My Humps

(Source) This week in PVP, Brent spontaneously sprouts a new head from his back. You see it too, don't you? Look at that fine mop of hair, fit to make Brent's first head jealous! In other news, we also got to see Cole's crotch. I don't think we've ever seen it before, but I'm not going to show it here because of my delicate sensibilities. Just imagine that he now has Penny Arcade legs, and you've got it! Seriously, it was a good move to ditch the traditional, sweeping tent-pant garments that PVP's always used in the past.

There's Always a Bigger Cat

(Source) Since Scratch is the size of a 8-year-old human child, Hungry Cat's size relative to Scratch's seems to indicate that this new cat is probably some kind of panther that has fallen victim to domestication's wiles. He's either eating mud or about to plaster the mud all over the back of Scratch's head; either way, our introduction to Hungry Cat immediately lets us know that A) Hungry Cat is huge, and B) Hungry Cat is not to be fucked with. Honestly, I love Hungry Cat. What a great character design! He has a hint of Heathcliff striping to break up his broad expanses and help keep him from looking too featureless (The way Scratch usually does), a false brow (That's what I'm going to call it) that gives his face a very vague similarity to Felix the Cat's, and overall he just looks like a goddamn classic third-string cartoon character that you feel you're familiar with already but have never actually seen before. The kudos I give are serious and not the candy bar kind -- Hungry Cat is fantastic. For some reason I'm thinking of Shecky, now, and how much I abhor everything from his design to his character. I shouldn't have mentioned him. We're probably jinxed because of it, and will see three strips explaining how he also moved to Seattle. This storyline is not all Hungry Cat's, though. It's also about Kevin (Kevin was the child Skull mentored and sort of killed. The resemblance is vague, I suppose) Scratch's reverse-Hobbes doll! My memory tells me I didn't like what PvP did with the doll's potential the last (And first) time around, but so far? This arc is very good. (Source) The interaction between Hungry Cat, Scratch, and the doll is a bit confusing. In the previous strip, Hungry Cat is apparently calling himself "Hungry Cat" through the doll -- but he's telling Scratch that he doesn't like that name, here? If that's not what's happening, then Scratch is continuing to put words in the doll's mouth and Hungry Cat is even now coming up with the prognosis that Scratch is afflicted by dissociative identity disorder. I'd call attention to Hungry Cat's sudden Marilyn Monroe beauty mark, but the obvious answer is that its just one of the thousands of specks of food that randomly dot Hungry Cat's face every week.

The Plot That Wasn't There

(Source) When Miranda's time came to be introduced to the Seattle storyline, I was shocked. Look at this strip! Just look at it! I finally thought to myself, "Hey asshole, look at that! PvP just amazed you with its writing. The New Year's promise of better writing was real." Here I sat, thinking that Miranda would only make her random appearances so that boob jokes could be made and her general stupidity could be reinforced, and I'm slammed with a deeply effective portrayal of a sister feeling betrayed, forgotten, alone and sad -- without any words! This is an A+ comic strip: The first panel showcases an excellent update on the hotel room we saw last year (Or this year, when I blogged about it while recapping last year), slumbering Cole looks great, there's a joke RIGHT off the bat that uses subtlety to drive the humor home (There isn't an onomatopoeic jumble of letters ruining Cole's snoring by trying to make it more evident while failing to encapsulate what snoring actually sounds like). The dialog smoothly moves from the joke to the dramatic final panel, and the artwork's points of view are classic and shifted to great effect. Wow! How could you not look forward to what was coming next, after that? (Source) But what came next were boob jokes and reinforcements of Miranda's general stupidity. I must have imagined all of the dramatic tension earlier, because not once over the next three strips that continue this story thread does Miranda mention anything but petty jealousy as a motive for being upset. Wow. How could I have expected something else? Miranda's status over at PVP Magazine was a little unclear, though. I believe she had worked both for them and then for Max's company (Powerplay) at different points in the past, culminating in being fired. Then Powerplay and PVP "merged" (Without absorbing PVP Magazine, meaning Max just bought them out or something), then separated. Miranda kept hanging around the offices (That's unclear, actually. It's nigh impossible to tell the difference between when PvP characters are at home and when they're at work) infrequently, for boob jokes and enjoying being kind of dumb. So this little character arc did one thing: It told us how Miranda became employed again (By Robbie, who probably owns PVP Magazine now. Does that mean she works for PVP Magazine? I can't say. It doesn't seem like it, but expect to see her around their office anyway), and justified moving her out to Seattle with the rest of the usual suspects. It was interesting that Cole pointed out that Miranda is useless as an employee, because that was goddamn stone-cold of him (And it was also true. Her worth as an employee is exactly the same as her worth as a character). Exposition! What would we do without it? I think that maybe the setting of PvP is changing to Seattle, guys. What do you think? We won't know for sure unless they keep unnecessarily mentioning Seattle by name and using location-specific in-jokes, though. The Fremont bit was especially confusing -- I'm familiar with Fremont, California, but I guess it's a place in Washington as well. Is it a place IN Seattle? And we were supposed to understand the "Mayor of Fremont is a hobo" thing? Anyway, the worst of all of that exposition seems to be over. If I had to compare it to something, it would be the way the Star Wars prequels shoehorn hours of ridiculous and dry political exposition into movies that everyone thought would be fun adventures for all ages. Oh, and somewhere in that there was a theoretically-racy joke from Brent about "not nouning her verbly enough". Is this the most awkward punchline I've ever seen? It could be. Even swapping "noun" and "verb" doesn't help. How does a noun fit into that anywhere? Nouning is a self-contained oxymoron. Brent, you're supposed to be the clever one!

