Penny Arcade (webcomic)
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''Penny Arcade'' is a
webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...
focused on video games and
video game culture Video game culture is a worldwide new media subculture formed by video gamers. As video games have exponentially increased in popularity over time, they have had a significant influence on popular culture. Video game culture has also evolved with ...
, written by
Jerry Holkins Jerry Holkins (born Parkinson"Holkins is a combination of Holcomb (hers) and Parkinson (mine)." https://twitter.com/TychoBrahe/status/12073336701; February 6, 1976) is an American writer. He is the co-creator and writer of the webcomic '' Penny A ...
and illustrated by
Mike Krahulik Michael Krahulik (; born September 25, 1977) is an American artist for the webcomic '' Penny Arcade'' and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker ...
. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic strip each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The comics are accompanied by regular updates on the site's blog. ''Penny Arcade'' has been among the most popular and longest running webcomics currently online, listed in 2010 as having 3.5 million readers. Holkins and Krahulik were among the first webcomic creators successful enough to make a living from their work.MacDonald, Heidi (December 19, 2005). "Web Comics: Page Clickers to Page Turners; It's like manga five or six years ago". ''Publishers Weekly'', p. 24. In addition to the comic, Holkins and Krahulik also created Child's Play, a children's charity;
PAX Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...
, a gaming convention; Penny Arcade TV, a
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel; Pinny Arcade, a pin exchange; and the
episodic video game An episodic video game is a video game of a shorter length that is commercially released as an installment to a continuous and larger series. Episodic games differ from conventional video games in that they often contain less content but are develo ...
'' Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness'' with
Hothead Games Hothead Games Inc. is an independent Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. History The studio was founded in 2006 by Steve Bocska, Vlad Ceraldi and Joel DeYoung, all three of which were formerly employed by Radical Entertainment. ...
and
Zeboyd Games Zeboyd Games is a Indie developer of 8-bit and 16-bit-style indie role-playing games . Zeboyd is run and its games are created by Robert Boyd and William Stiernberg. The studio got its start with ''Breath of Death VII'' and ''Cthulhu Saves the W ...
.


Overview

The strip features Krahulik and Holkins' cartoon
alter egos An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...
, John "Gabe" Gabriel and Tycho Brahe, respectively. While often borrowing from the authors' experiences, Holkins and Krahulik do not treat them as literal
avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
s or
caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
s of themselves. The two characters spend much of their time playing and commenting on computer and video games, which forms the basis of the humor in the strip. Most of the time Gabe serves the purpose of the comic and Tycho the
comic foil A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...
. The strip can feature in-jokes that are explained in the news posts accompanying each comic, written by the authors. Both Krahulik and Holkins make a living from ''Penny Arcade'', placing them in a small group of professional webcomic artists devoted to their creations full-time. Originally, like many webcomics, ''Penny Arcade'' was supported solely by donations. A graph on the main page indicated how much people had donated that month. After hiring
Robert Khoo Robert Khoo was the President of Operations and Business Development of '' Penny Arcade'' from 2002 until 2016. He was the Business Manager for the company and the Show Director for PAX, the largest consumer gaming show in the United States. Kho ...
as their business manager, Holkins and Krahulik switched to a different income stream based on advertising and merchandise revenue alone. According to Holkins, the website in 2006 handled more than two million
pageviews In web analytics and website management, a pageview or page view, abbreviated in business to PV and occasionally called page impression, is a request to load a single HTML file ( web page) of an Internet site. On the World Wide Web, a page request ...
daily (excluding forum traffic). On November 13, 2005, the website was given a facelift in celebration of their seventh year running and to match the designs of the Child's Play Charity and
Penny Arcade Expo PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX w ...
websites. Afterwards, the site has been redesigned multiple times.


