Episode 447: The Robert Khoo In My Mind

The demonic blue mustang at the Denver AirportIt’s the middle of June, so it’s time for this webcomics podcast (the first and best) to talk about E3! Jason and Steve discuss the new developments surrounding The Last Guardian, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Injustice 2, and the world according to VR. E3 or no, the second segment is dedicated to webcomics-only discussions, including the delineation between webcomics and comics on the web, the fate of Penny Arcade in a post-Khoo era, and the final installments of Battlepug. After the outro, the fellas traveled down some deep, dark YouTube holes together and mysteriously resurfaced at the Denver airport.

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Episode 415: S*** Is Gettin’ REAL

Making your own fun can be so rewarding! To that end, Jason has been creating and partaking of the levels of Super Mario Maker.

A hard level in Super Mario Maker (but not the hardest)

Not one of Jason’s, but devious nonetheless

Hear his pro tips on finding the diamonds in the rough. Meanwhile, Steve has been watching the Rugby World Cup and he’s ready to answer the question: is it more like football or soccer? Once that’s settled, there are many webcomics to chat about, many of which are popping off in one way or another. Knuckle up and head into the fray!

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Digital Strips 326 – Review: Battle Pug

Before we get too far into setting up the show, I’m going to warn you that Jason came in uber quite on the recording. It should be fine post edit, but if not, I did what I could and cranked that D-bag as high as he would go.

We go form zero to nerdy in record time as we delve into our limited knowlege of Shazam, one of those iconic DC chacacters that everyone knows, but no one knows anything about. Then Jason shows off how willing to play videos games his wife is and then lies about being brief wrapps it up by hitting us with the wierdest sexism ever.

Jason presents his comic, Our Adventure Continues, a comic about – and I quote – “Whatever the hell they want it to be about.” Techically, that’s what all comics are about, but try explaining that to Sigler.

Steve then gets Internet metaphysical with his pick Trekker. It’s sci-fi. It’s pulp. It’s noire. I wouldn’t get too hung up on the details. We do however and that leads us to again talk about what are webcomics, without deciding anything.

We touch on the latest Penny Arcade Scandel but not much, becuase it’s stupid. We don’t touch stupid things. We don’t want to get the stupid on us.

This week’s Rambletron is a bit a throw back. We talk abou the man you haven’t thought about for years, Mr. Baseball himself, Tom Selleck. Look him up kiddos. Just soak in the Selleck.

We get into Battle Pug, one Steve has been following since almost day one. We talk about the unspoken rules of being a barbarian. How to do a narrator side story properly. What fantasy tropes are beyond cliche at this point and what more do you need from a comic called Battle Pug than a pug who battles?

Show Notes:
Skull Kickers
Street Fighter Comic

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Now That RatFist Is Over, Go Tell People About RatFist

RatFist coming to bookstores in DecemberAnd that is creator Doug TenNapel’s desire, not my own (though it is certainly a sound one). In the upcoming Episode 253, Steve and I put Ratfist up against Battlepug to see who wins the Internetiest Webcomic Title Of All Time and came away with a realization that we loved both comics equally, though for very different reasons. I also got to tell Steve in that discussion that Ratfist was ending this week, which he conceded to be a good thing as so many comics seem to wear out their welcome.

With 150 updates in the bag, Ratfist has called it quits, but not only can the comic be found in its entirety at the handy dandy, easy-to-remember URL, but a collection featuring bonus content and landing at 176 pages drops later this year from Image Comics (front cover, pictured left). Doug encourages people to tell everyone they know about the comic and for existing readers to pick up the book to show the big publishers that putting out books based on webcomics is a great idea. Can’t really say I disagree with any of these sentiments.

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

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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Digital Strips 234 – Horizons Watch: Corporate Skull and Kick Girl

UPDATED: Midnight here, filling in for Steve, who once again darted off to points unknown with nary a word beforehand. I’ll fill in the blanks for this episode via his hastily scrawled notes. Also, I promise not to sound so off-in-a-cave-somewhere-ish next time.

It’s only right to start this Horizons Watch episode with a comic that shows tremendous promise, despite only having one page posted thus far:

Next up, a mention of the perfect “WTF But This Is Awesome” comic on the web trifecta comprised of:

What is indie? What does this term mean for the various mediums it inhabits? Listen up in the first segment for our thoughts on the matter…

Definitely not in the WTF camp but certainly worth mentioning whenever possible:

This week’s Webcomics News Minute (10:45) has some great mentions, all in a neat, compact case you can carry in your pocket!

Other comics mentioned in our wake:

The music in the Music Break comes to us from the land of goodness that is Overclocked Remix. This particular remix is titled “Mega Man 2: QuickDraw” (17:36). I miss my arm cannon already…

Our Horizons picks this week are varied and awesome, as (nearly) always.

In our discussions we also bring up:

Finally, check the outtakes for that engaging conversation about the previously mentioned Messed Up Amish Guy.

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