[Strip Search] Finale Out, Congrats to the Winner! SPOILERS UNMARKED

Ms Dapper · May 2013

Strip Search is a web reality series made by Penny Arcade. It pits top web comic artists against each other as they compete for $15,000 in cash and a year integrated into the Penny Arcade machine. Everyone's friends and it's pretty cool.

Spoilers are allowed untagged so make sure to watch the new episode every Tuesday and Friday.

Newest Episode

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWHIiECix_0

The Remaining Artists:

Abby Howard likes cats and tangents.

Katie Rice works for Nickelodeon.

Maki Naro is a pineapple.

KalTorak · May 2013

people were posting their favorite Abby strips in the old thread

goddamnit Abby is so fucking funny

Sara Lynn · May 2013

distinct lack of Katie Rice art, tbh

DancingCasey · May 2013

The next pick is going to be brutal.

otherrobert · May 2013

Aneurhythmia brought up in the old thread that Mike and Jerry did seem to disagree on an early elimination. I think that was Katie/Ty. I think Jerry was trying to argue, albeit briefly, that Ty's comic was better because of the quality of writing. Then Mike deflected that Jerry would like a joke that was purely about semantics and inflection and they started talking in terms of more generalized reactions. The edit favored Katie's comic because of the quality of the art but it seemed like the one time that Mike and Jerry weren't immediately drawn to the same thing.

They both went back and forth on Lexxy/Tavis because the comics were so strong but they had the same positive things to say about both comics. There really hasn't been a scenario where they both loved opposite comic and had to compromise. 15 years of working on the same aesthetic tends to do that to a creative team.

One thing they definitely agree on is that Monica and Abby are nothing like their stand-ups. Abby can draw and Monica is a living troll (and I appreciate her contribution to the fine art of reality TV gifs).

PikaPuff · May 2013

Since the thread title doesn't suggest it anymore, I would like the OP to mention how these threads don't require spoiler tags.

Tallaclassee · May 2013

Starting to think Abby wins out. Mike was genuinely floored by the cumulative effort of her two elimination comics.

Cambiata · May 2013

My new prediction is that Abby and Katie will be the final two, and that Abby will ultimately win. Katie is insanely talented, but the sheer waves of funny coming off of Abby seem difficult to defeat.

PikaPuff · May 2013

Therre isn't a winner yet correct? All I'm willing to guess is that Abby is a finalist. But really these last four, I don't mind who wins.

Coinage · May 2013

Tallaclassee wrote: »

Starting to think Abby wins out. Mike was genuinely floored by the cumulative effort of her two elimination comics.

I have to wonder if one reason they've found her comics so funny (besides that they really are funny) is that since she's drawing traditionally, they can't really see the comic as she's working on it, while the joke of the digital comics has to be at least partially spoiled.

Astraphobia · May 2013

I went on a binge reading Abby's crumblix today. As a lab monkey (who just finished taking organic chemistry) I can attest to the horror of tests in that class. I tried to figure out the molecule in one of them, but the individual elements were hard to make out.

Bucho · May 2013

Coinage wrote: »

Tallaclassee wrote: »

Starting to think Abby wins out. Mike was genuinely floored by the cumulative effort of her two elimination comics.

I have to wonder if one reason they've found her comics so funny (besides that they really are funny) is that since she's drawing traditionally, they can't really see the comic as she's working on it, while the joke of the digital comics has to be at least partially spoiled.

I think they see all the comics as they're drawn no matter the technique. Mike wanders around the room during the arting and to me it seems like there's a camera over each artists's shoulder which projects to the monitors behind them, so it seems very likely Jerry and Mike are up with the play throughout the process.

Xehalus · May 2013

Abby is amazing

I'm in love

UnbrokenEva · May 2013

Xehalus wrote: »

Abby is amazing

I'm in love

Her long-term plan is working then.

ultraexactzz · May 2013

My only disappointment in this show is how little of it I can watch with my aspiring-artist daughter. So much fun. (And she is firmly Team Tangent, too!)

Sterica · May 2013

Abby is the dark horse.

VoproSTEIN · May 2013

My predictions for next elimination is Katie vs Maki, that is if Katie doesn't win another elimination challenge. Would really love to see what Maki can pull off because I haven't seen much of his stuff.

Sterica · May 2013

Based on what was said at the end of the episode, it seems like there might be a shift in the format now that we're down to four.

VoproSTEIN · May 2013

I could see that. The only reality tv show I watch is Face Off, and they always do a final elimination challenge when they get to the last four or five people.

Avraham · May 2013

Rorus Raz wrote: »

Based on what was said at the end of the episode, it seems like there might be a shift in the format now that we're down to four.

That would be interesting! I figured he just meant the challenges would be more complex and taxing than autographs or ping pong.

otherrobert · May 2013

I know they haven't said otherwise, but I have to imagine they have the winner chosen by now. There isn't a live event coming up for Penny Arcade where they could do the reveal in person to a small crowd or live stream the ceremony without taking a huge break in the schedule. The edit is putting a lot of weight on two of the contestants, which usually suggests who the finalists are at this point in a reality show. At least there aren't any mute until eliminated non-confessional having contestants on this show; Mac came the closest and he had a lot of really funny featured moments before the elimination.

No matter how you split it, we'll know the winner soon enough. I'm really excited. I like all of the finalists that are left. Abby is hilarious. Katie has fantastic art. Lexxy could build a big audience with those black and white loose illustration cartoons. Maki is a really clever writer. I'm still Team Tangent even with Abby declaring her hatred for theatre, my teaching profession.