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

(Source) I no longer look forward to seeing the familiar PVP characters dressed up for Halloween or roleplaying. Why? Because there's no visual continuity. The real Jade's shoulders are about a third as wide as those of her bardic giantess counterpart. It just doesn't feel like the same person -- because it doesn't look like the same person. I don't see any reason for this to be happening, but it's been the case more often than not over the past two years. And it really shines through in the shoulders and body length. Skull, of course, always looks quite recognizable -- because you can't find Skull in a Google image search of costumes to trace. The real shame is that dressing familiar characters up in new ways is one of my favorite things to see, and can showcase real depth in both the character and the artwork. I don't want to see familiar faces slapped atop completely unfamiliar bodies. It seems... well, it seems like a lot of things. Careless, for one. Maybe thoughtless. It could be better, is what I'm saying. If you keep forcing your characters into unnatural (For them), realistic shapes, perhaps you should decide to change your characters' normal appearances? And if that's not what you want to do, then maybe you can go back to costumes that genuinely clothe the way you normally draw your own characters. The only saving grace is the element of fantasy that's involved here (And in most other cases). Still, the lack of continuity is jarring. In other news, yes: Francis definitely caught the eye disease that Jade used to have. Hell, I think he has it worse! Maybe after multiple years of uncomfortable irritation, he too will regain control over his eyeballs and be applauded for looking nicer. I'm going to continue with a side-note that is comprised of a quote from the Comics Curmudgeon: "Cartoonists: I understand that there are good reasons for drawing your characters with four fingers instead of five, mostly because in the limited space you have available drawing too many fingers risks having none of those fingers be really visible. But if you’re going to go down that road, you absolutely must not depict your four-fingered characters as making distinctive hand gestures that generally rely on the full complement of digits — like, say, the devil horns/rock-n-roll symbol — or else you risk giving the impression that your characters are freakish claw-handed mutants." Of course, Skull isn't a human -- the humans in PVP have the correct amount of digits, these days -- but his hand really does suffer visually in that panel. Okay, side-note over. This strip's biggest disappointment is that it's trying to reinvent the wheel that Skull is based on. Go ahead, think up two words that sum up Skull for you. Are they "Lovable" and "Dumb"? Perhaps "Bumbling" and "Spaz"? It's not impossible that I'm too attached to the Skull of "olden" days, but this new Skull with his "fresh" lyrics and "in your face" attitude is freaking me out in a big way. I'll be honest: I hate it. That isn't who Skull used to be, and I am entrenched in the old ways. I don't like when he's given human eyes instead of beady (Cole-type) eyes. Skull's look and feel was a classic; it's one of the (Perhaps few) things I never felt was worth switching up or letting evolve in PVP. Maybe I've grown up too much, but Skull doesn't seem as big as he used to, or as dumb, or as fun. His character isn't dependable when he keeps doing "funny, cool" things like this. Do I need to move on? Hang on, let me post another picture of Skull... OH MY GOD! Fourteen years ago, The Simpsons tried to warn us with one of their best-remembered episodes, The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show. But did we listen? I guess we didn't. There are too many uncomfortable parallels that can be drawn between this PVP strip and that masterful satire. The PVP strip has no point -- it's showcasing "hip Skull", in an interesting, rich role-playing environment where we ought to be getting treated to some sort of fireworks factory finale. There's nothing more I can add. If I can convince you to do anything right now, I would want it to be that you go and re-watch that classic Simpsons episode.

