Well Automata is done and now I'm on to Jim Darkmagic. Automata was an especially difficult piece for me as it's way outside my usual style. It might not look like it, but this page actually took me longer to complete than the Lookouts page. I'm really happy with the final product though.

Here's a closer look at the first panel for those of you who are interested.

If we'd had any idea how Lookouts would resonate with people - and resonate it has - maybe we would have done it last? It was something we came up with when we were having lunch at Arby's, for fuck's sake. Maybe we should eat at Arby's more often.

I could not help myself.

Kiko thought you guys might like one of these:

I have to thank a reader for giving us the name of the Girl Scout equivalent to the Lookouts. Girls in this world could join the Daughters of the Eyrewood. Tycho and I have been talking about what might happen when both groups go off to camp. The boys and girls split perhaps by some haunted lake. I want to draw more stories in this world!

Wow, the response to Lookouts has been overwhelming so far. I've got people begging for Lookouts merit badges and a Lookouts patch.  I have to give a fuck ton of credit to Kiko for absolutely killing the logo. I've also had people asking for more information about the Lookouts.

The world of the Lookouts is a wild one. The majority of it is covered in a dense magical forest called the Eyrewood. Human settlements are few and far between. Learning to navigate and live alongside the forest is a necessity. Men must protect the few roads they have through the woods and as the Lookouts' creed says, "What men must know a boy must learn." Young boys in this world join the Lookouts and are taught the ways of the forest.

You can listen to the podcast and hear how we fleshed out the idea and specifically nailed down the hook for this page. While Tycho was working on the creed and the rest of the dialogue I went to work on designing the Lookouts themsleves. Here is my rough sketch for the troop.

It might have been helpful to announce this ahead of time.

The Penny Arcade family is looking for a new member. We considered stealing DNA from the unearthed remains of the most ruthless military leaders in history. We would then use advanced cloning to combine said DNA with a healthy ovum. Then we allow this monster to gestate to maturity before hiring it as our merchandise manager. In the end we decided this plan was illegal and morally questionable. So plan B was to just post the job listing on the internet and then hire the most qualified person.

Would you like to work at Penny Arcade?

-Gabe out

It's a shame that a substantial portion of this trailer was leaked prior to E3, dulling its impact as an engine of brand extension. Even so, each frame is pregnant with emotive power. There is no way to strip it entirely.

We haven't actually seen Project Natal in the flesh, and with the advent of this strip, we'll never be allowed to. So... I guess that's that.

Is Final Fantasy XIV the fastest turnaround ever on a so-called "exclusive?" I recall Assassin's Creed being very quick as well. We'll see how Conviction fares, but I suspect that the prospect of making more money with the same product might come into play.

One of the biggest announcements, at least to my mind, didn't take place during a conference - Microsoft announced that it would be offering full game downloads for their system.  I was sort of expecting Sony and Microsoft both announce something on this level, and Sony did in a way - the PSP Go! is a device that almost entirely removes Gamestop from the equation.  Without a UMD slot, the only thing Gamestop gets to sell is the device itself - a contraption which is nothing less than a stake in their own heart.  I'm sure they'll love that.

Our favorite parts of the Sony conference were the Assassin's Creed 2 live demo and the presentation of Uncharted 2, so the recently activated code for the closed beta of Uncharted was more than welcome. 

When they stepped forward with something called a Wii Vitality Sensor, we exploded with rage. Shortly thereafter, the sky cracked and we were reborn in a radiant pillar of divine bliss. The announcement of a new Metroid would have brought me joy merely because I love Metroid, because there is a place in me that Metroid is fitted to. That it would answer the nameless yearning of my heart and posit a serious take on the setting - with Team Ninja at the helm - was entirely too much to bear.

With the Lord of the Rings "brand" reverting back to Warner Brothers, they're taking it for a spin themselves before loaning it out to anybody. The result, as you might already have heard, is Aragorn's Quest: a cooperative action adventure romp for the Wii, manufactured with "kids and their families" squarely in mind. The strip talks specifically about the art style you'll see in some of the screens, a delivery one might describe as being almost incandescent in its enthusiasm, but in general we think this is unexpected and kind of interesting.

Do you play WOW? If so you might appreicate our new shirt.