Adventures in Political Cartooning
We now know the nominees for the 2006 Webcartoonist Choice Awards. I plan to take an extended perusal tonight and figure out which of the lot I’ll be rooting for.
For the moment, however, I must prepare myself for an experience in “cartoons of culture,” as I’ve been invited to an exhibition at the Walters Art Museum, featuring the work of good ol’ KAL.
My only fear is that the locals will somehow penetrate my veil of disguise and realize I am merely a fan of lowbrow webcomicdom, and I’ll be unceremoniously flung off the premises.
…or rather, I’m afraid it’ll happen before I’ve snagged my share of the free wine and cheese.
There is much to be said for brevity. Ironic, no?
Alright, let’s see.
-Thank god, Ornery Boy is back. Just… please, please put his eye back in. I don’t know why, but that really wigs me out.
-I really liked the subtlety in the other day’s SMBC. Alright, it may not be all that subtle, but I thought it was clever, ok?
-Ah, right! Web Cartoonists’ Choice Awards are into nominations. Go and give your suggestions, etc.
-Note to self: Gaming Guardians is going to have to go on my List of Really Good Webcomics That I Need To Reread The Archives Thereof In Order To Know What The Fuck Is Going On.
-Note to self: Find a new name for that list. Brevity, yes, good. Endless torrent of words, no, bad.
-I’m thinking of seeing X-Men 3. Should I see X-Men 3? I’ve heard really conflicting reports about it.
That is all.
Bane of Squirrels and Dragons everywhere.
Nothing much to report today – I’m just happy Flintlocke’s Guide to Azeroth is back in business.
Flintlocke’s is one of those niche comics that is freaking hilarious to those people who get the joke, but I can never judge how well the humor would go over for people not familiar with the game.
Still, it’s a good comic, and I suspect a lot of the jokes will work for everyone. All I know is that having it on hiatus for several weeks was a grueling ordeal, and that says a good deal about the quality right there!
A Label in Time
While giving my props to MT yesterday, I neglected to give mention to a few events of note:
Blank Label Comics just hit its 1st Anniversary, and mad props to them for still going strong.
Dominic Deegan just turned 4, and though its quite a different comic then when it started, it still has its share of great moments – such as today!
(Though I still wish it wasn’t the epitome of the comic that forced you to scroll down to read the daily strip.)
And, well… ok, so not all that many momentous events. Nonetheless, congratulations and appreciations for all those folks who have perservered with their entertainment, and kept bringing humor and plot to us humble readers!
Second Thoughts
I have, in the past, been somewhat critical of the Modern Tales collective – or it’s current state, in any case.
So I felt it would be the honorable thing to do to give a shout out to them in appreciation at the quantity of good stuff I noticed today.
First off, the infamous William G has been added to the line-up at Graphic Smash. For all that I’ve rarely agreed with his rantings and ravings, I’ve always been impressed with his comics, and glad to see one of them in a place it will be easy for me to keep track of it.
Next up, in Digger, it looks like the pursuit of the dark, malevolent entities is to be cut short by an attack from vampire squash. Man, how often do you get to write a sentence like that? Not very, is the answer.
I don’t really have anything special to say about the Guardians, Magellan, or Reckless Life, save that they are all rock-solid awesome strips, and getting all of them the same day is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
Picture Story Theatre continues its latest bizarre but entertaining piece. There are several other strips updating at Modern Tales, and even if not my cup of tea, I’m glad to see the activity.
Paradigm Shift is to my tastes, however, and its return from hiatus remains a pleasant surprise.
But the big winner, unsurprisingly, is Narbonic. We’ve been meandering of late, you see. The characters have grown distant, gone their seperate ways. There has been a dying down of the previous storylines, as the past is fading and the mood is subdued.
But now the spark just hit the fire. I mean, Lovelace. Whoa.
So yeah, I’d say we’ve got tension again.
Man, Narbonic rocks.
Friday Frenzy.
Man, I had all this stuff to talk about, and now can’t remember half of it. Isn’t that how it always goes?
Let’s see, let me take a quick glance through my notes…
1) Holy Cameo Crossover, Batman! Word on the street is that the two mac users are Penny Arcade’s Gabe and Tycho (the real ones. Not the pixel ones.) The truth of that is yet to be seen, but I can certainly see hijinks ensuing.
That aside, I also really liked yesterday’s comic, or more specifically, the way Jade and Miranda talk at each other, rather than to each other.
Also, I just took a look at the PvP Cast Page (which I rarely glance at), and was impressed by its quality. Gimmicks are a good thing, folks.
2) While we’re mentioning all the big names: Sluggy Freelance!
I am still reserving my final judgement on the current storyline. It is exactly what fans have been asking for, without being exactly what they have actually wanted. We’ve had some good stuff and some bad stuff, and it still has a lot of potential to go in either direction.
But what I am really digging is the art. As usual, Abrams is more than willing to flex his artistic muscles. It can be really easy to look over Sluggy art as less refined than other comics, especially during random daily strips – but the comic has a style of its own, and Abrams really takes things to a whole new level during intense storylines.
So I might not yet know where the story is going, but I’m definitely enjoying the ride.
3) Let’s go from the big names to the almost unknown ones: My Nemesis. (No, not Nemesis. Not Mnemesis either. Yeah, I get confused too.)
