At one point, I may or may not have philosophized that a truly blessed world was one in which a printed collection of Penny Arcade existed. Within this fictional universe, cults of idolaters worshipping the almighty Wang roamed the streets preaching their massive growth potential, while children who played violent videogames were no longer judged for their interests, and were left to murder, pillage, maim and sunder entirely uninhibited by the frightened masses. This was a world where Red and Blue not only coexist but attempt to completely blow one another out of f’ing existence. That world is here.
Attack of the Bacon Robots is the first volume of printed Penny Arcade comic strips, collecting their first two years of web-comics that were published online from 1998 until the end of 2000. The comics are printed in wonderful quality, and in a perfect typical format of two strips at the top of each page, with commentary at the bottom. The commentary by author Jerry “Tycho” Holkins provides often hilarious information about each individual comic and generally gives us insight into the thoughts and process behind creating a Penny Arcade comic. In addition, however, many of the comments are simply Tycho’s gut reactions to re-reading his comics, typically displaying his utter disgust for his early works. Also included are a nice sized introduction and a Treatise on Web-comics, both of which serve to widen the door into the insane world of the Penny Arcade creators and further entertain the reader. It seems they have made an editorial decision to exclude any artist commentary from Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, opting instead to include an entirely too small sketchbook section that is really just some pencil drawings of artwork found elsewhere in the book.
The most fascinating aspect of this collection is Penny Arcades unfathomable ability to sell us something which we have almost complete access to for free online. They have taken the fight against piracy and completely kicked it in the groin, rather then giving us something we could pay for at no cost; they are printing, packaging, and selling something which is already openly and easily accessed. Albeit the commentary and sketches are not available online, they are really only a sub-plot to the comics that drive the collection and their entire enterprise forward. It seems almost a scam if they do not include Tycho’s accompanying news posts with future volumes, as many point out they are generally as entertaining as the comics themselves. This collection has some damn funny comics in it, and as Penny Arcade has grown to literally astronomical proportions amongst the gaming and nerdesque sub-cultures, it serves as the perfect coffee-table book for any home that knows and loves Penny Arcade. The pleasant taste of purchasing this book is sweetened by the modest and extremely reasonable cover price of $12.95, putting it below many typical trade paperbacks of equal size.
Assuming they continue to publish their work in bi-annual volumes or even a single year to a volume, which would allow for more written content, this will serve as the most important and revolutionary. The first few months of the comics existence was, as the creators most likely consider it, a dark time compared to the jubilation that surrounds their work at present. The artwork was not horrible, but certainly nothing extraordinary, and was more of a simple vessel for the gleaming humor that shone through. By the end of the second year, their comics had become not only very well designed and illustrated, but also expertly written and conceptualized for maximum amusement. Volume one is truly the place where their development can be seen, just from looking at the very first comic and the last one presented, as well as looking at the cover which was done over four years after the newest comic in the collection, you can see how they grew and developed as artists and storytellers in amazing ways.
While some of the commentary and the sketchbook section are a bit disappointing and one-sided, the simple act of binding such a large quantity of awesome content into a single volume can only result in mad ravening akin to that found upon reading from the Necronomicon. Indeed each copy was probably bound in sub-zero temperatures, and tested upon lab mice and various primates for its maddening and destructive properties before distributed to the masses of humanity for instant consumption. Overall this is a spectacular look back at the history of some of our champions of the internet, and it is definitely a recommended addition to everyone’s coffee tables and book shelves.
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