Author Archives: The Geek

DS 131: Review of North World

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It’s that time of the week again folks. Time to sit down with that special some one you love and listen to me and Jason argue about who’s cooler while Brigid rolls her eyes so hard you can hear it. In this week’s episode, we take on North World by Lars Brown.

North World is a strange strip, even though we all had at least one or more solid complaints, we all agree that the end product is a greater comic than the sum of it’s parts. If you love magic epics with classic themes of heroism and loyalty, coming of age tales where the protagonist must return home to face growing up or comic with swords in them, than North World is worth checking out.

After last week’s Zuda watch, our attention spans seem to be waning, and we had a hard time focusing. After 10 whole minutes on Northworld, the show breaks down into a discussion of what really makes a comic on the Web and Web comic. Different schools of thought rear their heads and we have to agree to disagree. At least until we have more time to really yell at each other.

In other news, anyone who noticed the high pitch whining in last weeks show will be happy to know that it’s mostly gone. If you never noticed it before than please, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

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DS 130: Zuda Reviews Watch 1

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This week we bring you not one, not two but ten freaking reviews all rolled into one. That’s some pretty heavy lifting kids, don’t try it at home, we’re professionals. Sort of. In this episode we take a look at each of the competitors currently battling to the finish in this months Zuda competition.

For anyone not familiar with Zuda, its where many different competitors battle it out for readers love and affection. People pick which strips they like and support them and call people who like other strips mean names, then those people get mad and say that the original people are douchebags and then pretty soon everyone forgets that they should just be enjoying good comics, not making other people feel bad.

So really, it’s a lot like the rest of the Internet.

As we go through all ten strips there were very few that we all agreed on. Apparently there’s very little good enough for us all to like or bad enough for us to all hate. So there’s a pretty good mix on Zuda this time around. Let us help you slog through and find the strips that right for you. We’re real nice like that.

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DS 129: Review of Lackadaisy

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After hootenanny that was this year’s WCCA, we couldn’t help but notice there was quite the hullabaloo brewin’ about this strip Lackadaisy. Rubes we may be, the crew here at Digital Strips have never to be one to shy away from some rip-roarin’, Web comicy fun. And thats just what we found when we mozied over to www.lackadaisycats.com to see what creator Tracy Butler had in store for us.

I think I got some of my hick mixed in with my flapper back there. I apologize.
What we did find however was a really good strip, full of fun atmosphere, strong characters and some of the best artwork any of us have seen on the Web. That’s the short of it, for the long of it, check out the show.

I looks like we’re getting back into the swing of things here. This seems like as good a time as any to remind everyone that we’ll play your audio promos in our show for free. Just keep it short, related to Web comics and in MP3 format and we’ll take care of the rest.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m trying to teach my neighbor’s cats to smuggle rum and shoot a Tommy gun. It’s slow going.

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DS 128: Review of Sin Titulo

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We had so much fun last time that we decided to do another show. This time we leave the world of gag-a-day strips and delve in to the mysterious world of Sin Titulo by Cameron Stewart. It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a strip like this (please keep any comments about how it’s been awhile since we reviewed anything to yourself) and it was fun to dig into a story I got to second guess for a bit.

Sin Titulo (which either means “Without Title” or I’ve truly failed my high school Spanish teacher), is a dark, creepy noir tail that kept us reading and, at least in my case jumping, all the while maintaining a sense of class and timeliness that is hard to find online.

We do something a little different with a regular review section and then an in-depth, spoiler-filled analysis section where we try and figure out what really is going on in Stewart’s mind.

All this mystery and a brief overview of what we thought of the WCCA winners (we recorded this a week ago so it was sort of timely way back then). Join us and get that warm fuzzy feeling that only listening to Digital Strips can give you.

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DS 127: Review of Pictures for Sad Children

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Call your neighbors, wake the dog and gather your children around the iPod folks because the long wait is over. Digital Strips, the podcast you all know and love is back in action!

Today we take a look at Pictures for Sad Children, the saddest comic that I have ever loved. It’s depressing, it’s drab, it’s awkward but oh so very good. Listen in and find out how this is even possible.

We also take controversy head on and discuss whether or not I Can Has Cheeseburger? is a comic and talk briefly about Laugh-Out-Loud Cats, another comic that was spawned from the Internet giant that is the lolcats. Check back often as we bring more great comics to your attention and dicuss more pressing issues that face our beloved medium in the next episode, coming soon (yes, this means we’re back for real, not just a one time event, make your time).

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They Canceled Paradise and Put Up a Comics Archive

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They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. For me, it was more like I didn’t know what I had until it was gone and then came back again.

 

Back when I first started reading Web comics, I started with the big names. All the usual suspects, Penny Arcade, PvP, Order of the Stick: all those must-reads. I would also spend time looking for new strips to add to my new hobby. One day when I was using a computer that wasn’t mine, I found a strip I really liked by the name of Buttercup Festival. It was a black and white stripe featuring an unnamed grim reaper looking character and his whimsical and amusing journeys through his beautifully rendered world.

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Dead Baby Penguins Make Me Sad

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I think I’ve got it all figured out: PVP is basketball. That’s the big connection they’re going to make at the end of the series. I think I’ve won the Internet now.

 

When I worked for a newspaper, we covered all kinds of issues. Everything from gay marriage to abortion to gun control. Still the thing that got people the write the most impassioned letters to the editor was basketball.

 

People feel very passionate about there entertainment. More passionately than they often feel about important stuff. An example of this passion is this new blog that I found via a link from PVP about PVP called PVP Makes me Sad by The Fake Scott McCloud.

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You want $10, I want a pony

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There’s been a little bit of Internet Noise over this new theory of “10 dollars per reader” started by that other site, the one that is stupid (Are we still enemies? If not, I’m sorry). I really wanted to do a quick sound off of my take on the whole thing.

I am all for Web comic creators making money. I think this buzz has gotten creators to think a little more aggressively about going out and getting money. This is good. Just waiting for your money to show up is a sure fire way to fail.

 

Here are a couple things that I would like to say to all you comic creators as a potential $10.

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The Ironic This is He Wasn’t Commissioned to Draw Any of the Comics.

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Well I don’t have a joke about why I’ve been away for so long. That’s because there is nothing funny about Canadian Maple Syrup Torture. Let’s just say it was a sticky situation and be done with it.

 

 

I don’t normally like to announce comics hitting certain landmarks because if you start proclaiming it every time some one hits 100, they’ll expect it again when they hit 200 and by then I just don’t care. But today I’m going to make an exception for Commissioned today because e I think 1000 is a big enough number that by the time creator Obsidian reaches 2000 I’ll care again.

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