Posts Tagged ‘comic’

Finding the Funny – Penny-Arcade

For those of you who don’t know what Penny-Arcade is, you’re missing out.  Penny-Arcade is a gaming related comic, touching on topics from Ubisoft’s new (and some would say idiotic) DRM, to Dungeons and Dragons, to social commentary to Star Wars.  They publish comics three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, along with a blog which relates to the comic.  Unfortunately, as is the case with XKCD, sometimes I am just oblivious to the joke.  Fortunately, however, they are not in the same physics and science humor section.

The comic’s creators are represented by characters withing the comic, Jerry Holkins (“Tycho”, and the written genius) and by Mike Krahulik (“Gabe” and the artistic genius).  While I never met either of them, I do know someone who knows someone who said they know them, so I feel like we’ve met.  While I do enjoy their comic, they have really earned my respect through their Child’s Play charity.  According to wikiepedia they’ve raised over 6 MILLION dollars in cash and gifts for children hospital’s.  That’s amazing.

So, on top of being gut-busting hilarious at times, they are also damned serious about helping kids.  What isn’t there to love?

Finding the Funny – XKCD

XKCD

This week on Finding the Funny : XKCD.  I have no idea what it means.. not even Wikipedia knows what XKCD means.  Well, “the comic’s name has no particular significance and is simply a four-letter word without a phonetic pronunciation”, is the best we get.  I’ve had loads of fun trying to pronounce “xkcd” (ex-kud?.. ex-kac-ed?…).

XKCD has been keeping me amused for a good long while now.  While painfully aware of the scientific humor on the site, or, more accurately, painfully aware at my lack of understanding said scientific humor of many of the panels, overall this comic is great.  In the middle of a science joke he’ll toss in something (like the electric eel and other funny stuff in his electrical diagram, do they really use those?…)

At other times the science is used in a more.. touching.. manner.  I mean, comeon, how sweetis that?  Have YOU ever slowed the rotation of the Earth just to spend more time with someone?  Or, in Superman’s case, to stop someone’s death?  I sure haven’t…

The last thing I’ll bring up is the alt-text associated with the strips.  If you hover over them you’ll get a little bonus text… This usually helps illuminate the joke (if you’re scientifically dis-inclined like myself).  Personally I feel a bit embarassed because I didn’t know about this until a friend mentioned it a good year or two into reading XKCD… after that the strips made a LOT more sense.

So there you go, check out XKCD for some funny, enlightening, sometimes confusing, heartwarming and all around good comics.