Penny Arcade (Webcomic): Difference between revisions

Line 39:

** And note that that first panel was based on the style ''years'' after the first actual panel.

** Art timelines for [http://penny-arcade.com/2011/11/18/jonathan-gabriel-an-art-retrospective Gabe] and [http://penny-arcade.com/2011/11/18/tycho-brahe-an-art-retrospective Tycho].

* [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking]]: From the [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/8/20/ rejection letter] the duo supposedly received from Golf Digest for Bogey Golf, their series of golf comics:

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: From the [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/8/20/ rejection letter] the duo supposedly received from Golf Digest for Bogey Golf, their series of golf comics:

{{quote| Your "Bogey Golf" submission glorified many themes one does not readily associate with the game, such as incest, murder, rape, bestiality, religious intolerance, or crab fishing. }}

* [[Author Appeal]]: Gabe seems to like drawing [[Eldritch Abomination|weird, disgusting-looking alien creatures]].

Line 53:

** [[Fail O'Suckyname]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/10/10/ Jim] is a [[Call Back]] to when they played [[Final Fantasy XI (Video Game)|Final Fantasy XI]].

** Also all characters/creatures by Franzibald. (Grimm Shado, Witchaloks, wolfoids, the [[Department of Redundancy Department|Shadowdark]]. Granted, some of these names aren't as much "sucky" as they are "horribly uncreative".)

* [[Awesome Dear Boy]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/2011/11/14/skyward-sword Gabe was overjoyed] when Nintendo hired them to produce a ''[[The Legend of Zelda|Legend of Zelda]]'' comic to promote ''[[The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword (Video Game)|Skyward Sword]],'' despite his schedule being full.

* [[Awesome, Dear Boy]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/2011/11/14/skyward-sword Gabe was overjoyed] when Nintendo hired them to produce a ''[[The Legend of Zelda|Legend of Zelda]]'' comic to promote ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Video Game)|Skyward Sword]],'' despite his schedule being full.

* [[A Wizard Did It]]: Used to explain [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/11/2/ "reverse necromancy"]. As well as [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/1/18/ where babies come from].

* [[Bare Your Midriff]]: Anne does this in the earlier strips.

Line 70:

** The dickwolves are amateurs when compared to the [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/11/19/ customer service droid].

** And between the droid and the dickwolves, [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/01/07 Velociraptors].

* [[Bland Name Product]]: Most products are named and mocked, but in [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/10/18 two] [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/5/7/ strips] they were under a non-disclosure agreement, and decided to illustrate how silly the whole NDA thing is. There have been store and restaurant names such as GameShop, Taco Hole, and Wang's Chinese Restaurant, though Tycho once did refer to Barnes & Noble by its real name.

* [[Bland-Name Product]]: Most products are named and mocked, but in [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/10/18 two] [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/5/7/ strips] they were under a non-disclosure agreement, and decided to illustrate how silly the whole NDA thing is. There have been store and restaurant names such as GameShop, Taco Hole, and Wang's Chinese Restaurant, though Tycho once did refer to Barnes & Noble by its real name.

* [[Blatant Lies]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/08/03/ "Gabe, sometimes in order to hurt someone very badly, you have to tell that person terrible lies."]

* [[Book Ends]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/2/19/ a textbook example of this trope.]

Line 81:

'''Tycho''': So, you didn't wet yourself. You were just drinking ''piss''.

'''Gabe''': Yes, that's right. No. }}

* [[But You Screw One Goat]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/12/31/ Not anymore, though.]

* [[But You Screw One Goat!]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/12/31/ Not anymore, though.]

* [[Call Back]]: The [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/7/14/ comic from July 14th, 2010] has Tycho use the made-up racial slur "chuwero", first mentioned [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/10/ three and a half years ago]. He will also use it on occasion in ''[[Poker Night At the Inventory (Video Game)|Poker Night At the Inventory]]''.

** [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/05/17 Tycho invented] [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/6/13/ a hippo.]

* [[Character Blog]]: The corresponding blogs on the strips.

* [[Check Please]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/03/25 This strip].

* [[Check, Please!]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/03/25 This strip].

