Attack of the Bacon Robots (Penny Arcade, Vol. 1) (Paperback)

by Jerry Holkins (Author), Mike Krahulik (Author) "It's really strange..." (more)
Key Phrases: Penny Arcade, Daily Radar, Resident Evil (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Penny Arcade is an immensely popular Web comic and, in book form, a perfect example of why Web comics are, well, on the Web. The seven-year-old comic strip revolves around gaming, science fiction and computer humor. The two protagonists, Tycho and Gabe (also the code names for the creators), obsess over video games, new technology and the minutiae of their lives and fantasies. Displaying not a trace of self-consciousness or self-deprecation, the strip's premise is that the creators are the funniest guys in the room. Nearly every joke is told with a wink to the audience and swift elbow in the ribs. The drawing is repetitive, and the strips use none of the graphic effects available online. Instead, they are simple panel sequences. In book form, there are two strips per page, with commentary from the creators. along the bottom. Oddly, Holkins and Krahulik have chosen to print their comics at exactly the same resolution as online, making the actual images grainy, unfocused and simply not up to normal print standards. For a technology-obsessed strip, this is an odd mistake. The humor in Penny Arcade will definitely appeal to its core audience of webheads and gaming addicts. For the rest of us, it is all too disposable. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Forget your warm and fuzzy newspaper strips. Penny Arcade is a scathing send-up of geek culture with jokes sharp enough to injure an eye. Brash, snarky, and sometimes just outright wrong, Attack of the Bacon Robots! is a hilarious heaping helping of the strip. To say that Tycho and Gabe, its, uh, heroes, are -video-game enthusiasts would be like saying that Anakin Skywalker has issues. Console games, handhelds, PCs--there is no format in which these intrepid game-geeks are not willing to risk life and limb to play. While their commentary on the gamer community and their "reviews" of popular game titles are fun, the biggest laughs come when Tycho and Gabe are forced to deal with the real world. If nothing else, Penny Arcade illustrates that there may be times when a well-placed non sequitur can save one's life. Extra, value-adding features include excellent creators' commentary on each strip and a sketchbook section. Tina Coleman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; First Printing edition (February 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593074441
• ISBN-13: 978-1593074449
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #397,367 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but Gabe is missed, February 2, 2006

By	Ryan Agadoni (La Mirada, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am one of those who bought their original book appropriately titled "Penny Arcade: Year One." While the image quality of the strips was very low due to some sort of archiving mis-hap, the commentary that accompanied the strips was worth the price of the book several times over. It featured both Gabe and Tycho commenting on their early strips. Rarely was the commentary helpful from an historical perspective, but it was always hi-larious. It was like a bonus year's worth of strips.

Now, with the long-awaited release of Attack of the Bacon Robots, we finally have not one but TWO years worth of strips, and all new commentary to boot! On the plus side, this is a very handsome volume, and the strips are of much better image quality than the first ill-fated book. There is also plenty of new commentary by Tycho on the book as a whole and the individual strips, which is very welcome. He is, as always, witful. Full of wit. Witting. Wittish? Yes. Yes he is.

Unfortunately, there is no commentary by Gabe! In the first book, the two bounced off each other creating a harmonic resonance of comedy. I'd also have liked to hear his comments on the evolution of his style and technique. Perhaps he will return for future volumes? I hope so.

I am eagerly anticipating Epic Legends of the Mighty Sword Kings.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Comic May Not Be For Everyone, But Those Who Appreciate It Will Love This Book, February 22, 2006

By	Andrew "Radaar" (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews

While I can't really back this claim up, I've heard that Penny Arcade is one of the most popular webcomics currently in existence, and this book will show you why.
Written by Jerry Holkins and drawn by Mike Krahulik, Penny Arcade is about two gamers known as Tycho Brahe and Johnathon "Gabe" Gabriel (who represent Holkins and Karhulik, respectively) who comment on gaming culture, computers, and other "geeky" topics. The pair is joined by a hilarious bunch of supporting characters, including their wives Brenna and Kara, their anthropomorphic, alcoholic Divx player Div, Chuck/Charles, the resident Mac enthusiast, and Randy, the dirty newscaster (many more subcharacters aren't introduced in this volume).
Tycho and Gabe spend most of their time insulting games/people they don't like, commenting on current events in the gaming world, and attacking each other. There is little continuity in the strip, meaning that a character who dies in one strip is alive in the next. The biggest change that stays is Chuck's transformation into Charles around the time Mac computers got cooler casings. I must note here that this comic is not for everyone, it uses graphic violence and very colorful language to get its message across.
The cool thing about this book is that Tycho comments on all of the comics (sadly, Gabe didn't participate; I know that Tycho is the writer of the group, but I'm sure that Gabe could have some insightful comments). The commentary ranges from insightful to hilarious to bizarre. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Bill Amend, creator of Fox Trot, did the forward for the book.
If you like Penny Arcade, you should definitely consider buying this great book. If you've never heard of Penny Arcade, you should go to its website first, because this comic is definitely not for everyone.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Near-Bacon Nerdvana, January 27, 2006

By	M. Canavino (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Absolutely a must-buy for any PA (or comic) fan.

The book itself is high-quality, glossy paper; none of that weak recycled card-stock here. Color reproduction is excellent as well. Definitely worthy of the PA logo.

All comics from the first two years are included, usually 2 per page with "commentary".

That's the only change I hope is made in the next book; more commentary! I was expecting more along the lines of a Bill Watterson collection, with background on the ideas behind the strips, drawing style etc.

Overall though, Penny Arcade and Dark Horse did a fantastic job for their first (non-stolen) book, "Attack of the Bacon Robots".