Category Archives: Reviews

Digital Strips Podcast 259 – Horizons Watch Derelict and The Man of Many Shades

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Ok, I’m super sorry about the lateness of this update. I do think that this particular episode was totally worth the wait, not only do we deliver two comics that are just begging for your attention but we get to hear Jason’s impression of a guy from Idaho, being given a book. You cannot buy quality audio programming like this.

This week we turn again to the horizons taking a look at Derelict and The Man of Many Shade, a name that becomes surprisingly hard to type after the 10th time.

Derelict is a dirty, grungy, post-apocalyptic tale that is different from all those other dirty, grungy post-apocalyptic tales, largely because it has a boat in it. But boats changes stories, they make them about the sea, and the sea has been changing our literature since we crawled out of it. Boats add romance, grandeur and an infinite setting that calls to all of us. Also a seagull dies in this, and everyone hates those dirty rat-birds.

The Man of Many Shades is all about juxtaposition. Like a good sweet and sour dish, it takes things that probably shouldn’t go together, and makes them not only go together, but be better for it. Here, instead of the sweetness of honey and the twang of lemon juice, it’s a dark and grity noir protagonist, and a poorly drawn unicorn. Trust me, it works.

We also talk about the following comics and the following times:

Imagine This – 5:15
Bug 6:15
Gronk 6:30
Bear and Tiger – 4:45

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Digital Strips Podcast 258 – Review – Optipess

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Hey what do mass murderers, butt sex and suicide have in common? There’s all topics even I won’t make a joke about. But fortunately I am not the the guy behind Optipess, this week’s comic.

Before we get into the matters at hand, we ramble, as we are want to do. We admit to each other, and vicariously all of you guys, that we were total weenies once and have not matured as much as we would have liked. I’m slightly braver than I once was, but it took a band of different colored ninjas to get me that way.

We then talk about what we’re reading, Shortpacked for Jason and Two Guys and Guy for me.

We then finally get into the show part of the show where we talk about Optipess, a comic I can’t think of a better word for than “dark” and if you would give me two words, I’d add “European.” Its a twisted little gag-a-day that I’m glad Jason brought to my attention, if only to counterbalance Modest Medusa in my RSS feed.

Let us know what you think of the show. We love us some feedback.

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Digital Strips Podcast 256 – Review – Max Overacts (DO NOT PANIC)

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08/23/2011: Never ForgetEarthquakes! Hurricanes! These are the natural disasters that I, your intrepid East Coast webcomics correspondent, endured this week to bring you this, our finest episode ever! Yep, that is a bit of hyperbole I’m throwing your way, but it was fun nonetheless.

We’ve got Legend of Zelda naughty bits euphemisms, why it’s no longer funny to say use Google in a sexual context, and Who You Diggin’, a sub-segment where we try to save the first segment from ridiculousness and insanity by actually talking about what webcomics we’re enjoying for the week. These comics are:

And what better game remix and help redeem the podcast that one of the best video games of the last decade, possibly century, Super Mario Galaxy. This mix, titled, “Fill Me Up With Snacky Happiness” (9:34), is much, much less dirty than it sounds. This first sound break ends at (11:59), for those that care to skip right to the talking.

News Minute! Not a terrible amount of stuff to talk about, much two comics are coming back after hiatus/season finale (your definition of these breaks will depend on whether or not you agree comics can run in a seasonal update pattern) and Kate Beaton picked up her first Harvey Award.

Our music break comes to us courtesy of Memotone’s “Fractal” (16:48). Given all the natural occurrences surrounding me lately and this artist’s propensity for using nature to create beautiful music, it seemed apt. Again, (18:48) is the target if you’re looking to get right back to the action.

Back during the Eisners Award season, we took a quick look at Canaan Grall’s Max Overacts as one of five nominees (ok, to be fair, I took a quick look at it, Steve apparently read the entire archives then and there). We’re now taking on the entire series, both of us, together, and it’s a good thing too because it turns out this is quite the amazing comic. I just hope that, after listening to our review, people stop comparing it to Calvin and Hobbes as the only thing the two works have in common is the high quality exhibited therein.

Finally, after the show proper, we have another chatty segment, which Steve is thus far titling, “Rambletron” (35:08). If you like more quality Arnold Schwarzanegger impersonations, information about Steve’s friend’s poo that you probably didn’t need, and the idea that Virginian’s could save the planet after a 5.8 earthquake by jumping on a big pile of humpin’, that you’ve come to the right place. If not, I’ve provided you with the time stamp so you know what to avoid. We did, however, manage to work in a couple of webcomics amongst the rambling.

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Digital Strips Podcast 255 – Horizons Watch – Space Pest Removal and Power Nap (Looney Tunes Is Racist And We Love It Anyways)

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Pepe Le PewThis is one of the least-focused shows we’ve done in a while, and the energy benefits from that scatter-brained-ness. Example? We talk about sports, and neither of us particularly like sports, or at least not typical, America sports. The closest thing to a fight song that Steve had heard at a live sporting event is circa 1953. So yeah, we know our stuff. That, plus Steve, despite arguments to the contrary, can’t seem to shake Brendan Fraser off his brain.

But hey, we actually manage to mention some webcomics amongst the insanity!

I have a propensity for leading us into the second segment with a game remix courtesy of the amazing remixers hanging around Overclocked Remix, and today’s pick is yet another that proves the music of the 8-bit era far eclipses that of the current generation in terms of depth and simplicity. That tune is from the Metroid series, entitled, “Suite for Violin and Piano”, and I encourage you to go check out the entire piece on the OCRemix site. Incredible stuff.

News Minute! Stuff is happening, though not a ton, really. Most of these can be found, oddly enough, on our site!

As part of the JManga conversation, I must also mention a ridiculously popular bit of oddness titled Crayon Shin-chan (15:05). The only comic I checked out on the JManga service, Shin-chan appears to center upon a five-year old who uses his naughty bits as a punchline. A lot. Moving right along…

The next rock break is brought to us via some rockin’ and a squealin’, courtesy of the band Pierced Arrows and their song, “Guns of Thunder” (18:08).

Finally, we come to our Horizons segment, where this time we’re checking out two comics that, while wildly different in tone, both offer some interesting new reading experiences.

It should be noted that Space Pest Removal came to us from the creator, straight to our inbox, so writing in with your comic and a pleasant request to be reviewed can work (as many of you have already discovered, and thank you for that!). Power Nap, on the other hand, exploded on the Web a couple of weeks ago, so many already know of its potential and incredibleness. Some other comics mentioned in our discussions:

If you choose, we’ve also got a lengthy outtakes section after the brief outro, where it is posited that Pepe Le Pew was not only a rapist, but a terrible one at that. Enjoy!

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Digital Strips Podcast 254 – Review – Aquapunk (More Aqua Than Punk, Really)

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The vengeance... it will be furryThis week, we go under the sea (under the sea) to take a look at Aquapunk by Lauren Baker, a tale of the downtrodden rising up against an oppressive regime in the (art) style of the Hellboy books. We take a look to find out if this take on epic storytelling sinks or swims.

We also spend way too much time talking about Steve’s strange willingness to forgive Brenden Fraser for everything he’s ever done and Jason’s unwillingness to look beyond the hair styles in a movie. We hit on the new PA/PVP team up and just have a lot of fun.

Sorry for the quick recap, here are some show notes. I’d love to read some comments.

Peace out.

