Sunday, April 8, 2007

Questionable Comic

Just a week ago, we were pitying the foos' that couldn't take a good geek joke. Like all good things though, sometimes too much is too much. I am not saying this because Jeff Jaques' Questionable Content is about a really geeky indie rock nerd. Not in the least. Yes, the obscure yet common ideology by which the less a group or style is known, the better it is, has managed to create an entire subculture. The tenants of this urban religion distinguish themselves by the characteristic attempt to be indistinguishable. With unbounded contempt for goths, punks, emos, grunge nostalgics, hard rockers and straight edge rockers (ugh...), these proud young'ns loudly proclaim their independence by dressing, looking and behaving as normally as possible.
Freaky. Jeff Jaques immerses us into the life of this pathologically shy dude and his chance meetings of skinny but hot chicks, in what soon becomes a western European imitation of a Shojo manga. The comedy is mostly axed around the sassy comments and puns of the hero and his romantic-but-not-quite interest, Faye, as well as the wacky antics of his anthropomorphic psychopathic robot Pintsize, though this last aspect has been played down a bit. The graphics go from very good to absolutely fabulous, Jaques actually using photography as reference for his decor.
He also has managed to play on his indie rock readers' vestimentary insecurity and is currently selling T-shirts based on the clothing of his characters, thus setting the example for every webcomic overachiever out there by maintaining an excellent comic with virtually no adspace.
Recommended reading for all the frustrated electric guitar massacrers and frustrated waiters-around-for-girlsers!

oao

the cod

Sunday, April 1, 2007

but what does xkcd stand for!?

I like good webcomics. I hate bad webcomics. I reeeealy hate badly drawn webcomics. You can imagine my dismay as I stumble upon Randal Munroe's xkcd; whose character art mainly consists of stick figures.
The highly professional webcomic chronicker that I am decides to look at one or two comics before banishing it to the endless internet oblivion...and and immediately bookmarks it in his (my) favorites. Why? Why? Why?
This has got to be one of the best single panel, no preparation, laugh out loud comics, and by laugh out loud I don't mean of the LOL variety but more of the actual-sound
-coming-out-of-your-mouth kind.
Also, this is one of the geekiest comics I have come across. Quite unlike the lame user friendly didactic geekyness, Munroe takes us places only the most arcane master of useless technical knowledge will feel comfortable in; I have to admit I almost came in the comic where he takes the Ackermann function on Graham's number just to freak out mathematicians.
I know what the crankiest of you are thinking: "I hate these goddamn comics where you have to have a freaking phd to understand a stupid joke!"
So what? This is the inter-tubes! You do whatever you fucking want. Or whatever I fucking want. Go read xkcd.

oao

Cody