Penny Arcade
Author(s)	Jerry Holkins Mike Krahulik
Website	penny-arcade.com RSS web feed
Current status / schedule	Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Launch date	1998-11-18 [1]
Genre(s)	Gaming, Humor

Penny Arcade is a webcomic written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins (born February 6, 1976) is the writer of the Webcomic Penny Arcade. Mike Krahulik (born September 25 1977) is the artist who draws the popular Webcomic Penny Arcade. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are Comics Published on a Website, often exclusively providing easy access to an Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins (born February 6, 1976) is the writer of the Webcomic Penny Arcade. Mike Krahulik (born September 25 1977) is the artist who draws the popular Webcomic Penny Arcade. It focuses mainly on video games, the video game industry, and gamer sub-culture. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The webcomics are accompanied by a blog. A blog (a contraction of the term " Web log " is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary descriptions of

Penny Arcade is among the most popular gaming webcomics currently online,^[1] and it hosts both a children's charity (Child's Play) and a gaming convention (PAX) each year. The definition of charitable organization, and of charity varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates Child's Play is a Charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games -based Webcomic Penny Arcade A gaming convention is typically a two- or three-day convention at which people play Role-playing games, Collectible card games, miniatures wargames The Penny Arcade Expo ( PAX) is an annual gamer festival held in Washington state, USA It debuted on November 18, 1998 as a regular feature on the video game web site loonygames. ^[2] The authors launched their own site in late 1999, and new comic strips are usually posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a Comics artist

Overview

The strip regularly features the two authors' cartoon alter egos, Tycho Brahe and John Gabriel ("Gabe"), who represent Holkins and Krahulik respectively. Holkins and Krahulik have explained that the characters were not originally meant to represent them, thus they are not caricatures. A caricature is either a Portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness or in literature a description The two characters spend much of their time playing and commenting on computer and video games, forming the basis of the humor in the strip. Another theme, albeit less common, is the use of conflicts between the two in real life. The strip also sometimes refers to other Internet subcultures, and often features in-jokes that are explained by the news posts accompanying each comic, usually written by Holkins.

Both Krahulik and Holkins make a living from Penny Arcade, placing them in a very small group of web comic artists devoted to their creations full-time. Originally, 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 as their business manager, Holkins and Krahulik switched to a different income stream based on advertising and merchandise revenue alone. Robert Khoo is the "Director of Business Development" of Penny Arcade, but is also referenced as the "Business Manager" for the company and the Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need According to Holkins, the website handles more than two million pageviews daily (excluding forum traffic). ^[3] On 2005-11-13, the website was given a face lift^[4] in celebration of their seventh year running and to match the designs of the Child's Play Charity and Penny Arcade Expo websites. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St

Attributes of the comic strip

As a (primarily) topical video gaming news comic, there is little plot or general continuity in Penny Arcade strips. Mythos (Aristotle In literature the plot comprises all the events in a story particularly rendered towards the achievement of some particular Artistic or Emotional In Fiction, continuity (also called time-scheme) is consistency of the characteristics of persons plot, objects places and events seen by the reader or Any story sustained for longer than a single strip is referred to as "dreaded continuity", something of a running gag in the newsposts. The running gag is an often amusing Joke or reference that appears repeatedly throughout a work or series of works A character who dies a horrible, violent death in one strip will come back in the next, perfectly whole, though occasionally these deaths have an effect on later comics. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific 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 and violence are common in Penny Arcade and the strip is known for its surrealism: zombies, a talking alcoholic DIVX player called Div, Santa, a robotic juicer that has forcible sex with fruit (the Fruit Fucker 2000), and Jesus, among others, are known to drop in often and for petty reasons. The original meaning of the adjective profane (from the Latin for "in front of or outside the Temple " was to refer to items not belonging to the church Violence is the exertion of force so as to injure or abuse The word is used broadly to describe the destructive action of natural phenomena like Storms and Earthquakes zombie is a reanimated human corpse Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled DIVX ( Digital Video Express) was an attempt by Circuit City and the entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham Branca and Fischer to create an alternative Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Other such occurrences are implied, if not shown, such as mentioning Dante from Devil May Cry living in the building next door. Dante is the fictional Protagonist of the Devil May Cry Video game series published by Capcom. Devil May Cry (frequently abbreviated as DMC) is an Action game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom ^[5] 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 of two years. Betrothal is a formal state of engagement to be married. Historically betrothal was a formal Contract, blessed or officiated by a religious authority ^[6]

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. A software bug (or just “bug” is an error flaw mistake Failure, fault or “undocumented feature” in a Computer program that prevents it At times the comic also depicts meetings between game developers or business people, or features or mocks the reporters of a news article that is commented on in Holkins' newspost.

