It’s the holidays, so we returned to a comic we know we love and that feels like home. Max Overacts by Caanan Grall is full of fun, mischief, wild children, but most of all, heart. We looked at strips 400 thru 500 of the comic, taking us up to the most current posted story. Grab some nog, throw a log on the fire, listen to our review, and curl up with this great comic.
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Earthquakes! 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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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
It’s that time of year again! The trees are blooming, allergies are irritating, and it’s time once again for me to take over putting this show together!
Oh, and it’s also time for the Eisners. Kind of a big deal too, I suppose.
This year’s nominees represent one of the strongest bunch since the category for Best Digital Comic was formed in 2005 (thanks, WikiPedia!). But before we break down that list, there’s another list to talk about: The Digital Strips News Minute!
Before we roll into the matter that brought us all here today, why not have a little fun with Higgins and their track, “There He Is”. As always, make sure to check out the entire track and possibly even a whole album, if you feel so inclined.
Without laying out our favorites, I’ll say now that there is very little criticism to be had in the second segment. These five comics represent some of the best talent that the world of digitally-presented comics has to offer.
In our discussion, we wouldn’t want to leave out two other comics who are nominated in other categories:
Of course, we always mention numerous other comics in our journey to making a point, so here are those we utilized to that end.
Finally, it’s easy to forget that Digital Strips was the first webcomics podcast because we don’t tell you nearly enough. As a result, we have an extensive library of podcasts to draw from in our research (I finally stopped laughing enough that I could write that). So here are some of the shows that link with this one in one way or the other. Listen in and enjoy the rich history that webcomics have enjoyed so far!
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