Author Archives: The_Best_Jason

Digital Strips Episode 240 – Eisner Awards Nominees Specialtravaganza 2011!

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It’s that time of year again! The trees are blooming, allergies are irritating, and it’s time once again for me to take over putting this show together!

Oh, and it’s also time for the Eisners. Kind of a big deal too, I suppose.

This year’s nominees represent one of the strongest bunch since the category for Best Digital Comic was formed in 2005 (thanks, WikiPedia!). But before we break down that list, there’s another list to talk about: The Digital Strips News Minute!

Before we roll into the matter that brought us all here today, why not have a little fun with Higgins and their track, “There He Is”. As always, make sure to check out the entire track and possibly even a whole album, if you feel so inclined.

Without laying out our favorites, I’ll say now that there is very little criticism to be had in the second segment. These five comics represent some of the best talent that the world of digitally-presented comics has to offer.

In our discussion, we wouldn’t want to leave out two other comics who are nominated in other categories:

  • (29:37) Hereville (Best Publication for Teens, Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword)
  • (29:50) Sheldon (Best Humor Publication, Literature: Unsuccessfully Competing Against TV Since 1953)

Of course, we always mention numerous other comics in our journey to making a point, so here are those we utilized to that end.

Finally, it’s easy to forget that Digital Strips was the first webcomics podcast because we don’t tell you nearly enough. As a result, we have an extensive library of podcasts to draw from in our research (I finally stopped laughing enough that I could write that). So here are some of the shows that link with this one in one way or the other. Listen in and enjoy the rich history that webcomics have enjoyed so far!

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Digital Strips Presents “Put Up or Shut Up: The Random Digital Strips Podcast” (A Digital Strips/Audioboo Production)

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Steve and I decided that enough people have told us they love the podcast that we’re taking our interests and broadening things by introducing a new show! It’s called Put Up or Shut Up and it’s hosted exclusively on Audioboo. That service is perfect for mini-podcasts, so we’re tossing up our random thoughts, webcomics-related or otherwise, for your listening pleasure.

We’re not gumming up the works for our main podcast feed with this (or any other) new show(s), but Audioboo is so awesome that the basic feed options are already included right out of the box!

Have a listen to the first episode, “Mexican Food”, and stay tuned for more geeky goodness from this humble two-man wrecking crew!

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Digital Strips Episode 232 – Review – RatFist w/ Guest Co-Host Lucas Turnbloom

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The good thing about doing only largely positive critiques is that our address book is full to bursting with names of enormously talented creators who are extremely eager to chat about the world of comics on the Internet. This week, I dialed up Lucas Turnbloom, the man who has crafted memorable, whimsical characters for Imagine This and 4G. And, according to our chat, it sounds like he has at least approximately 32, 458 more ideas bouncing around in his head.

… nope, make that 32, 459.

But before we explore these ideas, there are some news items, some Herdy Gerdy, if you will (and you will, at least until Steve gets back and tells me we can’t). Among the news items I’m cleaning up:

Once the business side is tended to, I take a few moments to ask Lucas about his beginnings in the biz, as well as his take on the convention-going side of being a responsible, responsive comics creator. We also delve into the divide between the new guard and the old, the differences that separate traditional creators from those who more readily embrace change and go with the Interflow. Sadly, we stop just short of solving the whole crisis. Ah well, maybe next time.

During our chat, we mention the following comics:

Leading us between segments is none other than Lucas’ own brother, whose band, Mrs. Magician, has a new 7″ dropping on March 1. This song, “The Spells” (31:28), is one of two songs on that record, so enjoy it more than once and stop by the band’s site to pre-order your copy to have forever and ever.

On the other side, Lucas and I peek into the shallow but rich waters of a comic that has blown up across the Web these last few weeks:

Also mentioned:

Like Molly and the Bear before it, this comic comes to us from one of the aforementioned old guard, or at least, older guard, a man whose portfolio more than speaks for itself. With credentials this solid, it’s hard to really critique the work before us, but with coloring this horrid and a story this agonizingly trite, you have to say something.