Penny Arcade has a theme song, "Penny Arcade Theme", written and performed by nerdcore artist MC Frontalot. Nerdcore is a subgenre of Hip hop music characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to Nerds though it can appeal to Damian Hess (born December 3 1973) known by Stage name MC Frontalot, is a San Francisco Hip hop musician and self-proclaimed It was written as a thank-you by Frontalot for the creators of the webcomic linking his website to their front page and declaring him their "rapper laureate" in 2002. Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with Literary or Military glory See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. The song appears in the dance game In the Groove. In the Groove (abbreviated ITG) is the first game in the In the Groove franchise published and developed by

Protagonists

Main article: List of Penny Arcade characters

John "Gabe" Gabriel

Mike Krahulik's comic alter ego is energetic and free-spirited, but has a propensity to become extremely angry. This is a list of Penny Arcade characters. Protagonists Penny Arcade s two top dogs spend their Mike Krahulik (born September 25 1977) is the artist who draws the popular Webcomic Penny Arcade. He has a Pac-Man tattoo on his right arm,^[7] as well as a tattoo in honor of the demise of SNK on his back. is an Arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of Skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons In Anatomy, an arm is one of the Upper limbs of an animal The term arm can also be used for analogous structures such as one of the paired upper limbs ^[8] He almost always wears a yellow Pac-Man shirt, and in one comic he mentioned having a glass eye, although no other references to it have been made. is an Arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution ^[9] He has a fascination with unicorns, a secret love of Barbies and is a dedicated fan of Spider-Man and Star Wars. A unicorn (from Latin unus 'one' and cornu 'horn' is a Mythological creature. Barbie is a best-selling fashion Doll launched in 1959 The doll is produced by Mattel Inc Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded He practices line dancing with the Kansas City Hotsteppers. ^[10] He is a diabetic, though he continues to consume large quantities of sugar products. Diabetes mellitus (ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz or /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtəs/ /məˈlaɪtəs/ or /ˈmɛlətəs/ often referred to simply as diabetes ( Ancient Greek: grc ^[11] He has an odd affinity for a cardboard tube which he had fantasies of wielding as a wandering samurai, often in ancient Japan. He was for a short time addicted to Tribes but soon grew out of it. For the biological concept see Tribe (biology. For the social concept see Tribe. He also has an obsession with his own genitalia and possible latent homosexual tendencies. A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. ^{[12][13][14][15]} This theory can be supported by a recent recurrence of Gabriel's 'personal' interest in actor Patrick Swayze. Patrick Wayne Swayze (born August 18, 1952) is a three- time Golden Globe nominated American Dancer, Actor, and ^[16] As a contrast to Tycho's expansive vocabulary, Gabe usually speaks using only simple, common words. Krahulik named his son "Gabriel" in honor of the character. ^[17]

