I noticed, the other day, a rather cool fan-made video that Penny Arcade posted on their site. Specifically, it was the Armadeaddon storyline being put to music – which turned out pretty well for being a collection of still frame images.

The storyline itself is perhaps Penny Arcade’s greatest foray into continuity – being not only a whopping nine strips long (which is an entire epoch as they classify such things), but also containing all manner of references to characters and events from their past.

It also happens to be the storyline that contained the one single panel that I simply couldn’t read.

It wasn’t that it was too gruesome or violent or offensive in any way.

No, I simply couldn’t parse what it was trying to show me. The exhibit is to your right – a simple image of Tycho reaching into his pants (no, not like that) to withdraw a d20 with which to combat his foe.

I spent five full minutes staring at the panel, when first it appeared, without understanding what I was seeing.

Eventually the color scheme of his shirt and the context of the surrounding panels tipped me off. But until then, my mind simply couldn’t figure it out – was it a fist reaching out of the ground from below? A gaping maw grinning wickedly?

For whatever reason, I couldn’t make sense of it – and this was from Gabe, one of the top artists in webcomics.

In the end, images are just a collection of lines and shapes that are designed to evoke some specific image in our thoughts. And, sometimes, it doesn’t quite work. We see it with kids all the time: “My, what a pretty horsie!” “…it’s supposed to be a fighter jet, mom.”

And, occasionally, it happens to me in some webcomic or another. One image gets parsed as another, and even once I figure out what it is supposed to be, it is a challenge to get my mind to stop reading it as whatever form it originally decided the image represented.

And sometimes, even with the best of commics, it can’t parse the image at all, and can’t read it as anything more than a collection of shapes and colors.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

My apologies for the absence last week, as life was exceptionally hectic. Given that I would have likely spent most of the week whining about the latest Sluggy storyline being lame, it is probably for the best everyone was spared that.

I’d like to start things off on a good note this week, however, so let’s talk about Penny and Angie.

Last week, it is altogether likely I would have spoken poorly of the current storyline. The premise: Aggie’s dad Nick is introducing her to his girlfriend Charisma, and her son Marshall, whom she has a major crush on despite him currently dating Karen, an enemy of both Aggie and her rival, Penny, who happens to be stalking the lot of them.

Yeah.

I mean, even from the start it seemed clear it would be one of those stories about a bunch of people embroiled in an atmosphere of extreme awkwardness, with all sides embarrassing themselves and various hijinks ensuing.

Which is fine, but is simply a brand of humor that has never really worked for me. Watching a trainwreck in action, knowing that there is going to be misunderstandings and silliness and so forth… just leaves me feeling frustrated, not amused. Which is my own personal taste, and no real fault of the humor in question. Still, it is a good comic, so I knew I would keep reading through the storyline despite it not being for me.

My suspicions about the direction of the storyline were confirmed when I saw the interactions between Aggie and Marshall. The parents own little run-in left me mostly confused.

And then I got to today’s strip, and realized I was starting to enjoy the entire fiasco. I’d say this is in part because the dialogue is finally starting to ring true, whereas the Aggie/Marshall interaction felt a bit too idealized. But honestly, it is also just due to the set-up itself finally growing on me.

I found myself looking forward to whatever was coming next, and the fall-out thereof. I found myself actively enjoying a brand of humor that normally leaves me numb.

I’d say that is a damn fine testament to the skill of T Campbell and Gisele Lagace, the minds behind the mayhem.

Penny and Angie has been running strong for two and a half years now, and has definitely come into it’s own. Perhaps the defining moment occured in this strip, right near the start of the storyline.

Didn’t notice anything too special? Penny trying to chastise Aggie, and Aggie blowing it off – doesn’t seem all that important, does it?

But if you dial way, way back, to the very first storyline, and to a moment when Penny learned that Aggie had lost her mom, and filed it away as future ammunition, imagining it was knowledge that would cripple her rival if she brought it to the fore.

Except… she couldn’t bring herself to do so. It came up, time and time again, but for over 400 strips it faded into the background.

And finally, humiliated, she breaks it out – and it is shrugged off. And that – that hits Penny hard. That’s what truly drives all the frustration and hate to the surface. That is what brings her into the entire catastrophe we have unfolding before us.

I can’t deny that sort of connection. So I really shouldn’t have been surprised that even the storyline I was dreading has won me over, and left me coming back for more.

Most people have noticed that, lately, Order of the Stick has been “rocking the house,” as the saying goes.

