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Web Comics Make The Small Screen
darkCanuck writes "A year and a half ago, three guys wrapped up a Flash-based story taking three years of work, spanning twenty-four chapters in twelve hours. This afternoon they began offering Broken Saints as a DVD set (four discs), the entire series at $39.99 US. It's been tweaked, to say the least, to 5.1 surround sound, updated art and effects for more than half of the production, subtitles in six languages and voice narration from such people as Cancer Man from the X-files (William B. Davis), among other notables. It's an impressive feat for any studio, in my opinion, but three canucks in their spare (and not so spare) time ... that's incredible. If you haven't seen it, check it out since the chapters are still available at the website." Just as pressing -- An anonymous reader writes "You can now buy all 100 Strong Bad Emails as a boxed set of 3 DVDs. If you live under a rock, Strong Bad is freakin' awesome. You can buy it here."
I am pleased but sticky about this.
Yes it is great these are coming to DVD.
Yes it is huge for the sub-industry.
BUT, as with what we saw happen to anime, eventually the sludge will come too.
Beware!
Doooomed! Dooomed!
If you live under a rock, Strong Bad is freakin' awesome. You can buy it here."
Right. Because if I have no idea what Strong Bad is, I've been living under a rock.
And you wonder why they make that comic book store owner as annoying as they do on the Simpsons.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
In the name of all the fans out there, let me serve as counsel.
:D
SB is part of the comedy nuvo, the online WTF OMGBBQ generation. For us, this kind of thing is just awesome.
Sometimes something that makes no sense, is completely off topic, or just utterly stupid gets the best laughs.
I know people who say out loud "Dot dot dot..."
The same crowd who's into these things
But for all of us non sub-rock dwellers, Strong Bad is just a stupid wast of time.
Start Running Better Polls
I mean, I might have heard it among the thousands of ppl who visit fark, slashdot, homstarrunner, penny-arcade, user friendly, ad nauseam, but my break time has always kinda had a priority list that didn't want to fit in heavy flash stories, which is what this site looks like. The intro text sounds a lot like the intro from http://www.eccentris.com/
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
Flamebait?
I don't mean to feed the troll or anything, but he/she has a good point. I have quite a few Canadian friends, and I'm sure if I called them 'Canucks' I'd get punched in the face quicksmart.
Also, check out Dictionary.com - it lists 'Canuck' as an offensive slang.
It's just a matter of time before someone else gets offended.
If that's a markov chain text generator, you'll get better results if you use a larger granual size (i.e. find every word that follows the last two or three words).
The only problem with that is that sometimes it'll get stuck in a loop, so you need to have a fallback to a smaller granual size if you generate fewer than say three elements that match your requirements.
stuff
I think you meant "USian monkey assboys" there, pal.
The words "real" and "normal" are only relative terms.
:D
The true language is the language of the heart, and such, what makes me laugh is "real" to me and I find "funny." And since our hearts are different, we laugh at different things.
This geek/gamer/etc (Think us who read slashdot!) find something funny, it's not neccesarily comedy by classical terms, but it works for us.
Example: I find it hilarious when webcomics incorporate the personalities of friends of the authors into the strips! Those just rule, when you can understand some part of someone you know making it online into our own little "in joke."
Maybe they can be used to replace the poor, departed, Compy 386. :'(
And if you don't get Strong Bad, then you don't. Who cares? Crapfully yours,
Today's strongbad e-mail mentions Linux, although briefly, not flatteringly, nor in correct context. I would say it is the funniest one ever. Here is a direct link.
warning: This post is likely to contain gobs of dripping sarcasm. Consume at your own risk.
Ah, crap. I meant departed Compy 386, not a link to a nonexistent Slashdot page...
Anyway, if you want to get a sense of the site, check out "The Interview" on the "Shorts" page, perhaps the best gateway 'toon on the site.
"BUT, as with what we saw happen to anime, eventually the sludge will come too."
Anime has always had crap, just like any other style or media type...
Are you serious? I'm a Canadian myself... and I don't think that the thought ever occured to me that the term Canuck was politically incorrect. That must be some weird thing that you yanks thought up.
It looks like the site is just a useless flash intro, I never stay through an intro. Oh well, back to my Futurama DVDs.
So tell us, what are the traits of the Canadian RACE?
Canuck is not an offensive word. Would a CANADIAN hockey team be called the Canucks if it was a way of insulting us?
Maybe someone should tell the Vancouver Canucks?
- a proud Canuck
'All' 100 emails? This week saw the release of email 118.
The website won't work with most popup-blockers enabled, so here's a direct link.
