Penny Arcade, the comic strip for gamers, by gamers is now available in comic shops and bookstores everywhere. Not familiar with Penny Arcade? What? It's only the most popular comic strip on the web. It's just the funniest, most twisted comic that ever lampooned gamer culture, and takes shots at everything from Star Wars to Steve Jobs.
We recently had a chance to talk with creators Tycho Brahe and Jonathan Gabriel ("Gabe") about what goes into their creation of their online hyperstrip. Enjoy!
-Let's start at the beginning for the uninitiated, what is Penny Arcade exactly and how long has it been around?
Tycho: Penny Arcade is an "online hyperstrip" that the kids can log on to. Subject-wise, it is "about" whatever we want it to be that day, but that usually ends up being videogames or movies.
Gabe: We've been doing it around seven years now.
-This Dark Horse Collection of your strips features something rarely if ever seen in comic collections, a running commentary for each strip with insights and details on the story. Was it hard to look back and remember the inspirations behind each story or joke?
Tycho: Not really. The strip is actually how we record history, so looking back over the archive it's pretty easy to remember what we were thinking of at the time.
-Does producing these strips in print form have any affect on how the stories and jokes play out? Is there a difference in perception between the web and print mediums?
Tycho: I don't think so.
Gabriel: They're still just comics. I dont think the delivery mechanism affects the jokes. The *hilarious* jokes.
Tycho: One thing that differentiates the two is how fast "time" seems to flow on the Internet, events which are critically important last for a week or a couple days at most and then completely disappear. So we might do a strip about them - this happened a lot in the first book, I think - and before most people have even had a chance to hear about the issue, it's gone.
-Web comics seem such a logical extension of the daily newspaper strip, do you think we'll see more web strip-comics as time goes on as the format becomes more accepted?
Tycho: There are more webcomics out there than you could possibly count, actually, and though many of them adhere to a kind of Sunday Funnies aesthetic, that's by no means the only form out there. The format is already "accepted" by creators, I think that wide readership is just a time thing.
-What are the challenges writing three panel strips? How do you find the joke and how do you know when you've hit on something good?
Tycho: Well, the challenges of the format are things that I'm not sure we've defeated yet: I have a very hard time staying concise, which a rigid three panel limit practically demands. I'm a little self indulgent, which I freely admit, but that does have a tendency to clog panels. As far as hitting on something "good," we usually just bounce an idea around until we laugh at it. That's usually the clue that we're moving in a productive direction.
-Do you feel pressure to keep up with gaming and pop culture trends in order to stay in pace with your readers?
Tycho: A little bit, but I *am* a person who is steeped in that stuff and wants desperately to know it, so it's rare that I actually feel like I've run behind.
-How much of the story arc and joke ideas do you work out with Gabe?
Tycho: It's rare that we indulge in "story arcs" or traditional comic pacing, it's almost all based on single situations that usually don't relate to one another - like some newspaper strips. The writing duties are completely fifty-fifty on Penny Arcade, though - so, to answer your question, absolutely everything!
-There is a sketch book section in the back of the collection, do you work out your ideas in traditional pen and ink first before you head to the computer?
Gabe: Yes. All of the comics start as pencil drawings.
-Who are your artistic influences?
Gabe: Steven Silver is a big one for me.
-Would you approach your art differently if it was intended for print only?
Gabe: No.
Tycho: If you're looking for long answers, you might be asking the wrong guy.