Attributes of the comic strip

As a (primarily) topical video gaming news comic, there is little
plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''Plot' ...
or general continuity in ''Penny Arcade'' strips. Any story sustained for longer than a single strip is referred to as "dreaded continuity", something of a
running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
in the newsposts. A character who dies a violent death in one strip will come back in the next, perfectly whole, though occasionally these deaths have an effect on later comics. For example, often, when Gabe kills Tycho or vice versa, the killer takes a certain Pac-Man watch off the dead character, but only if he currently has the watch.
Profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...
and
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...
are common in ''Penny Arcade'' and the strip is known for its
surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
;
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
s, a talking alcoholic DIVX player called Div,
Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
, a robotic juicer called the "Fruit Fucker 2000", and Jesus, among others, are known to drop in often and for petty reasons. Other such occurrences are implied, if not shown, such as mentioning
Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
from ''
Devil May Cry is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists o ...
'' living in the building next door. However, the comic does occasionally expand into more serious issues; one even had Krahulik, in the guise of the character Gabe, proposing to his
girlfriend A girlfriend is a female friend, acquaintance or partner, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed relationship where the in ...
of two years, while another had both Gabe and Tycho praising Casey Heynes for standing up to bullying. Some of the strips are drawn from the perspective of fictional characters within a game or movie. Occasionally, Gabe and Tycho are featured as they would be as characters or players in the game themselves, often having some sarcastic remark to make about some feature or bug in the game. At times the comic also depicts meetings between game developers or business people, and features or mocks the reporters of a news article that is commented on in Holkins' newspost. ''Penny Arcade'' has a
theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
, "Penny Arcade Theme", written and performed by
nerdcore Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by subject matter considered of interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term (to describe this genre) in the 200 ...
artist
MC Frontalot Damian Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by his stage name MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer. Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and ...
. It was written as a thank-you by Frontalot for the creators of the webcomic linking his website to their
front page Front Page or The Front Page may also refer to: Periodicals * ''Frontpage'' (techno magazine), a German magazine for electronic music * ''FrontPage Africa'', a Liberian daily newspaper * '' FrontPage Magazine'', an online political magazine so ...
and declaring him their "
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, and for former music direc ...
" in 2002. The song appears in the dance game '' In the Groove''.


Protagonists


Jonathan "Gabe" Gabriel

Mike Krahulik Michael Krahulik (; born September 25, 1977) is an American artist for the webcomic '' Penny Arcade'' and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker ...
's comic alter ego is energetic and free-spirited, but has a propensity to become extremely angry. As a contrast to Tycho's expansive vocabulary, Gabe usually speaks using only simple, common words. He almost always wears a yellow
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
shirt, and has a
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...
on his right arm. His eyes are a shade of slate blue. He has a fascination with
unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
s, a secret love of
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
s, is a dedicated fan of
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
and ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'', and has proclaimed "
Jessie's Girl "Jessie's Girl" is a song written and performed by Australian singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album '' Working Class Dog'', which was released in February 1981. The song is about unrequited love and centers on a young man in love ...
" to be the greatest song of all time. He has a wife and son. Gabe is a
diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
, though he continues to consume large quantities of sugar products. Krahulik named his son "Gabriel" in honor of the character.


Tycho Brahe

Jerry Holkins Jerry Holkins (born Parkinson"Holkins is a combination of Holcomb (hers) and Parkinson (mine)." https://twitter.com/TychoBrahe/status/12073336701; February 6, 1976) is an American writer. He is the co-creator and writer of the webcomic '' Penny A ...
' comic
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
(named after the
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was k ...
) is bitter and sarcastic. His eyes are
burnt sienna Sienna (from it, terra di Siena, meaning "Siena earth") is an earth pigment containing iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural state, it is yellowish brown and is called raw sienna. When heated, it becomes a reddish brown and is calle ...
, and he's almost invariably clad in a blue-striped sweater. Tycho enjoys books,
role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
s, using large and uncommon words in conversation, and deflating Gabe's ego. He is an enthusiastic fan of ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' and ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. He also plays ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' often (the website's previous banner illustrated him holding a 20-sided die), and adopts a wildly theatrical style when acting as a dungeon master. Tycho occasionally makes reference to his scarring childhood, during which his mother physically abused him. Tycho also has a
drinking problem Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
. In ''
Poker Night at the Inventory ''Poker Night at the Inventory'' is a poker video game developed by Telltale Games. It features four characters from different franchises: Tycho Brahe from the ''Penny Arcade'' webcomic, Max from the ''Sam & Max'' franchise, the RED Heavy from ...
'', Tycho is voiced by
Kid Beyond Andrew Chaikin, better known by his stage name Kid Beyond, is an American singer, beatboxer, live looper and voice actor, based in the San Francisco area. Early career Chaikin attended Brown University and was a leader in the co-ed fraternity Z ...
.


