All things must end in time... even endings.

Mark Shallow's ADVENTURERS! may be the longest-running console RPG comic on the interweb, and it is coming to an end.

This... probably isn't news to anyone. Anywhere.

See, it has been coming to an end for some... oh, two and a half years now. Webrunner announced in February, 2003, that the strip would be coming to an ending. At the time, he did state that the ending wasn't right around the corner, but I don't imagine he realized how long it would truly take to bring things to the story's appropriate conclusion.

Now, I'm quite the fan of the strip. It is an extreme example of a strip with rather humble beginnings that has matured and developed into something very impressive. And while some of the jokes it makes about RPGs have become cliche over time, that is in part due to its own use of them.

The ending of the strip has dragged on a bit, I think it is safe to say. Not to the extent that it isn't worth reading, or doesn't still hit some good notes - but I think the length of the ending has cost the strip something.

When I first learned the strip was coming to an end, it starts a process of... resignation, I suppose. Detachment. Embracing the end, and accepting that this is one story that will be wrapping up.

But when the story did not wrap up... it merely meant that I lost some level of investment in the tale. I think it finally is winding down to a close -
Webrunner has temporarily closed production of his other strip, Antihero for Hire (a great strip, by the by, and one that shows lessons learned from his first comic - it is a much stronger, much tighter story.) He has moved to fully updating just Adventurers until it is complete, which certainly implies to me that it won't be long now.

But while I'll enjoy the conclusions and seeing what happens to all the characters, in a lot of ways, Adventurers already has ended for me. I went through the mourning process already, as it were. So no matter how much the finale might dazzle and amaze me - there will be something personal missing from it.

Now, I'm not sure what could have been done to avoid this. I am rather confident the length of the ending was unintended. The fact that the final battle took a year and a half to conclude, and the ending sequence itself has been running for seven months... well, sometimes the story has its own demands. But somewhere along the way, amidst the long, drawn out, eternal ending... something was lost.

I suspect Webrunner is as aware of this as any fan. As I mentioned above, his other comic Antihero for Hire is a much more well-crafted strip. I'm not even 100% sure on what the lesson is - I certainly don't believe that it is requisite for one to plot out the entirety of their strip before embarking upon it.

But while one might not need the strip to be fully fleshed out in advance, I think that an awareness of pacing is a skill that is very easy to pass by when one is starting out. Each strip can remain as golden as the one before it - but it is all too easy to be four-hundred strips later, and have a reader who has lost interest in the comic without even noticing.

In any case, let's see that ending, Mr. Webrunner. It might be too late to have the fullest impact, but I'm sure it will still do the strip proud.

We could all use a little change...

I feel like I should talk about the changes of editors at Modern Tales and Graphic Smash - but I'm not really sure what to say.

My opinions of the collectives themselves remain the same - GS seems to be doing well as far as content, and MT still remains barren as far as new material. They have a nice redesign (well, it looks nice, even if navigation isn't anything exceptional.) Hopefully a new editor will help things take off again.

As far as the editors taking over, I don't think anyone can complain - Tim Demeter does one of the most professional looking webcomics out there, and Shaenon Garrity has always been a heavy hitter on the web.

Those stepping down? Well, no one can deny the impact Eric Burns has had in the last few years (case in point - I wouldn't be writing this blog without his inspiration.) Sometimes life steps things up a few levels too high, and there isn't anything one can do about it. He certainly owes the webcommunity nothing, and hopefully he won't have been so burnt out as to leave it entirely behind - the updates on Websnark these days aren't the onslaught of yesteryear, but remain full of quality whenever they arrive. That, I think, is more than enough for us.

And T Campbell? Man. From his recent musings on his blog, he seems to be pondering a lot of personal changes. He seems to have been through rough times of late, and I really feel for him - this is the man who, more than any other, has represented webcomics in my mind. He has been involved in so many projects designed to expand the medium. He was the writer of one of my favorite strips of all time. So I hope that whatever changes may come, things work out well in the end for him.

I don't know how much these changes will really be felt, by and large - much of what the people in those positions do goes on behind the scenes. Still, it strikes me as... well, worthy of note, I suppose, that two such transitions are happening at the same time.

I'm not sure if I am really able to draw conclusions about what it means - and, to be honest, I don't know if it means anything more than some people moving on to different things in their lives.

Still, I'm going to go with the best approach I think I can take with anything along these lines - see it as a chance for new editors to help Modern Tales (and friends) reach their full potential, and wish the best to those leaving it behind, and hope that wherever their path takes them next, they have a good time of it.

Change, after all, isn't always a bad thing.

One of the Rules of the Game

Today I discovered that Saturnalia had recently returned from an extended hiatus. (And by recently, I mean... many months ago.)

I sometimes wonder how many great comics I am still in mourning for that are now merrily updating away without my notice.

In any case, I happened to check up on this one and was well rewarded for doing so.

Saturnalia is one of those comics that may not blow me out of my shows, but is still fun to follow. It has manga style art, which can sometimes be a little chaotic to follow, but often with some exceptionally good scenes. The story is set in the future with your usual hot-headed protaganist and a whole set of quirky 'friends'.

The plot, as of yet, has a lot of mysteries, and if some things seem to be done a little too neatly... well, that may be explained in time.

However, I discovered one thing that was done exceptionally well during the months I had missed.

Chapter Nine of the story focuses on an announcement made by the King of the planet. Up till then we've only heard strange rumors about the King, and implications that something horrible and shady may be going on behind the scenes.

The King himself is over three hundred years old, and despite the machines that keep him alive, his body is failing.

At this point you are expecting someone diabolical. This man controls the entire world - an ancient genius plotting who knows what. Your first view of him is the visage up above - a shadowy figure, isolated and alone.

What I was not expecting was a figure who looked nothing so much as a boy playing dress-up, in an outfit a few sizes too big.

Looking close, the facade of youth is clearly that, from a physical standpoint - King Hal the first appears far from healthy.

But he still acts like a kid. He suffers from a fear of public speaking. He dwells on the achievements he made in high school - in grade school, despite it being three hundred years later. Several of the silly names of cities, communities, and the kingdom itself make much more sense, if you imagine a man like this as the founder.

One does not expect him to cut such a jovial figure, but he manages it well - despite his extra pair of arms.

Now, is this all there is to him? Doubtful.

It could well be that he is a diabolical genius planning something sinister. But whether a villain or not, he is an interesting character.

The creator, Space Coyote, has done something very well - they have subverted expectations. They took what could have been something easily cliche - and mindless, and dull - and done something completely unexpected with it. And that makes it all the more fascinating.

Does this mean every artist should throw absurd characters into the story without reason or explanation? Well no - one of the reasons the character of King Hal works is that the very flaws in the character make him believable. And he clearly has a place in the story - he isn't thrown in recklessly.

Having that sort of originality is vital for a storyteller. As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy Saturnalia, but it has rarely wowed me. Adding something new and exciting, though - that makes me remember it. That gets my attention.

I'm not saying to try and constantly one-up the reader. Don't ruin the integrity of the story because you are afraid readers might see the plot twist coming, and don't create wacky characters or events solely to try and shock and dazzle the reader. It isn't about beating the reader in some obscure way - but it is about doing something to win them over and get them coming back.

But if you can carefully, subtely lead their thought process one way, and then successfully subvert that expectation with something fascinating and clever?

Then the game is already halfway won.

The end of the world as we know it?

My, but there have been quite a few webcomics running guest strips this week - though I suppose more than one cartoonist was exhausted by last week's Comic-Con.

I missed the con myself, primarily due to living some three thousand miles away. Nevertheless, the many and sundry reports of the con made it seem as though I was actually there, only surrounded by words and pictures instead of, you know, people.

But yeah, the panels sounded like they were crazy awesome, and I'm sad I missed it - though glad that people were kind enough to take notes, as it were, and share the lecture with those of us who missed class.

Anyway, I've got a dirty secret. The comic that has, this last week, had me on the edge of my seat, religiously checking the updates every day, and gleefully anticipating the next installment... is Garfield.

Whoa, what? Could this be the end of the strip?

Back when I was a young lad, I was quite the Garfield aficionado. I watched the cartoon, I bought the collections. It wasn't until I was educated by wiser minds on the internet that I realized the daily Garfield in the paper was... well, bad. It hadn't always been - once, the jokes had been genuinely interesting, the characters had storylines and weren't simply stuck in an eternal punchline about mondays and lasagna.

But clearly things had changed, and I went with the flow in mocking Garfield (along with 95% of the other strips in the daily papers), and somewhere along the way I forgot that once upon a time, I actually enjoyed the strip.

So it was quite the surprise to see something of an ongoing storyline in recent weeks. A blog about Garfield brought the matter to my attention - and what can I say? I was riveted. Actually having something happen is a ballsy move in any syndicated strip - especially one as glued to 'the formula' as Garfield.

And now we seem to have... well, not just change, but possibly a conclusion. I'm sure we'll know in a day or two if Garfield has actually wound its way to a happy ending, or if it will return to the standard fare.

One thing I do have to recognize, regardless of where Garfield goes from here - the fat cat has genuinely embraced the web. The website is a bit overloaded - but contains an archive with every single strip of the comic. That is a hell of a lot more than most newspaper strips do, and I must give props for that.

What may the future bring?

So, as I'm sure that everyone has heard by now that Narbonic is free again. For those who may have been hiding at the bottom of the ocean, or on the moon perchance - go, check it out, yadda yadda.

In any case, in celebration of it being free, I've been perusing the archives here and there. Not the entire thing, being that, these days, I am frightfully busy - but various key segments, especially in light of the grand finale the strip is heading for.

The main arc that I took a browse through was the time travel arc, for somewhat obvious reasons. I had remembered little hints of the things to come, of course - what I hadn't remembered was the sheer quantity of them, nor how direct some of them were.

I really, really, really like foreshadowing like this. The idea that a story is already thought out years in advance, and that the bones of what is to come are already laid in place, is greatly appealing to me. But it can't be easy to do - I can't imagine the thin line an author has to walk between leaving hints versus directly giving away the story.

And how does an author handle it when someone does see what is coming, and accurately predicts the ending? Most seem to stay silent on all counts - you know, smile the mysterious little smile, and let people wait and see. I've noticed some take a more active approach - Rich Burlew, creator of the Order of the Stick, prohibits any predictions about the strip that aren't given the spoiler tag, so he can avoid seeing what guesses are being made, and thus resist the urge to change things and ensure an unexpected plot twist.

On the one hand, I can see the value of wanting the readers to be surprised - but I generally value the integrity of a story more.

In any case, I was pleased to see how well the stage was set in Narbonic - and again, because I haven't said it enough, go read it if you don't already.

Dominic Deegan and the Return of the Damned

The latest Dominic Deegan storyline has stirred up a measure of controversy, as the plot was taken in a direction that some readers were dissatisfied with.

For myself, I was overall rather indifferent to the War in Hell. I wasn't aghast at the plot developments as some readers were, but the arc itself didn't really leave an impact on me. It is a shame, because I was really excited about the story arc when it first got started, but it ended up focusing on some different characters then the ones I was expecting, and that was some of the let-down.

That said, Mookie has easily grabbed my attention back to the strip with recent developments.

Now, I should note that one of the complaints people have raised about this storyarc was regarding the death of a character whom many still felt had a great potential for development.

I should also note that I held similar concerns over the seemingly pointless death of a character during the last epic storyarc.

Which is why his recent return has convinced me that it is very, very unwise to leap to conclusions in matters concerning Dominic Deegan. Mookie plays his cards well, and I suspect that there may be similarly interesting developments for other characters we've written off somewhere down the road.

Now, all that said, I do still feel that if yet another world-shattering epic catastrophe that only Dominic can solve should happen to break out anytime in the near future, I'll not be all that happy.

But I think it is safe to say that the strip continues to hold the capacity to pleasantly surprise me, and that as long as there is as many good plot developments as bad, I'll be sticking around to see what's next.

The Weekend, oh thank god, the Weekend

While others are off carousing at the San Diego Comic Con, I am planning to be quite merrily collapsing at home in exhaustion.

For now, though, some quick thoughts on developments from my weekly webcomic perusal:

I am flat out 100% digging Sinfest since its most recent return. Ishida has been in top form. His latest strip hardly touched on a new concept, but the execution is so perfect as to hit the nail on the head regardless.

Oh yeah! Spamamusement is back and in business, and he's still got it!

I've talked about My Nemesis before, but today's installment is really nice. Specifically, the use of shadow in the first two panels to make Rob look like a bad-ass instead of, well, like Rob. (Also, the cast page has been updated. Have I mentioned I really like interesting cast pages? Well... I do. So there.)

And finally, CRFH, as always, has me smiling with dreadful anticipation of what might be coming next.

WCCAs 2006 - Take 2

This year's Webcartoonist's Choice Awards are just now winding down (winners announced, ceremony on its way.)

Scandal and controversy has been abounding (which is to say, there have been some minor hiccups in the works this year.)

In spite of this, I've generally been pleased with the event and found the results perfectly acceptable (despite only about half of the comics I was rooting for taking home the gold.)

All in all, despite the delays and confusions abounding the ceremony this year, I like the fact that we have the WCCAs. It is one of those nice little corners of the webcomics world, and for an event that, like most online cartooning itself, is volunteer driven, it is a lot of fun for a lot of people.

Would I like it to be a bit more organized? Sure. Would I like to have the ceremony right off the bat, rather than simply a list of winners? Certainly.

But I don't think the experience is ruined by it. Given that there wasn't even a ceremony two years back, I'm happy just to have one on the way.

So maybe I'm just an optimist. But one way or the other, I see a lot of good comics getting some solid attention and recognition, and that's a good thing any day of the week.

A Roll of the Dice

Over at Commissioned, they announced the advent of a new comics collective, Gamers Pair of Dice. As someone who recognizes that webcomic collectives are generally a good thing, and being a gamer myself, I dutifully went browsing through several of the strips.

I was... well, I did find myself grinning at some of them. But I'm sad to say that the majority of them left me underwhelmed.

I wouldn't go so far as to call them Penny Arcade rip-offs. They are simply exploring the same field and making jokes on much the same subject matter, and that is perfectly fine.

But even if I don't make the accusation, the comparison is inevitable. Penny Arcade mastered that genre of strips before most of them began, and as such, it is hard for them to stand out. The mere presence of the webcomics juggernaut, in some ways, stifles those trying to follow in its footsteps.

On another note entirely, one of the strips - a guest strip, even - left its mark on me. More specifically, it set Gato's little song running through my head over and over again! I spoke yesterday about my poor memory, and I haven't played the game for years, but I'll be damned if simply seeing a virtual screenshot didn't send the song rampaging through my mind on repeat!

Matters of the Mind

I have a very bad memory.

I don't mean that I forget my keys all the time, or miss following up on phone calls or ordinary chores like that. I can keep track of important dates and events. My life may not always be perfectly in order, but I am typically on top of things.

But I have trouble remembering. My high school years are nearly gone from my mind. College, only a year or two behind me now, already starts to fade away.

For quite some time I kept a studious, dedicated, and most of all boring journal of my day to day life. It wasn't a study in philosophy or sophistication - it was merely a catalogue to help me recall those events that I knew would grow... dim.

My poor memory is, perhaps, the biggest change I would make about myself. That loss of memory, that gaping abyss of thought, is perhaps my greatest fear.

Hmm. This seems to be an awfully dismal post. I may have wandered a bit from my track, but I thought it best to set the stage.

You see, I've recently discovered an upside to the leaking sieve that is my mind. Well... not so much discovered, as recognized.

I am a reader. My first great love was fiction. Books, stories, and all they entailed - throughout my youth I partook of them, and read far, far more than was healthy for a boy my age.

I have a tendency, when no new material has caught my attention, to revisit previous works. And I have realized one of the reasons I am able to do so, able to actually enjoy a work for the second, third, or fourth time... is my poor memory.

It isn't that I forget every last element of a story. Little hints may remain at the outskirts of my mind, vague patterns I may see developing in the tale.

But after a few years - and several hundred more stories crammed into my noggin - I find that I can still experience the same thrill of surprise, excitement, and entertainment as on my first read-through.

I've been discovering this while reading back through Tad William's Otherland, one of my favorite works. It is one of those epic tales that actually convinced me that sci-fi fiction could be, well... serious writing, and not just hokey space-drama.

I was almost afraid to read back through it, since I had recently fallen out of sorts with a lot of writers I had been a fan of when I was younger - Piers Anthony, David Eddings, Ed Greenwood. I had recently realized that much of what I had read when I was younger was... absolute trash.

Fortunately, Tad Williams is the man, and his series remained good writing in more than distant memories. And, as this slowly meandering post is meant to tell you, I discovered that not recalling the details of the plot let me experience the work anew, which was a thrilling discovery all on its own.

Of course, the downside of faulty memory reared its ugly head as well, when I discovered I had lost my copy of the fourth volume, and had no idea whatsover what I had done with it.

But always look on the bright side, as my dear old mom used to say!

...I think.

Choose Your Own Crap

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is one of those horrifyingly funny gag comics that you can easily snicker about with your friends. It is great for providing one-liner inside jokes that will puzzle those who haven't read the comic, but cause your friends to keel over with laughter. (I can make puppies appear anywhere!)

So I was beating myself up when I noticed that the author did several other web-comics as well.

Then I made the mistake of reading them. Oh, I can tolerate Chason, and I have a tendency to avoid journal comics as a whole, so that wasn't really his fault.

The real problem was with the third strip, Zach Your Own Adventure. Wherein I realized that there seemed to be a trend for 'choose your own adventure' style comics to often be absymally bad.

I recall a similar sequence at Punks and Nerds, that seemed to go much the same way.

There, like here, the entire sequence was a bunch of stupid random crap. There wasn't any real jokes other than, well, the shocking chaos of what was happening. The highlight was the choice itself - the fact that the strip was chosen by the audience.

Which, well, its a cool idea. But if it doesn't produce material actually worth looking at, what's the point?

The problem is, the audience is composed of a bunch of random blokes who don't know - or don't agree on - how to tell a good joke, or a good story. You can't just throw a bunch of topics at them and expect for it to result in anything interesting. They may be engaged in the process of making the choose, and enthused if their choice wins out - but the content itself becomes meaningless.

The other issue with these strips? Because the main point of it is to let the reader choose, the author doesn't have to put any thought into the options at hand. It doesn't matter if they are funny or not, it doesn't matter if they would use them on their own if they were writing the strip. All the user cares about is the choice, so as long as they present choices, the quality of those options is irrelevant.

Now, it can be done well.

[Insert Title Here], which sadly appears to be on hiatus, is a fully fan-written strip that actually has promise.

The key is that they don't let the entire audience choose a random topic for the author to interpret. Nah. They actually have people submit scripts for each page, and choose the best one to go with.

Clever, still interactive, and producing actually decent material. I like it.

Another comic that has pulled it off well is Goblins. It has a rather extensive feature about a goblin named Tempts Fate, and the bad situations he seems to wind up in. The reader's donations (and occasional poll) determines whether he lives or dies, how well he does, and occasional other information.

But that doesn't mean the man behind the comic slacks about it. He puts together pretty damn sizable pages with genuinely interesting results having been influenced by the readers. The final product is actually readable.

Again, I like that.

The lesson here is that if you are going to have these sort of drives or randomly reader-driven strips... don't settle for that being the whole of them. Sure, even if you don't put any effort into it, it will still stir up some excitement while its running. But once the moment of the gimmick is over, it's useless - it is some random crap sitting on the site for people to read. That doesn't impress anyone.

I like the idea of reader input. I think the way the web works allows for interesting events like this, for an interactivity between the creator and the audience.

Which makes it all the more depressing to see the potential in those sort of interactions thoroughly wasted.

Tales of a Wandering Blogger

I have of late been enthralled in quite a lot of reading that takes place - gasp - outside of the internet.

Foremost among these has been the Rurouni Kenshin manga.

First I should explain my history with Kenshin - I started watching the anime series some four years ago, in the midst of college. I got my friends into the series, and we made the mistake of getting too many people interested in watching it.

We got through the second season - the Kyoto arc, the real highlight of the series - in a reasonable amount of time. But the rest of the series... well, we had heard it wasn't as great as what had come before. And it's true, most certainly - it isn't that it was bad, but that it was simply not great.

But we wanted to watch it anyway. To finish the series. We knew going into it that it was nothing more than fun little filler, but as long as we knew that, we wouldn't be let down.

Unfortunately, we had some friends graduating. Others growing busy with various jobs, schoolwork, and other concerns. The long and short of it?

It took two and a half years to finish watching the series - to finish that one final season.

But we did it. A couple months ago we gathered back together, arranging a break from our jobs and our lives, and watched the final episodes, and it was a good feeling to complete that experience in the company of friends.

But for myself, that wasn't quite the end of the Kenshin saga. The manga, you see, was being released in English.

While watching the Kenshin series had been a communal thing, reading the manga was, predictably, a bit more solitary. I was impressed by how closely the series mirrored the comic (at least for the first two seasons). I was more impressed by the fact that, unlike a lot of manga I had read before, I was able to easily follow the artwork, the story, and pretty much everything going on.

And, damn, but it was a good story - and when it diverged from the series, and continued its own plot, it only got better.

But like all things, it came to an end. The last volumes were released, purchased and read. It was a powerful conclusion to an excellent series.

And, like any time that a work of fiction I was embroiled in came to an end, the end was bittersweet. As fitting as the conclusion might be, as necessary as the ending might be, it is still hard to let go of well-loved characters.

So this is my shout-out to Kenshin. An awesome anime, an awesome manga, an awesome story. It might be old news to folks in the community, but that doesn't make it any less great.

A mysterious case of the Mondays?

Man, it appears to be one of those days where I've got way too much to talk about, and not nearly enough time to do so.

I laughed at Megatokyo today. Man, I miss that.

Sinfest is back, and has a new website! Once upon a time, I thought Sinfest was one of the most solidly updating comics out there. These days, it has its share of occasional absences, but always returns in the end. It has had some very good storylines over the last year, without losing its normal brand of humor. And now seeing the newest comic doesn't requiring scrolling down the page ten times!