* [[Chest Burster]] / [[Puppeteer Parasite]]: The [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/05/04/ Broodax], [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/5/7/ in] [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/06/06/ spades].

* [[Christmas Special]]: Oh so [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/17/ subverted].

Line 101:

** One really has to see [[The Rant]] for that comic. The back-and-forth of Gabe and Tycho slinging factoids about the Mega Man games is fun. Especially the last one, where Gabe unearths an unbeatable fact that proves him right.

* [[Crossover]]: Telltale's ''Poker Night at the Inventory'', sure it's typical for them to crossover a [[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|Video Game]] seeing that it's a gamer webcomic, but its really unlikely for them to crossover a [[Homestar Runner (Web Animation)|Web Original]] and a [[Sam and Max Freelance Police (Comic Book)|Comic Book]].

* [[Crouching Moron Hidden Badass]]: Gabe. Not only is he the Cardboard Tube Samurai - whose skills may carry over in some form to his civilian persona - but he has received a blood transfusion from Spider-Man, and may be Darth Vader's son. Taking all this into account, Gabe may have the potential to be a web-slinging force-adept with the ability to slice things to shreds with a perfectly round tube, to say nothing of the potential synergy between spider-sense and force awareness. He's also the Beta Whisperer.

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Gabe. Not only is he the Cardboard Tube Samurai - whose skills may carry over in some form to his civilian persona - but he has received a blood transfusion from Spider-Man, and may be Darth Vader's son. Taking all this into account, Gabe may have the potential to be a web-slinging force-adept with the ability to slice things to shreds with a perfectly round tube, to say nothing of the potential synergy between spider-sense and force awareness. He's also the Beta Whisperer.

* [[Crowd Song]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/11/14/ this].

* [[Dada Comics]]: Twisp & Catsby.

Line 133:

*** [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/02/25 Jesus FUCK my EYE CHRIST!]

*** [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/04 In the first panel.]

* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Their "[[Spin Off]]" series ''Automata'' is set in a 1920's [[Film Noir|noirish]] universe where racism is saved for robots rather than other humans.

* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Their "[[Spin-Off]]" series ''Automata'' is set in a 1920's [[Film Noir|noirish]] universe where racism is saved for robots rather than other humans.

* [[Filler Strip]]: The Sketchbook-like updates that happen when the two are at various conventions.

* [[Fingore]]: Gabe once [[Real Life Writes the Plot|legit]] cut his thumb clear to the bone without even realizing it. In [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/3/30/ the accompanying strip], Tycho was less than concerned.

Line 151:

* [[Girl On Girl Is Hot]]: Heavily implied [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/08/29 here].

* [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]: Often seen when the characters, especially Tycho, are angry. [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/8/24/ Here's] just one of many examples.

* [[~~Godwins~~ Law]]: Tycho [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/10/12 runs afoul of this.]

* [[Godwin's Law]]: Tycho [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/10/12 runs afoul of this.]

* [[Gonk]]: A somewhat more [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/04/02 "realistic" drawing of the authors], though exaggerated [[Rule of Funny|for comedic effect]].

* [[Go Ye Heroes Go and Die]]: The motto of the Lookouts in the eponymous strip is "May We Die In The Forest".

Line 195:

* [[Kill It With Fire]]: Effectively the MO of the Gabe's ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' wizard Jim Darkmagic (of the New Hampshire Darkmagics) in their podcast on the [[Wizards of the Coast]] website. Scorching Burst was used to set fire to everything from goblins to zombies to vampires to berserkers to priests to Binwin Bronzebottom, the party's Dwarven Fighter.

** [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/10/07/ Inverted]

* [[Last Name Basis]]: Gabe's first name is Johnathan, but this is of course rarely used.

* [[Last-Name Basis]]: Gabe's first name is Johnathan, but this is of course rarely used.

* [[Least Rhymable Word]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/9/13/ Acquiesce].

* [[Leave the Camera Running]]: The guys have described their pacing as a comic adaptation of this idea; many strips have punchlines in the second panel, and the frame will simply stay on the characters a little too long. The third panel will either be a [[One Two Punchline]], [[Overly Long Gag]], or [[Reaction Shot]]

Line 205:

* [[Man On Fire]]: "[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/2/27/ I'm not sure that's an effigy]."