Tycho Erasmus Brahe

Jerry Holkins' comic alter ego (named after the astronomer Tycho Brahe) is bitter and sarcastic. Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins (born February 6, 1976) is the writer of the Webcomic Penny Arcade. Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Tycho Brahe, born Tyge Ottesen Brahe ( December 14 1546 &ndash October 24 1601) was a Danish nobleman Almost invariably clad in a blue-striped sweater, Tycho enjoys books, RPGs, large words and deflating Gabe's ego. A computer role-playing game ( CRPG) is a broad Video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers According to himself, he erodes the very soul of humanity as a hobby. ^[18] He is a rabid fan of Harry Potter. Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J He also often plays Dungeons & Dragons (the website's banner illustrates him holding a 20-sided die). Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by For other uses see either Die or Dice (disambiguation. Dice (the Plural of Die, from Old French Though extremely intelligent, he has on several occasions made reference to his scarring childhood in which his mother physically abused him^[19] and blamed him for his father's leaving due to his body "swelling with evil"^[20] (in fact, puberty), as well as his parents taking him on a family road trip to such places as Idaho's largest "shitfarm". ^[21] It has been mentioned that one of his aunts, believing him to be gay, constantly sends him homo-erotic material. ^[22] Tycho also has a drinking problem. ^[23] After a dream, Tycho is seen to be host to an evil spirit, signified by his eyes glowing red when it comes to the fore;^[24] this theme is repeated over the course of the strip. Recent strips have also revealed that he may have an unhealthy sexual obession with long animal necks: at one point, he believes that his wife has found giraffe pornography on his computer, and he calls their necks "slender. "^[25] A more recent comic, a commentary on alleged spyware in Battlefield 2142, depicts players being shown ads relevant to the content of their computers. Battlefield 2142 is a First-person shooter computer game developed by Digital Illusions CE and is the fourth game in the ''Battlefield'' Gabe's ad is for a Martha Stewart product (which he explains as the result of his wife using his computer), while Tycho's is for badboysbigbirds. Martha Stewart (born Martha Helen Kostyra; August 3, 1941) is an American Business magnate, Television host, author com - "Big Heads in Deep Holes" - and depicts an ostrich with its head buried in a hole. ^[26] Tycho is also the host of "Too Damn Late with Tycho Brahe," a parody of the Tonight Show. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as appropriate --> The Tonight Show is a long-running ^[27] Though originally co-hosted by Gabe, "Too Damn Late" appears to have been reworked because of Gabe's difficulty controlling his body near guests. ^[28][29]

Podcast

Krahulik and Holkins began to record and release audio content on March 20, 2006, titled Downloadable Content. The podcasts specifically capture 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. A podcast is a series of audio or Video digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated Download 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 is mostly "fly-on-the-wall" style, in that the hosts rarely acknowledge the existence of the microphone. There is no theme music (not even the aforementioned "Penny Arcade Theme"), intro, or outro. The podcasts are of varying lengths, beginning abruptly and ending with the idea for the current comic.

Although the shows were initially published weekly, Holkins stated in a May 2006 blog post^[30] that they have found difficulties when trying to produce the podcasts on a regular basis. The duo planned to keep recording podcasts occasionally.

The podcast for the comic of October 20, 2006 featured Scott Kurtz and Kristofer Straub, authors of the rival comics PvP and Starslip Crisis, who were visiting Seattle. PvP, also known as Player vs Player, is a Webcomic, written and drawn by Scott Kurtz, with around 100000 unique visitors per day Kristofer Straub is the creator of Webcomics Checkerboard Nightmare, Starslip Crisis, Time Friends, Origin Story PvP, also known as Player vs Player, is a Webcomic, written and drawn by Scott Kurtz, with around 100000 unique visitors per day Kristofer Straub ---> Starslip Crisis (formerly Starshift Crisis) is a daily independent science fiction/comedy Webcomic written

After a nearly 6-month long hiatus, Penny Arcade Downloadable Content returned briefly in May, and again in September 2007, then took a 3 month break, and released 4 podcasts in January 2008.

Video games

Main article: Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an episodic video game based on the strip. Penny Arcade Adventures On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an episodic Video game series based on the Webcomic Penny Arcade Penny Arcade Adventures On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an episodic Video game series based on the Webcomic Penny Arcade Episodic games are those produced and sold in small units that build into a recognisable series (See Expansion pack) A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The first episode was released worldwide on May 21, 2008. Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common It is developed by Hothead Games, and is built on a version of the Torque Game Engine. Company Summary Hothead Games is a Canadian independent Video game development company and publisher based in Vancouver British Columbia. The Torque Game Engine, or TGE, is a modified version of a 3D computer Game engine originally developed by Dynamix for the The game is self-published via Xbox Live as well as the Greenhouse service created by Penny Arcade to distribute independent games. ^[31]

Other works

Penny Arcade Presents

Under the banner 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, such as:

• Brothers in Arms - A somewhat toned-down look at a discussion between paratroopers. Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood is a video game and sequel to Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30, developed by Gearbox Software for the
• Empire Earth II - An amusing example of the different technologies in the game. Empire Earth II, also called EE2, is a Real-time strategy Computer game developed by Mad Doc Software and published ^[32]
• Far Cry
• Heroes of Might and Magic V - A brief retelling of the history of Ashan. Far Cry is a First-person shooter Video game developed by Crytek Studios from Germany and published by Ubisoft Heroes of Might and Magic V (sometimes referred to as Heroes V or HoMM5) is the fifth installment of the Heroes of
• Myst V: End of Ages - A recap of the previous story and teaser for Myst V. Myst V End of Ages is the fifth and final installment in the Myst Adventure game series ^[33][34]
• Painkiller - A comic strip based on the background story of the game, placed on the game's site in the downloads section. Painkiller is a First-person shooter Video game released on April 12, 2004. ^[35]
• Rainbow Six 3 - An illustration of a mission in the game. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six is the first in a series of first\third person tactical shooters computer and Video games It was developed ^[36]
• Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow - A comic strip depicting a mission in the game's new multiplayer mode, from both spies and mercenaries points of view. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a series of Video games endorsed by American author Tom Clancy.
• Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - A humorous training manual for new operatives, ostensibly a classified document. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a series of Video games endorsed by American author Tom Clancy. ^[37]
• World of Warcraft - Various humorous illustrations in the official strategy guide, as well as the strategy guide for the Burning Crusade expansion. World of Warcraft (commonly acronymed as WoW) is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG Main articles World of Warcraft, Gameplay of World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King ^[38]
• Wild Arms Alter Code: F - Three strips featured in the official strategy guide, including a look at the downsides of turn-based combat. is a role-playing game developed by Software company MediaVision and originally released in Japan in 1996 for the Sony Playstation

A partial, official list can be found on the Penny Arcade website. ^[39]

On 2005-08-08 Krahulik announced that Penny Arcade, in partnership with Sabertooth Games, would be producing a collectible card game based on the Penny Arcade franchise^[40] The resulting Penny Arcade "battle box" was released in February 2006 as part of the Universal Fighting System. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Sabertooth Games (STG is a Memphis Tennessee based game company founded in 2001. Collectible card games (CCGs also called trading card games (TCGs or customizable card games (CCGs are played using specially designed sets of cards Stories without links will be removed. News stories must be in English The Universal Fighting System is a Collectible card game originally designed by Sabertooth Games.

There are also a few spinoffs from the main comic that have gained independent existences. The most recent 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 gag in the Penny Arcade comic, in late 2005 this was expanded into a complete fantasy universe, documented on a hoax "fan-wiki". Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins (born February 6, 1976) is the writer of the Webcomic Penny Arcade. ^[41] ELOTH:TES first appeared in the webcomic of February 2, 2005, and has subsequently been featured in the comics of November 7, 2005 and November 30, 2005. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Several elements of the ELOTH:TES universe are featured on the cover of their second comics collection, Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings.

On May 31, 2006 Krahulik announced a new advertising campaign for the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Entertainment Software Rating Board ( ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, Advertising guidelines and ^[42] 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. He also stated his belief that the alternative to the ESRB would be governmental regulation of the video games industry. (The ESRB is a voluntary self-regulatory organization made up of video game publishers and developers. ) The ad campaign will feature one character drawn by Krahulik to represent each of the ESRB ratings.

Krahulik and Holkins created a comic strip which compares the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii that appears in the December 2006 issue of Wired magazine. The Xbox 360 is the second Video game console produced by Microsoft, and was developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. Wired is a full-color monthly American Magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993 ^[43]

Penny Arcade events

Main articles: Child's Play (charity) and Penny Arcade Expo

Every Christmas since 2003, Penny Arcade hosts a charity called Child's Play to buy new toys for children's hospitals. Child's Play is a Charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games -based Webcomic Penny Arcade The Penny Arcade Expo ( PAX) is an annual gamer festival held in Washington state, USA Child's Play is a Charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games -based Webcomic Penny Arcade They have also sponsored a three-day gaming festival called the Penny Arcade Expo every August since 2004. The Penny Arcade Expo ( PAX) is an annual gamer festival held in Washington state, USA

