Signs, portents, and other overly dramatic stuff...

Much like how "Cloverfield" just released a poster and let the world speculate, here's the logo and proto-cast of a new webcomic I'm starting over at the soon-to-be-launched site, CrispyGamer.com. I'm all set to use this 3-day a week feature to give my take on video games as well as to play with another hapless cast. I believe they're going to put the site up this month, so check back soon and let me know what'cha think!

I might have to make mention of this in the strip: Apparently, the next Soul Caliber game is getting Darth Vader and Yoda (you gotta see the screenshots. Vader, like Batman, belongs in his natural environment or he loses significant amounts of 'cool'). I wonder what the other choices were that didn't make the cut?

Update: There's a trailer featuring our two force-users. Are all the swords magical in Soul Caliber? If not, shouldn't the light sabers just slice 'em like butter?

In other comic news, I'm going to start updating the Nodwick section of the website three days a week with pages from the Nodwick comic book! This will give readers a chance to catch the long-form story arcs, be introduced to the rest of the supporting cast, and let me do a few new stories interspersed between chapters here and there (kind of like what Phil and Kaja do from time to time over at Girl Genius). FFN will still update here every Thursday (or late Wednesday, if you tell time like I tend to) and at IESB.net every Wednesday (or late Tuesday, etc., etc.).

And somewhere in all that I'm supposed to play enough video games to make fun of them. I think I'll have to get on Gamefly or something. That way, even if I like a game, it doesn't stick around long enough to sink its claws into my free time... right?

A little warning to keep an eye on your credit info. "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson learned the hard way about bank fraud. In addition, to all you bargain hounds out there, Geeks.com got hacked and customer data was stolen, so if you've used their site before, you might want to review your credit card statements.

Now here's something I wouldn't mind seeing broadcast in America: The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. That clip is from last year, but it's still a scream. The other parts are under "related videos." Much like "Have I Got News for You," it does topical political/pop culture humor in a quiz-style format. I think that's what's missing from our shows here in the U.S.: We're not grading performances. I think we'd get better efforts out of our comics and celebs if they were graded after their appearances by a quizmaster, don't you?

This Week in Links:

- If you, like me, drooled over the 3-D resin Settlers of Catan treasure chest, you can follow these directions and sculpt your own tiles for whatever game you want! It might make "Betrayal at the House on the Hill" a little hard to shuffle, though...
- Fans of Portal and Half-Life should check out the Valve store. I'm thinking that plush headcrab would make a spiffy hat.
- A little semi-educational music from They Might Be Giants: The Mesopotamians! I think Hammurabi is so dreamy...
- The wife and I discovered that aquarium-tending might not be for us (or the fish, for that matter), but this setup makes me want to try again.
- I'm not sure if I need one of these, but I'd sure like to try using one.
- Finally, someone's taken air guitar to the next logical step and made it portable, too! Now if only I could slim down to where a belt buckle would look good on me...
- For those with short attention spans (as well as being able to tolerate the occasional groaner of a joke), here's a collection of 5 second films using the criteria of an Apple film contest (see "about this video" for what they had to include).
- Some Gaiman for your viewing pleasure: Here, Neil discusses the works of H.P. Lovecraft and has some pretty good analysis. His description of how they end ("...as I write this...") reminds me of a lot of the quotes at bash.org where someone might claim their house was on fire and was taking the time to type about it on IRC. :)
- YES! Fancy Pants World 2 is complete! This is probably my favorite flash platformer to date.
- Feast your eyes on the Gaslamp Justice League. I wonder who'd win in a fight with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?
- Okay, this one takes a bit of setup. Firstly, there is a downloadable game called I Wanna Be The Guy. It's gaining popularity and a lot of work was put into it. However, it is nigh impossible to win. If you undertake this homage to every 8-bit game you've ever endured, plan to devote more time to it than you did studying for finals. This is a YouTube vid of one person's best run through. If it looks like something you can accomplish, I salute you and wish you godspeed!
- And let's end on some Muppets: To Morrow, starring muppet versions of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson.