Digital Strips Podcast 248 – Horizons Watch: Free Mars and Oyster Wars (That Should Rhyme, But It Doesn’t)

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Mario NOOOOO!!!It’s a holiday here in America. I really don’t think I need to say that though. We Americans are pretty outspoken about our holidays. I don’t think too many people are caught off guard by any one of them any more (except Mother’s Day, which sneak attacks thousands of men every year). This goes along with the general theme of being American of “non-sublety.” We are not a nation of ninjas, I’ll tell you what.

Anyway, it’s time for another episode of Digital Strips Horizon’s Watch. This month we bring two more quality up and comers to the Brotherhood of Web Comics for your approval. First we do Free Mars by Dave Pauwels and Nicolas R. Giacondino, a grungy, flowing and epic tale of the rock and roll and the revolution of Mars. Next we go back in time to the days of Reconstruction, wood ships and piracy with Oyster War by Ben Towle one of those neo-oldschool comics that I love so much.

We also talk about Mario and video games in general for a bit. I share a little life lesson I learned about eavesdropping on old people and Jason raves about having a Mac.

We then hear the first of our Mario themed songs, “Pipes” by Seventh Epic.

We then go to news. Jason mentions a couple new comics. Bucko and Cochlea and Eustachea (Jason couldn’t say it properly so I can’t find it, if you can translate his babbling into a link, let me know EDIT: Link now present and working. You’re welcome. – MIDNIGHT). Then we talk about Kate Beaton, Meredith Gran and Carly Monardo take on “Strong Female Characters” and about how I apparently don’t know enough dirty words.

We then hit the latest book releases from Scenes from a Multiverse and Imagine This.

The mushroom popping tunes continue with “Monstrous Turtles” by Zircon.

We finally get in to the reviews, giving both comics the what for. We also mention Spacetrawler, Ellie Connelly and Rigby the Barbarian. We talk a lot about scope and how some stories don’t have a good sense of it.

Sorry, I’m wrapping this up. It’s about time for me to celebrate the birth of my nation by eating pancakes in the park. God bless America. And pancakes.

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Strong Female Characters Is The Best Heroine-Starring Comic Of The Last Millenium

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As a long-time reader of male-centered superhero comics, I found it to be a personal affront to stomach the commentary at play in the Beaton/Gran/Monardo joint, Strong Female Characters. Hardest to swallow is the fact that, regardless of the skintight leather and fishnet tights these bomb-blasting bombshells don whenever a crime is perpetrated, underneath they are all just really, really, really stereotypical cutouts written and drawn by men who have convinced themselves that they know how to convey the intricacies of the female condition in just a few panels of long legs, emaciated waistlines, and heaving, almost comical bustlines.

These three female creators, on the other hand, have decided to take these men to task by lampooning that which they have crafted. While perusing all the SFC goodness (and there is hopefully more to come), remember: under all those boy shorts and plunging neckline tops, these women hurt just like the rest of us.

And yet it cuts like a knife

Strong Female Characters, Kate Beaton – Hark A Vagrant

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Hans Rickheit Continues Freaking Us Out With Cochlea and Eustachea

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The article to which this post owes its life, from the Robot 6 blog, puts the art of Hans Rickheit in the category of alt-horror. This is likely because the art of Rickheit is likely to be alternative to anything else you might see and these images could be described as horrific in their ability to invoke feelings of, “What the $%#! is that?!?”

Cochlea and Eustachea, Page Two, Panel 4Ectopiary, named Best Webcomic 0f 2010 by MTV’s Splash Page blog (and quickly, enjoyably digested by myself prior to writing this post), brings to mind the fantastical horrors that Guillermo del Toro is best known for breathing life into. Like del Toro, Rickheit also juxtaposes these fictional bits with problems grounded in real life, often in a grotesque, almost morose manner (not long after the comic begins, child protagonist Dale witnesses a procedure being performed on her mother that is cringe-inducing to say the least). I’ve always found it to be incredibly engaging to not only get invested in the humanity of a story, but to also entertain the notion that better, more incredible things are happening in the world which will take the edge off the pain and suffering induced by the real world.

Here’s to hoping that Rickheit is bringing that same engaging sense of wonderment and terror to the newly launched Cochlea and Eustachea. The comic is only two updates deep, but already we have witnessed a bird-like creature crawling out of an anteater-like figure (depicted, left). So, yeah… I’d say we’ve got a good start towards that goal.

Start Reading Now | New webcomic from Hans Rickheit – Robot 6 blog

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Comics and Webcomics Unite To Form Indie-Styled Murder Mystery, Bucko

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My name's not Bucko

More and more comic book creators are dipping their feet into the webcomics waters, likely to exorcise their creative demons in a space that is both forgiving and instantly accessible (mainstream comic books these days, not so much). Warren Ellis (Planetary, Transmetropolitan) has been doing it for a while now with FreakAngels and Mike Norton (Young Justice) recently jumped in with Battlepug. Now, Jeff Parker (Hulk, Thunderbolts, Agent of Atlas) has teamed up with Erika Moen (DAR) to craft a comic that feels independent in its voice and look.

As the interview over at Newsarama posits, the story of Bucko reads like a “loser who stumbles onto something bigger than himself” story that the Coen brothers have become synonymous with. Bucko roped me in with its first six pages and I’m sure the same will happen to you, especially after reading more about its creation in the interview, linked below.

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Crowdfunding: Crowdsourcing With Incentive

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In recent years, the idea of using one’s audience to alter or improve a product, i.e. crowdsourcing, has become very popular and is enjoying a rapid adoption rate with creatives across all types of media. Digital comics are no exception, with sites like Kickstarter offering the opportunity to help while also receiving a reward comparable to the contribution.

Todd Allen of Publisher’s Weekly has a great write-up on this now valid form of funding projects and it makes for a great read for webcomics creators as well as those fans who find themselves impassioned enough to boost their favorite creators whenever possible.

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Digital Strips Podcast 247 – Review: The Ghosts of Pineville (Pick Your Class)

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OK ladies and gents, I’m back in charge of the editing/posting for a month or so, which means that you’re not going to get the luxurious, weak-kneed posts you’ve been getting from that namby-pamby Jason fellow. No, I’m going to hone you into a finely tuned Web comic loving machine with my spartan style of hard love.

We reviewed a Web comic, you can listen to it here.

Done.

Ok, that may not be enough, even for me.

Curse you Jason, curse you and your stupid face.

This week we charge straight into the haunted house armed with nothing but a flash light as we review The Ghosts of Pineville by Sara Turner. It’s a timeless little jaunt into the world of small town kids and fighting small town ghosts in the big city. I actually just found it while desperately searching for something to review and my love for spunky kids and standing up to the undead pulled me straight to it.

We start out this episode talking about one of the greatest things to ever happen to mankind, Team Fortress 2 going free to play. I’ve been playing for years and am beyond thrilled that more people could soon be playing (hit me up on Steam if you ever wanna kill some dirty REDs together. I’m “Fish in a Barrel”). I try to recruit Jason to the good, color-coordinated fight and we get into a discussion about what kind of gamers we are and what kind of game related media we enjoy. A challenge was thrown down to see if Jason’s pick, the folk at Giant Bomb have the same depth (not breadth) of knowledge as Steve’s champion, Mr. Day9. You can join in the fun too.

Keeping with the TF2 theme, our first song break is “Cap My Point” by EnigmaEvocative.

We then get into the news, recapping all the news posts that have magically reappeared on the Digital Strips home page. Strips mentioned include:

Not Invented Here (8:15)
Tiny Cartridge (9:15)
Max Over Acts (9:45)
Eldritch (10:45)

We then hit you with a second TF2 song, Mmph the Way You Mmph by mymapagainstyourcash (I love Internet names).

Finally we get into the review. We talk about the art and some of the cool ways the story could go. We don’t hold back on spoilers but there’s not any major stuff to spoiler. If you only want to read things completely fresh, you’ll want to go ahead and read the comic yourself before coming back. Throughout the discussion, we also mentioned the following comics.

Northworld (21:45)
Hereville (22:15)
Templar AZ (22:15)

Thanks for stopping by, just a reminder we love feedback in all its glorious forms so don’t be shy.

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Coming Up In Episode 247 of The Digital Strips Podcast: The Ghosts of Pineville

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Steve has made up his mind and it looks like our next show will feature The Ghosts of Pineville by Sara L. Turner. Read up quick, Strippers! It’s not too long and reads very quickly, so catching up should be a breeze. (Ignore the “Book Two” in the image below, we’re reviewing both books thus far produced.)

All this and some news items (courtesy of the news items that have shockingly returned to the site this week) and some banter. No guarantee this stuff will be witty, though. As always, Tweet or Facebook your thoughts (we’re easy to find on either) on this or any other topic and we’ll include your two cents on the show!

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Nintendo Fan Art Is NEVER A Bad Thing

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Following so many folks via social media turns up some great finds from time to time, and this one, via the Tiny Cartridge Tumblr blog (billed as “… Pretty Much The Best Nintendo DS Site Ever”), is a great example of this. A site featuring the work of Zac Gorman has been unearthed by these NDS experts and it is something.

Click after the jump for an example of the Kate Beaton-esque fan art on offer from Gorman and check out the entire site (and bookmark it, as I have already done) for even more amazing, hilarious depictions of your favorite Nintendo-branded characters.

Why won't you stay down?

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Coming Up In Episode 247 Of The Digital Strips Podcast: ???

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Paul Southworth, cartoonified, angry

Yeah, no idea what we’re doing on this week’s show because it’s Steve’s pick and he hasn’t told me what he’s chosen yet. And he doesn’t even know about that fact because he doesn’t read our blog. You know, the one that supports the podcast that he co-hosts on a weekly basis?

In lieu of that news, Paul Southworth has put himself in his very own comic (pictured, left), playing a graphic designer who hates the characters he himself helped birth. Whoa.

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Caanan Grall (Max Overacts, Celadore) Combines Marvel’s Thor With Muppets, Succeeds With Time To Spare

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You recall the name Caanan Grall, yes? Creator of Zuda winner (how much longer will that be a thing?) Celadore? Eisner-nominated Max Overacts? Good? Good. Then all you need to know is that Grall participated in the 24-hour Challenge this year and the product was a Thor/Muppets mash-up comic. If you haven’t clicked yet, then you probably won’t because you hate good things.

Muppets/Thor mash-up by Caanan Grall

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