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Old-school Nerdy Comics

savetz writes "20 years before User Friendly, Doctor Fun, and Dilbert, about the only place a geek could go for a fix of nerdy comic goodness was ... Radio Shack. Tandy Computer Whiz Kids was a comic book series that was distributed for free at Radio Shack stores. It featured overeager kids stopping bad guys with their TRS-80s and acoustic modems, sweetly naive information about computers, and constant shilling of Radio Shack products. They're now on the Web." Update: 04/19 03:44 GMT by J : We're having a bit of DB trouble tonight... bear with us.

15 of 439 comments (clear)

  1. Would... by cmehta1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...remembering these and doing a "first post" on a Friday Nite totally qualify me for "Nerd of the Month" championships?

  2. The computer that said no to drugs by DanThe1Man · · Score: 3, Funny
    1. Re:The computer that said no to drugs by deadsaijinx* · · Score: 4, Funny

      my nightmare:

      The computer that said no .. to PORN!!!

      now thats a horror comic for the ages ...

      --
      YOU SUCK BALLS!
    2. Re:The computer that said no to drugs by Billly+Gates · · Score: 4, Funny
      ..in 2004 the computer that said no to fair use and yes to drm.

  3. blah by OutRigged · · Score: 2, Funny

    They're now on the Web

    Not for long!

    --
    RaGe
    We're all just noise on the wires..
  4. Check out the ads by embedded_C · · Score: 5, Funny
    The ads on the first page are great!

    "Not only does the 128K Color Computer 3 offer twice the memory, twice the speed, and even better graphics than our popular Color Computer 2, it's also compatible with the Tandy hardware accessories and software designed for the popular Color Computer 2 -- you may never outgrow it!

    Heheheh

  5. Just Say No, Computers by ghack · · Score: 2, Funny

    Seems like every 80s comic book had a similar plot...just say no..

    I'm glad my athlon doesnt use illicit substances...although my 680x0 machines have had substance abuse problems

    Its a JOKE people

  6. Late news? by nhaines · · Score: 2, Funny

    Okay, so this comic came out 19 years ago, in 1984?

    *Now* I understand why I keep hearing people complain about Slashdot being slow to post news stories!

  7. They're now on the Web by TheAngryArmadillo · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, they were until we slashdotted their TRS-80s.

  8. Whiz Kids - Worst Comic Title Ever by teamhasnoi · · Score: 2, Funny
    My fave is the 'Computer That Said No To Drugs'.

    Your computer can say no to drugs too! 10 INPUT A$;IF A$="Do you want some smack, ludes, coke, weed, acid, X, cough syrup, morphine, cocaine, oxycodone (Percodan®), methylphenidate (Ritalin®), and dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine®), heroin, marijuana, LSD, PCP, cocaine, acetaminophen with codeine (Tylenol® No.3), paregoric, hydrocodone with acetaminophen (Vicodin®), diazepam (Valium®), alprazolam (Xanax®), propoxyphene (Darvon®), and pentazocine (Talwin®)?" THEN PRINT "NO!"

    20 PRINT "GOOD WORK, KIDS! REMEMBER, DRUGS ONLY *DRAG YOU DOWN*! HAHA! HAHA!"

    30 END : REM BUY A GODDAMN TANDY!

  9. Finally!! by Levine · · Score: 3, Funny

    My letter writing campaign has paid off!

  10. The Rest of the Story... by ktakki · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thanks to the Tandy Corporation, Alec attended Stanford University, all expenses paid, where he earned his degree in Computer Science. After graduation, he was hired by Pets.com as Chief Techology Officer.

    However, his life took a turn for the worse, when one of the network administrators discovered his secret cache of kitty porn, thousands of images of underage cats in compromising positions. He was hanging on to his job by a thread when the technology sector crashed, and he was the first to go. Currently, Alec works the midnight-to-8AM shift at Kinko's, where he can indulge his predilection for feline pornography between customers.

    Shanna was not nearly as lucky as Alec, having been seduced by an assistant manager at the local Radio Shack, where she bartered sexual favors for boxes of floppy disks and packs of resistors and capacitors (she liked the pretty color codes). When she found out she was pregnant at age 16, the manager tried to induce a miscarriage using a battery-operated remote control monster truck toy. Shanna nearly bled to death in the mall's food court.

    Fortunately, she received medical attention just in time, and went on to live a long, happy life as a camgirl, living off of gifts from her Amazon.com wish list sent by middle-aged male admirers. She was recently hired by the National Beef Council as a consultant, aiding them in their quest to feed cheeseburgers to anorexic teenage girls.

    And now you know the rest of the story.

    This is Paul Harvey...good day!

    k.

    --
    "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." - Anne Frank
  11. This is great! by arglesnaf · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is really amazing to me. The one comic "The Computers that said No to Drugs (1985)" I had as a small child. My grandmother gave it to me when she bought me my first TRS-80. It is really amazing, I was evidently 7 years old when I first started writing endless variations of

    "What is your name?"
    ? Sean
    "Hi Sean"

    God she cursed me to nerddom when I was that young. Damn you Grandma.

    I think I'll have to go write that in perl now and see how far my skills have not progressed.

    I used to go to Radio Shack all the time as a child and play "Pitfall" and "Duke Nukem" on the tandy's lined up. And now all they do there is try to sell me a cell phone. *sigh*

  12. Re:20 years before... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You fucking zygote! Stop making me feel so damned old. Jesus, I'm only about 3 decades old and you youngsters are making me feel simply ancient!

  13. User Friendly never was this good : by Connectmc · · Score: 2, Funny
    Schoolmarmtype : You and Alex sound like real achievers, and that's great, Shanna!

    Shanna : If we study hard now, we'll be able to get better jobs later.

    ROTFLMAO!!!