While not an incredible surprise – Burlew has always written a strong story – what has impressed me is how strong and fast the hits have been coming. The recent arc with the linear guild was brilliant, we have a confrontation with Xykon moments away – and suddenly we have a brilliant series of strips focusing on Miko. Things get taken from one level to the next with every single strip, and I’m confident OotS has been at the top of a lot of reading lists for the last couple weeks.

But what I really wanted to make note of? That Burlew has been churning out double the content over the last week and a half. We’ve recieved nine pages over the last four updates. We’ve had two triple-length days!

Now, that is clearly awesome, yeah. But what it tells me is that as much as we are enjoying reading the latest plot developments, Burlew is enjoying writing them twice as much. And, really, I’m perfectly ok with that.

OUTSTANDING COMEDIC COMIC:
I find myself having a difficult time making a choice in this category, and not for the usual reasons. Usually the problem is having too many outstanding comics and having to choose just one. In this case, despite pretty much all of these comics being on my reading lists, and being among my favorite comics, none have really blown me out of my shoes this year.

The exception would be Sinfest, which had a fantastic year – though less due to its humor, and more due to the addition of full color sundays and some genuinely strong storylines. Still – it did so without losing its sense of humor, so I’d say that would be enough to put it at the top of the pack in my book.

OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC COMIC:
Something Positive. The death of Faye. Mike having a kid. Aubrey and Jason’s marriage. The fall of Kharisma. No way this doesn’t win.

OUTSTANDING LONG FORM COMIC:
I’m gonna go with Order of the Stick, which had a really good year – and one primarily built around long, well-developed storylines.

OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM COMIC:
Penny Arcade remains, in my opinion, the masters of the three panel strip.

OUTSTANDING SINGLE PANEL COMIC:
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is the only one of these that I read, so… yeah.

OUTSTANDING ANTHROPOMORPHIC COMIC:
This is a rather tricky category. Many of the comics that end up in this category have anthropomorphic characters, but don’t really put any emphasis on that in the story itself. Digger has always been a strong choice, due to actually having a great deal of background and detail on the wombat element itself (and the occasional psychic slug). Personally, I’d like to see Dan and Mab’s Furry Adventures win, as a comic that is pretty much defined by anthropomorphism at it’s core.

But my money’s on Digger taking it home again.

OUTSTANDING FANTASY COMIC:
This one is a genuinely difficult choice, with all the comics being top notch. I’m torn between Gunnerkrigg Court and No Rest for the Wicked, but I suspect GC will be the popular choice.

OUTSTANDING GAMING COMIC:
Toss-up between Order of the Stick and Penny Arcade. OotS had a stronger year in general, but is much more confined in its gaming roots. And Penny Arcade is, well… Penny Arcade.

OUTSTANDING SLICE-OF-LIFE COMIC:
I might like Questionable Content and Something Positive, but they don’t really fit the category in my mind. They might capture life well at times, but they have a lot of absurdities and unrealisms that should take them out of the running. Sadly, I suspect one of them will be the winner, though I’d take any of the others over them, as The Devil’s Panties was my pick last year, and Stuff Sucks one of my top discoveries of this year.

Smile, really, is the best of the lot – perhaps unsurprisingly so, given its autobiographical nature, but it really is much more true to life than any of the rest. It won’t win, I suspect, but it really deserves it the most.

OUTSTANDING ROMANTIC COMIC:
I’m afraid Questionable Content will likely claim the prize here as well – or Megatokyo. That would make me exceptionally sad.

I’ve heard good things about Red String, though I still haven’t managed to get around to reading it. Still, I’m rooting for Girly – some of the romantic plots going on this year have been years in building, and have been incredibly well done.

OUTSTANDING SCIENCE FICTION COMIC:
I think Schlock Mercenary really resonates as science fiction more than almost any other comic out there, and will win accordingly. I’m hoping for Girl Genius to win, myself, but with the other comics on there, it will be a tough run either way.

OUTSTANDING SUPERHERO / ACTION COMIC:
Given the plethora of superheroes in print comics, it remains a surprisingly small category online – though still solid enough to produce a lot of quality choices for this category. I think Dr. McNinja will take the cake, which I can’t really complain about. Nonetheless, I’m going to have to root for Magellan, which has really been on a roll this last year, and deserves the chance to finally win this one.

So there are my predictions – accuracy will be verified in some two and a half week’s time. I’m looking forward to it – if nothing else, the online ceremony has always been a clever and enjoyable production, and I suspect that is something that won’t be changing any time soon.