The Great Divorce

(Source) This was PVP's first noteworthy event of 2011. Was it a surprise? Well, no. Cole and Donna's "relationship" -- as portrayed at all times by Cole and his inability to express what's supposed to be wrong with it -- was always a depressing thing to see crop up. Notably because we never saw anything come of it. Granted, that is exactly what the underlying joke here is. And on that level, sure, this kind of thing is probably the best way to end it all. We will never again wonder when or if the "Cole's marriage" story will be revisited -- it won't be. That could easily have been the punchline in the last panel, as opposed to Francis' tacky nonsense. If there was never any apparent marriage in the first place, though, why was ending it so much more difficult and so much more noticeable? Not to mention drawn out. It was all wasted effort, when you can sum it up with a "We got divorced two years ago!" strip. I highly recommend reading these two blog posts on the subject... from three years ago. Having said all of that, perhaps you feel that I loved that strip. Not particularly. It starts off well: Francis is essentially in our shoes, and it's comically believable that his typical teenager ways caused him to miss a momentous occasion or two. That all works. Great first two panels. But the next one tells us that Cole was "stumbling drunk" for four months, which is a bit much to ask people (Both Francis, in one sense, and the actual PVP audience in another) to swallow when there was never any evidence of it. It sounds like a funny idea when spitballing, I'm sure: "Hey, we'll have this guy reveal that he went through a CRAAAZY time and we all missed it!" But god damn, no. Smack yourself down if you get that idea and never laid any groundwork for it. It doesn't work for Cole, because he's the single most visible character in PVP. It's unbelievable. That type of joke is built to serve characters who are gone from center stage for long, random periods of time but always end up coming back. The PVP world certainly isn't lacking for that type of character. Finally, the punchline of Francis' smug satisfaction (How does it even make sense that his final comment is related to Cole's?) is a shame. Honestly? Thank god that's over with. This came pretty close to the mark, and I believe it was a tasteful and dignified approach to the subject matter (Without turning it dry, and still leaving room for humor). Not a perfect execution, but a big relief.

The Hair and Now

The second noteworthy event of 2011 -- no, I haven't mentioned the first, yet -- is that Francis also got an updated look. Remember the last time that happened, where he didn't actually change much (Aside from losing the Charlie Brown / Cole Richards "unibrow". The event was clearly geared towards changing Marcy's look, which perhaps... didn't really paid off in the long run? I'm just saying that we saw Francis a hundred times more often than Marcy, and now her character is in a position where we could, conceivably, never see her again)? This isn't like that time. Most importantly, his replica of Cole's glasses are gone. That isn't just a "good riddance", that is the best riddance. We've flip-flopped between seeing those things portrayed as glasses and as eyeballs, and now we don't have to wonder what they were -- unless Francis mentions three years from now that he used to wear glasses. What to make of the new Francis? Well, he has real eyes, now. The curvature of which makes his nose look like a real nose (Perhaps a coincidence! But it looks nice). The bad news? They seem to be bug eyes, received from Jade since she wasn't using them anymore. His chin doesn't look like shit anymore. Ooh, he changed his shirt...? No, sorry, the alien skull came back in the next panel. He grew shoulders! He still doesn't know how to style the back of his hair, but that's not too embarrassing if you really consider Cole's long-lasting failure in the same department. Essentially, he looks like the previous Francis' old and busted shit melded with Scott Pilgrim's new hotness. Wait, Scott Pilgrim predates Francis' previous look? Well, I didn't know about it back then, so it doesn't count. Scott Pilgrim's popularity is still pretty new to me. Alright, alright, I get it! There are some similarities going on. I'm not claiming some sort of shenanigan is happening, though; far from it. I'm just saying that this kind of thing has been done before, which is the saying that falls one rung above done to death. If everyone's aware of Scott Pilgrim now, then maybe repeating something both you and Bryan Lee O'Malley have done isn't the best way to ring in the new year's promised "better writing"? Ring in the new, wring out the old.

