The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
[PA Comic] Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - Cliffhanger
Geth
LegionPerseus VeilRegistered User, Moderator, Penny Arcade Staff, Vanilla Staff vanilla
LegionPerseus VeilRegistered User, Moderator, Penny Arcade Staff, Vanilla Staff vanilla
Posts
It certainly seems that way. Mike said he wanted to redesign him, and it has been about 3 years since his last appearance.
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
took me a couple reads to figure out that
Yeah, I'm going to wait this time too. The wait between episodes for The Walking Dead was excrutiating.
Gamer Dater - My Video Game Dating Website full of Faygo
Strip Search Wastebasket of Broken Dreams App I made
In the most recent episode of the podcast, Mike and Jerry are going over the list of comics they currently have in the queue ("Comic A will run next Monday, comic B will run next Friday, comic C will run the Monday after that..."). It was a little disappointing to hear, because as long as I've been reading Penny Arcade, they haven't had a queue-- it was incompatible with the idea of the comic being a sort of editorial cartoon for current events in the gaming industry. Hearing that they now have a queue was a confirmation that Mike and Jerry no longer think of Penny Arcade as that kind of comic.
Of course, I wouldn't presume to tell them what the direction of their comic should be, or anything like that. I just wish they would be a little more open about that change.
Also sometimes their comics get written straight out of their conversations, so it's pretty easy to have those banked. You hear them write the comic about Tycho writing the novel on the fly in about 30 seconds.
I think that was simply to cover the hiatus of post-PAX vacation. Which podcast episode are you referring to?
Edit: If you are referring to the "Holding Court" episode, the list they refer to aren't comics but comic ideas that they have stored in "The File". The only completed comic they say they have in the can is the Father one.
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
It was the episode that released yesterday (World War Why). I apologize; I forgot that those aren't available to the public until two weeks after they come out for backers.
I'm listening now, I was saving it for whilst I was in the East queue.
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
Good luck!
Cheers. Badge Acquired. So, to business.
I'm going to guess that the reason for being so far ahead might actually have been to do with Jerry's Dad, rather than the post-PAX retreat. Given the comics in hand, it makes sense.
The idea of them having a queue is a shock to them, too. I don't think it was necessarily planned with a view to permanence. Just that with their current events list, it makes sense to have some breathing space in case they need it. Turns out that if you listen carefully and look at the archive at the same time, you can see they bump the strips in-hand for the created one.
And then they proceed to write World War Why.
Now look in the archive. World War Why, How Do Writings, The Intrusion Of Actual Life (Cancer strip), The Cylorg Menace (BSG). They bumped them for the fresh one, and that is because those strips can be more flexible. You can actually hear them lay out the bones of How Do Writings about 4 minutes in.
I think they are just being more efficient with harvesting of material. Remember the old days when The File would consists of random phrases that were funny when wriiten, but lacking context later meant nothing to either of them and so were possibly lost gems?
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
So after all my speculative writing I am beaten to the punch by an inside source. Bah.
Although, Vindication, I guess. BTW, @Jamie, can you do more Thornwatch write-ups? Maybe some Tales from the Table? It would be great to hear your take on it.
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
It's in canon.
Actually that's the best way to purplish a web comic, to have some spare strips, especially should something unexpected happen. Like it or not, Penny Arcade is a franchise and should be threaded professionally. It only shows, that they are serious about it - and that is a good thing. Lots of other comic artists still thread their creation as side project, even after it became their main source of income, with lots of hiatuses and unsteady release schedules.