Cat and theatre could have produced some great comics. Go beyond Cats by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Seussical had The Cat in the Hat and it was just as laughable on face value. Jim Davis has threatened the world for years with a Garfield musical. Drat, the Cat! was basically an unlicensed Catwoman musical written by the guy who wrote Rosemary's Baby. There's the literal Cat on a Hot Tin Roof concept, as well. Catcalls are a tradition predating Shakespeare where the audience boos and taunts the actors onstage. Theatre is filled with cat references.

Cats are vicious manipulators who defend themselves by being so cute and huggable. I see MacBeth, Madea, The Oresteia, Faust, even Sweeney Todd as possible inspirations. A cat just got replaced in the short-lived Broadway production of Breakfast at Tiffany's because it refused to play nice onstage. Show business shorthand always says never work with children and animals; cats are a cross between the worst traits of both. Annie retold with a cat named Sandy would be a very different show--could he resist the temptation of killing a man named Rooster just for the fun of it? I could go on.

VoproSTEIN · May 2013

Shakespeare's Hamlet, performed entirely by cats.

They just sit their licking themselves.

The crowd goes wild.

Raslin · May 2013

Although I am hardly going to challenge the validity of the competition, there does seem to be an inherent bonus to people who are more used to certain comics. Obviously, it's not geared towards anyone, but Abby with cats? It was her elimination to lose.

I dunno, I feel like the next eliminations will be decided by who can come up with the funnier joke more quickly with odd topics. Yes, that's the point. But I'm not sure that's indicative of who's the better cartoonist. I'd almost like a 15 minute pre-elim after choosing, where both artists get to think about the joke without being able to draw anything. But, I love the show, so I won't complain

DarkPrimus · May 2013

There is like a fifteen minute period after choosing the words, while they get the mediums and stuff set up for the artists to work. Get your Photoshop settings set and all that. They just cut that out because it doesn't make for interesting television.

Klendy · May 2013

Man, I just want Maki to go up for elim again, because I think his comics are boss hogg.

Raslin · May 2013

DarkPrimus wrote: »

There is like a fifteen minute period after choosing the words, while they get the mediums and stuff set up for the artists to work. Get your Photoshop settings set and all that. They just cut that out because it doesn't make for interesting television.

I thought there might be, but I wasn't sure. Was it ever mentioned somewhere official?

Morblitz · May 2013

Pretty sure it was said in the Strip Search panel at the latest PAX? There's a video of it around here somewhere. Either that or one of the contestants that posts here mentioned that they get a bit of time to set themselves up.

KalTorak · May 2013

Maybe the most impressive thing about Abby's stuff is how well the style she chooses matches the joke. The jokes she uses on her strip depend a lot on the exaggerated expressions, which are even funnier in the simpler context of the rest of the art.

In contrast, her Sherlock Holmes strip depended more on Holmes' proper, unflappable demeanor. The joke still would have been funny in her strip art style, but choosing a more realistic, prim & proper style sharpened the joke a whole lot.

The joke in the most recent elimination strip is more in the vein of her regular comic, with great expressions and absurdities delivering the punch, so that style reemerges.

Just really, really impressive.

fightinfilipino · May 2013

Raslin wrote: »

Obviously, it's not geared towards anyone, but Abby with cats? It was her elimination to lose.

she might have had the upper hand from previous practice for sure.

Xehalus · May 2013

'tis bittersweet

Stilts · May 2013

The only stipper I don't mind losing at this point is Katie.

After that I'm probably gonna start crying.

Gosling · May 2013

If I had to pick, I might go with Katie as the next to go. She did win two early on, but the first was against Alex- who really came up with much the same sort of joke she did and lost because Katie's joke and art were far more polished- and the second was against Ty, where she escaped in a someone-had-to-win decision. The other three have had more impressive showings against stronger competition.

But this assumes she doesn't continue her immunity run. Which isn't a given; she's on a hot streak in challenges.

PwnanObrien · May 2013

Thanks to this OP I've read some of Katie's comic.

If you think she's not a contender you are a fool and a chump.

Prolegomena · May 2013

Xehalus wrote: »

'tis bittersweet

I said exactly that to our murderous bastard cat last night.

Morblitz · May 2013

Alex had the same sort of joke that Katie had? Well yeah, because of themes pulled from a waste basket. That was about where the similarities ended, though.

That comic is what made me a solid Katie fan. I thought it was terrific.

romangoro · May 2013

I've been a fan of Katie since that comic too, and the only elimination that I found hard to watch was the second one, because I'd have hated for her to lose. However, I've just read that comic again and I think it doesn't stand a chance against either of Abby's.

So again, is whether they get inspired that night or not.

Morblitz · May 2013

I'm hoping that any gap in quality between say, Abby's recent thunderpunch of a comic, and Katie's first comic is due to how early her thunderdomes took place in the competition when everyone was really unsure of themselves and wondering if it was all some kind of dream, or a mean prank. So yeah, hopefully she's grown more confident in her ability since then and we'll see what she can really do.

I also thought her second comic was really funny and didn't understand at all how it was a decision over 'which one was the less bad'. Although I didn't think acknowledging the show in the comic (much like Alex did) was the right move, I think she made it work.

Taramoor · May 2013

I now have two moments that I think belong in some kind of highlight reel. The first is the conversation before Lexxy comes back, which is hilarious, and the second is Mike reading Abby's Cat/Car comic.

Peter Ebel · May 2013

I gotta say, Abby is probably the best gag writer, though none of them are bad and everyone can win, but Katie's style just oozes charm and personality. It makes me laugh less, but I like it more.

#pipe · May 2013

Went to VanCaf today.

AmErika%20sketch.jpg

#pipe · May 2013

I considered getting the ladies to draw themselves as ghosts at a birthday party, but thought that was a little too complicated.

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[Strip Search] Finale Out, Congrats to the Winner! SPOILERS UNMARKED

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