DnDorks has been getting back to its original cast of characters. This is cool and all, but I still find myself inexplicably confused by the previous arc, despite still thinking the story was awesome. However, things seem to indicate we'll get some explanation for stuff. Maybe. I dunno. Eh, whatever. It's a cool comic and captures the gaming experience well. That's pretty much all I care about.

Man, my posts today seem faintly bitter, and I'm not sure why - I was actually really happy about all these comics today.

Let's try some focusing here. On a completely upbeat note, Girly has been rocking out of late, and the upcoming storyline looks to have something to do with Policeguy, one of my favorite characters. So that's awesome.

Anyway, time to get back to work! Tune in tomorrow, when I don't talk about webcomics at all. Oooo, mysterious.

Ok, maybe not so much.

Learn 2 Cope

One might not think a comic almost exclusively about third-graders would have any level of sophistication.

One might, however, be wrong.

There is a tendency to dismiss young children as unintelligent. As unable to operate on the same level as adults.

Sometimes this is true. But I myself remember being young, and still being a thinking, feeling being. A different one then I am now, but a distinct one nonetheless.

I think a lot of people resonate with that. And a lot of people like having characters that can both recall the innocence of childhood while still retaining a sense of identity, awareness, and personality. I used Count Your Sheep as an example yesterday - you can't see Katie without feeling an overwhelming onslaught of cute. But she is her own person, and for all her childish outlook, someone the reader can emphatize and agree with.

On the Playground runs along the same lines. The cast and crew are kids. And there are plenty of times when they do act like kids. But these are often in stark contrast to when Lizzie is philosophizing or the strip itself is making a point.

Now, this isn't the first comic to tackle the concepts of growing up, or characters comic to grip with the realities of the world around them. It isn't even the first one to do so from the perspective of youth.

But it does so, and it does so well. It makes you laugh and it makes you think, and those are the hallmarks of a good comic. It isn't heavy on the story or the drama - it doesn't need to be. But it lives up to that tradition of juxtaposing youth and experience. And sometimes the characters themselves don't even realize their own irony.

It's a good comic. It's back online, updating Mondays and Fridays, with a sizable buffer.

That's a good thing, in my book.

Speaking of back again...

I've noticed a handful of webcomics have returned from the lands beyond while I was gone.

This pleases me greatly.

These days, I find it safer to assume that a comic on hiatus will never more see the light of day. This isn't to say I don't check back with them time and time again - but this way, if they do resume, the return is all the sweeter.

Anyway, on to the show:

NeverNever has seen its share of troubles. It has had no less than three long breaks, each of them close to two years in length. Since its inception, it has had more time in absentia than actually updating.

But... it keeps coming back.

Given how many setbacks it has had, the fact that it returns time and time again (much like its primary villain, the Black Knight himself) is pretty damn impressive.

It's a nice comic. I'm glad to see it back. For the most part, it isn't anything heartbreaking or award-winning - just a classy little comic with cute characters, a fun story, and its fair share of silly jokes.

The new artist is looking like an absolutely perfect fit for the style, to be sure. So I'm all the more eager to see where it is going from here.

In any case, it's likely this isn't news to you - NeverNever's return has been pretty heavily hyped, just as it has in the past. (As a matter of fact, I think one of its previous rebounds was when I first was introduced to it.)

There is another comic whose return, on the other hand, may have fallen a bit more under the radar: On the Playground.

I plan to give some more in-depth chatter on that bad boy tomorrow, but thought I should make sure to spread the word as soon as possible. This is a fantastic comic - filled with a lot of the cuteness that has made Count Your Sheep into such a star, though it tends to bring out its sharper edge more often than not. Of course, sometimes childhood wins out too.

In any case, some great comics that I'm glad to see back on the funny pages... so to speak.

There and Back Again

Well, I'm back.

Things seem to be proceeding apace in the wonderful world of webcomics. Narbonic has made its move to Webcomics Nation. The latest blaze in internet drama has come and gone over a handful of days (though as I link it, I see signs it may be flaring up again...)

All the regularly scheduled works have kept on ticking, and things have continued, as they are apt to do.

Myself? I've been off dealing with other matters - namely, my best friend's wedding.

To lay out the scene for everyone, this is only the second wedding I have attended, and certainly the first at which I was best man. It was, as one might expect, concern for some anxiety.

I've survived. The wedding itself went absolutely perfect, with a beautiful outdoor ceremony that narrowly avoided thunderstorms that have been pouring in and out for the last few weeks. There was dancing and fun to be had by all, and the lucky couple are currently frolicking about the wilds of Ireland.

In theory, around this time, my thoughts should be pondering what all this means. The first of my friends has gotten married. It's one of those signs of growing up, you know? It means life is moving on, and things are changing, and all that jazz.

Well sure, I could worry myself about all that. Instead, I've pretty much just crashed for the holiday, and have been kept busy catching up on work and getting ready to move (as the man of the hour was also my roommate). I haven't had time to worry about such things and have, instead, simply been trying to get back into the rhythm or my everyday life.

Which I'm perfectly ok with. I like my life. Sure, there are things to change and things to work on, but that's all part of the fun.

Anyway. I plan to finish getting caught up on comics tonight, and tomorrow I'll be back in the saddle and ready to use very large words to discuss the going-ons of fictional characters.

It'll be wicked fun, I promise.

Snapshots in Time

It may not come as a surprise that I am avid fan of print comics as well as webcomics.

Print comics were my first love with the genre, and I still remain attached to them in this day and age. Some of what I read has changed - I have ditched all the original Marvel works, though I do read the Ultimate versions. I am still also quite the fan of DC, though my focus is much more heavily on the bat clan than Superman and friends.

As such, I can sympathize all too well with the concerns of Anne, part of the creative team over at the Wotch.

See, two characters from the DC universe - Stephanie Brown, the Spoiler, and Cassandra Cain, Batgirl - have been poorly treated of late.

I won't get into specifics - Anne has a post at the Wotch that covers the details.

There is a danger in print comics, one that is much less likely to rear its ugly head on the web. You see, the characters of DC, of Marvel... they are part of the company. They are not one individual person's work, and writers can - and will - change.

Which means the characters change, as well. Sometimes for the better - and sometimes the writers throw out everything that has come before, have their new test subjects completely break character, and have some 'dramatic plot point' happen just for the sake of something shocking.

It's infuriating.

I still like my print comics. Even as things change, sometimes those changes are well done. Sometimes I can see heroes die, or fade away, and accept it as the conclusion of a well-written story.

And sometimes it is meaningless, and serves only to incense.

Anne said it well, and drew a scene that captured well who these heroes once were. And I think all those who were true fans of the characters appreciate her for it.

Whatever happened to Sam?

I've been surprised that I haven't seen more discussion on the recent events in Sam and Fuzzy.

So. Half a year ago, Sam and Fuzzy wrapped up one hell of a storyline. And then the dynamic duo took the last bus out of town, and drove off into parts unknown.

Since then, well... stuff has happened. What I've really been grooving on are the little vignettes with the blank mask ninja - a rather likeable character - tracing the path they took, prepared to hunt them down for... well, vengeance, death, etc, presumably.

The rest of our time has been occupied by the band Noosehead, which has added a whole pile of new characters to the show. They've engaged in hijinks and drama - often instigated by our good friend Fuzzy, who seems to have joined their crew.

And it's good stuff. I mean, I don't think Sam Logan could make a bad comic if he tried. The strip still brings the funny, the strip still brings the story.

But still.... somewhere, in the back of our minds, we're wondering - Where's Sam?

Well, guess he's been right under our noses all this time.