My Nemesis was introduced to me in a somewhat unusual fashion. Those others I discovered through pretty positive feedback in the web community (Nemesis through the artist’s connection collaborating with Burns of Websnark fame, and Mnemesis from having a cameo of a character from It’s Walky.)
But this comic, instead, I first learned of through the most painfully aggressive review possible.
It was rather surprising when, after the review sent me to check out this terrible comic… I discovered I actually kinda liked it. I actually really kinda liked it.
There is a guest comic today talking about some of the changes in the comic – in the look, in the movement from humor to drama, and so forth. It felt like a good time to mention it. The comic is at a definite turning point, and it has left me with a lot of things to ponder – hopefully I’ll get up a full review of it next week.
Well, I feel like I’ve tortured everyone enough for today. I seem to be in recovery from my allergies (the year-old medicine did the job frighteningly well… almost diabolically well.) So hopefully next week I’ll have my groove back and be able to get some more competent writing out here.
Till then, keep on keeping on… and don’t forget Free Comic Book Day!
Celebration!
Just a notice that it is Online Comics Day 2006!
I imagine it comes as no surprise to most readers that there are, in fact, comics on the web. But nonetheless – it is still a nice occasion to celebrate.
So go out and hug a webtoonist today!
All Good Things…
So.
Casey and Andy is coming to an end.
In a lot of ways, that is pretty depressing news – one of the best part of many webcomics is that they are stories without end. They just keep going, on and on, and we don’t have to leave our favorite characters behind.
But sometimes that changes. Comics change, and people change – it happens to the best of us. (And mark well, Andy Weir qualifies for that category.) Sometimes other interests take root. Sometimes the demands of real life come to the forefront. And sometimes, the character’s simply have finished their stories – they’ve done their jokes, won their wars, and their time has come to retire.
Some comics simply fade away… and others go out with a bang.
Given the history of Casey and Andy, is it any surprise as to which one they intend to do?
There is one final story-arc planned – a proper sending off of the cast and crew. It will run for several months. No holds barred, no status quo to protect. A grand finale worthy of the whimsical, explosive, crazy legacy of Casey and Andy.
I will be there to the end. I will gladly enjoy this last triumph of Casey and Andy.
So while I may be sad to see it go… it is the same bittersweet sadness of a well-read book. A story that may be finished, but was more than worth the read.
I have utmost faith in Andy’s ability to tell a story, and am confident this last arc will be a wild, wild ride.
And when the last page is done, and the lights go out? I’ll be glad to have read the comic for the last few years, and glad for the story they brought with ’em.
I can’t ask for more than that.
Friday Frivolities
So, first off. Obligatory discussion of Wii. Yeah.
Like everyone else talking about it, it fails to appeal to me as a name. Or as a gaming system. Or as a philosophical concept.
Of the various rants about it, I think Logan said it best – I’m not all that concerned about the “filthy joke novelty” of it, I’m just concerned that it doesn’t work for me as a word.
It just sounds bizarre, and has trouble rolling off my tongue. Will that change? Perhaps. Give it long enough, and it could forge its way into sensibility.
But still. Wii.
They came so close to an excellent name for a gaming system, too! Ah well, maybe next time.
Moving on – in addition to his wise thoughts on the Wii, Logan continues to show us how awesome ninjas are. I just can’t say no to ninjas! Because, see, they’d kill me if I did.
Finally, the most exciting thing currently going on is over at the Digital Pimp. The big showdown between George and Joe is coming to a head, and this is a moment I’ve been hella waiting for! (Apologies for use of the word “hella.”)
What really impresses me isn’t that we’ve had this big dramatic story in a strip devoted to one-shot weekly jokes. Nah, what really gets me is how much of this little plot was developed not through the comic itself, but outside of it – in the newsposts. In the forums. Throughout the website entire. The comic itself was just part of the medium for telling the story.
Little references to the whole shebang showed up here and there in the strips, sure, and someone reading the comic alone wouldn’t have any trouble reading through the whole arc without pause.
But there was that extra step for those looking behind the scenes. That takes imagination, and that takes skill. I thoroughly approve.
And now we’ve got the pay-off about to hit. I’m all a-shiver with anticipation.
It’s been a great comic from the start. The art is fantastic. The jokes are generally dead-on. I mean, I’ve never been one to see all that many movies, and I used to be dead set against shelling out cash for bad ones – but when I read the comics? I feel the need to get in on it.
Cause Joe Loves Crappy Movies… and now, I do too.
The only bard I’ve ever played was designed on a lark. Hah!
This post is something of a follow-up to my thoughts on guest strips – namely, I noticed that Paul Southworth of Ugly Hill fame is doing “Tales by Tavernlight” – an old strip by Scott Kurtz that still occasionally pops up in PvP.
I think that this is supremely awesome.
First off, from the sample strip given thus far (on the right), Paul’s art style is frickin’ perfect for the job.
Secondly… I’m just a fan of this sort of interaction in webcomics. Artists are often more than willing to let others play around with their characters, and I think that is fantastic.
So hey. I haven’t picked up any of the PvP print issues… mainly ’cause I’m lazy more than anything. But I may well take a look at the upcoming issue with this stuff, and see how well it works. It certainly looks good, and I can’t imagination the brainchild of those two guys failing to impress me.
Damn Good Comics 