A Kinder, Gentler Tomorrow

Wait a minute, what happened to all of my posts from the year 2010? Just kidding -- I wasn't reading PvP regularly enough to make any. But it's been an entire year, so I should at least make the effort to recap it with PvP's best moments, right? We'll start by completely ignoring the first few months of 2010, and skip to the parts where I noticed landmark events taking place. Somewhere between July 15th and August 5th, Jade's bug eyes sank back into the recesses of her head that are known as "eye sockets". I believe I spat a beverage of some kind all over my dashboard when I noticed, since I was probably driving while browsing the internet on my phone (Guys, this is how you look cool to the ladies). Now, I'm not going to pretend that Jade's eyes never appear to be floating above her hair anymore, but they're about 99% restrained. There is hope that she won't eventually decapitate and devour Brent, after all! Looking good, Jade. On October 8th, there was a really funny strip. I'd already seen things that used a similar joke, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh. Curiously, there is a decent amount of fodder for critiquing in that strip (All in the last panel). But I really like seeing a giant roach perched on Cole's head, and I imagine it is probably rubbing his dinner-plate-sized bald spot and whispering. Who can concentrate on speech bubble placement, a background painting, or coloring in all of Cole's fingers when there's THAT going on? Nobody! Did you guys see these toys? Those are fantastic toys. Using one shape for three different characters -- and doing it so well -- is brilliant. It is merchandising at its finest and most clever, as far as I'm concerned. This kind of things makes me want to put on a hat so I can doff it in respect. Somewhere between November 22nd and January 4th, the hideous black widow markings on Cole's chest turned into something that people can recognize as a tie. Well, I mean, usually. What is that over to the right? I don't know. Tim Gunn didn't tie that Gordian Knot, is what I'm saying. In fact, the tie has a very odd single, skinny black line that winds along it diagonally -- unless that effect is just a coincidence, every time the tie is shown, brought about from drawing creases. I can't tell which is the case, but I'm definitely complaining about finding seeds in the delicious apples that just replaced my dinner of red circles at this point. On a sad note, this does mean that my amazing parody character "Fat Tie" is ruined. He died a warrior's death, though. Valhalla will welcome him. Hey, you know who else didn't show up for PvP for a year? We last saw Max Powers on Hell I-don't-know-whenth, 2009, when he ran a game company and dispensed business advice for rich entrepreneurs, and he returned last April 5th so he could stop doing that and join PvP Magazine's sitcom instead. Which is almost an exact depiction of events, according to the strip. Awkward, and self-referential humor like what we saw there is PvP's weakest link in a chain of humor and story-telling... but damn, he looks good. He also has Brent's hair color. Brent better watch his ass, if Max grows his hair a couple of inches longer. Also, Scratch's constant, radiation-induced growth finally got him within spitting distance of Skull's height, at which point Scratch pulled one of Skull's arms out of its socket. Happy New Year! This post is for our one subscriber, as well as Creatorian, who left a kind message that I greatly appreciated.

New Thread

Hey, I am still alive. On the other hand, my computer did not successfully make the trip to Boston. So that was unfortunate. I honestly haven't read a PvP strip in about two weeks, and am woefully unprepared to make any comments. I should have a laptop by Christmas; until then I can try and put up some new threads when appropriate. Happy Holidays!

Leaving, on a jet plane.