Filmsack
Brenden Fraser on IMDB
Trenches
PVP
Penny Arcade
Free Mars
Hereville
Space Trawler

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Digital Strips Podcast 253 – Review – Shadowbinders (Just Don’t Go Near The Large Barnyard Animals)

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Barnyard AnimalsWe’re making up for a shorter episode last week with a podcast chock full of webcomicky goodness. First up, a segment where, as mentioned earlier, we put two comics head-to-head in a “we swear this isn’t a review” contest to see who pulls off the “this title could only exist in webcomics”. The competitors:

Who emerges as the winner? The fans and readers, that’s who! These are two amazing comics that we are lucky to have received and which, without the magical medium of the Internet, we might never have seen otherwise. While Ratfist actually wrapped up this past week, Battlepug rages on, and as mentioned in a previous news post, a Ratfist collection, complete with bonus content, is coming later this year courtesy of Image Comics. Do us all a favor and pick it up while you keep reading Battlepug to help ensure we keep seeing awesome experimental stories like this on the Web.

Leading us into the second segment is an audio ad, the first we’ve received in at least a year! This one points us towards Gene Gardens (9:45), a comic that is hard to find online but whose Kickstarter you can readily assist with. Help creator Shawn Granger raise the funds to produce the Gene Gardens graphic novel by clicking any of the previous links.

And the second segment is full of Digital Strips News Minuteness, so much so that there is nothing Minute-y about it. You can find all of those stories on the site (save the one about Daniel Lieske’s app for The Wormworld Saga), some of which even have conversations already ongoing. Jump in and let your voice be known!

Our review is brought to us by the coolest of subterranean adolescent crimefighters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, more specifically a remix of the title screen tune of the NES video game of the same name, titled, “Go Ninja, Go” (16:40). Bringing that same sense of adolescent wonder is a fun tale of steampunks and real world teenage angst.

Three other comics are mentioned while we suss out the review.

While uneven, Steve and I agree that this comic packs promise and personality. Check it out and let us know what you think!

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Digital Strips Podcast 252 – Review – Turbo Defiant Kimecan (Douches and Crackers)

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The Baywatch crewWe’re bringing you a shorter episode this week, either due to laziness or lethargy in the news arena, your pick. With that second segment removed, we’re bringing you a concentrated, laser-focused show full of nothing but webcomics talk. Oh, and also Disney animated features. And Baywatch. I think that’s about it, though. See? Laser-focused.

Apparently next week we’ll be reading a couple of comics and taking them head-to-head, for what purpose I’m not sure. But read Battlepug (8:13) and RatFist (8:50) and come back next week for the brawl to end them all! A couple of other comics mentioned in our opening arguments:

Taking us into our second segment is a tune that’s been on my mind recently, beautiful retooled by OCRemixer, Jonah-B. It’s the title theme to The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, “Dark Shores of Hyrule” (11:18). Figured I’d find something from that game to encourage me to jump back in and finish the recently released 3D remastering on the 3DS. And you should do the same starting August 12, when Nintendo is dropping the price from $250 to $170. Hey, I need more people to StreetPass with, so sue me.

What’s that? Oh. Right. Laser-focused.

Our review segment is full, and I do mean full, with talk about our featured review:

  • Turbo Defiant Kimecan by Ferran Daniel, James Caballero, Salvador Vasquez, Jorge Gonzalez, Luis Silva, Aaron Lenk, Carlos Campillo, and Igor Filjusin (13:29)

This is fairly unapologetic manga, with a few caveats, and pretty entertaining manga at that. This is especially shocking coming from me, a self-professed manga hater, but this is a quality comic in nearly all regards and sucks you in and never lets go. In our discussion, we also mention:

Be sure to drop a comment below, if only to tell us how to pronounce “Kimecan”.

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Digital Strips Podcast 251 – Harvey Nominees 2011

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This is the ChromebookWhat up guys, I’ve been having computer problems all morning, which is a lame reason for a lame show write up but hey, what can I say, Jason is totally lame.

This week, we do our annual look at the Harvey nominations for best online comic. As much as I piss and moan about how big timey awards don’t get webcomics, I do think they’re starting to, and I’m super glad they’re at least trying. This year’s list is certainly not what I would have picked, but it’s a good one and it gives us a lot to talk about.

