The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition [Hardcover]

Mike Krahulik (Author), Jerry Holkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2010

 
> open book
 
The book is now open.
 
> read book
 
Entitled The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade, it details the history of a comic strip called Penny Arcade. The comic appears to catalog the lives of two young men who are utterly steeped in popular culture.

Each chapter gathers into a coherent beam of savory trivia, strange facts, formerly mysterious origins, biographical information, interviews, inaugural conventions, an unlikely charity, and comic strips. You get the sense that some of the content may be apocryphal—for example, the part where they eat a whole wolf basically comes out of nowhere. Also, if one of them really did become “King of the Britons,” you’re sure you would have heard about it somewhere else.
 
> close book
 
You close the book and place it back on the shelf. Maybe next time.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JERRY HOLKINS is the writer of the webcomic Penny Arcade. Holkins also writes the majority of the news posts or rants that accompany each comic. His other exploits include being a lead singer/guitarist in a band called The Fine Print, whose works are freely available over the internet. In the webcomic, his alter ego is known as Tycho Brahe. Holkins lives in the Seattle, Washington area.

 

MIKE KRAHULIK is the artist for the webcomic Penny Arcade. Krahulik credits cartoonist Stephen Silver as a major influence on his drawing style, which has continued to evolve since he began drawing Penny Arcade in 1998. He also provided the illustrations for the cover of the book Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, and artwork for the Daily Victim, a regular feature that used to run on GameSpy.com. In the webcomic, his alter ego is Jonathan Gabriel, or simply Gabe. Krahulik lives in the Seattle, Washington area.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (February 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034551226X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345512260
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 0.7 x 12.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #413,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a "best of" book..., February 26, 2010

By 

Benjamin E. Burnes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

I'll admit right now that I'm a huge fan of Penny Arcade and pretty much all of their endeavors.

At first, I thought this book was a collection of Mike and Jerry's favorite strips, which disappointed me a little since they are continuing to release their yearly volumes. However, upon reading most of it, I was pleasantly surprised to find it is more a chronicling of how Penny Arcade came to be the monolith it is now, which I find far more fascinating. The writing can be a little self-congratulatory at times, but they also point out on many occasions that simple dumb luck played a huge part of their success. I feel that they are just as bewildered as to how they got where they are as everyone else.

If you enjoy Penny Arcade and are wondering the struggles their entire crew has endured getting where they are, I highly recommend this book. If you're just looking for laughs, you'll find quite a few here, but probably not as many as you'd expect, but that shouldn't be a reason to deter you from making the purchase.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great comic - better authors!, February 23, 2010

By 

J. Shurin "carnivore" (London) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

I'm probably one of the rare few geeks on the internet that doesn't regularly follow Penny Arcade. I tried, briefly, in college (didn't we all?), but, even then, I was already behind on my video game references.

Still, regular reader or not, it is impossible to avoid the influence of Jerry and Mike (or Tycho and Gabe).

Over and above a website read by 3.5 million people a day, they've created one of the premiere gaming conventions (PAX) and even inspired a video game. They're always at the front line of geeky causes - from founding a charity (Child's Play) to battling Crazy Jack Thompson. Read 'em or not, the pair are unavoidable.

The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade recounts their 11.5 year journey from launch to now.

The content is scattershot: amusing anecdotes of legal battles and behind-the-scenes looks at PAX are combined with photos of the office and interminable Q&A's. The highlight is a thirty-page collection of vintage strips, each paired with quick insights from the creative team. Especially as an unfamiliar reader, that's where the book came to life. I suspect that devoted fanatics would happily spend $24 RRP for a hardcover collection of photographs of fan-donated plush toys, but I wanted a bit more meat.

The real splendid magic of Penny Arcade was in the tone of voice. It is impossible to do a retrospective like this without sinking into self-praising prose and back-patting, but Mike and Jerry were as open with their mistakes as they were their successes. And, more charmingly, they largely credit their mistakes to ignorance and their successes to luck. The pair come across as really good guys - enjoying the good fortune of their miraculous livelihoods and trying their best to spread the fun when and where they can.

As a result? The book was so-so - I'm clearly outside of the target audience of hardcore fans, and suggest that newcomers to Penny Arcade start with a traditional collection instead. But the authors? They impressed the hell out of me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great biography of the Penny Arcade phenomena, April 13, 2010

By 

Karl-Johan Sjögren (Vännäs, Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

A great book for everyone who loves Penny Aracade, not just for the great comic but for everything that Penny Arcade stands for. Contains several of the authors favourite comic strips as well as the story behind the comic, PAX, Childs Play and more. A must have for any serious fan!