Podcast

Krahulik and Holkins began to record and release audio content on March 20, 2006, titled ''Downloadable Content.'' The
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s specifically captured the creative process that goes into the creation of a ''Penny Arcade'' comic, usually starting with a perusal of recent gaming news, with conversational tangents and digressions to follow. As well as being a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of ''Penny Arcade'', Krahulik and Holkins discuss possible subjects for the comic. The format of the show was mostly "
fly-on-the-wall Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, ...
" style, in that the hosts rarely acknowledged the existence of the microphone. There was no theme music,
intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...
, or outro. The podcasts were of varying lengths, beginning abruptly and ending with the idea for the current comic. New episodes were released irregularly, with six month gaps not uncommon. Although the shows were initially published weekly, Holkins stated in a May 2006 blog post that they have found difficulties when trying to produce the podcasts on a regular basis. The duo planned to keep recording podcasts occasionally. Since airing the first episode of the new PATV in February 2010, the podcast has not been updated. A new segment has since appeared on PATV called "The Fourth Panel," which presents a fly-on-the-wall look at comics creation much as the podcast did. On May 8, 2013 Penny Arcade launched a
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign to fund the continuation of ''Downloadable Content''. The kickstarter was successful, with new Podcasts being added each Wednesday.


Games

'' Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness'' is an episodic video game based on the strip. The first two episodes were developed by
Hothead Games Hothead Games Inc. is an independent Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. History The studio was founded in 2006 by Steve Bocska, Vlad Ceraldi and Joel DeYoung, all three of which were formerly employed by Radical Entertainment. ...
, and were built on a version of the
Torque Game Engine Torque Game Engine, or TGE, is an open-source cross-platform 3D computer game engine, developed by GarageGames and actively maintained under the current versions Torque 3D as well as Torque 2D. It was originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 ...
. The first episode was released worldwide on May 21, 2008, and the second on October 29, 2008. They were
self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...
via the
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
and
Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...
as well as the PlayGreenhouse.com service created by ''Penny Arcade'' to distribute independent games. The game features many elements of the ''Penny Arcade'' universe in a 1920s
steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
setting. In 2010, Krahulik and Holkins announced that the remainder of the series had been cancelled, to allow Hothead to focus on other projects. At PAX Prime 2011, however, it was announced that the series would be revived and developed by
Zeboyd Games Zeboyd Games is a Indie developer of 8-bit and 16-bit-style indie role-playing games . Zeboyd is run and its games are created by Robert Boyd and William Stiernberg. The studio got its start with ''Breath of Death VII'' and ''Cthulhu Saves the W ...
, with a retro style similar to Zeboyd's past titles. The third episode was released on Steam and on Penny Arcade's web store June 25, 2012. The fourth and final episode was announced in January 2013, and released to Steam and Xbox Live in June 2013. A teaser trailer released by
Telltale Games Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
on August 28, 2010, revealed that Tycho would appear in an upcoming game alongside ''
Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...
's'' Heavy, ''
Homestar Runner ''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...
's''
Strong Bad Strong Bad is a fictional character from ''Homestar Runner'', a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game '' Tag Team Wrestling''. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-cre ...
and ''
Sam & Max ''Sam & Max'' is an American media franchise about Sam and Max, a pair of anthropomorphic vigilante private investigators. The characters, who occupy a universe that parodies American popular culture, were created by Steve Purcell in his yout ...
's'' Max. The game, called ''
Poker Night at the Inventory ''Poker Night at the Inventory'' is a poker video game developed by Telltale Games. It features four characters from different franchises: Tycho Brahe from the ''Penny Arcade'' webcomic, Max from the ''Sam & Max'' franchise, the RED Heavy from ...
'', was officially revealed on September 2, 2010. "The Last Christmas" and "The Hawk and the Hare", two stories that were published on the site, were released as motion comics for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
developed by SRRN Games. The North American release of ''Tekken 6'' has a skin for Yoshimitsu based on the Cardboard Tube Samurai. An official DLC skin pack was released for Dungeon Defenders featuring Tycho, Cardboard Tube Samurai Gabe, Annarchy and Jim Darkmagic skins.
Cryptozoic Entertainment Cryptozoic Entertainment is an American publisher of board and card games, trading cards and collectibles based on both licensed and original intellectual properties. The company is well known for its "Cerberus Engine Game", the catch name for it ...
released the licensed deck-building card game ''Penny Arcade The Game: Gamers Vs. Evil'' in 2011, and followed it with the expansion pack ''Penny Arcade The Game: Rumble in R'lyeh'' in 2012.
Playdek Playdek is an independent video game development company founded in 2011, based in Carlsbad, California. Playdek specializes in developing board games and card games for the iOS platform. Overview The core of Playdek's team worked together in ...
released a digital conversion of ''Penny Arcade The Game: Gamers Vs. Evil'' for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
in 2012.