The last few strips have hinted at, and then outright revealed, the truth: Aaron, one of the random roadies we've been introduced to, turns out to be Sam in disguise.

And it works. I mean, once you know what to look for, you can see Sam underneath. Looking back through the archives, you can see some of the signs. Heck, maybe everyone else figured this out months ago, and it was only a surprise to me.

Anyway. Sam's back. Sam is back!

Where does that leave us?

Sam has the right of it - all the mafia ninjas may have wandered on their merry way, but one still remains, tracking him down. We don't know much about him, but it seems clear that we're building up to a showdown.

From there? I suspect we'll be bidding Noosehead goodbye for a while. While there is still conflict within the band itself, I don't think it will stay that way forever.

Of course, things are nice and peaceful back in the world Sam left behind, too.

(Also, anyone notice that the person 'Aaron' really looks like is Lance?)

Anyway, I can't really tell where Sam and Fuzzy will be heading in the long run. But I sure as hell am glad that Sam is back in one form or another, and suspect the upcoming showdown will live up to the caliber of story that Logan has been recently cranking out.

So welcome back, Sam. Ninjas and all.

Ow.

Right. Don't fuck with Fineas.

Duly noted.

Man, this sequence might well be a fine demonstration of the little orange fish kicking ass, but the eye-popping thing?

Really wigs me out.

It seems to be a theme of late - Ornery Boy has featured a bit of the same, and the threat of dangling orbs has made me hesitant to keep an eye on it (so to speak) to check for updates.

I know at least one other comic recently had something similar, though I can't receall exactly which one - my own faulty memory keeping me safe, perhaps.

Oy. I don't know why it gets to me, given how little I am usually phased by graphic violence. Tear out someones heart? Whatever. Stab them in the neck? Meh.

But popping out eyes? That's just creepy, man.

What's a friday without a good bit of evil, eh?

So I realized that every post this week was about strips that I had discussed, or at least mentioned, at some point in the past.

Well now, every blog needs a bit of diversity, so today, let's take a look at a comic never before mentioned by me! (cue echoes, ominous music, yadda yadda yadda.)

Ok, here it is: Evil Inc.

Oh, you say. But isn't that already a pretty well-known, mainstream webcomic?

Well... sure.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised to realize I hadn't talked about it before. Even aside from being one of those wickedly cool people over at Blank Label Comics, it's a pretty solid comic in its own right.

Still, I haven't really had much reason to talk about it before now. I had never read the prequel, Greystone Inn, and it was only when Evil Inc came out, and was garnering some sizable acclaim, that I checked out both comics.

I found that Greystone Inn was crazy awesome, but that I was only mildly attached to Evil Inc. The humor was ok, but not really my style, and there wasn't nearly as much character investment. (Though, I must say, I was quite a fan of the 'illicit' relationship between Miss Match and Captain Heroic. That, more than anything, is what convinced me to stay with the strip.)

So why am I talking about it now?

Well, I realized that it had finally won me over. This is certainly in part due to the big storyline current at hand, and the future fate of the company. I realized that after months of disliking Evil Atom, I'd finally started to take a shine to the big lug. Much like Straub built up the Crisis in SC, he'd managed to slip in development and get me invested in the series without me even really noticing.

When I first started reading it, my biggest gripe about the comic? "That's a silly premise. A supervillain company? Psh."

I think it was only once I realized that, like, half of the stories out there - including many of the greats - are built on perfectly ludicrous premises... only then was I able to actually sit down and, you know, enjoy the series.

So I count that a success. And I'm looking forward to the big news we've got coming...

Simply an observation

I've mentioned No Need for Bushido before. When last I did so, I focused not on the comic itself, but on the many tasty extras scattered about the site, and how that level of content was very, very appealing.

It strikes me that in doing so, I may not have emphasized the fact that the comic itself is incredibly kick-ass.

Ok, see, here is the thing I like. We've got this comic with samurai, and ninjas, and monks. They've got bad-ass martial arts and the obligatory dude with a freaking huge sword. Plenty of action, drama and excitement.

Of course, what anyone reading the comic will notice right off the bat is that it is unrepentantly funny. It refuses to take itself seriously, as it demonstrates time and time again.

So what impresses the hell out of me is how well the story is developed despite the humor. Despite all the jokes and laughs and nonsense, you grow attached to the characters, you grow invested in the story. That takes some skill.

In any case, things have been heating up of late. Which means, of course, lots of moments for our cast and crew to demonstrate how supremely badass they are. That's always a good thing. I mean, can you look at our friendly blind monk above dramatically don his hat, and not know that some serious ass is about to be kicked?

Anyway, in summary? No Need for Bushido: Awesome site, awesome art, awesome story. Awesome comic. End of story.

Is there a name for this brand of repeated-image comics? Cause I can never remember.

I was going to do an extended post about the webcomics, er, anti-drama currently going on, but I think it's easy enough to just say:

Hey, people getting along.

Awesome.




Anyway, on to an actual review. Birdsworth has been going on for a little over a month now, and has been my first true experience with a comic of its genre.

Overall? I'm liking it. I'm a fan of language, and a writing-driven strip works just fine for me, whether it features recycled art or otherwise.

The one thing I am finding interesting / irksome is that the action matches the dialogue on some occasions, but not on others. Which is to say, everth fourth panel Bywren (I just realized how great that name is. Man, I'm slow. Anyway, tangent over.) exits stage left, followed by Shelley a panel later. Sometimes these departures seem perfectly natural - sometimes the departure seems to come just before the actual reason for it - at other times, the characters seem to simply depart mid-conversation.

That said, I have to imagine even getting the flow of action right half the time to be a daunting task, so I can forgive it if the template sometimes takes a backseat to the dialogue.

In any case, this element of the genre struck me as interesting, if only because it is a very rare genre where the action matching the scene is a plus, not a requirement. It only came to mind since Birdsworth normally delivers so smoothly, that when one or two scenes struck me as 'off', it stood out all the more.

Final analysis? The strip is staying strong, and I'm having to resist the temptation to dig up similar comics of that field. That's certainly a winning recommendation in my book.

The more things change...

Hahaha, vomit is funny!

Ok, in all seriousness, I've really been enjoying the Shecky storyline. I like the little guy, and I like seeing his interaction with the rest of the cast and crew - especially Skull.

Sure, the entire thing has been rather predictable - but that doesn't really detract from how enjoyable it is.

What I didn't expect was that the storyline would make me realize exactly how much I was a fan of Skull himself. It is something that has been developing more of late (especially since reading the Origin of Skull in the PvP comic book.)

In any case, these story arc seems to be coming to a close, and Kurtz continues to deliver. I, for one, am glad he was willing to stick it out.

"I dreamt of distant places, I dreamt of distant times. I dreamt of butterflies and barren deserts, and my own forgotten crimes."

So last week I used Starslip Crisis as an example of a comic with stellar pacing.

For the last few months, Anywhere But Here had decided to represent the other side of the road - the comics that don't have a sense of pacing. The ones with interminably long, slow, dragging scenes.

In this specific case, we've spent the last several months watching two characters sit in the same place and talk.

And talk.

And talk.

Now, Siebels tells a good story. And I love plot. And characterization. And backstory.

But several months of blank exposition, flashbacks, and talking heads?

Agony.

Now, for most comics, this sort of thing would be a mark against them.

But, see... Siebels recognized what he had done. He came forward, apologized. He didn't intend it to go like this. But... life happened. (It tends to do that.) And he didn't have the time, he didn't have the energy, he didn't have the life to devote to the strip, so he half-assed it for four long, painful months. He knew it was crap, he knew that we knew it was crap, and he was sorry.

