Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 Volume 2: Epic Legends Of The Magic Sword Kings.

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.

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".

As you've all probably heard by now, there is little to this book that isn't readily available on the Penny-Arcade website. So, why would anyone buy this book? Because a real Penny Arcade fan has to buy this book, it is a moral obligation. The added commentary, the introductions, the manifesto, and the slathering hordes of hungering undead only make it that much sweeter to meet that obligation. After all, they've given us years of free content and I think it's about time we started throwing money back at them, like the exotic dancers they are.

Oh, and a note on the quality of the printing, the book feels like it could stop a shotgun blast, and it's paperback!

I have read all the comics in the archive on their site, but this book is far more interesting as it gives a little bit of background flavor to the oldies, despite the obvious lower art quality of the first strips. Penny-Arcade wasn't built in a day, and it's worth seeing how the strip evolved via "Tycho's" commentary. A must read for Penny-Arcade fans for sure. Most nerd/geek culture enthusiasts would do well to pick it up, too, even if you are not entirely familiar with their strip. Also, this book would be enlightening to Florida based lawyers with an anti-video game agenda - PA has been picking on the "Video games desensitize kids to violence" issue since 1998. Well constructed and bound book with an interesting forward by Bill Amend of Foxtrot fame. 5-stars.

penny arcades comic strips are usually topical, and considering all these strips come from the first year or two of PA, a lot of them are dated (which even tycho acknowledges in the bonus commentary). The art style is also a bit of a letdown when compared to the current style. This doesn't mean that the art is bad, it just shows how greatly the art has evolved over the years. As it stands, if you're a fan of Penny Arcade, this is a must buy. For the average fan and non-fan, though, it might be best to simply check out the strip archives on the website.

This is a great toilet reading book. Good commentary on each comic as well.

Gabe's art has changed dramatically over the years, and the comics in this collection make that point emphatically. As a previous reviewer mentioned, the strip is often topical, and as such new readers will not clue in unless they are already "one of us." Even so, the faithful will love this book (as will any nostalgic gamer) and hungrily await future works to build their collections.

Easily one of the best things to ever come from the internet, Penny Arcade has released this, their second book. "Attack of the Bacon Robots" is a compilation of the on-line comic strip's first two years of existence (the first book covered only the first year). For those that purchased the first book AotBR has new comments for the first year comics. For those who have yet to experience Penny Arcade well I have to wonder what you're doing here! Go over to www.penny-arcade.com and pore over the free (being the operative word) archives therein as this book is very much intended for the "already acquainted."

Penny Arcade is a Webcomic, it is completely independent of the comics industry and very well managed. They've been around for roughly seven years and continue to be a strong voice in both criticizing and supporting the video game industry (they're a lot less nice to the comic industry). They've decided once again to compile their early works (this time with a more reliable publisher), and have given us this book.

"Attack of the Bacon Robots" has excellent production values, as is typical of Dark Horse publishing, and being able to flip through the evolution of Mike "Gabe" Krahulik's artistic style is well worth the money they're asking for. The comic has a double purpose by serving as an historical annal of the video gaming industry. But even the topical humor ages well as some jokes are just timeless:

An Unreal Tournament admiring Tycho comes home to a disgruntled Quake adulating Gabe only to find that a chalk line has divided their apartment. Gabe informs Tycho that Gabe's side of the apartment is for loyal Quake 3 players, while Tycho's side is for UT loving "dogs." Tycho argues, "The fridge is on your side!" Gabe adds, "So is God."

Most of the comics in this book have amusing comments written by Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, who traditionally authors the news posts that accompany each strip that goes up on the Penny Arcade website. Jerry's writing mixed with Mike's imagery makes for some of the greatest laughs ever produced by video games and the people who play them.

I liken the main characters, Tycho and Gabe, to younger, unregulated and uncensored versions of Statler and Waldorf, the two old codgers that give Kermit and Fozzie such a hard time on the Muppet Show. Just as these old Muppets used to heckle the show, Tycho and Gabe send zingers toward the gaming industry, helping keep these entertainers on their toes while amusing the rest of us.

If you are a new reader to Penny Arcade be prepared to endure toilet humor, language lacking couth, constant references to male genitalia, drunk and/or surly home appliances, smack talking Lord,-our-saviors, and most of all: video games! If none of these things appeal to you then just keep walking, hero.

This book will make an excellent gift for any PA reader, casual or fanatic. I however had to purchase this book for myself as no one loves me, but I'm most pleased that I did! I can repeatedly fill the wretched solitude in my life with raucous laughter at the old antics of Tycho and Gabe in this new hand-held format!

I highly enjoy reading through this book, so much so that I'm purchasing two more as donations for the local library where I work. I'm certain others will enjoy these comics as much as I have.


-Rapscallion

I received this collection of Penny Arcade's webcomics for Christmas because my friend told the shop owner that I liked video games. It was a great gift, even if I had never gone to the Penny Arcade website ever before. Their typical format is three-panel comics that explore mostly computer and console video game culture with added character quips and preferences on what makes a good game. They have several random characters that pop in and out for comic effect, much like Family Guy or American Dad has offbeat characters in those TV shows. Most of their issues are with popular video games that came out at the time, so looking back and reading their commentaries seems kind of hazy, like reading old Doonesbury cartoons and trying to remember what the political climate was like back when they were produced. The drawings are very well done in the artist's own style, even if they resemble multiple comics throughout the years. Where else will you find rough sketches of a cartoon boy trying to violate a Pac-Man-costumed promoter at an E3 event? Even though I finished this book with delight, I didn't rush out to buy the next in the series or anything. The humor tends to spawn from typical computer-user/game-player annoyances, and honestly, I get enough of that humor online that I don't really need multiple books to document how snarky these guys' commentaries can get. I still find myself leafing through the book every once in awhile, but it's not exactly in need of a follow-up purchase.