Legal issues

American Greetings

The banned parody

Krahulik and Holkins were sent a cease-and-desist letter by American Greetings Corporation over the use of American Greetings' Strawberry Shortcake and Plum Puddin' characters in the April 14, 2003 Penny Arcade strip entitled "Tart as a Double Entendre". A cease and desist (also called C & D) is an order or request to halt an activity or else face legal action American Greetings Corporation Inc is the world's largest publicly-traded Greeting card company Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in Greeting cards and expanded to include Dolls Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in Greeting cards and expanded to include Dolls Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The strip was intended to mock both the works American McGee (especially the computer game Alice) and McFarlane Toys. American James McGee (born December 13 1972) is an American Game designer. American McGee's Alice is a third-person action PC video game released on October 6, 2000, which takes place in the Alice's Adventures in McFarlane Toys, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions Inc At the time, McFarlane toys and American McGee made separate toy lines, each portraying a dark, frightening interpretation of the characters and situations from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Krahulik and Holkins' portrayal of Strawberry Shortcake parodied McFarlane Toy's depiction of Dorothy as bound and blindfolded by a pair of Munchkins. ^[44]

Krahulik and Holkins chose not to enter into a legal fight over whether or not the strip was a protected form of parody, and they complied with the cease-and-desist by replacing it with an image directing their audience to send a letter to a lawyer for American Greetings. A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject ^[45] Afterwards, a comic portraying American Greetings as Nazis was released without legal repercussion. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German ^[46]

Jack Thompson

On October 17, 2005 Krahulik and Holkins donated $10,000 to the ESA foundation in the name of Jack Thompson. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been The Entertainment Software Association (ESA is the Trade association of the Computer and video game industry in the United States John Bruce "Jack" Thompson (born July 25 1951 is an American Activist and former Attorney, based in Coral Gables, ^[47] Earlier, Thompson himself had promised to donate $10,000 if a video game was created meeting certain criteria (See: A Modest Video Game Proposal),^[48] but after a vaguely similar (in spirit) mod to the game Grand Theft Auto was pointed out to already exist, Thompson called his challenge satire and refused to donate the money,^[49] because these games were not going to be manufactured, distributed or sold like retail games, as his Modest Proposal stated. A Modest Video Game Proposal is the title of an open letter sent by attorney/activist Jack Thompson to members of the press and to Entertainment Software Association Mod or modification is a term generally applied to Computer games especially First-person shooters RPGs and Real-time strategy games Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human 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. ^[50]

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 of me by various means". Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[51][52] 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". ^[53]

On October 21, 2005 Thompson claimed to have sent a letter to John McKay, U. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. John Larkin McKay (b 19 June 1956, Seattle Washington) is a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, in an attempt to get the FBI involved. Thompson re-iterated his claims of "extortion" and accused Penny Arcade of using "their Internet site and various other means to encourage and solicit criminal harassment". Extortion, outwresting, or exaction is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person Unlawfully obtains either money property or services ^[54] Penny Arcade denied the charge of "extortion", noting that they paid the $10,000 to charity, and are asking nothing in return. ^[55]

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 for the state of Florida. 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. ^[56]

The Seattle PD eventually acknowledged receiving a complaint from Thompson, but have commented that they believe the issue to be a civil, 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. ^[57]

On the same day, Scott Kurtz, 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 by claiming Gabe and Tycho to be villains of some description. PvP, also known as Player vs Player, is a Webcomic, written and drawn by Scott Kurtz, with around 100000 unique visitors per day PvP, also known as Player vs Player, is a Webcomic, written and drawn by Scott Kurtz, with around 100000 unique visitors per day The Justice League sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short is a Fictional DC Comics superhero team. ^[58]

The Penny Arcade shop had at the time sold an "I hate Jack Thompson" T-shirt, claiming that every living creature, including Thompson's own mother, hates Jack Thompson. A T-shirt (or tee shirt) is a Shirt which is pulled on over the head to cover most of a person's Torso.

