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

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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Status of Episode 220

Sometimes it rains pennies from Heaven. Sometimes it rains cats and dogs. And sometimes those cats and dogs go poop in the air and the turds land on your face.

Metaphorically, that’s what happened to episode 220. Due to some technical hurdles I don’t have anything to post for you guys and I’m very sorry about that. I’ll try to have a general recap typed up in the next couple of days but I’ve spent most of the evening typing up my grandfather’s eulogy for my Grandma who typed it up herself, but didn’t know how to save it so she printed it and mailed me a copy to type up.

You gotta love grandmas.

So yeah, I’m kinda typed out for one night but will tell you guys all about Chava and Don Anders and Cleopatra in Spaaaaace in the coming day or so.

Or better yet, read the comics yourself and throw your thoughts about these comics in the comments below. Then it’ll be like we’re all learning together.

Once again, we apologize for the momentary lapse in coolness.

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Digital Strips 219 – Review: Faraday the Blob

Super sorry for the delay folks, not sure why I was dumb last weekend, I just was.

This week we take an in depth look at Faraday the Blob, a comic that is so web comics that I could just say that and be done with it all. But I’ve been told that that is vague and not really an adjective and that I should say more. When I say something is web comicy, I mean it’s funny, edgy, weird, that it does stuff that would just never fly in the print world. FtB is all this, more and a bag of chips.

This week we also talk about pizza etiquette, the nature of strips clubs in Utah and web comics news.

Show Notes
Mcrib Locator dot com
Retail
Boxcar Astronaut
Spooky Doofus
Legend of Bill
Imagine This
Superfogeys
Zombie Street Fighter
Topataco
XKCD
Copper
Beaver and Steve
Scenes from a Multiverse
Pokeweed

Faraday Comics Mentioned
the Vuvesela one
Strip 37
Strip 57
Strip 60

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Digital Strips 218 – Review: Pokeweed

There are some weeks where I get the show down and think, “Man, I’m glad I don’t have to listen to that again,” but there are others where I can’t wait to download it, put it in my own mp3 player and listen to Jason make a fool of himself over and over again.

This week is one of those weeks.

This time around the Internet we are taking a look at Pokeweed by Drew Pocza. It’s a black and white, gag a day daily the likes of which we have never seen before. The sketching, inky art style is worth a gander if nothing else. But there is more, puns and poop jokes abound as the comic continues.

We also talk a lot about things that comics can do in general, such as backgrounds, pacing and not having a penguin doing bad things to a woman and have our first big fight in a while about the merits of awkward last panels.

We also talk about Web-based fan films, web comic centric raps and podcasters who left us (on the show not this mortal coil) far too early. All this and more in the latest episode of the orignal Web-comics podcast, Digital Strips.

Show Notes
Paperless Comics
Bug
Fallout Nuka Break
8 -bit Theater
How I killed your master
Adam Warrock
MC Frontalot
Dresdon Codak
Johnny Wander
The Lonliest Astronauts
The Meek
Silent Kimbly
Dawn of Time
Bean
String Theory
Finders Keepers
Penny Arcade
Faraday the blob

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Digital Strips 217 – Review: String Theory

Does it take a lot these days to impress you? Then you’re not alone.

After countless examples of absolute turd-knockers blinding innocent bystanders with science, one of them finally get’s a taste of his own medicine. String Theory by Beckey Grundy starts in a hospital with it’s main character learning that he lost his eyes. Fortunately they gave him some fact ones because it’s the future. Unfortunately that’s the last good thing to happen to the poor guys in the next two and a half chapters of comic.

This episode we talk about all kinds of artsy topics, like the use of color, contrast between foreground and background, cool covers and more. We also talk about when it’s best to cut your loses and stop trying to the funny all the time. Mostly though, we talk about this comic and what we’ve learned from it, both about the art form and about our selves.

All this, plus news, references to other comics, dropped names and so much more all on the latest episode of Digital Strips.

