6 posts tagged “humor”
This is last weeks webcomic column.
This week, dear readers, I plan to discuss three comics that are all tangentially linked together in what I like to consider one giant universe of happiness. The first of these comics is Queen of Wands, which is written and illustrated by a woman who goes by the name Aeire. Loosely based on her life, QoW is about a young woman named Kestrel who lives with her best friends, Felix and Shannon. They are a very odd household, but they seem to go well together. Kestrel is kind and loving toward her friends, wrathful toward her enemies, and a magnet for kids. This is unfortunate, for she does not like children. Kestrel's adventures center around her failed romances, her jobs, and occasional involvement in the shenanigans of Felix and Shannon. Her life is also complicated, often pleasantly, by her friend Angela. QoW ended in early '05, and thus is a completely finished storyline. It is about Kestrel's personal growth, the strangeness of relationships, what it means to accept change, and our fears of the future. It is a touching story filled with humor, lovable characters, and touching moments, all culminating in a wonderful ending that will bring a tear to your eye.
Queen of Wands may end there, but the story does not. Aeire started a new comic with Chris Daily of Striptease called Punch an' Pie. Punch an' Pie takes place a few years after QoW and is about Angela, Kestrel's friend from QoW. Angela is small, feisty, full of life, and has a child like sense of life not unlike Kestrel's. While the main characters of QoW are not in Punch an' Pie, the characters from the old toy store (where Kestrel met Angela) are still around. The story follows Angela and her girlfriend Heather as they deal with their jobs and their life together. Punch an' Pie is only a little over a year old, so there is not too much to catch up with. It takes a different attitude towards life than QoW but is definitely enjoyable. Daily's art is very good and compliments Aeire's writing and characterizations. There is much to look forward to from this comic.
Finally, I shall end on something extremely positive. Early in QoW's storyline, there was a crossover with another webcomic called Something Positive (abbr. as S*P). Somehow, the crossover stuck. The events of the crossover continued to come back in QoW's storyline, and culminated in Aeire giving Kestrel to Randy K. Milholland, author of S*P, as a permanent character after her own comic ended.
My column in the argosy from March 6th. Here is to hoping for and end to the chaos that currently saturates my life.
In a complete reversal from last week's comic, this week I am doing a comic that is silly, light, funny, and even cute. The comic is called Dungeons & Denizens, and it was created by three people who go by the names Graveyard Greg, John Yakimow, and C. Wilson Trull. Most people will immediately get the obvious Dungeons and Dragons reference, and those in the know will immediately see links to World of Warcraft and Everquest, plus perhaps some things I am not personally aware of. Now, I want you to forget all that. This comic has elements that tend to appeal to the “geek culture,” but even if that isn't your thing, do not let it fool you into thinking that this comic is anything but great.
The setting of Dungeons & Denizens is in fact a dungeon and the main characters are the traditional monsters one expects to see in a fantasy setting. The comic is not, however, about telling the story from the monsters' point of view, which has been done by other comics. Rather, the characters are the employees who are charged with maintaining the dungeon for use by parties of adventurers. The main character, for example, is a Minotaur named Min who was recently hired as tech support for the dungeon. The other main characters include an assortment of defective personalities attached to monstrous bodies and often dangerous powers.
Min is a bit of a naïf as the comic begins, enthusiastic to begin his job but not so good at staying out of trouble, usually in the form of his bosses practical jokes. While he usually gets the “fuzzy end of the lollipop,” he begins to wizen up and give as good as he gets. His boss is Gazdar, an archetypical ruff gruff boss with a heart of gold. Sort of. Besides the afore mentioned practical jokes, Gazdar has no problem dumping a burden on others with his somewhat creative problem solving. Amongst the others are the undead dungeon manager with a hight complex, Litchvell, his surly teenage daughter who always miscasts spells, and a jealous gorgon. Also, the landlord is a giant flaming demon. The best of all the characters are Donna and Diana, the two headed fire breathing hellhound. Calling them conjoined twins might me more appropriate, as each head has its own personality, as well as a crush on the same person. Pity the poor man. They alternate between having big cartoon eyes, giant maws filled with enormous teeth, and spitting fire at those who annoy them. They are always cute, and will delight you, I promise.
The comic is recently back after a nine month hiatus. The creators are regularly updating it now on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and there is a decent archive to go through. While the site lacks certain features that webcomic readers might come to expect, such as character bios or even links, the comic more than makes up for it. You really do not have to be a geek to enjoy this one, so go check it out at www.dungeond.com/
SuperQuiz I did for my school paper's humor section. I give up on the formating issues.
Midterms are here! Your best midterm snack is:
A.) Peanuts. I like to keep my mind sharp.
B.) Count Chocula with coffee in lieu of milk.
C.) Who has time to eat?
D.) Floor polish and balsa wood.
E.)Your overachieving roommate's brains - that works, doesn't it?
My favorite teacher is the one who:
A.) Speaks clearly and doesn't jump from topic to topic.
