C2E2: Part 1 of Man I Don't Even Know How Many

Joe Dunn and Phil Chan discuss their college-story comic Matriculated in contrast to their gag-format works (Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Another Videogame Webcomic):


I spent the majority of C2E2 conversing with webcomic creators about their craft, their stuff, and all things webcomics. This is a bit of an actual conversation with Joe Dunn and Phil Chan, writer-and-artist team behind countless comics for the Digital Pimp collective.

Most everyone who stopped by the Digital Pimp booth showed a preference for either Matriculated or JLCM, in terms of which Digital Pimp features they read regularly. Story-based comics and gag-a-day strips attract different sorts of readers, when the comic in question updates weekly, it adds an entirely different rhythm to the mix. Contrast a weekly humor strip like Rob & Elliot with, say, The Book of Biff, or consider the pacing of Matriculated itself.

Stay tuned for further words and pictures from C2E2!

7/17: Week in Review

I suppose it was only a matter of time. In light of the flagging economy, businesses are playing it conservative and cutting back, and it was all but a given that we'd see it in webcomics, as three strips from my list of regulars have scaled back their update schedules in some form or another. However, that doesn't explain the confluence--why this week? I majored in English, not Econ, so I don't know.

First, this marks the first week that Thinkin' Lincoln shifted from a daily comic to a Tuesdays-only weekly. Fans of Miles Grover's characteristic absurdist humor need not fear, however, as he has launched a new comic titled Creep House. This new offering features a house of monstrous flatmates: a wizard, a Dracula-style vampire, an evil skeleton overlord with a distinct visual resemblance to He-Man's arch-nemesis, and others. The first comic gets things off to an especially good start, and even though I've largely grown used to Thinkin' Lincoln's disembodied floating historical heads, it's nice to see something fresh and hand-drawn from Miles Grover.

Second, Michael Firman is scaling back his comic Moe, in what he calls an Emergency Nose Reduction. Owing to some changes in schedule at his day job, Moe will now be running two or three times a week, with details to be revealed as Firman establishes his new cartooning routine and figures out exactly what he can commit to. Even with decreased update frequency, Moe is still worth reading, at least in my book. You can start following the latest plot thread here.

Third, Norm Feuti's Gill has gone on indefinite hiatus. According to the cartoonist, Gill will be placed on hold entirely while he pursues two other projects for (roughly) the duration of the summer. However, Gill fans can still get their fix of Feuti's cartooning work with his syndicated comic, Retail, which is exactly what it says on the label: life in retail. As of this entry, it's in the middle of a story arc, so this is a good place for those interested to start getting acquainted with the characters and what they're up to. Hopefully, we'll also hear more about Feuti's other two projects as they develop.

In cutback-related news, Joe Dunn and Phil Chan's Another Videogame Webcomic hasn't gone on hiatus, but it has begun a No-more-PSP-reviews-a-thon. Phil Chan's PS3 is broken, and to raise the $150 required to repair it, AWV is having a donation drive. Contributors can receive desktop wallpapers, prints of original artwork featuring the AVW character Damsel as Princess Peach (image may be previewed here), and prints of other AVW strips, depending on their level of monetary contribution. Additionally, to further broaden the spectrum of games that AVW can review, all surplus funds will go toward the purchase of an XBox 360. If you're a video game fan who also enjoys Dunn and Chan's work, please consider making a contribution--there's something in it for you and them both.

So, that's the news of note that I've dug up this week. I want to share a few more comic updates, however, so it's time to hit you with another installment of

• This week, Sheldon concludes a storyline it began last week in which Dante enters a children's art contest. Characters with creative pursuits, when well-written, allow the cartoonist to explore the topics of art and inspiration, without the heavy-handed level of meta that comes from making the character a cartoonist. This short storyline has stayed true to Dante's character as the plot arc develops into a test of his artistic integrity, and it stays funny throughout, so I think it's a success.
• How is the above item supposed to be a bullet point? It's practically a fricking paragraph. Geez.
• Nobody Scores also addresses the nature of art with its latest comic, Nobody Scores with a Captive Audience. Expressive cartooning as always, and Beans' narcissism as an artist is pretty hilarious. In my estimation, Brandon Bolt has really been on fire lately, so go ahead and check out his recent comics.
• Thursday's A Softer World delivers a well-timed and painfully funny comic that I expect many of us can identify with. To tell you what it's about, though, would spoil the punchline.