We start by talking about how hot it is in various places and why Jason can’t play games. We then get into how Steve may buy a Chromebook which gets Steve talking about his latest love Fumbbl and invites you all to kick his butt at playing a pretend sport with pretend types of people.

The music for both breaks this time is “You Are My Sunshine” by Reflector.

News is pretty limited this time around. We talk about Chickenhare’s (7:00) possible animation deal and Steve’s definite racism towards ogres is revealed. The only other news is a blip about Hello with Cheese (9:00), Lars deSouza, Jamie Noguchi are making a board game which gets us off topic onto bored games and somehow to another podcast of Jason’s recommendation, Totally Rad Show (9:45)

Talking about other podcasts gets us thinking about a throw down we had weeks ago so we finally get into the Day[9] vs Giant Bomb discussion and other podcasts we like, such as Filmsack.

Harvey talk starts at 19:30, I’ll just list the comics nominated since we jump back and forth between them a lot:

Guns of Shadow Valley
Gutters
Hark! a Vagrant
LaMorte Sisters
PVP

Bonus points if anyone can find the point where the friggin chickadee started chirping out side my window.

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Digital Strips Podcast 250 – Book Club – Order of the Stick – 3rd Edition (There Sure Are A Lot Of Animated Movies About Dinosaurs)

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The Land Before TimeI can’t think of a snappy intro, so just imagine Jason in a Hawaiian shirt and a straw hat with a couple comically over-sized maracas singing “Zombie Jamboree.” That way, you’ll be entertained and we don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.

It’s Book Club time again and that means (for the foreseeable future) more Order of the Stick. Before we dive deeper in to the monster and punchline-filled catacombs of this comic, however, we idly chitchat about how Jason thinks he looks like Harry Potter and probably thinks he looks like everyone else in the world. Meanwhile, I’m just happy to be awake for this episode.

We then mention the milestones recently hit by Dinosaur Comics and Girls with Slingshots and I get a little pissy about how there’s no chance for me to high five all the comics creators I’d like to. We then talk about a couple interesting examples from both sides of the spectrum on the art theft that recently happened to The System (although now I found the story and it wasn’t as much of direct copy as I was led to believe, you can read up on it here) and Hijinks Ensue as well as a comment by Scott Kurtz on the whole issue.

Jason does a quicker version of his recap and we get into the comic by around the 21 minute mark. We then talk about character development, the growing relationships, and how sometimes, a silly comics about adventurers can lead to some pretty in-depth discussions about philosophy and morality. Or at least how they can for me.

The music this time was “Airbrushed RAC” and “Mess”, both by Anamanaguchi. As always, we live for feedback, please leave it below.

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Digital Strips Podcast 249 – Review: Gingerbread Girl (You Could Catch Her, But You Probably Don’t Want To)

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Crazy... but that's how it goesI promised myself that I wouldn’t do another of those cheesy intros that I do here, where I say something like “This week on Digital Strips, you’ll actually learn something..” and then proceed to reveal that all you learn is something bad about Jason. And I could totally do that this time too, in the first five minutes we learn that he’s a weiner, an old man and kind of a pervert. But really, we already knew all that and it also comes up that I’m a bit of a creeper, so I’ll just leave it be.

This week we’re talking about Gingerbread Girl by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, where we meet Annah Billips and her twin ripped from her own brain, Ginger. It’ll make more sense if you read the comic.

We start out this week with all those discoveries mentioned above, then jump into Google + and social media in general and why I just don’t get it.

We then go off the rails into the first break with a cover of “Crazy Train” by Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls.

Next it’s news, where we cover:

The next break is a version of “Send Me an Angel,” by Emily Zisman and Ryan Avery.

Finally we get into the actual comic. We talk about the spastic storytelling style, why too many narrators is bad, the difference between a story and a set up and how bad navigation can make you hate a comic. We also hit on the art, the portrayal of Portland and the interesting set up contained therein. And we write me into the comic, so I can do some much needed bodily harm to a character or two.

Please, drop us a line about what you think.

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