B.) Puts notes online so you don't have to go to class.
C.) Sprinkles lectures with sacrilege and profanity.
D.) Speaks in tongues.
E.) Dies before the midterm.
I joined a “co-curricular” group today:
A.) The “we miss Katie Beaton” fan society.
B.) Air guitar champions. Rock on!
C.) The “cooking with balsa wood” club.
D.) Self defense using small hairless rodents.
E.) The “whacking people wearing crocs over the head with a cricket bat” fitness group. Seriously, they had it coming.
It's _______ Lupus:
A.)
Often
B.) Not
C.) Sometimes
D.) Without a doubt
E.) Hopefully
Balsa wood has many uses:
A.) Building little airplanes to “entertain” your teacher.
B.) Repairing holes in your balsa wood.
C.) Print your essays on sheets of balsa wood. Your teachers will love it.
D.) Good for eats!
E.) “Now in Original and Bar-B-Q. Balsa Crisps: Because everyone wants to eat wood.”
The shortest measurable period of time is between:
A.) The time the teacher says "were are almost out of time" and half the class has packed their bags.
B.) When you have “plenty of time” to do that assignment and “damn it, why is it taking so long to print?”
C.) When the season begins and the Mount A. football team has suffered its first defeat.
D.) When a football player reads this and I'm found tied around a street lamp.
E.) Actually, he will probably just write a letter.
Products we hope to God are never made:
A.) Edible Jock Straps.
B.) Balsa Crisps.
C.) Skunk Burgers.
D.) A box that wastes most of your time and cripples your ability to interact socially. Oh shit...
E.) Do it yourself coronary bypass kits.
Products we really want to see made:
A.) Jet powered unicycles.
B.) Soft pore cornflakes...cuz, you know...
C.) Self writing term papers.
D.) Mmmm... Pornflakes.
E.) Balsa Crisps. Because some of us just really want to eat wood.
So, Dumbledore is gay:
A.)
Who cares?
B.)
Yeah, it's Harry Potter.
C.)
No, jackass. I meant Rowling said that he was homosexual. And I
like Harry Potter.
D.) Great, this validates a whole new generation of slash fiction writers.
E.) Hundreds of teen girls are crying out in anguish because it wasn't Harry and Draco.
The funniest possible last joke would be:
A.)
A reference to Charlie Hunter, Sodexho, or hot naked Greek guys.
B.)
The quadratic formula.
C.)
The one about the plumber and the twenty foot python...
D.) A description of the mating practices of baboons.
E.) Did you say something? I was gnawing on this tree...
This weeks column in my school paper.
Sandra K. Fuhr is my hero. When I first started this column, Matt Lane suggested a rubric with which to judge each comic. I resisted based on the idea that I wanted to talk about each comic, not just grade it. But I lied. In some ways, Friendly Hostility is the standard by which I judge all other comics. It was one of the first comics that I was introduced to. It had only started a few months before and was fresh, sexy, and wonderful. Now, it is still wonderful and it has picked up a few new adjectives to replaces fresh and sexy.
The main characters of Friendly Hostility are Kailen “Fox” Maharassa and Collin Sri'Vastra, two best friends who were side characters in Sandra's previous comic, Boy Meets Boy. By the end of Boy Meets Boy, which you all should go read right now, Collin and Fox had pretty much become the central focus, so Ms. Fuhr started anew. Friendly Hostility opened with a short series called Problematic, working as an introduction to Fox's as of then unseen family. Readers get to meet his mother, Nefertari, and his father, Padma, as well as Ibrafim, usually called Rafi, Padma's best friend who manages to loose Fox's baby older sister to cannibals. Then, after a few months of introduction to the family, the story begins.
Unlike Boy Meets Boy, which was based very much around slapstick humor and jokes about sexuality and identity, Friendly Hostility is based on family and relationships between different people. Fox and Collin struggle with school expenses, Nefertari struggles to keep Padma from “upgrading” the toaster (it usually involves a car battery), and Fox's sister, Fatima, struggles to get Rafi to teach her to cheat at cards. The characters are deep and involved but fun and quirky. Bootsie is Collins slave that he won in a poker game. The Demon is a demon that lived in their fridge and now lives in the boiler room. He is called Demon because his real name causes nose bleeds. He is also a nurse.
I find myself wanting to tell every story in Friendly Hostility. There are truly too many wonderful moments to describe. Like Penny and Aggie, the comic leaves one attached to the characters, treating them as real people in your mind. The story can be outright funny, making you laugh and giggle all at once, and yet sweet and touching at the same time. Sandra describes herself as coming from a large tight knit Mexican family, and in some ways that is what Friendly Hostility is about. In other ways, it is just about madness. Go see it at http://friendlyhostility.com/
My column this week in the Argosy
It should be clear by now that I judge webcomics based on characters, story, and art, in that order. Penny and Aggie has all three of these in abundance all mixed up with high school romance, conflicting personalities, and epic battles of wit and will. The story is powered by the phenomenal writing of T. Campbell and the excellent art is by Point-Verte New Brunswick's own Gisèle Lagacé. Ms. Lagacé's art works in unison with Mr. Campbell's writing to make characters that make one forget that it is just a comic.
