Digital Strips Podcast 261 – Review – Ellie on Planet X (Jason Sure Thinks He Can Dance)

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Well the snow has already come and gone to the Rocky Mountains, giving us either our shortest winter ever, or a totally normal October, we’ll have to wait and see. But in any case I’ve decided to celebrate by posting another fun-filled episode of Digital Strips, this week reviewing the very cute Ellie on Planet X by James Anderson.

We don’t just review comics round these parts, nah, that’s too easy. Those who know us know we feel the need to ramble first and ramble we do. This week we talk about dancing. We learn that Jason is way too proud of his dance skills for a guy who just jumps and sticks his butt in the air. Keeping in the theme, Steve tells a story that proves he really is a horrible person, then he doubles on the proof by demonstrating what he will do to you if you happen to have the same name as him.

We then get into a recent post full of Web comics advice from Dresden Codak creator, Aaron Diaz, and Steve and Jason weigh in on his advice. During which Steve teaches us all how to speak Chinglish and look stupid at the same time. We get into some harsh talk about people’s motives when getting into Web comics and what they should be.

Over Clocked Remix dot com is the source of our middle music again this time with Origami Robots by k-wix. I drizzled in a sort of NSFW story from Jason to the mix, jump ahead about 90 seconds if you don’t want to explain to anyone listening with you what genitals are.

We then get into the comic, talking about how much whimsy you can cram into a comic, how a comic can be the nice guy in your class and how sometimes orange and blue do go together outside of a grade school context.

And just when you think we’re done with you, we tangent off into the realms of Pan’s Labyrinth, old school fairy tales and how kids today can’t handle a good dismemberment.

This weeks rambletron topic, what do you do when the Hulk shows up to your barbeque.

Show notes

Indistinguishable from Magic – 7:00
Modest Medusa – 9:00
Rice Boy, Order of Tales, Vaatu– 9:15
Copper – 13:00
Cucumber Quest – 21:30
Tiny Kitten Teeth – 25:00
Dawn of Time, Laugh Out load Cats, Silent Kimbly– 25:45

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Digital Strips Podcast 260 – Review – Fortune’s Fools

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I’ll be the first to admit that this show is an odd one. Not only is it the second of a two show recording session but it’s also a review of a comic that has long since stopped updating. The former means our A material is all used up, but fortunately our B material is also a bunch of wiener/boob jokes and ad hominum attacks. The latter makes this an interesting look back through time at what could have been, rather than what is. Which is a little trippy and a lot of fun.

We start by pinning for the the new Muppets Movie which is still over a month away. We then discuss why Jason has gone through his beloved RSS feed witha scythe and cut almost all of the story-based strips found within. It turns out, stories are hard for Jason.

The middle music is American Dream Man by Leslie Hunt.

We then get into Fortune’s Fools by Mel Olm and MJ ALmon. Like I mentioned this black and white comic set in medieval France has long since given up the ghost leaving us to only wonder what might have been. I don’t know about you guys but finding fun comics that gave up a long time ago is always bitter sweet for me. On the one hand, I get to see what could have been and imagine my own ending, one the other hand, there’s a strange sense of loss over something I never knew there was. I’m probably over thinking this.

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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 257 – Book Club – Order of the Stick – 4th Edition

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The Disney Princesses, not excepting Mulan, of courseDo you, our valued listeners, believe it is ok for Steve to have a strong interest in the goings-on of the world of Disney princesses? Neither do I, and that argument is the crux of our first segment. Oh, and Steve is nice enough to keep us relatively on track with a comic recommendation as well:

We also squeak in a few news items before lacing up for the Book Club brawl:

Alright, it’s time for the fight. What better fight anthem to roll us into the fracas than the theme to Mortal Kombat 3, remixed by The Dual Dragon (Mortal Konfrontation, 11:15). Of course, if you want to just get back to the action, the second segment starts at 12:52.

If you’ve been checking out this Book Club, you know that Steve is the veteran with Order of the Stick and also the bigger fan of the two of us. I am excited to finally be reading this long-running, very popular webcomic for myself, if only to form my opinion about it based on actually experiencing the story. That said, Steve and I rarely agree on anything this comic does, which makes for an interesting conversation. Listen in, won’t you?

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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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Lovecraft Is Missing Book 5 Begins September 2nd

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I have watched TV shows for so long that the concept of seasonly delivered content is nothing new to me. And if comics want to be thought of in that same manner, so be it. I consume so much content online that I am never left wanting for something to read, watch, or experience. Combine that with the fact that Lovecraft Is Missing, the terrific occult suspense webcomic from Larry Latham, is returning next Friday after a summer hiatus and I have no reason not to shout this information from the rooftops.

Sure, Larry was kind enough to set this date in stone the moment the previous “season” ended, but time is a harsh mistress in the world of the Web so consider this your official reminder. The full rundown of what’s in store, straight from Larry himself, can be found below the image.

The mysteries begin to unfold as Nan Mercy, Win Battler and Father Munsford Jackey delve deeper into the disappearance of an obscure pulp fiction writer in 1926. Cosmic horror and pulse-pounding adventure swirl around the multiple factions moving towards an as-yet unknown goal, with the only certainty being that the result is not in the best interests of humanity. Is Lovecraft the key to defeating the evil, or is he merely a pawn in a larger game that somehow centers around his creations? Or is there a more terrible truth waiting to be uncovered?

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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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SMBC Theater Proves The Internet Is An Awesome Place To Be, Fully Funded Kickstarter Project Is A Go

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But you know what’s not awesome about the Internet? Fleen. But it is Fleen we have to thank for news that the Kickstarter project for SMBC Theater Goes To SPACE! has not only achieved funding five times over for the upcoming webseries, but celebrated doing so by putting the entire first DVD’s worth of content up on YouTube for everyone to enjoy, cheapskate and gracious contributor alike.

If only Congress could work together on this level and get something done, we wouldn’t have to rely on geniuses like Weiner and his crew to lampoon political snafus like that and…

Wait, on second thought… Congress! Keep on screwin’ that pooch!

Slackers Rewarded, Exchange High-Fives; Gary Tyrrell (Fleen)

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WHY AREN’T YOU READING CHICKENHARE YET?

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This post is ostensibly about the Original Art Contest that Chris Grine is running to help drive traffic to his most excellent webcomic, Chickenhare, but really, if you aren’t already assisting in this effort, you’re missing out on one of the most unique, well-crafted stories I’ve read in years.

The deets, courtesy of Chris himself:

Post a blurb on your site along with a sample page from Chickenhare. Help spread the good word to the masses.

The site that drives the most traffic to Chickenhare.com will get a personalized 5×7 original Inked and signed artwork with the 2-3 characters from the world of Chickenhare of your choosing. Sound fair?

When does the contest start? NOW!

When does it end? SEPTEMBER 15th at 11:59 PM central time

*Please email me with a link to the post so I can keep track of the websites in the running.

We’re not saying this is what will happen to you if you don’t read Chickenhare… but wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry?

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