Hey, I'm moving from Minneapolis to Boston as of tomorrow morning. I will return when I get settled/internet connected. I'm guessing that will be first week of November (no, I'm not taking a wagon east, but a lot of my stuff is following behind me) So, until then, you are in Jai's capable hands. Don't get into too much trouble, Jai. ;)

More Non-PvP Weekend Stuff

Yesterday I was nice, today; cruel. This is what happens when you project into your creative work. (Hint: Brother is a metaphor!)

Erfworld 2: Love is a Battlefield

In non-PvP news; I was extremely excited to read yesterday that the second volume of Erfworld is launching on October 28th and can be found here. There will be several changes from the first book, not the least of which is that Erfworld now has it's own website, and will no longer be hosted by The Order of the Stick. The other major change is that Jamie Noguchi, the extremely talented artist who illustrated book 1 is leaving to pursue other projects. This is really too bad, his work was evocative and really created a unique setting for the Erfworld story to be told in. However, Xin Ye has stepped in, and from what I've seen of her work so far, she should be able to ably fill Jamie's roll. Of course, the real test will be her ability to duplicate Jamie's very striking characters. As long as she can keep everybody recognizable, and maintain Erfworld's crazy surrealist style, the comic shouldn't suffer. Rob Balder is really telling an interesting story. It is wrapped in a cotton candy setting of clever worldplay and internet memes...but it also deals with very serious philosophical issues. The main character, Parson Gotti, has been deliberating over the summer on whether it's right to use his talent for warfare when he knows it will likely cause the deaths of Erfworld's denizens. If you have a true talent for something, should you pursue it at all costs, even when it hurts others? And the oldest question of all; do the ends ever really justify the means? Erfworld returns next Wednesday, and will update on a regular Wednesday/Saturday schedule following that. If a very original mixture of fantasy and comedy is your thing I highly recommend you check it out.

LOLBAT is Butler! Butler is Rex Roffle! Rex Roffle is LOLBAT! Continuity is for losers!

Since Kurtz probably doesn't want to hear it from me, I'll hand the floor to astute reader Taylortails: "I do think it's a shame that Scott chose to do the ridiculous "Lolbat as Kent" strip, since it takes away from the reveal to have Lolbat have two secret identities. Plus, frankly, the Tick did that gag better years ago." All I want to know is what kind of hours do Rex Roffle and Butler work to pull that off!

Zombies Ghosts and Ghouls

It must be Halloween! The last few weeks of PvP have left me in a bit of a bind comment-wise. I was not enthralled with the Bone-Burglar/Skull dynamic, but then I really enjoyed the zombie apocalypse story. Probably as much as I have enjoyed any PvP recently. The art was excellent, especially the subtle touches of zombification on Jade after she turned. The story was tightly plotted satire. It's nice to know that when Kurtz is forced to, he is able to begin and end an arc. I couldn't comment because, well, it wasn't making me sad. Then we got the John Hughes/Cole montage which alternated between too soon and too boring. I'm the kind of guy, as my friends can attest, who will occasionally plunge through a 400 page book in one day because I don't have anything better to do. So when I tell you that a comic strip was not able to maintain my interest for an entire five panels, well, let's just say by panel two of 'Planes Trains and Get the Hell Out of My Kitchen' I had nodded off. The Kubrick throw-away the next day was clever, but so soon after a 'good' storyline, the John Hughes/Cole bit seemed more lazy than anything else. So, I apologize. I know I'm supposed to be churning up interesting topics in the tradition of FSM, but I have been largely uninspired to post recently. Hopefully as we return to more 'regular' plot-lines we can pick up the thread again here, as well. Enjoy your weekend!