No, not really. This is a great start to yet another exciting comic, and it’s on the web, so it’s free! You can’t ask for more than that, but we’re also throwing in some conversation about that very comic, also, for free. All because we love our Digital Strippers.

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Digital Strips Episode 231 – Review – Yellow Peril w/ Guest Co-Host Rosscott

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Co-Host Month rolls on in Steve’s absence with a creator I’ve actually met, face-to-face, mano a mano. Rosscott is responsible for those hilarious play-on-word strips you’ve seen over at The System, featuring characters that hail from such renowned places as The Door to the Bathroom and Just Outside the Bathroom.

As I found out in our first interview segment, he also helped create the growing comics phenomenon known as Super Art Fight (13:50). Part pro wrestling (sports entertainment?), part artist’s studio, this battle sounds intense, hilarious, and most of all, ridiculously fun. Head over to SAF’s YouTube page for just a small taste of the raucous, inventive experience that awaits you.

With SAF at his disposal, Rosscott has encountered many names in the world of comics, making the list of name drops in that first segment quite long, but entirely worth mentioning:

Things take a turn for the dirty, but in name only, as we break with The Missionary Position’s “The Big Sleep” (21:00). In the second review segment, we take a look at a comic that Rosscott himself brought to our attention:

This comic plays exaggeration into the genre of journal comics pretty well and creates an atmosphere that is instantly familiar to all Northeastern dwellers and graphic designers alike. To the rest of us, it’s just a humorous, fun romp through what may or may not be a true person’s story. Either way, I enjoyed getting to know Kane (pronounced kah-nay, so you know he’s not a girl, apparently) and the gang and I think you will, too. Another comic mentioned in our critique:

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Digital Strips Episode 230 – Review – Molly and the Bear w/ Guest Co-Host Brock Heasley

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We’re kicking off Digital Strips Guest Co-Host Week with a man who needs no introduction, but gets one anyways: Brock Heasley!

Though I do a terrible job of it on the podcast, I will gladly link to all of Brock’s online work, a portfolio that is sure to grow exponentially over the next few years. Watching his depth and creativity emerge since The Superfogeys began has been a joy, one that is now quickly and easily possible through the joy of delivering comics via the Internet.

If you like introspective thoughts behind the creation of a work of art and conversations with those who craft these stories, I hope you will at least be entertained by my attempt. After Thee Oh Sees take us to the break with their guitar-riffin’ romp, “Crack In Your Eye” (23:00), it’s time to get to what Digital Strips does best: a review.

The strip, and yes, it is very much a comic strip, that Brock and I took a look at exudes a timeless feel that is as deceptively simple as it is intelligent in the way it appeals to the kid in all of us.

Comic strips rarely have the life that Molly and the Bear does, but coming from a seasoned professional who has worked on the very best that Pixar (culling from our childhood dreams since Toy Story first dropped into our laps) has to offer, we’d expect nothing less. Truly, the characters in this strip look like they’ve jumped right off of a storyboard sequence for their next animated short.

Along the way, Brock mentions another children’s comic artist that brings incredible life to everything he touches, Mike Kunkel, most specifically his childhood daydream adventure:

It’s interesting having two artists of the visual leaning working on the critique and Brock comes up with some insights which are details that I wouldn’t have given a second thought about. It’s deep, it’s fun, and it’s well worth a listen or two.

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Digital Strips Episode 229 – Horizons Watch – The Adam and Twilight Monk

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Two up, two down! Horizons Watch is at its best when Steve and I pick diametrically opposing forces and pit them one-on-one against each other. Seeing eye-to-eye on matters doesn’t make good podcasting. Now tearing someone’s opinions and preferences to shreds? That makes for a good listen! Of course, we don’t pick crap around here, so both of these comics are good enough to warrant a good discussion and discuss we do.