''Penny Arcade: The Series''

''Penny Arcade: The Series'' first aired online on February 20, 2010. It is a multi-season documentary series based on the exploits of the Penny Arcade company and its founders Krahulik and Holkins.


Other works


Penny Arcade Presents

Under the
banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...
of "Penny Arcade Presents", Krahulik and Holkins are sometimes commissioned to create promotional artwork/comic strips for new video games, with their signature artistic style and humor. They are usually credited simply as "Penny Arcade" rather than by their actual names. Some of these works have been included with the distribution of the game, and others have appeared on pre-launch official websites. An official list can be found on the Penny Arcade website.


Collectible Card Game

On August 8, 2005, Krahulik announced that ''Penny Arcade'', in partnership with
Sabertooth Games BL Publishing was a division of Games Workshop, and was split into three sections: * The Black Library publishes novels, art books, background books and graphic novels set in the Warhammer Fantasy (setting), Warhammer Fantasy world and the Warham ...
, would be producing a
collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
based on the ''Penny Arcade'' franchise. The resulting ''Penny Arcade'' "battle box" was released in February 2006 as part of the
Universal Fighting System The ''Universal Fighting System'' (''UFS'') is a collectible card game designed by Jasco Games. Games of ''UFS'' represent a fight between two characters in hand-to-hand combat. Characters are drawn from original properties as well as a number of ...
. There are also a few
spinoffs Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...
from the main comic that have gained independent existences. An example is '' Epic Legends Of The Hierarchs: The Elemenstor Saga'' (ELotH:TES), a parody of the written-by-committee fantasy fiction used as back-story for a wide variety of games: originally a
one-off In the field of vehicles authorized to drive, a one-off vehicle is a vehicle that was manufactured only once. The production of unique vehicles is reduced to one unit in each case. The easiest cases to analyze are those of cars and motorcycles. Un ...
gag in the ''Penny Arcade'' comic, in late 2005 this was expanded into a complete fantasy universe, documented on a hoax "fan-wiki". ELotH:TES first appeared in the webcomic of February 7, 2005, and has subsequently been featured in the comics of November 7, 2005 and November 30, 2005. Several elements of the ELotH:TES universe are featured on the cover of their second comics collection, ''Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings''.


ESRB ad campaigns

On May 31, 2006 Krahulik announced a new
advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
for the
Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
. According to Krahulik, the ESRB "wanted a campaign that would communicate to gamers why the ESRB is important even if they don't think it directly affects them." Among the reasons he listed for ''Penny Arcade'''s accepting the job was that he and Holkins are both fathers and are concerned about the games their children might play. The ad campaign was rolled out in the summer and fall of 2006 and a second campaign was released in 2012 featuring a mother, a father and a gamer describing the tools employed by the ESRB.