Grating On MY Nerves

Yes it is. And by 'it' I mean the use of 'Die Hard(ed)' as a verb. I'm not sure that I can tell you why it annoys me so much, only that every time Brent let it fly, I shuddered a little bit. But I quibble, and it turns out that I have come not to bury PvP this week, but to praise it. Because, lo' did Kurtz find a storyline that actually, sort of works, and lo' he has apparently discovered that low-key humor can be just as effective as Panda sex and people crashing through walls. What did I like? The first panel of Vent Sienna was good. I always like it when an artist can use body language to effectively convey a situation...and if you removed the dialogue bubbles from that panel I think it's still pretty clear that Brent is 'on a mission' and that Francis is having his patience tested by Brent. It's a nice clear and unusually dynamic set up for the strip. Then there are two panels; one in Vent Sienna and one in Grating Nerves that deserve special mention. I call them the 'appendage panels' and they are the sort of artistic departure that I would really like to see a lot more of from Kurtz. If you imagine the PvP strip as being shot by a camera, most of the shots are coming from a fair distance with a 3/4 angle. These are a little more 'hand held' I also appreciate that Kurtz has focused on toes and fingers in these two panels; not traditionally his strongest suit. I would also praise the design of the 'through the grate' shot in Vent Sienna, although in most mediums when you use that sort of PoV, it generally indicates that an antagonist is viewing the characters through the grate...which is not the case here. (Unless it is being used to play up the paranoia of Brent, in which case, kudos.) In any case, as somebody who has been less than enthused, both by the recent one-offs, and by the plot lines dealing with Cole's family life...I'm pleased to see the strip return to what it does well; an ad-mixture of strange cultural references and office hi-jinks. Now, if you really want to please me, Kurtz...I hope the Germans have a devious plan...

I Know A Little German. He's Right Over There

(Source) I wonder if Germans make up names like "Xylophone Veröffentlichen" for American companies that want to translate and publish German gaming magazines. Nein? Well, even if they do then it's still silly (Which is not a bad thing. This is a comic strip, after all) to think Glockenspiels have anything to do with A) publishing, and B) PVP Magazine. It reinforces the "faking German" theme of this strip, at least. Oh, right, point #1, panel #1: Is Cole standing? He can't possibly be only a little taller than a sitting Francis. He's not close enough to the table for his arm or loose sheaf of papers to overlap it, but the perspective of the foreground is such that Cole's supposed height must decrease as the supposed distance between himself and the table grows. This is a strange, fish-eye view of Brent -- but it's growing on me. It makes him look very expressive and cartoony, which is a good thing. Even so, his chin (Which, more than anything else, made this panel look strange) probably angles upward (Back towards his neck) too sharply. If it weren't for that, after all, Brent would look more "posed dramatically" than "seen through fish-eye lens". What is that little angled bit coming out the back of Francis' chair? If Francis just scooted all the way over to Brent's side (Yes, go check their relative positions again) -- which is a pretty funny idea -- there should be some action lines to indicate it, and maybe a little pseudo-onomatopoeia action as well. The biggest problem is the table, and this problem is in nearly every panel: It comes up to armpit height. That's just crazy! Silliness I can handle, but not this. In the last panel, you could completely remove the table without removing the impression that the characters are still seated around one. The third panel is in a similar position. If it weren't for Brent's mighty fist (And the fact that we know better), we could start cracking jokes about how the all-concealing table is a result of the artist's poorly-disguised inability to draw hands and arms.

No, Seriously, I Don't Get It

(Source) What. What! What? What?! I am doing what I can to keep my knee from jerking, but I don't know how long that can possibly last. So. One question: What IS this strip about and why is SHECKY -- no, wait, that would be two questions. Oh, to hell with it! More questions: Is this strip supposed to seem antagonistic towards Berkeley Breathed? What's the joke? What percentage of SK's readership is supposed to understand ANY of this strip? Why is there no editorial comment for this strip? Isn't this the kind of strip that needs an attached news post the MOST? Is there going to be an Opus movie? Is this supposed to be about Breathed's "Mars Needs Moms!" picture book that's being filmed as a movie? Is this just... I don't know, a "Poor Berkeley Breathed, I feel bad for him these days" strip? Why Shecky -- oh God, why? Is it irony? Is this strip funny (Or does it provide some kind of meaningful commentary) to anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Is Berkeley Breathed "on the rocks"? What comparison are we to assume SK is making by pairing Shecky with Opus? That was not my knee jerking, that was me trying to keep it from doing so. Because I clearly have no idea what this strip is on about.