Before we actually talk about any titles, Scott McCloud blogged recently (2:43) that there are too many great comics coming to the web to keep track of. I simultaneously agree and disagree, Scott.

The first comic we mention is …

Unfortunately, the context we put it in this time around is in terms of delayed updates. Jon took a little time off to see to his affairs and though I want that next SFaM update as soon as I can get it, I’m glad he stepped away to do what needed to be done.

There is nothing that earns my creative respect more than watching a creator take a small cast of characters and really open them up to a larger world, one that can be expanded upon and developed further.

Sinfest is the best online comics example of this that I can think of, even though Steve thought of it first. The storylines are funny, sweet, poignant, and adventurous and the characters exist in a world that feels real, playing off one another in ways that are both hilarious and touching. Truly an inspiration for anyone hoping to take their established creation to the next level.

And it wouldn’t be an episode of Digital Strips if Steve didn’t mention his favorite comic:

I’d say the latest storyline is a can’t-miss, but really, the entire archive is can’t-miss, so go read it and Steve promises to stop mentioning it. Cool? Cool.

A brief mention, but deserving nonetheless:

And at precisely 13:26, Steve admits that my show notes and infinitely superior. This is not the hand of skillful editing talking, it’s just the truth.

Thanks to the Art Boys Collection for their song, “A 1 Freedom Voice Of My Soul” (14:11), which takes us into the second segment, where we enter Thunderdome! Our first competitor:

I really hope this comic sticks around and takes our, and any other criticism, to heart, because there is great potential in this work. It’s visually really rough now, but some polish and technique development could make this an amazing comic. Best of luck, Matt!

Steve’s pick realizes it’s potential from the beginning, even if it’s not my particular cup of tea:

It’s got some fantasy, it’s got a hint of manga, and it’s quite nice to look at. The archive is really shallow but what is here thus far makes this comic one to keep an eye on. Our discussion also brings up The Bean (29:09), as the two share some similarities in terms of style.

Our final mentions come courtesy of the guest hosts I have lined up to assist me in the coming weeks while Steve is in flagrante delicto (that means “out of the country”, right?). They are, in no particular order:

And if you’d like to stick around afterwards, we discuss the comparison between Lady Gaga and Ke$ha, the fact that watching Jeopardy automatically qualifies you for senior benefits, and the why I can’t just seem to let a sleeping segue lie. Enjoy!

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Digital Strips Episode 228 – Book Club: Templar, AZ – 4th Edition

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It’s time again to gather at Daku’s house for another Digital Strips Book Club! I brought lemon squares and my recipe for those Swedish meatballs and I hope you read the assigned pages for this month. We don’t… well, we don’t have too much to say about Chapter 4 because it embodies the antithesis of that classic Elvis tune (a little less action, a little more conversation).

But we kick things off with a team-up effort on the part of Rosscott and Caldy, both so named because they live on the Internet. Their comics? Respectively:

After a mutual friend of theirs was wrongly ripped off, intellectual property style, they decided to collaborate on a comic/flowchart (see als0: here) to determine whether or not you, the average-to-above-average Internet user, are harming the Web with your ability to give credit where credit is due. We debate the effectiveness and necessity to point out these facts to those who don’t seem to care about them in the first place.

Amongst this debate, I’d be remiss if I didn’t correct the first of my many mistakes in giving you the name of the store where you can find the fruits of this labor:

Another online shop destination that offers various shirts for geeks, supposedly (miraculously) devoid of any copyright infringement or IP theft:

Finally, we tardily note the rewarding of the Xeric Grant to Steve LeCoulliard.

His work on Much the Miller’s Son (which we reviewed here) is both old-school and rowdy, never anything less than hilarious and professional. This grant will help him produce Book 3 of his comic and couldn’t be granted to a more deserving cartoonist.

