The first episode of Penny Arcade’s Strip Search is up.  This first episode introduces our players but doesn’t really give much insight into the types of challenges they will face in the weeks to come.  The production quality is certainly top notch and very much in line with other reality programming that you can find on any cable channel.

There’s an evil genius to all of this.  Penny Arcade has been dabbling with the reality format since the launch of PATV.  As a webcartoonist, I found the look behind the screen absolutely fascinating.  Seeing how Mike and Jerry work, listening to Robert talk about building the PA empire, the new hire episodes, it’s all bloody brilliant.  PATV gives such an intimate look into their lives that even though I’ve never met them in real life, I feel like I have a personal connection with them.

PATV is genius.  People connect with video so much more intimately than with blog posts.  I rarely read what Mike or Jerry write on the site, but anytime a new video pops up, I’m instantly clicking.  And because they are really the only web cartoonists doing a reality show, in some ways, they are the face of webcomics.  And now with Strip Search, that is more true than ever.

Strip Search is pretty much Penny Arcade planting their flag in the dirt to declare that they are the standard by which all others are to be judged.  It’s kinda fucking true.  They are the biggest damn fish in the sea.  No other webcomic has created a trade show like PAX or launched a charity like Child’s Play.  Within the industry and outside the industry, Penny Arcade IS webcomics.

Though I’m kind of intrigued to see what ridiculous shit the contestants will have to go through (also slightly worried for them), I’m actually more interested in what happens after.  The winner gets $12,000 and join the PA empire for a year giving them access to all their resources including Rober Khoo.  That’s probably worth more than the money.  He certainly knows how to grow a business.  Will the winner truly go on to be a super star webcartoonist?  Will they be able to sustain their gains when their year under the PA umbrella is over?

I suspect a lot of us webcartoonists will be keeping an eye on Strip Search.

Book 2 is entitled The Client is Always.  The obvious way to finish that sentence is the old adage, “The client is always right.”  So I’m interested in hearing how you’d finish that sentence.  I’ll use some of your answers in a double page spread at the beginning of the book as sort of a wallpaper text graphic.

Oh, please keep your answers to one or two words.

Fuuuuuuuuuuck, now I need to make bubble tea songs!!!!

I kinda need some bubble tea now.

I’ve been staring at this fucking thing for hours trying to suss out the humor in calling a nine-year-old just nominated for Best Actress a cunt.  The only thing I can figure is that Quvenzhane Wallis is such an adorable sweetheart that calling her anything but is obviously a joke.  I guess?

Nope.

Even in our enlightened new millennium, women deal with sexism on a near daily basis.  Women in the public eye, even more so.  I kind of get that the Onion was making fun of the culture that gets so wrapped up in the gossipy he said/she said bullshit of Hollywood and award shows, but this thoughtless quip of a tweet comes off as just more malicious gossip.  Also, Quvenzhane is nine!  She’s not even a woman yet and she has to deal with this bullshit!

The fucked up thing is that this kind of shit is just going to get worse as Quvenzhane gets older.  The more movies she stars in, the more she’s in the spotlight, the more haters will throw shade at her.  It’s sad to think that cunt may be one of the more tame things she’ll be called.  So I guess in some way, the Onion’s little joke is a fucked up introduction to things that are to come.  But I’m sure she has the strength to ignore the haters and just go on being as awesome as she is.

Really disappointed in the Onion.

UPDATE: The Onion Apologizes

The Onion issued a statement apologizing to Quvenzhane.  I’ll quote:

Dear Readers,

On behalf of The Onion, I offer my personal apology to Quvenzhané Wallis and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the tweet that was circulated last night during the Oscars. It was crude and offensive—not to mention inconsistent with The Onion’s commitment to parody and satire, however biting.

No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire.

The tweet was taken down within an hour of publication. We have instituted new and tighter Twitter procedures to ensure that this kind of mistake does not occur again.

In addition, we are taking immediate steps to discipline those individuals responsible.

Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry.

Sincerely,

Steve Hannah
CEO
The Onion

Very classy, Onion.  And now I find sick humor in the fact that a CEO named Steve has to apologize for an employee being a shithead.

I am continually impressed with the quality of cosplay in the last few years. I don’t even know what half of this shit is, but it’s amazing to see how much loving work goes into each of these pieces. Makes me want to come up with something.

This is Beatdown Boogie’s highlight reel of some of the awesome cosplayers from Katsucon this past weekend. It feels like I was at a different show because I didn’t see any of these people! That’s what I get for being tucked away in artist alley all weekend. They’re also doing a series of video features on cosplayers.