It takes balls to make a confession like that, and he gets mad props for that.

And when I saw that admission, I was happy. I mean, the strip had been dragging, but here was a chance for change, and that's all I was looking for - it was enough for me to know the strip would be leaving this stretch behind to the bowels of history.

But, see, he didn't leave it there.

Apparently he decided to make it up to us, as his latest post is a 26 fucking page sequence.

And it isn't just filler - this is a long, detailed, beautifully organic dream sequence. This is action. This is characterization. This is showing, not telling. This is the man at the top of his craft, and it is incredible.

I'd post a small sample of the strip, but Blogger is being a bit of a bitch. So just... go. Check it out.

Comics change. I can't count the number of strips I read that no longer bring the same delight they first did. There are many strips that make me wonder why. Why do I still read this? Why do I cling to a vain hope it will return to its former glory?

And sometimes, every once in a distant while, I find an answer.

Five for Friday

Notable things this week, at least in my humble opinion:

-Queen of Wands is back! It is still on reruns, but even those are pretty quality reading, especially with the daily commentary.

-All that stuff I posted about My Nemesis? Yeah, I was wrong, Kal's still a dick. But hey! the strip is still very pretty and has its own fun brand of humor. I'm not entirely sure where he is going with it all, but its fun to read nonetheless. (Now, as to whether this latest development makes the strip more or less deep I've not yet decided. Of course, as long as I'm enjoying reading it, it probably doesn't even matter.)

-Some interesting stuff going on over at Girls with Slingshots, and not just because they are at a strip club. Rawr!

-I'll admit, it was kinda fun seeing Rayne end up in over his head. He's one of those guys that always seems to come out on top (no pun intended), so having things not end up perfectly for him was perversely satisfying.

-Finally, I just started reading Goblins. It does the gaming parody riff rather well - but it also seems to have a good sense of more serious elements.

Aaaand, that's all for this week.

A slip in .... space... makes pace? Hmm, somewhat lost myself with that little line...

At heart, I read comics because I like stories.

This isn't to say I don't read my fair share of gag-a-day strips, or strips that emphasize art over writing.

But the comics I really find at the top of my list, the ones I find myself the most invested in... are the ones with a powerful story.

I'll confess something - I never read Checkerboard Nightmare.

I tried. I really did, several times. I tried reading from the beginning. I tried starting in at some later storylines. But... it just wasn't for me.

And that's fair, I can respect that.

Then he started Starslip Crisis. And I was able to get in on that right from the start, and hey - that worked out well. I found myself reading it consistently, and enjoying it - a random humor strip about an art museum in the far future. A chance for him to poke fun at certain elements without having be blatant about it. I tossed it on my list as some light reading material, and it was fun.

And because I started out with that mindset, I didn't really notice exactly what was going on in the strip. See, Starslip Crisis has a very good sense of pacing. It was developing a story right under our nose - but it was subtle enough I almost didn't notice it.

Gilead Pellaeon, however, saw the mechanics for a deeper plot being set into place. He was right - there were a lot of characters being developed in the background. Tensions were rising. We suddenly had rogue time travelers, killer robots and evil overlords in the picture.

And recently Kris Straub has been, how you say, taking things to the next level.

Yesterday we discovered the Starslip Crisis itself. And today... well, today things get a bit more personal.

So. It's possible that Straub will return to his normal style - tone things back down after the excitement, and them start bringing them up again.

But with every rising storyarc, things only get more intense. And with the way momentum is currently building, I'm having a hard time judging how far this current arc will go.

There is no denying Straub has something awesome going on here - and even more, there is the sense of more awesomeness to come. The fact that the story in the strip took me completely by surprise only impresses me more - and leaves me eager for more.

I can't wait to see what Straub has planned for the strip next.

They grow up so fast...

As they say...

"Oooh, pretty!"

Happy birthday, CYS!

Once upon a childhood tale...

Wow.

Just... wow.

Especially given my current craze with fables and fairy tales, this was an enormously pleasant surprise.

Andy Weir's newest work is called Cheshire Crossing. It is, well... a crossover of epic proportions. Oz meets Wonderland meets Neverland meets who knows what else. With it's advent, I can accept the end of C&A stoically.

So, first impressions of this new strip:

Humor: Check. Unsurprisingly, Weir adds his usual wit to the story. The Wicked Witch and her monkeys are an especial delight.

Story: Well, it's early to be sure - but given this seems to be coming out straight from the gate with a sense of definite purpose, I suspect it will handily deliver.

Art: Weir seems to have developed a new art style for this project - which seems to essentially be a very refined version of his normal art. It's good, no denying it. There are a few perspectives it seems a bit weak at, but they are few and far between. The ladies are, ahem, a bit on the busty side, but I doubt you'll see too many complaints over that.

Overall: I think I summed it up earlier: "Wow." The strip looks amazing. Unfortunately updates look to be sparse - an issue will likely be coming out every 3-6 months. That may speed up with the retirement of C&A, but it still is likely to come sparingly.

Of course, the time put into it shows - it's damn fine stuff. It just means we'll have to suffer in anticipation over future issues. I'm already gathering up a whole pile of questions and speculation about the series. (Top on my list - who, pray tell, is the Man in Black?")

In any case, Cheshire Crossing just looks awesome.

Well done, sir, well done.

Spreading the love of Mad Science.

So you may have heard the news - Narbonic is going to be free again.

Good news for me - I can finally get all my friend to read the comic now.

Of course, Scott Kurtz raised an interesting question - is it actually worth going to the effort of reading it, with it scheduled to end within half a year?

Fortunately the answer is easy: Well duh. Of course it's worth it.

I read books, I watch movies, I engage in all manner of activities with a definite ending. Sure, it's a slightly difference experience to read a work that is complete vs one that has the promise of many on-going years - but that doesn't directly impact on the quality itself.

And rest assured, Narbonic is quality. No question about that.

Of course, Kurtz brought up another question, too: "Has the subscription model failed Shaenon Garrity?"

That's harder to answer. I've given my thoughts on Modern Tales before.

Since then, we've been promised that big changes are coming. Changes that they've been in need of for a long time, and become even more pressing with the departure of Narbonic.

We haven't seen too much of those changes yet. Graphic Smash has admittedly been adding more stuff to it's already solid roster. Girlamatic has had a few nice additions, and some comics have returned from hiatus.

Modern Tales itself, though... I dunno, man. I dunno. I'm still waiting to see what's to come. I mean, they've got Eric freaking Burns as the editor - that's a man who cares about comics! But half a year since the announcement, and Modern Tales hasn't shaped up yet. The change may be coming, but it is taking it's time.

Still, anyway, this isn't anything I haven't said before. It is simply that things are growing a tad more pressing with this latest bit of news.

So, Kurtz asks, has the subscription model failed Shaenon Garrity?

Well, I can't answer that question - I imagine only Shaenon can. But I have the feeling that if there was a failure at hand, it wasn't the subscription model itself... it was this specific implementation of it.

Anyway, enough of the duldrums. Narbonic will be free.

Let me say that one more time:

Narbonic will be free.

So on July 1st, if you aren't reading it already... well, I don't think anymore needs to be said.

WCCAs 2006

So amidst the usual clamors of favoritism, popularity contests, redundancy and the like... I'm pretty pleased with the list of nominees for this round of Webcartoonist Choice Awards. There are familiar names in most every category, but also a lot of comics that are new to me, and I know this has been a great resource in the past to finding new and exceptional strips.

