAnd that is creator Doug TenNapel’s desire, not my own (though it is certainly a sound one). In the upcoming Episode 253, Steve and I put Ratfist up against Battlepug to see who wins the Internetiest Webcomic Title Of All Time and came away with a realization that we loved both comics equally, though for very different reasons. I also got to tell Steve in that discussion that Ratfist was ending this week, which he conceded to be a good thing as so many comics seem to wear out their welcome.

With 150 updates in the bag, Ratfist has called it quits, but not only can the comic be found in its entirety at the handy dandy, easy-to-remember URL, but a collection featuring bonus content and landing at 176 pages drops later this year from Image Comics (front cover, pictured left). Doug encourages people to tell everyone they know about the comic and for existing readers to pick up the book to show the big publishers that putting out books based on webcomics is a great idea. Can’t really say I disagree with any of these sentiments.

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Webcomic Interview Round-Up

RoundupBecause really, what else should a write-up like this be called?

Kate Beaton talks to Newsarama for a 2-part series (Part 1, Part 2)

The Boston Globe talks with Jeph Jacques, Jeffery Rowland, Rich Stevens, Randy Milholland,  and Michael Terracciano about the business of webcomics

At CBR, Talkin’ Comics with Tim sits down with Canaan Grall

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