Geek Speaking of Doomed Pizza Strippers

Random Thoughts

No life dedicated to arts was ever wasted.

Geek Speak: Pizza of DOOM!

The idea of a sparkling vampire is deeply, fundamentally stupid. 

Bram Stoker gave us a horrifying vision of the ultimate king of the undead; an immortal monster given unimaginable power by feasting on the blood of the living. Stephanie Meyer gave us a simpering milquetoast, a pouting, centuries old pity case who gets his jollies with mortal high school girls. In the face of what vampires have become in popular culture I can only imagine the mighty Count Dracula would feel his only refuge is the sweet, long-delayed embrace of oblivion. 

Still Searching for Strippers on the Web

My wife and I are now completely caught up on Strip Search the web-based reality series from Penny-Arcade. Sweet Fancy Moses, this is some damn good television, and it's not even on television, which seems to be happening more and more. 

The thing that really makes this show is the relationships between the artists who are taking part in the competition. I didn't mention the prize in my last post (bad me). The winning artist receives $15,000, and they will be given studio space in the offices of Penny-Arcade for one year. Despite being in competition for what is essentially the greatest prize you could bestow on an up-and-coming web cartoonist, the artists have developed really tight bonds with each other.

The fact that everyone gets along appears to drive the creators of Penny Arcade Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins no end of nuts. Which makes me think they're missing a golden opportunity. More than anything else the thing that drives me crazy about reality programming is the contrived sense of drama and the petty squabbling and backstabbing between the contestants. Either the producers throw on their scuba gear so they can dive into the deepest, darkest trenches of the gene pool to find these gargoyles, or the whole thing is a scripted farce presented as "reality." 

By comparison the closeness of the contestants on Strip Search makes it all the more compelling when an artist wins the second challenge of the day and is asked to pick two of their fellow contestants to face elimination. This is an emotionally wrenching process that forces them to pick two people they've come to love and respect like family and send them to face Krulik and Holkins in the elimination arena, knowing only one of them can return. It's like Thunderdome for web cartoonists. 

As my wife and I have been following the show, we've started to familiarize ourselves with the cartoonists. All of them are amazing, and it's clear there's a reason they were picked to be on the show, but I have some favorites. In no particular order here are the cartoonists I'm enjoying the most:

Abby Howard's website is www.jspowerhour.com, which is short for The Junior Scientist Power Hour. What do I enjoy about her comic? To put in as few words as possible, she's crazy and hilarious. While there's no thread connecting each comic, they are all deliriously wacky and off-beat, and make for outstanding "lunch break" reading.

Alex Hobbs' website, www.wanderlustkid.com is the newest of the artists taking part in the competition, but already has a lot to offer. The artwork on Alex's website makes use of a fun animation style and the jokes vary between cartoonish and slice-of-life. Overall he offers another good candidate for your lunchtime comic strip break.

Amy Falcone's website, www.fullpickle.com, boasts a few strips, but Falcone's central strip is Citation Needed. Amy is a capable artist and she's infused her strip with a cute cartoon style. It can be confusing trying to navigate the website, but it's worth it to get at the rich seam of comic strip gold. 

Erika Moen is easily the most accomplished web cartoonist in the competition, and the polish shows in the clean, well composed comics on her website, www.erikamoen.com. Fair warning: most of her stuff tends toward the NSFW end of the spectrum. Among the naughty jokes and titillating drawings, however, she has a tender side that comes out in some truly touching comics. 

Katie Rice provides the illustrations for the online comic Skadi. Her work on the comic has a cool, new-animation, Adventure Time feel to it that is probably the result of the work she does during the day as a storyboard artist for Nickelodeon. Of all the contestants, Katie is the one my wife and I are pulling for to win the whole thing, which is kind of silly when we really stop and think about it. The competition ended in December. The winner has already been decided, and they've been ensconced in the Penny Arcade offices for almost six months. 

Lexxy Douglass' website, http://lexxercise.tumblr.com/, differs from the rest in that she's the only one who doesn't already have a webcomic up and running. Even so, her website is worth checking out for the gorgeous illustration work she does. Lexxy is a very, very talented woman, and someone whose work I'll be following.

Tavis Maiden's website www.thunderskullpress.com is the last one on my list of Strip Search favorites. It may be that I'm partial to his work because he's the only one in the group with kids, but whatever the underlying reason I've been drawn into his centerpiece comic, Stranger Danger. It's a fun, slice-of-life comic about the trials an joys of being a parent. 

Doodles and Strip Searching for Web Strippers

Doodles: I, Panda

I don't remember the precise circumstances, or how the whole thing got started, but I was at work one day and was eavesdropping on a conversation when someone dropped the phrase "iPanda." The conversation was entertaining, but I've utterly forgotten the context in which it came up. I do remember that one of my co-workers was really into the idea of an "iPanda" and thought the idea of a Panda with the Apple logon his chest was adorable. 

Between calls and emails that day I doodled out a quick panda with the iconic apple on his chest on a sticky note and put it on her desk. To preserve her dignity and the perception of her professionalism I will just say that her reaction was enthusiastic. 

After that I would occasionally put a new version of the iPanda on her desk. The one to the right here is one I don't think I ever gave her. It's a riff on Kung-Fu Panda that I called "iPanda Classic." 

Penny Arcade: Searching for "Strippers"

Images used without permission, please click the image above to visit the show's website. You won't be disappointed. 

I really can't wait to see how many hits I get based on that heading alone. 

Neither my wife nor I have ever been fans of reality television. Whether it's the over-wrought drama of the contestants, the contrived circumstances, or the plainly rehearsed "spontaneous" moments, there's always something that is just...grating about the whole thing. If were to put that in a twitter-friendly format it would say something like, "I have better things to do than watch hateful, narcissistic assholes be nasty to each other." 

With that said, both of us have been completely sucked in by Strip Search on Penny Arcade's website. For those who don't know (though I'm not sure anyone who reads this would fit that description) Penny Arcade is arguably the most successful webcomic online right now. It has been running since 1998 and maintaining a rock-solid three-strips-a-week schedule. Penny Arcade is drawn by Mike Krahulik and written by Jerry Holkins.

Both Krahulik and Holkins are huge fans of reality television. They started exploring the medium with their web-series "The Fourth Panel" which features them at work developing the comics that get posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Strip Search goes deeper in to the reality television format and brings to life something...wonderful. 

The concept of the show is straightforward enough, and familiar to those of us who remember watching "The Real World" in its first couple of seasons. All of the contestants share accommodations in a gorgeous and well appointed (and well-stocked) lakefront house somewhere in Seattle. Each episode features interviews with the contestants talking directly into the camera about the events of the day.

The show also brings in competitive aspects from shows like Survivor and The Bachelor, and each day two contestants must face an elimination round. One goes home, one goes back to the house, and the challenges continue the next day.

Krahulik and Holkins have assumed a cold, aloof, distant persona for the purposes of the show, presumably for dramatic effect. It comes off as a kind of a nerdy Bond-villain type vibe. To anyone who has watched "The Fourth Panel" or met them in person the contrast with who they really are is jarring. These are two of the nicest, most affable, most giving guys on the planet. Fortunately they frequently break character and you get to see them for the wonderful human beings they really are. 

At one point Krahulik even loses his temper when he has to send someone home at the end of an elimination round, and the work that is the basis for the decision is of such a high quality he can't bring himself to destroy it (in previous elimination rounds they destroyed the strip created by the losing contestant). In a moving moment he offers a testimonial to how much he likes the contestant's work and can't bring himself to destroy and instead hands it back for that person to keep; an invaluable memento of an amazing experience (and the fact that this contestant had already won a Wacom Cintiq HD probably didn't suck, either). 

The contestants are, for lack of something even more glowing to say about them, amazing. Each one is a fine artist in his or her own right and each of them is an established web cartoonist to a greater or lesser degree. In at least two cases (Erika Moen and Katie Rice) they already have an established fan base that even extends to some of their fellow contestants.  Artistic ability notwithstanding, these are people I'd like to hang out with on a regular basis. They are genial, open, friendly, and willing to share. It's a testament to their character that each time one of them is asked to nominate two others to go to eliminations it is an agonizing decision. 

The show works at another level that I'm sure some of those reading this will appreciate; it's a kind of peak behind the curtain into the what it takes to run a successful webcomic. I would even go so far as to call it a boot camp. in the first nine episodes the show has covered topics from ranging from working with a partner, to developing marketable merchandise, to managing your own PR through outlets like Twitter. The notes given to the contestants and the lessons learned in the process are things that are applicable to my own practice, as I develop it, and my be relevant to some of those reading this as well. 

One of the best things about the show, is the respect with which departing contestants are treated. When one of them is told "you are not the strip we're looking for" and asked to go wait in the car they are shortly joined by Krahulik and Holkins who offer sincere words of encouragement. No one leaves having had a bad experience. It is this sensitivity to their contestants and to their viewers that elevates this above the base sensationalism of other reality programs and makes something that is truly engaging and entertaining. 

Highly recommended. 

Geek Speaking of Desperate Measures

Geek Speak

Desperate Measures

This is it! The time of reckoning for Mark and Steve is at hand! Lives will be changed! Bonds will be formed! No one will ever be the same again!

The idea here is kind of like pulling a Brandi Chastain (holy crap she was ripped) and pulling up her shirt in a fit of frustration-induced momentary insanity. I had a lot of fun drawing reactions for Mark and Steve in the last column. I doubt my reaction was any more restrained the first time I saw breasts that weren't in a magazine or an episode of National Geographic.  

Random Thought

I love the fact that ads for Snorg Tees occasionally show up in my blog! They have some outstanding geeky/funny tee-shirts. 

Penny Arcade Artist's Corner

I recently joined the Penny Arcade forms so that I could participate in their artist's corner. The artist's corner is provided as a place for artists to share work with each other within the Penny Arcade community and receive honest criticism. The forum will also post the occasional challenge, which is what prompted me to join. The challenge in the Artist's Corner of the Penny Arcade forum this week was "Get Your Cray-On!" Artists were asked to submit drawings done with crayon. I opened up my daughter's box of washable Crayolas, and Daredevil fell out of them. 

I work with color pretty rarely, so I'm pleased with the results overall.