So, without further ado, here are the ones I am rooting for:

Outstanding Comic:
A hard call for me between Girl Genius and Narbonic... but since I am still in the intro stages of Girl Genius, while Narbonic is heading towards its grand finale, I think Helen (and co.) get my vote. One way or another, I'm hoping mad science wins the day!

Outstanding Newcomer:
I'm not familiar with a lot of the others, but I find it highly unlikely anything would be able to beat out Gunnerkrigg Court. This comic came out of nowhere to floor a lot of readers on the web, and I think it will have a stellar showing.

Outstanding Artist:
My initial response here was towards A Lesson is Learned but the Damage is Irreversible, but I think Sarah Ellerton (Inverloch) is where my heart lies - I remembered when I was first introduced to the comic (from last year's awards, even), it was the art that drew me in and kept me reading. That says a lot.

Outstanding Black and White Art:
Hard choices. Very hard choices. I think I'd be happy with either Digger or Sam and Fuzzy - both aren't just well-drawn black and white comics, but comics that specifically put it to exceptional and brilliant use.

Outstanding Character Art:
I'm thinking Ugly Hill here, though with some of the weird freaky characters from this last year in Wapsi Square, it could be a contender.

Outstanding New Character Design:
Aki Alliance works for me.

Outstanding Environment Design:
There are a few on here I'm not familiar with, but I'd be surprised if they can overcome the wonder that is Copper.

Outstanding Layout:
Man. As much as my heart would root for Copper again, I have to give credit where it is due - layout is what A Lesson is Learned but the Damage is Irreversible takes to all new levels.

Outstanding Use of Color:
These choices are getting harder. This one I'd be happy with any of the nominees winning, really.

Outstanding Use of Flash:
I'm gonna go with Hold My Life for this one, since the others are either unknown to me, I haven't actively noticed anything special using flash, or it has actively hindered the viewing experience. It's not just a default win, though - I actively like the little reading style Hold My Life has going for it.

Outstanding Use of Infinite Canvas:
Ah, infinite canvas. A lot of names new to me on here - I think I may do some research on these guys before coming to any conclusions.

Outstanding Web Design:
I am partial to the simple elegance of Starslip Crisis for this category. Some of the others are flashier (no pun intended), but don't really perform quite so well.

Outstanding Writer:
Hmm. Another tough call, but I think Shaenon Garrity (Narbonic, Li’l Mell, Smithson,Trunktown) is where my loyalties lie. Every one of her strips keeps me coming back, and are all at the top of my reading list. Can't argue with that.

Outstanding Character Writing:
Because the last category wasn't hard enough, see. Man, I dunno. Just pick something, they're all fantastic. I think OotS, Scary Go Round, or Something Positive would be at the top, though. That's about as narrowed down as I can get it.

Outstanding Dramatic Comic:
Something Positive. Period. Full stop.

Outstanding Comedic Comic:
Man, I knew I should have campaigned more for Dr. McNinja. As it is, I'll have to root for Shortpacked.

Outstanding Long Form Comic:
This is always something that is harder to tell in an younger comic, but I think Gunnerkrigg Court is the winner here. Whether it's potential holds out is yet to be seen, but I'd be surprised if it didn't stay true to form.

Outstanding Short Form Comic:
The Perry Bible Fellowship for the win.

Outstanding Single Panel Comic:
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. For all that it is occasionally hit or miss, when it is at its best, nothing else can even compare.

Outstanding Story Concept:
Both Girl Genius and Gunnerkrigg Court are exceptional. I think Gunnerkrigg Court wins by a hair, since some of the elements behind the scenes are truly inspired.

Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic:
Digger, in my opinion. Where the anthropomorphism is actually related to the story, and neither an obsessive focus or completely tangential. And, of course, its a wickedly awesome comic.

Outstanding Fantasy Comic:
I know I shouldn't say Order of the Stick for this one, since it is more parody than pure fantasy... but I think I will, anyway.

Outstanding Gaming Comic:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Penny Arcade is the obvious choice for this, the popular one, the 'sell-out'... but that's because it's the best.

Outstanding Slice-of-Life Comic:
So... of the ones on the list, Devil's Panties is the only one I feel really fits the category.

Outstanding Romantic Comic:
I know everyone's going to vote Questionable Content, but as much as I like the indie kids, Sordid City Blues feels a lot more real about the romance.

Outstanding Science Fiction Comic:
In a surprise (even to myself), I think Zap has my vote here. It's a clever little comic with gorgeous art, and I think it does a great job of preserving the sense of wonder that any good sci-fi comic needs.

Outstanding Superhero/Action Comic:
And finally a tough call for the last spot! Another selection of great comics, and I think I'd either go with The Green Avenger or Magellan. They are very different comics - one is very focused, the other more epic in scope.

Overall, I think the fact I had a lot of trouble picking out my favorites in each category says a lot about the selection - a slew of good comics that have gone up against each other.

We'll see what is to come, but I suspect I'll be happy regardless of who the winners really are.

My only regret is that the list needs more ninja.

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.

Friday Surprise

I didn't even realize, but yesterday's post was number 100. Color me startled and amazed! Hopefully this blog has provided some merriment to the readers out there, and I plan to keep my (often overly verbose) chatter coming.

Only one thing is really on my mind today - Ctrl-Alt-Del.

I've spoken about the strip before - specifically how I like the comic, but Ethan rubs me the wrong way.

He's always doing wild, zany stuff, see. Usually for the sole reason that the unexpected is, ya know, suppose to be funny and crazy and stuff.

And of course, whenever he does something stupid just for laughs, there isn't any fall-out. Ethan might have his schemes foiled or not turn out perfect - but he never gets in any real trouble for acting like a total dick to friends, family, strangers... anyone.

So, the latest story arc seemed true to form. Ethan gets to meet Lilah's parents - and unsurprisingly Ethan humiliates himself, he can't go five minutes without a gaming reference, and he manages to inflict bodily harm on her father.

And, as expected, her parents just smile and accept his tomfoolery.

I shrugged. I'm used to these arcs and the way they go. So be it.

And then Tim Buckley decides to throw me off my game, as Ethan recognizes he was acting like an idiot and seems determined to make it right.

Now, I'm sure that will consist of even more elaborate hijinks... but still.

That's more character than I've come to expect from Ethan, and stumbling across it was a very pleasant surprise.

Trolls as a unifying topic.

Blogger has been troublesome today, so you guys get to miss out on my thoughts on Digger, Fables, and other assorted myths... at least for a few days.

Instead, I'm simply going to say this:

Scott Kurtz, keep doing what you're doing. Your Shecky storyline is a blast. Even if it wasn't, follow the story where it leads you, regardless of what naysayers may pop out of the woodwork.

Yo espeako el espanish!

Upside to a sick day: Finishing Kingdom Hearts 2.

Downside to a sick day: Agony, pain, and assorted other synonyms for torment.

In any case, I'm back and mostly recovered, though still a bit hazy due to, say, medication and so forth.

Amidst my drug-induced haze, as I perused my daily comics, I found myself inordinately delighted that I could understand the small amounts of spanish found recently in Candi.

You see, I took something on the order of 6 or 7 years of Spanish, between High School and College... and came out with nothing to show for it, with many of those years having simply repeated the information learned beforehand.

(Disclaimer: I did, admittedly, come out with a large number of humorous anecdotes, as I've had some exceptionally interesting spanish teachers. I wouldn't be able to share those anecdotes in spanish, however, which is the matter at hand.)