Portable versions of Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, etc
This geek/gamer/etc (Think us who read slashdot!) find something funny, it's not neccesarily comedy by classical terms, but it works for us.
Ah, this is one of those clique things, is it? "If you don't get XXX, then you don't belong here", where XXX is whatever the writer happens to like. Riiiight.
Now FOAD, 'tard.
Worst... Post... Ever...
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Flash-based stories are awesome, and by awesome I mean totally sweet.
Flash-based movies flip out and kill people all the time. Like this one time, I saw a Flash-based movie in a resturant. And some guy dropped a fork. The Flash-based movie uppercutted the guy in the head and didn't tink twice about it! Then he popped like 16 boners and wailed hard on his guitar.
I am Anonymous Coward, and I can't stop thinking about Flash-based movies.
A taste for crappy beer and stupid sports, eh?
I can't speak for any Canadians other than myself but I have never been offended by the term 'canuck.' I suppose it could be used as an insult if a few other choice words were thrown in but overall I don't think you're going to find many Canadians offended by it. We have a hockey team called the Vancouver Canucks, you can find a Canadian comic book called 'Captain Canuck' and we often refer to ourselves as canucks. I think you'll find more people proud of the term than offended by it.
There's a REASON I hate comics. Print COMICS , that is. They randomly feel the NEED to put random words IN bold and italics. Usually, these WORDS are not what you would emphasize if you WERE speaking, and they're not ALWAYS of any importance. I find IT distracting. DOES anyone else?
remember typing on monochrome monitors
watch enough anime to appreciate certain exaggerated features
enjoy correcting and ridiculing spelling errors
can identify with characters who are bullied in a playful way, and remind us of our youth
used to own or play those pixelated console atari games
owned a single-tone keyboard with that cutesy demo song
can appreciate some clean humour
<tim><
Yeah... it's racist.... that's why we call one of our pro hockey teams the Canucks. Not that it matters this year.... :-(
http://www.rathergood.com/ Have been on TV for a while now. They make flashs to music and feature on channel 4 in the UK. Recently Weebl and Bob have also started to do many adverts (for anchor butter). Not to mention Rather good also doing some adverts.
Flash is a very stylish art form, when done right it's fantastic to watch. But when it's done wrong it's like a 4 year old drawing.
As soon as people catch on to this, everyone and their dog will attempt to do these because "Hey it can get me rich!"
I like muppets.
It's the kind of cartoon where you kinda need to know the characters to 'get it'. If you want to get it, take my advice - spend just an hour or so watching a bunch of Strong Bad emails. You'll soon 'get it' and love it. That's exactly how I got hooked. .. And Compy.. I pine for you..
The Happy Tree Friends has been doing this for quite some time aswell. Check them out as some of the episodes are hilarious. Currently they have released three DVDs.
"BSD: Free as in speech. Linux: Free as in beer. Windows 10: Free as in herpes." --Man On Pink Corner in #52607549.
That must be some weird thing that you yanks thought up.
Another case in point. I my self am not offended by being called a Yank, and like the Canuck's there is a team named the Yankees.
Yank is a funny case though. From a Southern American standpoint it technically refers to people from states that didn't break off to form the Confederate States of America, I.e. New England and other northern states. While states that border Canada are populated by people who typically don't mind the term Yank/Yankee, I imagine there are people in *The South* who might be offended. After all, they still call other non-Southerners Yankees as well and do NOT consider them selves to be Yankees.
I have met Canadians who take offence to the term Canuck. They were all from nortern Manitoba. I'm unclear of any historical reasons behind this.
Neither one should be considered a racial or even ethnic slur as both nations are too multi-cultural.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Yeah... it's racist.... that's why we call one of our pro hockey teams the Canucks. Not that it matters this year.... :-(
Yes, it would unheard of to call any professional team something that could be considered to be racially derogatory. Oh wait, the Washington Redskins. D'oh!
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
A taste for crappy beer and stupid sports, eh?
Sorry, that's American. See Football and Budwiser.
The racial traits of a Canadian are
1. A taste for lager
2. Obsession with hockey
3. Standing up and yelling "I am Canadian" when that Molson commercial was on
4. Being able to say beaver with a straight face
Usa (OO-sah) is a small island off the coast of Taiwan. Residents of this island are called Usians.
We prefer Yank because it pisses off South!
The trailer seemed to be random rambling and cuts. Trailers are supposed to make movie more attractive, not less...
And, that correctly describes fans of Strong Bad.
There are more than 100 strong bad emails too.
It would if they weren't owned by Canadians.
# enjoy correcting and ridiculing spelling errors
You need help. Now.
REASON COMICS NEED IN WORDS WERE ALWAYS IT DOES
It's almost poetical.
(Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.)
Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
Don't forget Foamy over at Ill Will Press -- that shit is available on DVD, too.
blog |
The whole point of the comic book format, with you know...the words, is that you can read at your own pace, speeding up or slowing down as your attention waxes and wanes. And if you want to go back and check something, you can.
I'm sure this story is great, and the artwork is obviously excellent, but it drives me absolutely nuts when I'm forced to read at a slow measured pace. I'm willing to bet that this is the case for everyone but the most ardent fanboys.
Also, being unable to pause for an 18 minute stretch is awful.
My advice is that these guys collapse their production into a standard comic format, I'd love to read it then.
Thanks for the link to the Yankees. I didn't believe you until I read the link. I've never heard of the Yankees until now.
how do you explain this then?
use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
I started watching the thing expecting something ..anything... interesting to happen.
It never did.
I think I got about 1/3 of the way through it.
I wouldn't download it for free; I can't imagine paying for this. Its really really mediocre, and that's being kind. Maybe too kind.
1. A taste for lager
2. Obsession with hockey
But... that's what I said. I thought you were supposed to be disagreeing with me?
so whats wrong with that? it refers to native americans, so? do they have reddish skin? yes. is that bad? no. now if it were the honkyskins, that would be different. hehe, no i wouldnt be offended then, either, that would just be funny.
use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
Ahhhhh.... Strongbad on DVD...
... what, no, wait YES, I'm AWESOME!!
Now I can finally see Strongbadia and experience Burnination in 23 inches of crapular goodness...
Mad Magazine is notorious for this, but now that I thinl about it they were probably just parodying this style the whole time.
:)
It does make me laugh though whenever I see this type of stuff and so did your post
...unfortunately no one can be told what The Mat^H^H^HGoatse is...they must experience it for themselves...
Northern Manitoba? Shit, they should be happy to be called "Canucks" instead of "hicks" or worse, which we regularly get down here in southern Manitoba. :)
On the other hand, there's a fair number of Metis and Indians up there. I could see them being offended by "Canuck" - maybe that's the case.
Are you trying to use the word "nouveau" here? I realize the French have filled their language with a bunch of extraneous vowels in words in a devious attempt to undermine those who espouse phonics, and I'm not usually in favor of spelling pedantry, particularly on Internet forums, but that isn't even close. You need to try a bit harder so that people at least have an idea of what word you were trying to use. Then again, I suppose one facet of the "online WTF OMG BBQ generation" is that when it comes to spelling and grammar, they are t3h 5uX0r5.
Oh, wait....
Here's a direct link to the swf
Run it in Firefox, hit F11 for a nice big view of the story
Its been almost a year since the last chapters of Ninjai.. Awesome flash movie.. check it out at atomfilms.com if you have not seen them.
Peace,Love and Magic
You are using English, possibly the only language with even worse spelling rules than French.
Okay, I get 'WTF' ("Where's the fish") and the 'OMG' part ("On my goose"), but BBQ? Normally I'd guess barbeque, what with all the fish and goose references, but I'm inclinde towards "Big Beefy Quack", even though geese generally honk instead of quack. Am I missing something?
Everything you know is wrong, Just forget the words and sing along.
I dunnow, I found the quotes at the begining of each story a little pretensious, I found the main character (the programmer) a bit annoying to be honest, so in the end didn't watch all of them... some aspects of the story seemed a bit crow-barred in (ooh, lets have a character from Iraq)... overhyped to say the least (plus it flash in linux would crash my browser every now and then too... not impressed as impressed as I wanted to be overall... (
It's ironic that half the crap on Cartoon Central could easily have been produced via Flash or some other web creation medium. Gotta wonder what the cost of creation is compared to the profit they make on advertising, toys, etc... For want amounts to nothing more a Flash clip.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Take off, hoser.
Hands in my pocket
I am all those things, but i have to agree with the grandparent. i've read webcomics regularly for years, and i've seen my share of nonsensical-running-webjokes (my favorite was prolly 'ate my balls') but nothing about homestarrunner (strongbad is part of it, right?) clicks for me. i've followed any link to it ppl pass me, but i just never find the joke.
this time, for example, i followed the link to TFA, clicked the first option on the computer, and strongbad typed in blahblah_email.exe, garbage came up on his screen, and that was it. no more options, just that. wtf??