Batroom Humor

Bat-tastic! It's another Batman: Arkham Asylum strip! (Source) The thug's ear is a strange color, but this panel is arranged very well. Batman looks like he's sort of high up and a little ways off; the thug looks like a thug (Although he looks as if he may be wearing a medieval tunic). SK doesn't REALLY cut loose with posing Batman, however -- such as showing only his head in the frame (Rene Engström uses that sort of thing to tremendous effect), or showing him from different distances or angles ("Angles" is not much of a real suggestion, it's merely one of the possibilities. Repetition of the same angle can help to drive the jokes home, in much the same way as the repetition of Batman's stoic expression does). In fact, Batman is hanging so low in the 3rd and 4th panels that those jokes are vaguely diminished. Seeing the earbuds set in the top of the bat-cowl really cracked me up! That was a lovely touch, even though it's pretty obvious that there's nowhere else to put them unless you want to slip them under the mask. The little musical notes have something odd going on with them, but it's probably just because they were drawn too small for the finished product's scale on the internet (So they'd look fine in the "buy a print" version or the eventual published book). That is not mustard. I thought it was mustard when I saw it peripherally, and I think that helped ruin my taste for this joke. This might be a "less is more" occasion, where the less obvious the joke is the funnier it would be. Seeing pee rain down is not really quite as funny as imagining it (Yet you could remove either Batman or the urine from the panel to give it more punch), although mileage will vary from person to person. Personally, it reminds me of an awful scene from the movie Year One. I don't want to SEE people peeing -- not even Batman (And I think he'd have better aim!) -- but I think that the concept is really funny. Still, we got three punchlines, good (And varied) scenery, solid artwork, and it was all video game-related! This was a fun strip, although the more I look at the urine (The way it's just being waved all around, augh) the grosser it seems.

How to be Subversive

I just wanted to make a quick note about today's PVP guest strip by Paul Southworth. First off, the artwork was excellent. Southworth is able to fit a lot of expression into four small boxes, and the way he used background to convey mood while also setting up location was extremely effective. Even more interesting, however, was the way he subverted LOLbat's character. This LOLbat isn't a two-dimensional internet meme factory. No, this is a true crime fighter who has been pigeon-holed by his alter-ego; a two-dimensional internet meme factory. He doesn't want to put on the act anymore, he doesn't want to don the disguise...he just wants to go out and fight crime, but he can't...everybody wants their favorite meme. Not only does this create a deeper character, but it cleverly satirizes how quickly we fall out of love with our own catch-phrases and pop-culture, and how some people hold onto it longer than others. A very good job by Mr. Southworth, in my opinion.