In any case, being able to easily understand even 3 or 4 admittedly simple and basic lines in spanish was enough to make me quite happy! Some days the small and silly pleasures are the best.

Also, Candi is a great comic.

I'd say more, but yaknow, still drugged up. So I'm just going to go lie down now, k?

I'll never be able to look at a flaming car the same way again.

So I went and saw X-Men 3 the other day.

I won't go into too much of a review of the movie myself - others have already covered everything I could say.

In the end, it had quite a few nice touches I liked, some plot decisions I did not, but proved to be enjoyable in spire of my disagreements with it. So that's cool by me.

The movie-watching experience itself, unfortunately, went less than smoothly - upon seating ourselves for the movie, we discovered a band of twenty or so hooligans who proceeded to shout, laugh, throw shit, and do their best to ruin the experience for the rest of us.

Rather than get in a confrontation with that crowd, we consulted the theater managers - who seemed similarly disinclined to confront that many people. So, instead, they just moved us into the next showing for free. As good a solution as possible, I suppose.

Even in that room, we had a small infestation of warbling chattybitch just behind us - but compared to the previous scofflaws, hardly worth the effort of being irritated by.

The upside of the shift, meanwhile, was getting to see all the freaking awesome previews before each show. Ghost Rider, Pirates 2, Superman, etc - all the good stuff. (Also: that one with the angry superchick throwing a shark through a window. Wicked.)

The one that really sparked my interest was 3 Fast 3 Furious... er, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Now, watching the trailer made it look really cool. But I've never been a car person in general. I fell asleep during the original the Fast and the Furious, and I found Initial D to be the worst show I had ever seen in my life.

For a while, I had thought I just didn't like the subject matter - but Misfile has managed to keep me entertained - and not only that, but has had me actively excited and engaged during the racing scenes, and intrigued by the racing tricks and tactics.

So maybe the lesson is simply that it is a subject only interesting to me when done right.

Also, I don't know why, but I really thought the flaming car manuever rocked, as silly as it was. I mean, flaming cars. I am a man obsessed.

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!

Finders Keepers

It isn't enough that I must be indebted to Mr. Logan for producing the exceptional work that is Sam and Fuzzy. Oh no, now I have to owe him for steering readers towards Sordid City Blues.

See, Sordid City Blues isn't actually a new comic for me. Some months back I devoured the entire archives in one sitting, and discoveredI quite liked it.

...at which point I promptly missed adding it to my daily links, and when I remembered it a week later, had forgotten its name, address, and any location that might help me find it again.

(Have I mentioned I have a really bad memory?)

Fortunately, after having given up all hope of finding it again, bam! There it is.

Reading back through it again (it's a relatively quick read) reminded me exactly how much I liked it - down to earth characters, some of them funny, some of them crazy, all of them dealing with the stupid little troubles everyone has to deal with. The characters are also nicely color-coded for convenience, which is just one of several little nice touches it has!

All in all, its a good comic, and as mentioned by the Sam-man, it is at the start of a new story arc and in a good position for people to check it out.

Penny Arcade can be used to explain anything. Seriously.

I'm back!

Hopefully everyone had a fine Memorial Day weekend. Mine was filled with assorted lounging, graduation parties, and family gatherings that primarily consisted of me being assaulted by small children. (Or, alternatively, nearly losing a chess match to an 8 year old.)

The weather here has suddenly spiked up to near a hundred degrees, and while I've been enjoying the heat, others have not been quite so welcoming of it. When I have taken temporary absence from the warmth, I've been retreating to the chilled indoors and engaging in more Kingdom Hearts 2.

As of last night, I have found myself with something of a quandary. I reached the final ramp that leads up to the final boss, surrounded by my faithful friends and companions, with danger threatening all the worlds - and I promptly turned around and walked away.

You see, there were tasks yet to be done.

Now, there is a part of me that seeks completeness in things for its own sake. It is not in my nature to leave things unfinished. It is a struggle for me to put down a book with the intent of not finishing it, no matter how vile it may be. Perhaps half a dozen times have I done so, the majority of which were in the last year, when I realized that I was under no compulsion to inflict mental trauma on myself through atrocious writing. But even with that epiphany... it is difficult.

So I already have the danger of obsession - leaving something in an incomplete state is irksome to me. And when it comes to games... well, there is a devil of a powergamer lurking within my heart, and once upon a time, when I played RPGS my goal was to claim total victory. It was not enough to merely win - I need the knowledge that I have demolished and mastered every aspect of the game.

But things change. For me, the game these days is more about the story. And in truth, I did not have the time to invest in fully conquering games when I could simply... finish them. Especially as games such as FF X (and even worse, the atrocity known as FF X2) went on to build realms of completeness that were a time sink beyond all comprehension.

So I turned away from that road, and merely played the game for its own sake.

But now... a dilemma. If I actually want to get the good ending, I need to complete a variety of tasks.

Most of them, in fact, are already done with ease. It is merely the final few that are the challenge, that require the extra time of leveling unto infinity - defeating the 50 round tournament. Battling the ultimate optional boss. Etc.

So I've resigned myself to the grind.

Similarly, I've been trying hard to bring myself to stop reading several webcomics. Some of them I simply started without realizing they weren't really worth my time - others have, indeed, changed over the years. And I don't hold this against them - but, as with other things, I have this awful compulsion to keep with them, even after I've lost all enjoyment in the reading of them.

Now that I'm done waxing verbose, I'll come to the point of this little tirade - am I the only one like this?

Do others have a similarly hard time, or is it easy to walk away from webcomics that you no longer enjoy, books that aren't worth reading, games not worth playing?

Is it easy to identify when something isn't worth your time - and even once you've done so, is it easy to let it go?

Words, Words Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink

When I was in the halcyon days of my youth, I read. A lot.

I could be found reading on most any occasion in which I had free time. While on the bus to school, during breaks between classes, while having dinner with my family. Books were my life-blood, and I lived and breathed the written word.

As time went on, I grew less attached to books - in college, while I still read, it was no longer such a vital facet of my life. I had many other activities and entertainments to occupy, and books were just one of many.

(On occasion I would fear that I would go the way of my father, an avid reader of fiction until the age of 25 - after which he never read a book ever again.)

These days are much the same - I read when I come across a good book, and generally savor the writing rather than tear through it. I have many other stories that I enjoy - comics, games, movies, etc.

Which is why I am trying to figure out what has possessed me this last week, as I have been devouring a novel a day.

Perhaps I felt a need for some works of fiction that had an element of completeness, rather than the ongoing serial nature of most webcomics. Perhaps this was in part due to a visit to a local overstock book store, with dangerously low prices on all manner of works.

And perhaps it has simply been one of those lazy summer weeks in Maryland, a mix of warmth and rain, sun and shade, and not much else to do than sit around... and read.

In any case, I suspect I have little to fear of following in my father's footsteps. And I confess, it has been appealing to lose myself in books, as I have not done so completely in quite some time.

Sometimes a change in the usual can be a nice refresher. I suspect I'll return to my usual pace and usual habits - but the change from the ordinary, however brief, was welcome nonetheless.

Expectations

You know, I never expected to see any sort of development of the character of Twitchy-hug.

I certainly didn't expect the direction the current plot arc took us through (in a relatively short amount of time.) (This in spite of the fact that there was, in fact, a bit of set-up leading up to it.)

And I didn't remotely see coming the conclusion of this little arc, nor the cameo appearance at the end.

The lesson learned here? I should predict the most dreary, banal things, since the unexpected apparently rocks my socks off.

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!