"The New Kid" film

Announced on June 2, 2011,
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
had acquired the rights to produce an animated film, via
Paramount Animation Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the box office success of Paramount's own ...
to make this, of the one-off strip ''The New Kid'' which was published on October 29, 2010. The strip was one of three mini-strips which featured a cinematic opening to a larger story left unexplored. ''The New Kid'' is about a boy who's moving to a new planet with his family because of his father's career. The script was written by
Gary Whitta Gary Leslie Whitta (born 21 July 1972) is an English screenwriter, author, game designer, and video game journalist. He was editor-in-chief of both the UK and US editions of ''PC Gamer'' magazine and contributor to gaming magazine ''ACE''. Whit ...
and would have been produced by
Mary Parent Mary Parent (born 1968) is an American film producer, and former studio executive. In February 2011, she co-founded Disruption Entertainment, a company with a first-look deal at Paramount Pictures. She was formerly the Chairperson of Metro Goldw ...
and
Cale Boyter Cale Boyter is an American film producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Picture for the film ''Dune''. Selected filmography * '' Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd'' (2003) * ''Elf'' (2003) * ''The Butterfly ...
. At PAX Australia in 2016, during a Q&A session, Holkins revealed that changes at Paramount resulted in the movie rights being returned to Penny Arcade and the project canceled. He did note, however, that Whitta's script was complete and the project could move forward with another production company in the future.


The Trenches

''The Trenches'' was a comic series by Krahulik and Holkins in collaboration with webcomic '' PvPs creator Scott Kurtz. The comic followed a man named Issac and his life as a game tester. The series was launched on August 9, 2011 and featured new strips every Tuesday and Thursday, usually accompanied by a "Tale from the Trenches", which was a short piece submitted by a reader detailing their own experiences in the game industry. In September 2012, Kurtz stopped illustrating the webcomic, due to lack of time, and was replaced by Mary Cagle, a former intern of his, and the creator of the webcomic Kiwi Blitz. Kurtz still continued to collaborate with Krahulik and Holkins in writing the comic. In late August 2013, illustration was taken over by Ty Halley (''Secret Life of a Journal Writer'') and Monica Ray (''Phuzzy Comics''), former contestants of the Penny Arcade series ''Strip Search''. ''The Trenches'' was ultimately abandoned. The last comic was posted January 5, 2016, while the last ''Tales'' is from September 10, 2015.


The Decideotron

Krahulik and Holkins have also released an application for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
devices called ''The Decide-o-tron'', presented by Eedar and developed by The Binary Mill. The app works as a recommendation engine for video games; users input games they've enjoyed and the app attempts to predict their ratings of titles they haven't yet played. Holkins described it as " Pandora for games".


Kickstarter

Penny Arcade has created two Kickstarter projects. The first was the ''Penny Arcade's Paint the Line'' card game which was used as an alternative to pre-ordering it and came with an exclusive comic. The second was entitled ''Penny Arcade Sells Out'' and was intended to replace advertising revenue with crowd funding. The leaderboard ad on the home page of Penny Arcade would be removed if the minimum goal of $250,000 were reached, whereas the entire site would become completely ad-free for a year at $999,999. The reality web series described as "our version of America's Next Top Webcomic" titled ''
Strip Search A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...
'' arose from the $450,000 stretch goal. Krahulik and Holkins created a comic strip which compares the 7th generation consoles that appears in the December 2006 issue of ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'' magazine.


''Penny Arcade'' events

Every Christmas since 2003, ''Penny Arcade'' hosts a charity called Child's Play to buy new toys for
children's hospital A children's hospital is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In certain special cases, they may also treat adults. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th ...
s. They have also sponsored a three-day gaming festival called the
Penny Arcade Expo PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX w ...
, later renamed to PAX, every August since 2004.