For The Lulls

Join me, please, as we travel back through time. No, wait; sorry! I meant, "as we retread old ground." Or, maybe, "as we see that I apparently thought about updating within the past week, yet didn't." Exciting! Sorry for the long entry, but it's a numbered list -- if that helps. I'm not even going to render more than a single sentence on my thoughts regarding September 3rd's strip. It was abominable, reveals that father and son are both shamelessly self-centered bastards, and finally destroys the last vestiges of any purpose behind their having actually gone to a convention. (Source) The next strip was emotionally-driven (I hope), so the lack of any actual joke is... well, it's something to read if learning more about the characters interests you. However, the dialog is boggling. Cole caves right in to his father's "TV is a time-waster" statement (Which is being used to support the fashion in which Cole dispatched a fan of Mr. Richards, as well as whatever unfathomable motive he had for doing so) with the supporting argument of "I guess it all does seem pointless on the surface." So, Cole's saying... what, exactly? He doesn't want to admit that the show his father was in was a waste of everyone's time, unless he couches it within the fuddy-duddy-honored tradition of declaring television to be devoid of intellectual stimulus? But, wait! He's couched even THAT admission behind an "I guess"! So what does Cole really think of the whole thing, what does he really want to say, and how has he forgotten so quickly that they're really talking about why it was justified for them to both lash out at a fan? We'll never know, so it's time to move on and conceal this part with a throw rug. Next, the humorous reveal: Mr. Richards never misses an episode of Buffy. Wait, what? Present tense? Buffy hasn't been on the air in six years! Maybe we are going back in time? Did Mr. Richards mean that he never misses a repeat? Does he not know he's watching repeats, meaning we now have further evidence for the emotionally-scarring existence of his rapidly-deteriorating mind? Cole doesn't help us out by chasing this appealing rabbit, but he does seem surprised when he clarifies that Mr. Richards is talking about Buffy. We don't KNOW that his surprise isn't because there are no episodes of Buffy that Mr. Richards could "miss". Still (And I'm just joking; clearly Cole is just surprised that his father watches a popular and vapid television program), he leaves well enough alone and drops the subject. And then they laugh. Oh, how they laugh! I've gotta say, the silhouette always proves to be visually appealing at the price of reduced artistic effort. It's a great tool among the arsenal of an artist. I've also gotta say this: This was ABSOLUTELY the wrong panel to choose to silhouette. Of the five panels, only this one would have showcased the biggest possible emotional payoff in Cole and Mr. Richards' expressions. It's the dramatic equivalent of an action scene where two badasses harass each other until the situation escalates into a fight that you KNOW is gonna be sweet -- and then the big double doors slam shut in front of the camera, and you get to stare at a doorknob as you are treated to some interesting sound effects that teabag your ears with all of the glorious visual payoff that you were denied. Frustrating? You betcha. And then, the final line: "We should do this again, sometime." It's baffling. It has nothing to do with their situation, because Mr. Richards can't possibly mean any such thing. Their experience was absolute hell for them both, apparently, right up until the previous ten seconds. Is it a form of the "Sure... I'll, uh, I'll write you" footnote to the typical ends-in-disappointment relationship? On the surface, it seems like a form of hope for their future. But it's impossible that the words genuinely mean, "We should spend time laughing together again, sometime" -- the words can only mean, "Well, enough of that." And Cole's expression, plus Mr. Richards' turned-away face, reinforce the tragic truth of their relationship. This is the worst happy ending ever. Is it supposed to be? I have no way of knowing! The events that just transpired are too subtle and too screwball for me to believe I really know how they were intended. (Source) The next strip is happier, even if you interpret the previous strip as happy. So, take a moment to ponder Cole's eyelids. It's an existential problem, so don't bother taking it too seriously. When we see Cole's eyes from an angle that doesn't place his glasses between them and us, they are (And this is where the problems begin: They are not always) solid black ovals. Near-ovals, anyway; they tend to resemble the top bits of exclamation marks. No whites to them (Except when Cole's eyes are widened -- apparently, "wide, completely black eyes" was much too creepy). The frames of his glasses have traditionally stood in for his sclera, and when they aren't around his real eyes must fend for themselves. But to circle back to the point, what, then, is the meaning of the "eyelids" we see through his glasses? Will they show up without the glasses there? If they are squinched cheeks, why doesn't Cole have cheeks when he's seen from behind (And why do they... run directly into each other)? Your father is wise in the way of the cheeks, Cole. Learn much from him, you can. His glasses are also better. And his collars. Sorry, Cole, your dad is just cooler than you. I've wanted to point out this aspect of Cole's design for a while, now, so here it is: The shots of Cole's collar that make it look like he has a stiff, white rectangle jutting into midair above his shoulder are not good. Sometimes it only barely juts out, in which case I can easily imagine that there's a barely-hidden curve to it that goes behind Cole's neck. Sometimes it's a plank hanging over an abyss that Cole's tie could go take a long walk off of, and it's way too obvious that there is no curve hidden behind its structure. Nothing new, but it helps get the mind off of his tie. Now, Cole is surprised and dismayed to see that Bill Amend (<3) has written "Colt". Oh, Cole, you inattentive gadabout! Plus, I don't think he really looks like a horse. Don't worry, though, Cole! I'll fix that right up for you! Trust me, this is even better than if Amend hadn't misinterpreted your very-normal name as a fairly-unusual name: No, nothing serious here. Just some bad jokes. (Source) On a final note, here's the first of several (?) guest strips. How do you hide a ponytail? It's very interesting to see Brent without one, though (And that it's for a video game! Lots of video game references when the guest artists come out, it seems. Are they trying to send a message?). Also, how is the blind guy (Reggie) going to be the drummer (Ringo) for Rock Band? I think that they're setting themselves up for disappointment, there.

PAX Plague!

Sooo...it looks like this week is going to be guest strip heavy for a bunch of different web comics. My best wishes for a speedy recovery to all those afflicted by the PAX Pandemic.