strange radiation: the pool of radiance archive
Adventures with an unreliable narrator.
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Nov 7 07: hey, kids! comics!
I think my subconscious has something going on at the moment. I mean, I sleep with a bite plate in my mouth, because I tend to clench my jaw in my sleep? (And not infrequently at other times, but you get the idea.) And this morning I woke up to the sound of a loud pop! as I put a crack along the central axis of the bite plate between my back right molars.
Hoo boy. Sooner or later I’m going to have to have a little talk with my head. But in the shorter term, I’m going to have to see the dentist and get a new bite plate before my teeth start coming loose again. And hey! I don’t have dental insurance any more! Whee!
It’s times like these that we have to go looking for things that make us happy. In today’s episode: places to find some of my favorite comics creators online. w00t.
- Girl Genius
- Phil and Kaja Foglio’s fabulous tales of Agatha Heterodyne, mad scientist. Steampunk extravaganza set in a Victorian-era Europe in which the industrial revolution turned into all-out war. Updated Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
- Narbonic
- Shaenon Garrity’s fabulous tales of Helen B. Narbon, mad scientist. Death rays! Time travel! Overbearing moms! Superintelligent gerbils! The strip ran its original form from 2000 to 2006; you can read the whole thing in one go (and be careful, because you might even if you don’t intend to), or you can check in every day for the “Director’s Cut,” with commentary from the cartoonist. Updated daily.
- Larry Marder’s New Blog
- Once upon a time there was a brilliant, visionary, sui generis, criminally underappreciated comic book called Tales of the Beanworld. Its creator, Larry Marder, describes it as “an ecological romance.” Scott McCloud once said it was like watching the ant farm on Doctor Strange’s kitchen counter. Anyway, TotB petered out years ago, its expanding exploration of the complicated interdependence of the Beanworld’s inhabitants derailed by its creator’s day job. And an all-too-few mourned its passing. But now! Larry quit his job! And he’s working on new stuff! Yay! And while he puts the final touches on the new next issue, he’s keeping a blog. It makes me so happy to know he’s out there and that there will be new stories someday. You have no idea.
- Buck Godot, Zap Gun for Hire
- Space guns and bad puns and the adventures of a detective and all-around troubleshooter on the planet of New Hong Kong. He’s always available, but never free. Phil and Kaja Foglio published this, too, as a couple of comic-book short stories, one longer graphic novel, and then an ongoing series called “The Gallimaufry.” The Foglios are now releasing the Godot pages three days a week as a webcomic. The Gallimaufry’s re-run has just started, and it’s well worth getting onboard. Go! Read! (Unless you’re a kid. Buck’s world includes more than a few hookers with hearts of gold. A number of scenes take place at an establishment called the Velvet Fist. ‘Nuff said.) Updates Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
- Gorey/Tribbles
- Oh, and Shaenon Garrity did this thing not too long ago: a mindbending mashup of Edward Gorey’s pseudo-Edwardian absurdism and the Star Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Because obviously somebody had to do it. You know?