And with that, we bring this week's entry to a close. Readers from Marooned and Superfogeys have migrated here en masse to influence the You-Choose-the-Reviews poll above (hi guys!), but if you haven't already, you still have until Monday to cast your vote and tip the scales. Also, if anyone else has seen a popular comic scale back its updates or go on Indefinite Hiatus ™ this week, please let me know. I'm curious whether this is part of a larger trend. As always, feel free to share your own comic picks from this week in the comments, and I'll see you all next week.

Microfeature Thingy: Street Fighter IV

Last week marked the release of the first new-numbered Street Fighter game in almost ten years: Street Fighter IV. Obviously, big news like this provides ample humor fuel for video game webcomics. Weighing in on the topic of the new Street Fighter are the following:

Penny Arcade
Ctrl-Alt-Del
Another Videogame Webcomic
2P Start

Which of the above do you think delivered the best, most hilarious Street Fighter IV coverage? I've rigged up a little poll thing at the top of the main column (EDIT: relocated to the sidebar) where you can cast your vote. And if you've come across a better SFIV strip than any of these, don't hesitate to share it with us in the comments section!

(Your usual Friday recap will go up later tonight.)

1/9: Week in Review

For the past week, the world of Starslip Crisis has been in crisis. The reality-policing organization Deep Time has planted a bomb at the core of Jupiter that will erase the main characters' entire universe from reality: past, present, and future. All week long, as the bomb ticks down, Vanderbeam and crew have been scrambling to save as much of the universe as they can, whether by defusing the bomb or simply by escaping via starslip drive. Yesterday's comic featured the final ten seconds of last-minute panic. And today's comic breaks all of reality with its genius. I seriously thought something was wrong with the site until I figured out what was going on.

Real Life this week has featured some good laughs. After a recent storyline, techie geek Dave found himself carrying around the supercomputer PAL in his brain, and this past week has seen Dave trying to get PAL out. But Dave must first acquire hardware to download PAL's systems into: a task which Dave undertakes with gusto.

Two items of very-long-comics news this week:

Nobody Scores breaks in the new year with considered reflections on aging, then follows up with Sara's latest business scheme: "Fear Itself(tm)." What is "Fear Itself?" Apparently, a consultation service in which agents expose you to a series of truly terrifying things so that your own problems seem much less intimidating by comparison. But accidents happen, and in typical Nobody Scores fashion, Sara's scheme is thwarted by a lack of competent help. And her own flaring temper.

The postscripts are great.

Very-long-comics news #2: Unwinder's Tall Comics has an update for us this week! In this installment, Unwinder's friend Howard develops the ability to read minds. As he reads the minds of his friends, hilarity ensues, although it is hilarity dependent on the personalities of his friends. If you have never read Unwinder's Tall Comics before, this is probably not the best one to start in on. A better introduction would probably be this comic.

In video-game news, Joe Dunn and Phil Chan of Matriculated fame have teamed up to debut a brand new comic strip: Another Videogame Webcomic. What sets it apart from other gaming comics is that it's also a workplace comic; the main characters, Player One and Player Two, actually work inside the games, donning Street Fighter costumes or full-body Pong Paddle suits as the job requires. Think Ctrl-Alt-Del's "Players," but with less graphic violence and more funny, by which I mean any kind of funny at all. Another Videogame Webcomic already has nine comics up for you to peruse, and it promises to do for video games what Joe Loves Crappy Movies has done for movies, so check it out.

Speaking of CAD, if you tune into CAD for one storyline this year, let it be the current choose-your-own-adventure storyline, featuring Ethan McManus: Space Archaeologist. At present, our protagonist is in dire straits, pursued by mercenaries and with one broken arm as he tries to track down the ancient Mesocron of Knowledge. His fate is in your hands! And the hands of a hundred thousand nitwits across the internet.

UPDATE: The first installment of post-Hob Dresden Codak marks a return to form, with the first of two parts of a second Dungeons and Discourse adventure. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I suppose. Diaz is employing a slightly different art style--a more subtle color palette and thin/no outlines--but largely it's the same lavishly-illustrated abstruse philosophy-of-science jokes you've come to know and feel strongly about. I would just like to note that "Kierkeguardian" is the best class name ever.

So, that wraps up this week-in-review. Have a good weekend, and be sure to come back on Monday and Tuesday. Tony Piro from Calamities of Nature will share his his thoughts with us on the comic form, social commentary, archetypal characters, and (of course) religion. With too much insight into cartooning for a single installment, it's a two-part interview that you won't want to miss!