Penny and Aggie is hosted by a group that bills itself as collecting comics about teen life. It is true that the characters are in high school but Penny and Aggie is far too sophisticated and complex to be summed up as a teen romance or soap opera. While it is done in a sort of soapdrama format with episodic storylines and a focus on characters over events, it escapes being a “soap comic” by avoiding overly dramatic scenes and by the sheer depth of characterization. The title characters are Penny Levac, a wealthy and fashionable young woman, and Aggie d'Amour, who is an outcast by choice and self styled political activist. The two are sworn enemies as one can only have in high school, each at a loss to understand the others motivations. They each have loyal friends who both back them up and challenge their assumptions, and there are plenty of side characters to follow. Unlike many comics with a large cast, Campbell and Lagacé keep track of their characters and devote time and attention to lovingly crafting each into an individual.
The story follows the girls through their battles and occasional alliances, but it also branches into the lives of their friends and family. Aggie's father is a widower of three years, and has recently met a woman he thinks he wants to start dating. Penny's best friend, Sara, is struggling to keep her identity from being nothing more than the best friend of the popular girl. Within the various storyline are the usual high school politics and competitions.
Penny and Aggie is somewhat reminiscent of Betty and Veronica in art and theme. However, Penny and Aggie is far removed from the fanciful and ultimately Utopian world of Archie Comics. Despite being wealthy and fashionable, Penny is, along with Aggie, one of the high school's top students. Despite her desire for social justice, Aggie is not always the hero, and can be as flawed as the often self centered Penny. Even Rich, Penny's one time love interest, does not stay within the stereotype of the too cool to care bad boy.
I have to recommend Penny and Aggie to everyone. It is everything a good webcomic should be, with regular updates and an excellent story. The included sample is a perfect example of the comic, representing the coming to a culmination of several stories, as well as being an example of the interactions of the characters and the wit of the author. The girl in black is Sara, who has long been convinced that Aggie, with the peace sign on her belt, is in love with Penny, and vice versa. The girl with the multicolored hair is Lisa, weird in her own right. You are missing out if you skip this one, so check it out at www.pennyandaggie.com/
Printed in The Argosy on 10/18/07
I discovered I'm Blue when I read Annie Carlson's entry in the Wapsi Girl Project. Before I can actually talk about the comic I must take a moment to discuss the author. Annie “Blue” Carlson is sheer awesomeness. Her genius is not only apparent throughout her comic, but made obvious by the fact that she somehow inserted herself firmly into the video game industry through her comic and her love of gaming. You might have heard of a little game called “Neverwinter Nights 2” that just happens to have Ms. Carlson's name in the credits. That's how awesome she is.
I'm Blue is partly a comic about gaming because Blue is a major gamer and Ms. Carlson uses frequent references to games (Blue has a pet Metroid that drinks Mountain Dew in lieu of their more traditional food source) as well as the game industry in general. However, I do not list I'm Blue as a gaming comic because you do not need to be a gamer to love it. The story is about a young college student named Blue and a few of her friends. Blue lives with her friend, Celia, and across the hall is an old friend of Blue's named Derec and his Mac loving roommate, Max.
It is obvious that Blue is at least slightly based on Ms. Carlson's view of herself. Blue loves games, her computer, anime, and comic books. Many of the strips are based on what seem to be issues that the artist herself has with things from “The Guy Game” to Gorge Lucas's ongoing efforts to destroy Star Wars. However, I'm Blue is not simply her soap box. It is an exciting story filled with lovable characters. The art is charming and stylized; the facial expressions of her characters are half the fun.
I'm Blue is amazing on many levels. It is, in part, a validation for many gamers. Blue does all those things that we always wish we could do. She is, for instance, randomly a ninja and goes on revenge sprees when she is pissed off. Also, if Blue can name her computer Tyger then I don't have to feel bad about naming mine Cleo. Blue is a charming character, still childlike and innocent in many ways. She is self conscious but strong and capable, reaffirming that one does not need to be a perfect person in every way.
I'm Blue is especially appropriate for women's month because Ms. Carlson's comic often focuses on issues having to do with being a woman in the worlds of gaming and webcomics. Through storylines and news posts, the author brings up the issues of male reactions to female gamers, cheesecake in webcomics, and “booth babes”, to name a few. I suspect many female gamers will find I'm Blue resonating with their own experiences.
Sadly, the comic is currently on hiatus, but there are several years of archives to read through. Also, now that the expansion to NWN2 is about to be released, Ms. Carlson might have some free time to work on it again. Thanks to the great writing, the author's blog like news posts, and the strips in which she draws herself and her husband, by the time you finish I'm Blue you find yourself not only caring about the lives of Blue and her friends, but the ongoing life of Annie Carlson as well. Check it out at http://www.blue-comic.com/