Legal issues and controversy


American Greetings

Krahulik and Holkins received a
cease-and-desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not disc ...
letter from American Greetings Corporation over the use of American Greetings'
Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * "Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie," a song published in 1956; a version by The Brother Sisters was released by Mercury Records in 196 ...
and Plum Puddin' characters in the April 14, 2003 ''Penny Arcade'' strip entitled "
Tart A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes wit ...
as a
Double Entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
". The duo chose not to enter into a legal battle over whether or not the strip was a protected form of
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
, and they complied with the
cease-and-desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not disc ...
by replacing it with an image directing their audience to send a letter to a lawyer for American Greetings. They later lampooned the incident by portraying an American Greetings employee as a
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
.


Jack Thompson

On October 17, 2005 Krahulik and Holkins donated US$10,000 to the
Entertainment Software Association The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...
foundation in the name of
Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...
, a disbarred attorney and activist against violence in video games. Earlier, Thompson himself had promised to donate $10,000 if a video game was created in which the player kills video game developers ('' A Modest Video Game Proposal''), but after a
mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
to the game ''
Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...
'' was pointed out to already exist, Thompson called his challenge
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
(referring to the title of the letter as a reference to "
A Modest Proposal ''A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick'', commonly referred to as ''A Modest Proposal'', is a Juvenalian satirical essay wr ...
") and refused to donate the money. He claimed these games were not going to be manufactured, distributed, or sold like retail games, as his Modest Proposal stated, and therefore, the deal went unfulfilled. His refusal was met with disdain, given that multiple games were created or in the process of being created under Thompson's criteria. Krahulik and Holkins donated the money in his place, with a check containing the memo: "For Jack Thompson, Because Jack Thompson Won't". Thompson proceeded to phone Krahulik, as related by Holkins in the corresponding news post. On October 18, 2005 it was reported that Jack Thompson had faxed a letter to Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske claiming that ''Penny Arcade'' "employs certain personnel who have decided to commence and orchestrate
criminal harassment Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...
of me by various means". Holkins defended the site by saying that the "harassment" Thompson referred to was simply "the natural result of a public figure making statements that people disagree with, and letting him know their thoughts on the matter via his publicly available contact information". On October 21, 2005 Thompson claimed to have sent a letter to John McKay,
U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for the Western District of Washington, in an attempt to get the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
involved. Thompson re-iterated his claims of "
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
" and accused ''Penny Arcade'' of using "their Internet site and various other means to encourage and solicit criminal harassment". Penny Arcade denied the charge of "extortion", noting that they paid the $10,000 to charity, and asked nothing in return. Thompson claimed the harassment of him is a direct result of Mike Krahulik's posts, which listed links to the
Florida Bar Association The Florida Bar is the integrated bar association for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States. Its duties include the regulation and discipline of attorneys. The Florida Bar is also responsible for the govern ...
. Thompson accused ''Penny Arcade'' of soliciting complaints to the Bar against him, even though Krahulik actually posted the opposite, asking fans to cease sending letters to the Bar, as the Bar acknowledged that it is aware of Thompson's actions, thanks to previous letters. The Seattle PD eventually acknowledged receiving a complaint from Thompson, but have commented that they believe the issue to be a
civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...
, rather than criminal, matter. They noted that this was from initial impressions of the letter they received, and their criminal investigations bureau is reviewing the letter to make sure that there were not any criminal matters that they missed. On the same day,
Scott Kurtz Scott R. Kurtz (born March 15, 1971) is an American webcomic artist. Known for creating the daily online comic-strip '' PvP'', Kurtz is among the first professional webcomic creators. Career Kurtz was born to a Catholic household in Watsonville ...
, creator of the webcomic '' PvP'' and a longtime friend of Krahulik and Holkins, used the image of the letter Thompson sent to the Seattle PD to create a parody letter in which Jack attempts to enlist the aid of the
Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
by claiming Gabe and Tycho to be villains of some description. The ''Penny Arcade'' shop had at the time sold an "I hate Jack Thompson"
T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
, claiming that every living creature, including Thompson's own mother, hates Jack Thompson. On March 21, 2007 Thompson filed a
countersuit In a court of law, a party's claim is a counterclaim if one party asserts claims in response to the claims of another. In other words, if a plaintiff initiates a lawsuit and a defendant responds to the lawsuit with claims of their own against th ...
to the lawsuit brought against him by
Take Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City and founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993. The company owns two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which operate internal g ...
claiming that they are at the center of a
RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
. ''Penny Arcade'' was named as one of the co-conspirators. At
Sakura-Con Sakura-Con is an annual three-day anime convention held during March or April at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. The convention, which is traditionally held over Easter weekend, is the largest anime convention in the ...
2007, Krahulik announced that the suit had been dropped.


