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Penny Arcade's CGW Interview
1up is running an interview with the Penny Arcade guys, originally done for Computer Gaming World. They talk comics, the industry, Harlan Ellison, and (of course) games. From the article: "Jerry Holkins: My favorite quote comes from this one strip where I say 'Fetch it, and gaze upon your ruined world.' I'm not sure that anybody else really pays attention to that particular comic strip, but it's called 'They Hailed From Canadon,' and it's just this...it starts out in this weird, Penny Arcade way, but it has these spacefaring dogmen that for some reason really do it for me. I don't know why."
Harlan is a lot like me (and many other geeks), in that we can often be opinionated, blunt assholes who insist their current view is the right one, and will defend it with passion and vigor. It isn't because we don't think we could be wrong, but because we rarely offer opinions without some serious thought behind them. This turns off a lot of "ordinary" folks (and even some of the geekier ones), who are so insecure about their own beliefs that they can't really wrap their head around someone else who is so secure in theirs. And those people don't like to be shown to be wrong, either; it just makes them hurt and hostile.
I knew all this and read all the stories about Harlan before I ever talked to the man, and when I finally did spend an hour with him chatting and discussing various topics, I treated him with a little common courtesy and respect and he was completely charming and reasonable. We squabbled over a couple of points, had some good laughs, and we both came away having enjoyed our conversation.
Yes, the man will bite your hand off if you stick your finger in his eye, and while watching him get riled up may be amusing, one should not then complain about his temperment. If the PA guys had been nice to him, he would have been nice in turn. I'm sure the PA guys can thoroughly understand this, too.
Bruce
PA is about as funny as any other comic strip one would find in their newspaper. They just happen to concentrate on games.
I wonder if the people who laugh at PA are the same people who make Two and a Half Men the "number one" sitcom in America. Judging from the overwhelmingly corny forum posters I would be inclined to say yes.