The list is out, the usual discussion has ensued, the usual drama has flared, and despite the different date, the Web Cartoonists’ Choice Awards are proceeding pretty much as normal.

Here is my list of the categories, who I’m rooting for in each one, and occasionally who I actually think will win the award.

The biggest surprise for me, this year, was how many comics I simply had never heard of. Admittedly, I have been actively trying to keep my webcomic reading list in check – but given the frightening number I read already, and how many of the categories I looked at without having any sense of most of the comics, I’m wondering who really is capable of genuinely evaluating each category.

OUTSTANDING COMIC:
Let’s be honest now – after Narbonic wrapping up in their grand finale, it would be surprising to see anyone else take this one home. All the nominees are quality strips, and if it wasn’t for the sheer emotional impact of the end of Narbonic, I’d have a tough time deciding.

OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER:
I was very, very sad not to see Minus make the list. The ones on there… are good, but none of them really knock me out of my shoes. I’d be happy seeing Out There as the winner, but suspect Lackadaisy will be the popular choice.

OUTSTANDING ARTIST:
Given that Perry Bible Fellowship is the only one of the lot that I read, it seems like the natural choice. Still, even after glancing at the other strips, I’ll stand by it – it isn’t the fanciest or most visually cinematic, but Gurewitch is able to very effectively, very vividly, capture and display his ideas. That seems like a good qualification for the title in my book. I think Lackadaisy will win it, though.

OUTSTANDING WRITER:
I suspect this will be another win for Scary-Go-Round has really floored me this year, so I’m rooting for John Allison.

OUTSTANDING LAYOUT:
I’ll stay Stuff Sucks, just cause it’s awesome, and should win something. The only one of the lot that I feel fits the category is A Lesson is Learned… who didn’t quite have enough content this year for me to really feel they qualified.

OUTSTANDING BLACK AND WHITE ART:
Gonna be Digger. It’s won it the last two years running, and honestly, hasn’t had any others that could really challenge it.

OUTSTANDING USE OF COLOR:
I’d really like to vote for Copper, because it’s gorgeous. But, again, it’s been absent much of the year in question.

OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHIC COMIC:
I don’t read any of these, but from the little I’ve seen, I’d say A Softer World is where my money lies.

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER RENDERING:
There has to be a better name for this category. Templar Arizona all the way, in any case.

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT DESIGN:
While Gunnerkrigg Court hasn’t been quite as intense at dominating the field as last year, it this is one area where it just rocks the house.

OUTSTANDING USE OF THE MEDIUM:
This is a tough choice, as for me, it usually comes down to “Which of these elaborately designed sites least impairs my reading endeavors?” However, this year both Halfpixel and I Am A Rockey Builder actively had some good stuff going for them, so I’d be happy seeing either of them win.

OUTSTANDING WEBSITE DESIGN:
PvPs new design really is slick. And yeah, he didn’t design it, and doesn’t want the award ’cause he’s busy being a grouch, but credit where credit is due – it is the best of the lot.

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER WRITING:
Now this… this is a tough choice. I’m betting Something Positive takes the title back, though I’d personally rather see it go to Scary Go Round.

Tomorrow… the Genres!

I had a lot of different topics I was thinking on writing about this weekend. The WCCA nominations have been listed, momentous happenings have been ongoing in The Order of the Stick, and the fact that little blog of mine has now been around for one whole year.

Instead, I must give props to Arthur, King and Time and Space, for the following strip:

It isn’t the funniest joke in the world. I’d go so far as to say that, as far as many of the jokes Gadzikowski makes, this is one of the weaker ones.

But the second I saw the strip on Saturday, it instantly got my attention. You see, I have always been a picky eater. Less so now than when I was younger, but the fundamental nature remains. And when I was younger, in my highschool days, I would invariably eat in the same manner as L does above. Take one item on the plate. Clean it out, precisely and efficiently. Move on to the next. Repeat.

My parents pestered me about it. For years. That very same question!

And suddenly, a decade later, I stumble across a comc that perfectly captures that moment, and the frustration of hearing that question, yet again. And I connect. Bam.

It wasn’t the strongest joke in the world. It wasn’t the strongest set-up. And there are probably a lot more people who won’t get any connection than those that do.

But when you can capture a moment like that – something real, something that people will recognize, remember, and take to heart – you’ve managed to get their attention in a much more personal way. You’ve given the joke a little special meaning that they can see as their very own. And they’ll keep that with them, and keep coming back, because your comic seems that much more real.

That’s a touch that’s hard to fake, and one that will stay with people a lot longer than just another punchline.