I know that all of you probably already read XKCD. And there’s a good chance that the audience for this blog also has at least a passing familiarity with The Lord of the Rings. Just in case you fall into the latter but not the former, check out today’s XKCD.
Browsing Posts in Webcomics
Yesterday brought us another exciting Avallanath comic after a brief work-induced one week hiatus. In today’s exciting episode we see pot shots being taken at various media personalities. Click through, give it a read, and be sure to vote if you like what you see.
Another new comic is up and ready for your reading pleasure at Avallanath. In the 8th comic we learn that there truly is no depth that a salesman won’t stoop to in the name of a high commission. Click over, give it a read, and be sure to give it a vote if you like what you see!
I’m a little late in posting this, but I was also a little late posting the comic thanks to work obligations. But Avallanath #7 is up and available for your comic reading pleasure.
Today’s episode features a salesman doing something pretty underhanded to try and get someone to upgrade a warranty. I’m sure we’ve all had to deal with that before while shopping at a big box retailer. Click over, check it out, and don’t forget to click on the voting link!
Pointing the readers of this blog is about the same as linking to XKCD on Digg. You’re already preaching to the converted. But I just had to point out the start of their latest arc that finds Tycho starting Gabe on a journey through science fiction classics, all in the name of thwarting his literary arch nemesis L. H. Franzibald.
I know Penny Arcade is primarily a game comic, but my favorite moments are always when Tycho let’s his literary bent take over for short spurts. Franzibald and the Sorcelator series are such perfect parodies of the excesses and foibles of genre fiction that I almost wish they’d do a separate comic focusing solely on the publishing industry.
I’ve been slaving away to make sure there was a fresh new episode of Avallanath ready for your viewing pleasure. In today’s exciting episode we learn the dangers of trespassing on a cranky dragon’s private property!
I’ve been working on a project on the side that is part of the reason why I haven’t been updating here as often. That and the general mayhem of the holidays and starting a new job.
But today that new project is finally going live with its first entry and I can finally introduce it to you: Avallanath. I plan on updating twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’ve had a lot of fun writing the advance scripts and I’ve had a few good laughs so far. I hope that you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing!
Those of you out there who follow the webcomics world might have heard of Scott Kurtz, writer and artist behind PvP Online. He’s also well known for being extremely opinionated and extremely blunt about those opinions, usually in the most extremely public way possible. Love him or hate him, the Internet is usually in for a good time when Mount Kurtz starts rumbling and threatening to blow.
Cut to earlier this week when a Wizard World rep sent Scott a form letter addressed to “Kurt” and letting him know that they were really looking forward to booking him a spot at their next convention in Toronto. And they also spent some time letting him know Eliza Dushku and other “as yet unnamed” stars would be making an appearance to draw in the fans, because nothing says COMICS like an actress whose career peaked with Bring it On.
Can you hear the rumbling?
This is after Scott made his distaste for Wizard World clear via Twitter, his blog, forums, and the Webcomics Weekly podcast. This is after Scott made it known to anyone who would listen that he feels like comic conventions are becoming more about celebrity and Hollywood and less about the comics that spawned them in the first place.
Mount Kurtz finally blew early on November 4. Go read the original form letter and Scott’s hilariously vitriolic response. Then when you’re done with that, check out the story behind what started this feud between Scott and Wizard World. Dealing with crappy convention organizers is a painful experience I’ve suffered through myself, and I say more power to Kurts & co. for trying to hit the crap right at the source. If the print comics industry continues its steady implosion then it’s likely Wizard will be forced to close its doors in the near future, but we can only hope that bad publicity like this serves to hasten their departure from the world of sleazy conventions.
Today’s XKCD is hilarious. I think that the cold harsh reality is that the universe is too dangerous a place and civilization too tenuous a prospect for any society to advance to the point where they are able to break free from their home system and start boldly going around the galaxy seeking out new life and new civilizations. That’s the science fiction pessimist and realist in me talking, but the universe is so big and the theoretical barriers to effectively traveling through it are so large that it seems unlikely we’ll ever get to cavort with little green men even if we were to discover evidence of their existence.
But there’s always a small part of me that secretly holds out hope that human ingenuity will find a way around relativity. That we’ll discover evidence of carbon and oxygen in an extrasolar planet’s atmosphere as it hovers right in the habitable zone of its star. That a discovery like that will be the impetus we need to get our act together as a species here on earth and start exploring the great unknown. To that end I agree with XKCD’s alt text today that the Kepler mission could quite well be one of the most important bits of science undertaken by humanity to this point.
Now Reading
Planned books:
None
Current books:
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Worldwar: In the Balance by Harry Turtledove
Recent books:
- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Retroquest
Now playing on Retroquest:
Super Mario Bros.
Retroquest Gallery