The Toothaches’ “Sisyphus” takes us into our second segment, where we give our thoughts on the fourth chapter of Templar, AZ. I’ll let that conversation speak for itself, but needless to say we hope the comic finds a new drive and purpose in the next chapter.

Regardless of where we end up at the end of this Book Club, I’ll be glad I read this comic for myself, so the opinions I have about it are none but my own. I encourage you to follow along with us and do the same!

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Digital Strips Episode 227 – Review: Scenes From a Multiverse

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Not only does this mark the first podcast of 2011, it also marks my first time editing this bad boy! Long gone are the days when Steve would cut out choice, prime rants of mine! Welcome the dawn of getting what I want out of this! At least, until he returns.

And under my watch we’re kicking the year off with a little bit of everything! In our first segment we’re hitting some video games! Specifically…

We’re talking about SMB because… well, it’s just a great little frustrating game that everyone should try. Ghost Trick comes up because this upcoming DS puzzler recently teamed with your favorite Internet-born-and-bred superhero and mine, Dr. McNinja, to produce a comic befitting them both. Steve also found a quick, infinitely-canvased comic that relates to the world of video games. Creator Nicholas Lieske has worked on many PC games, including the RPG Sacred, and is now branching out to try his hand at webcomics. His first foray?

Our thanks go out to Joystiq and Kotaku for stories about both! If it’s in video games, they talked about it on either Joystiq or Kotaku. Most times, both.

Our final topic has three ingredients: Reddit, our featured comic of this week, and the whipping post of webcomics:

It’s got it all! Controversy, betrayal, humor, and tragedy. At least it does the way Steve tells it. The whole thing wouldn’t mean much without again mentioning El Santo’s comprehensive dissection, lovingly spread out over two parts at The Webcomic Overlook. And yes, I have neglected to link to anything of Carlos Mencia’s for your benefit. You’re welcome.

Our musical interlude comes to us courtesy of Silence is full of birds. It is their (his? her?) song, “Flowers” (19:00), and it’s a jaunty way to bring us into the meat and creme, the creme de la potatoes of our show, the second segment review.

This comic comes from a well-known, well-worn creator and gives us not only a great comic but a new take on the updating schedule that we haven’t seen yet. That’s right, in this day of look-alikes and been-there-done-thats, here’s something new. And of particular note are the Star Wars homage we mentioned as well as the rabbits. Oh, the rabbits. Wee.

Finally, when our outro’s concluded, there could be some talk of Oglaf (link behind an age-check wall but EXTREMELY NSFW), Steve Carell movies, and bikini car washes? Possibly, I heard a guy say something…

Other webcomics mentioned briefly:

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McCloud Demands Bigger Online Presence For “His Face All Red” Creator Carroll

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In lieu of more talky-talky this week, we’ll try to bring you some news the old-school DS way, via short, succinct, savory blog posts. And what better way to kick off the week than with an amazing comic from a new face.

Scott McCloud, finder of all things amazing and new, blogs briefly about Emily Carroll, the creator behind the overnight success that is His Face All Red. Steve mentioned in our (now lost to the Interether) most recent episode that I probably recognized her name from combining poet Emily Dickinson and author Lewis Carroll, which is entirely possible. The entire comic, all ten, infinitely-canvassed pages of it, is incredibly haunting and does a great job of evoking that classic horror style in the vein of Edgar Allan Poe.

Do as the McCloud commands and demand a larger, more consolidated presence for this next up-and-coming webcomics star!

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Not Invented Here Latest Comic To Join TopatoCo Juggernaut

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Chances are, if you own a webcomics-inspired T-shirt, it came from the TopatoCo home office. This massive warehouse of all our greatest webcomics fantasies houses merch from pretty much every single comic published on the web, or at least the ones worth mentioning.

Fitting, then, that Bill and Paul have joined the fold with their latest foray, Not Invented Here. Congrats, guys! A comic as fine as this deserves to be in such outstanding, distinguished company.

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