Rape/dickwolves controversy

An August 11, 2010 comic entitled "The Sixth Slave" wherein an NPC pleads with a player to save him from being raped nightly by monsters called "dickwolves", drew criticism from many commentators, including from ''
The American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted to ...
'' and ''
The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' a ...
''. Krahulik and Holkins dismissed these criticisms, later selling "Team Dickwolves" T-shirts based on the strip. They later removed the "Team Dickwolves" shirt from their store due to complaints that it made potential PAX attendees uncomfortable. After the removal, Krahulik posted online that removing the shirts was only partly caving to pressure but mainly due to people who had personally emailed him and were reasonable with their concerns. Krahulik also stated that anyone still hesitant about going to PAX even after removal of the shirts should not come to PAX. In September 2013, on the last day of PAX, Krahulik told a panel that he thought that "pulling the dickwolves merchandise was a mistake", to cheers from the crowd. However, Krahulik later apologized on the ''Penny Arcade'' website, stating that he regretted contributing to the furor that had followed the original comic. Both critics of the comic strip and Krahulik and Holkins, made claims of receiving verbal abuse through social media and
death threats A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...
. In a 2012 article in the ''
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media The ''Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering media studies, with a specific focus on broadcasting and electronic media. It was established in 1957 as the ''Journal of Broadcasting'', obt ...
'', academics Salter & Blodgett used the Dickwolves incident as a case study into "hypermasculinity and sexism within the gaming community", and argued that "this case highlights how the hypermasculine discourse encourages the overt privileging of masculinity over femininity and discourages women from engaging in gendered discourse within the community."


"Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory"

"John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory" was posted in the ''Penny Arcade'' strip published March 19, 2004. It regards the
online disinhibition effect Online disinhibition effect is the lack of restraint one feels when communicating online in comparison to communicating in-person. People feel safer saying things online which they would not say in real life because they have the ability to remain ...
, in which Internet users exhibit unsociable tendencies while interacting with other Internet users. Krahulik and Holkins suggest that, given both
anonymity Anonymity describes situations where the acting person's identity is unknown. Some writers have argued that namelessness, though technically correct, does not capture what is more centrally at stake in contexts of anonymity. The important idea he ...
and an audience, an otherwise regular person becomes aggressively antisocial. In 2013, Holkins gave the corollary that "Normal Person - ''Consequences'' + Audience = Total Fuckwad".
Clay Shirky Clay Shirky (born 1964) is an American writer, consultant and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies and journalism. In 2017 he was appointed Vice Provost of Educational Technologies of New York University (NYU), aft ...
, an
adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
who studies social and economic effects of Internet technologies, explains: "There’s a large crowd and you can act out in front of it without paying any personal price to your reputation,” which "creates conditions most likely to draw out the typical Internet user’s worst impulses." In an ''
Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
'' article about online
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
, this theory was used to account for behavior on online forums where one can remain anonymous in front of an audience: for instance, posting comments on popular YouTube videos.


Collected editions

* ''Year One: A Penny Arcade Retrospective'' (Limited Edition) — * ''Year One: A Penny Arcade Retrospective'' (Soft Cover) — * ''Year One: A Penny Arcade Retrospective'' (Hard Cover) — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 1: Attack of the Bacon Robots'' — * ''Penny Arcade Limited Edition Signed – Attack Of The Bacon Robots'' — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 2: Epic Legends Of The Magic Sword Kings'' — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 3: The Warsun Prophecies'' — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 4: Birds Are Weird'' — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 5: The Case of the Mummy's Gold'' — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 6: The Halls Below'' (Limited Edition) - * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 6: The Halls Below'' (Soft Cover) — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 7: Be Good, Little Puppy'' — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 8: Magical Kids in Danger'' — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 9: Passion's Howl'' — * ''The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11.5 Anniversary Edition'' (Hardcover) — * ''Penny Arcade, Volume 10: The Fall of Penny Arcade'' —