Show Notes:
Captain Excelsior (Stupendous)
DJ Coffman’s Program
Web comics dot com
Web comics.me
the overlook
Questionable Content
Scenes from the Multiverse
Storming the Tower
Cyanide and Happiness
Imagine This
Joe Loves Crappy Movies
Bullfinch
Bug
XKCD

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Digital Strips 216 – Horizons Watch : Grumpiverse and The Dawn Chapel

It’s time we go back to what this podcast was always supposed to be about: Two guys with very different tastes in comics telling each other how stupid the other one is.

We take on two very different comics this week. The very political Grumpiverse an the very cute The Dawn Chapel. Both are new comics, both are trying to do stuff that will set them apart from the see of sameness that the Web often has to offer and both are worth checking out.

We also talk about what’s kicking right now in the world of Web comics. What’s speaking to us, what’s trying new things and some basic principles that can make any comic better. We also revisit some past Digital Strips picks to see how they’re doing. All this and more on the latest episode of the bestest podcast ever.

Show Notes:
Epicsplosion
Good Ship Chronicles
Bear and Tiger
Head Injury theater
Hyperbole ad a half
Pictures for sad children
Penny Arcade
DND Podcast
PVP
Cyanide and Happiness
Bear Nuts
Dawn of Time
My milk Toof
One swoop fell
Abominable Charles Christopher
Fleen

Next Week:

String Theory

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Not Invented Here Latest Comic To Join TopatoCo Juggernaut

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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D.J. Coffman’s Webcomics How-To Guide/Seminar Discounted For Only 48 More Hours

I had really hoped to take this for a spin myself but given my current, hiatused state in the realm of webcomics, it’s probably not money well spent at this juncture. However, if you, as a budding creator looking to take your craft to the next level, want to take advantage of this discounted price ($47 now, will jump to higher price on Friday) then now is the time to do it!

I had time to look through the preview that is available to anyone willing to sign up for it and while the format comes across as a bit crowded and less-than-professional, the material seemed to be of good use, depending on the hands it ends up in. Many webcomics luminaries have testified to the success that can be found with this program, so check it out if you’re looking to make some dough off your funny doodles.

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Digital Strips 215 -Book Club Templar Arizona Episode 2

It is Monday morning once again and fat orange cats around the world are upset about it. Fans of Digital Strips Book Club on the other hand, could not be happier because another episode is ready for their auditory consumption.

This week we continue our in-depth look at Templar Arizona, a very well established, beloved and brown comic by Spike. I’m learning a lot about the comic and myself at the same time as I read it. I just wish I was learning more about dinosaurs as well. Because that makes learning about anything fun, even math. 2nd grade taught me that.

Still haven’t gotten much feed back on this format, one way or the other, so please, let us know what you think of Digital Strips Book club. Inquiring minds want to know.

Not much in the way of show notes this week but here’s what we got.
Edmund Finney
Order of the Stick

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Digital Strips 214 – Review : Bug

When I was a kid, I went through a phase where I would eat Junebugs for a quarter each. My teachers blamed my parents for not raising me right. My parent blamed the school lunch system for eliminating my gag reflex. But really, I just had no money, and needed a way to get quarters for Street Fighter.

Speaking of bugs, today we take a look at Bug, a comic that is (sort of) about bugs. This daily has a lot of slice of life humor that human and insects alike can all related to. It has punchy writing and just a big of attitude. But does it have class? Does touch me in all the right places? Does it bring the rain? Tune in to find out.

Jason and I are both big fans of the Film Sack podcast, a show where they talk about odd movies. They have a saying on the show that the more off topic they get, the more they hate the movie. We strayed off Bug a couple times here, but since we’re not Film Sack, it doesn’t mean the same thing. I’m not even sure why I brought it up.

Show Notes:
Anagram maker
Penny Arcade
Bear and Tiger

There may have been more that I forgot, please let me know.

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