On March 21, 2007 Thompson filed a countersuit to the lawsuit brought against him by Take Two Interactive claiming that they are at the center of a RICO conspiracy. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. A counterclaim is made by the Defendant to a civil proceeding, in a main action against the Plaintiff or against the plaintiff and other people Take-Two Interactive Software Inc v John B Thompson is a Lawsuit filed by Take Two Interactive against Miami Attorney Jack Take-Two Interactive Software Inc ( is an American publisher, developer, and distributor of Video games and video game Peripherals The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (commonly referred to as RICO Act or RICO) is a United States federal law that provides for extended In the Criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between Natural persons to break the law at some time in the future and in some cases with at least one overt act Penny Arcade was named as one of the conspiracy members. ^[59][60] At Sakura-Con 2007, Krahulik announced that the charges had been dropped. Sakura-Con is an Annual three-day Anime convention held during March or April at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle ^[61]

Collected editions

• Year One: A Penny Arcade Retrospective (Limited Edition) — ISBN 1-931195-07-2
• Year One: A Penny Arcade Retrospective (Soft Cover) — ISBN 1-931195-11-0
• Year One: A Penny Arcade Retrospective (Hard Cover) — ISBN 1-931195-12-9
• Penny Arcade: Volume 1 Attack of the Bacon Robots — ISBN 1-59307-444-1
• Penny Arcade Limited Edition Signed - Attack Of The Bacon Robots — ISBN 1-59307-650-9
• Penny Arcade: Volume 2 Epic Legends Of The Magic Sword Kings — ISBN 1-59307-541-3
• Penny Arcade: Volume 3 The Warsun Prophecies — ISBN 1-59307-635-5
• Penny Arcade: Volume 4 Birds Are Weird — ISBN 1-59307-773-4 [2]
• Penny Arcade: Volume 5 The Case of the Mummy's Gold - ISBN 1-59307-814-5 (May 2008)

Online forum

The forum is divided into several subforums devoted to a broad range of topics, including but not limited to art and video games.

The forum is also home to a board devoted entirely to the PAX (Penny Arcade eXpo). The game boards often contain information about informal PA groups, such as Power's Allegory or Power's Affliction for City of Heroes and City of Villains, respectively, or the numerous World of Warcraft guilds.

In February 2007, the Penny Arcade forums were changed from phpBB to vBulletin. February 2007 is the second month of the year It began on a Thursday and 28 days later ended on a Wednesday. phpBB is a popular Internet forum package written in the PHP programming language vBulletin (abbreviated as vB) is a commercial Internet forum software produced by Jelsoft Enterprises

Analysis

On December 13, 2006, Next Generation Magazine rated Krahulik and Holkins among their "Top 25 People of the Year". Next Generation Magazine (also known as NextGen) was a Video game magazine that was made by Imagine Media Publishing company ^[62] Also appearing on the list were Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime and former Xbox chief Peter Moore. Reginald "Reggie" Fils-Aimé (ˈfiːzəmeɪ fee-suh-may) (born March 1961 is President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America Peter Moore (born 1955 in Liverpool, England) is best known for his position as Corporate Vice-President of Microsoft 's Interactive Entertainment Business 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. ^[63] Entertainment Weekly listed Penny Arcade on their "100 Sites to Bookmark Now," calling it "a hilarious and smart webcomic for gamers. Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated as EW) is a Magazine published by Time Inc "^[64] 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. "^[65] 1UP.com described it as "the One True Gaming Webcomic. 1UPcom is a video-game site owned and operated by Ziff Davis Media, publisher of the popular video game magazine EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly. "^[1] Penny Arcade was used along with American Elf, Fetus-X and Questionable Content as an example of comics using the web to create "an explosion of diverse genres and styles" in Scott McCloud's 2006 book Making Comics. American Elf is a daily online Comic strip Diary created by award-winning Cartoonist James Kochalka. Fetus-X is a controversial weekly romantic horror Comic written and drawn by Eric Millikin, award-winning American cartoonist Questionable Content (abbreviated QC) is a slice-of-life Webcomic written and drawn by Jeph Jacques. Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod on June 10 1960 is an American Cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod on June 10 1960 is an American Cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium ^[66]

References

See also

• List of comic strips
• List of web comics
• Child's Play

External links

• Penny Arcade
• Child's Play Charity
• Penny Arcade Expo (PAX)
• Greenhouse