Reception

On December 13, 2006, ''
Next Generation Magazine ''Next Generation'' was a video game magazine that was published by Imagine Media (now Future US). It was affiliated to and shared editorial with the UK's ''Edge'' magazine. ''Next Generation'' ran from January 1995 until January 2002. It was p ...
'' rated Krahulik and Holkins among its "Top 25 People of the Year". Also appearing on the list were
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing card ...
President
Reggie Fils-Aime Reggie is a given name, usually a short form of the name Reginald. It may refer to: People * Reggie Bonnafon (born 1996), American football player * Reggie Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Reggie Bush (born 1985), National Football ...
and former
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
corporate vice-president Peter Moore. Krahulik made a post about the honor, in which he explained that ''Penny Arcade'' was created only because Next Gen rejected the duo's entry to a comic contest many years before. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' listed ''Penny Arcade'' on their "100 Sites to Bookmark Now," calling it "a hilarious and smart webcomic for gamers." MTV Online named Holkins and Krahulik two of the world's most influential gamers, saying "they have become the closest the medium has to leaders of a gamers' movement."
Time.com ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
named ''Penny Arcade'' as one of its "50 Best Websites" for 2008 "...for the way it pokes fun at the high-tech industry and the people who love it." 1UP.com described it as "the One True Gaming Webcomic." ''Penny Arcade'' was used along with '' American Elf'', ''
Fetus-X ''Fetus-X'' was a weekly romantic horror comic written and drawn by Eric Millikin and Casey Sorrow. Millikin is an American artist and former human anatomy lab embalmer and dissectionist.Zabel, Joe (June 14, 2004).Cutting Up The Dead: An interv ...
'', and '' Questionable Content'' as an example of comics using the web to create "an explosion of diverse genres and styles" in
Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and ''Making Comics'' (200 ...
's 2006 book ''Making Comics''.


Awards and recognition

On March 5, 2009, the
Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...
honored Holkins and Krahulik, both originally from
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
, for the contribution that they had made to the state, the
video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstream. , ...
, and to children's charities from around the world courtesy of their Child's Play initiative. Later in March, ''Penny Arcade'' won the category "Best Webcomic" in the fan voted Project Fanboy Awards for 2008. In 2010, Holkins, Krahulik, and Khoo were awarded the annual "Ambassador Award" at GDC's Game Developers Choice Awards for contributions they had made to the industry. The same year, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' included Holkins and Krahulik in the annual "
Time 100 ''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, po ...
", the magazine's listing of the world's 100 most influential people. In July 2015, Holkins and Krahulik were recognized as "Multimedia Empire Builders" in
Ad Week ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...
's 10 Visual Artists Changing the Way We See Advertising issue.


See also

*
List of comic strips The following is a list of comic strips. Dates after names indicate the time frames when the strips appeared. There is usually a fair degree of accuracy about a start date, but because of rights being transferred or the very gradual loss of appea ...
*
List of professional webcomic artists This is a list of notable webcomic creators. Webcomic creators Traditional comics creators Various traditional comic artists have created notable webcomics over the years. * Scott Adams started integrating the World Wide Web for his ''D ...
*
List of web comics This is a list of all lists of webcomics, sorted by varying classifications. By genre or subject *List of webcomics with LGBT characters *List of video game webcomics * List of anthropomorphic (furry) webcomics * List of ''Heroes'' graphic novels ...


References


External links

* *
''Penny Arcade'' Expo (PAX)

''The Penny Arcade'' Podcast

Child's Play Charity

''Greenhouse''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penny Arcade (Webcomic) 1990s webcomics 2000s webcomics 2010s webcomics American comedy webcomics Webcomics about fandom Penny Arcade (webcomic) Short form webcomics Video game webcomics Webcomics in print Web Cartoonists' Choice Award winners Metafictional comics 1998 webcomic debuts Comics adapted into video games