(i gotta throw in some reccommended non-mainstream webcomics, i can't resist)
http://www.whiteninjacomics.com/
http://pathet
http://www.frozenreality.co.uk/comic/b
http://www.catandgirl.com/
http://www.boasas
http://www.wilt-comic.net/
http://www.slac
http://ubersoft.ne
Really, when your shortened acronym comes out to 'bs', it's best not to use it.
I read the entire series and thought it was very good. The music and effects were erie and creepy and pulled me comepletely into the mood of the story. Having it on DVD will be great. The one complaint I had throughout production of the series was that each chapter was anywhere from 20min to more than an hour and their was no way to pause the flash player....
I agree the trailers aren't very good...
Turn down the lights and watch the first chapter from the web site.... If your not instantly hooked then I don't know, go back to watching reality t.v. or something...
I learned the term Canuck from a Canadian friend, who routinely applied it to himself and his countrymen. But that was back in the 1970s. My Canuck friends through the 80s and 90s also used it without a second thought.
:)
But I've noticed that over the past 10 years or so, "Canuck" has somehow become a "racial slur" and horribly un-PC to use, especially by a Yank!
Not that it's the first word to suffer such a demise... but it sure seems stupid, eh?
(Yes, I caught saying "eh?" from a Canadian friend. It's a pefectly good and useful way to end a sentence, for which there is no true equivalent in Yank English.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Here's another little Flash-gem: Bonus Stage. Two guys started with the animated series High Score, which only put out something like seven episodes. They then changed the artwork around and shortened the average length of the films, and called the new product Bonus Stage. http://www.bonusstages.com/
Like most other web-humor, it's pretty tongue-in-cheek and full of odd videogame references and "shark jumping." I find it to be pretty funny, and worth the time it took to watch through the archicve of 48 eps (and growing weekly.)
"Sometimes you have fun, and sometimes the fun has you"
did it leave anybody else dazed and confused???
Get your torrents...
Have you seen ALL 12 HOURS?! I have. Worst ending ever. Waste of time.
This is NOT a series about messiahs, religion, God, or the end of the world. It's a series about a mad scientist with a very flimsy pretext for having ANY power, influence, or ability to do what he does.
The entire thing builds up ideas of anti-conformity, anti-globalization, and the like, only to have the protagonists SAVE the conformist, globalized world they seem to hate so much.
Oh, and Broken Saints has nothing to do with religion unless you, the viewer, THINK it does. But it doesn't. The religious aspect is just something extra that you can put in if you have enough time to over-analyze a few simple facts.
"The end of the world as you know it is at hand." Isn't that what the trailer says? The world doesn't end, not even as you know it.
"The End is Nigh" is repeated throughout the series. No end happens.
Go watch Cowboy Bebop or read the Sandman comics. You won't regret it and it won't be as much of a colossal waste of time.
Broken Saints really was the biggest artistic disappointment in my life. I wanted so bad for it to be good, and it was, until the end. Which was so bad that it made the whole thing bad.
(The Linux scenes were cool.)
Yes.
I'm a Canadian and if you called me a Canuck I'd think nothing of it. Our hockey team (Vancouver)are called the Canucks for crying out loud.
"Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
you must check out achewood for a great online comic. also, pornborg not safe for work
why has no one mentioned Red vs Blue?
Even for the layperson, its hilarious.
Everyone should believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer.....
Cut him some slack, he is part of the new online generation...
90% Professional Slacker
Try telling that to your drill sergeant when you get drafted next year. You will quickly learn that muscle-failure push-ups are "real" "normal".
90% Professional Slacker
For the love of god, mod this up please!
pull your head out. Here are some examples that would get you killed in some parts of the world with the wrong crowds:
YellowSkins
BlackSkins
BrownSkins
Just because the US has never had any respect for their native minority, does not mean you get to call them whatever you like and feel good about yourselves as well. This accepted abboration is just indicative of that.
PS: No I am not PC, I hate the word, but I don't like racial slurs. (that goes double for publically acceptable ones) If you don't think it is, then watch any old cowboy movie and tell me they ever use the word "redskin" in a good way???
Flash cartoons are a hot item in entertainment these days.
If you recall, the original http://jibjab.com/ cartoon featuring George W. Bush and John Kerry was such a big hit that they played portions of it on cnn and almost every news organization. Afterwards, they made a sequel that the Tonight Show with Jay Leno secured the rights to premiere. You can now buy them both on DVD for $10, although I doubt they'll last very long since they're meant to lighten a certain political mood. (I don't know how much they paid for this, but it was definitely worth it. Funnier than one year of his show combined.)
Also, the creator of the hugely popular "The End of the World" was asked to make a series of advertisement flashes for nike.
The nike ads can be found here http://www.nike.com/usa/nikesphere/
ok, im in oklahoma and i have had several indian friends. that to say that im not racist at all. anyway, i just dont see all the hullabaloo about racial terms, with the exception of the deragatory form of the work 'negro'. i guess to each his own, because that one does offend me. maybe its a matter of how recent it was abused, i dont know. i dont get offended when people use the term cracker or honky. i think the majority of it is found in context. i just asked a Sioux friend of mine what he thought about it all. to summarize his points:
the terms redskin and the like are cool when referring to a sports team
the term indian is ok
native american is also ok
apple and prairie ni**er are not ok, obviously
keep in mind he cant speak for everyone, either. so, it all comes down to personal preference. if it offends somebody, dont use it unless that is your intention.
one more thing... i find it hilarious when comedians use racial slurs against their own race. i guess my opinion works best in a society without racism where those words dont cause pain. thats unfortunate... if that were the case, we could all get a good laugh at us making fun of ourselves.
use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
My first comment was in respose to "so whats wrong with that?". I found it ludicrous that someone could "not get it" when it was a colour-based phrase used by white people to refer to indians. Usually in a derogotory way and associated with a period of near genocide for the race in question.
I will assume that your list implies that your friend would not be very happy if someone referred to him as a "redskin" then? This annoys me further, since this term is obviously not acceptable, yet it is ok because a corporate sponsered sports team has been using it since it was ok to use openly racist terms. (like the horrible "gollywog"/"watermellon man" style adverts of the 20's)
The fact that a sports team chose this name during a less culturally aware period of history, does not now make it ok. If you would be insulted to be called a redskin to your face, then how can you possibly be (rationally) accepting of a brand name advertising the fact?
Not being american, the name "redskin" is tragically ironic/outrageous to me. I guess familiarity does not always breed contempt...
As for comedians, many of them use it gratuitously to get a cheap laugh (and it works), but the idea is that comedians will make fun of things that are controversial - especially sterotypes. If racism was not such a hot topic, they would not do it. I think one line of reasoning is that by laughing at how stupid these stereotypes/mentalities are, we can reason about and dismiss them. Part of the problem with racism is that people are now afraid to even discuss race as a topic.
Of course all this does is drive it underground and make people even more resentful, without changing the fundamental problems of misperception.
I'm into web comics, manga, and anime...
But, Broken Saints overdoes the dramatics and drags out the story unbearbly.
It also relies too heavily on involving stars floating around, since that seems to be the only thing they can figure out how to animate in Flash.
On top of that, the "real" art that is there at any given time is horrible. It is really terrible. My nephew can draw better, and I only just started training him to draw anime the other day.
These guys are second-rate hacks, and like another poster pointed out, I can't see anyone bothering to buy this. Though, perhaps the DVD will be of a much more refined caliber. Somehow, I doubt it though.
In addition, having to read entire chapters at a speed they determined was best really ruined it for me. They had this great medium through which to present their art, and they decide to make it dull.
They should have dubbed the lines, they should have animated it, and they should have cleaned up their pencil work.
IMHO if you aren't going to animate, then you don't need Flash or any other moving media. Simply, present it in storyboard form.
'Nuff said.
You have to check out End of the World. Not having seen that is almost as bad as not seeing Strongbad. It's an interesting view on how the world will end. Here's the link http://www.endofworld.net/ It does take a long time to load.
The term "Yankee" is also offensive to fans of the Boston Red Sox under certain circumstances(i.e. during baseball season, or in any conversation related to baseball or sports in general).
Broken Saints seems like an interesting series. Has anyone found the password for the B.T.S.? Any hints as to which game contains (or does not contain) the password? Thanks.
The games and B.T.S. can be found under the A/V sub menu on the original Broken Saints site
*Puts flame retardant suit on*
I usually refer to myself as a Canuckistani. (From the People's Republic of Canuckistan). ;)
LOL!! Now why doesn't it show up in my atlas? Maybe if I find one from before the end of the Empire... ;)
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
But it doesn't list quicksmart. ;)
Dark Horse Entertainment is going to produce a comic book in 2005.
p hp?id=988#
more info:
http://www4.discreet.com/showandtell/showandtell.
I've been following Broken Saints for probably two years now, back when they'd only completed the sixth chapter. I don't read any other web comics, but this one seemed to play more like a movie for me. For how much their presence on the web has grown, based only on the quality of the movies, makes them deserved of some credit. I'll be buying the DVD just so I can hear that soundtrack coming through the TV speakers.