** Complete with [[Major Injury Underreaction]] and [[Shout Out]] to [[Warhammer 40000|Warhammer 40,000]] in the title.

* [[Merchandise Driven]]: [[Lampshaded]]. See [[The Merch]], above.

* [[Merchandise-Driven]]: [[Lampshaded]]. See [[The Merch]], above.

* [[Mermaid Problem]]: Addressed quite directly [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/09/29/ here].

* [[MST]]: [[Advertising Tropes|Ad]]''[[Incredibly Lame Pun|monishments]]'', found [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/7/26/ here].

* [[Multiple Choice Form Letter]]: Tycho writes [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/16 one comic] this way as he wants to write a comic about the E3 convention before he attends. It results in some pretty hilarious [[Mad Libs Dialogue]].

* [[My God What Have I Done]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/02/21 The first part] of the story arc ''Ripped From Today's Headlines'' has Tycho accidentally killing his wife when trying out a move from ''[[Splinter Cell]]'', and feeling bad for it.

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/02/21 The first part] of the story arc ''Ripped From Today's Headlines'' has Tycho accidentally killing his wife when trying out a move from ''[[Splinter Cell]]'', and feeling bad for it.

{{quote| '''Tycho''': Oh my god. Oh my god. Please don't leave me!}}

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: Scott Kurtz of ''[[Pv P]]'', portrayed as [[The Rival]] in some strips, is invariably called "[[Country Matters|Steve Kuntz]]" by Gabe and Tycho.

Line 222:

{{quote| '''Tycho''': [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/03/25/ Let me just ask you this]: do you think that "cloud rendering" is something that happens in the sky?

'''Gabe''': Yes.

'''Tycho''': Alright. [[Check Please]]. }}

'''Tycho''': Alright. [[Check, Please!]]. }}

* [[Oh Crap]]: Gabe tries out ''[[Minecraft]]'' and realises he's gotten into something very addictive:

{{quote| '''Gabe:''' I guess you punch trees? Which creates... wood? [[Item Crafting|Which I can turn into sticks? And then I turn the]] ''[[Item Crafting|sticks]]'' [[Item Crafting|into]] ... Oh no. ''Oh no.'' I'm in some real fucking trouble here.}}

Line 257:

* [[Rooting for The Empire]]: Tycho [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/03/02 in this strip] towards the zombies of ''[[The Walking Dead (TV)|The Walking Dead]]''.

* [[Rule of Cool]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/19/ Why does Penny Arcade think you should get] ''[[Prototype (Video Game)|Prototype]]''?

* [[Rule ~~Thirty Four~~]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/12/30/ For the New Year], the guys have resolved to quit bizarre Internet porn (Tycho... coldturkeys.com?) and quit jacking off to the jellyfishes in the local aquarium (Gabe).

* [[Rule 34]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/12/30/ For the New Year], the guys have resolved to quit bizarre Internet porn (Tycho... coldturkeys.com?) and quit jacking off to the jellyfishes in the local aquarium (Gabe).

** [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/9/19/ In The Love Nest of Har'akki]

* [[Running Gag]]:

** How many times have they killed each other and stolen that Pac Man watch from the corpse?

** The repeated jokes that Gabe is secretly gay (especially for [[Spider-Man]]): [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/3/29/ 1]

** Their comic counterpart's obsession with penises. [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today|But not in a gay way.]] (Examples forthcoming, probably too numerous to list)

** Their comic counterpart's obsession with penises. [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?|But not in a gay way.]] (Examples forthcoming, probably too numerous to list)

** Punctuation.

** Stem cell research.

Line 277:

** In fact, swine flu was the ''only'' time Gabe and Tycho were unable to produce a strip since the series ''began''. Tycho did three MS Paint horrorpieces, but in ten years, that's ''it''.

* [[Second Law My Ass]]: The Fruit Fucker, and Div.

* [[Self Deprecation]]: Pretty often, both in the comic and Tycho's missives, notably when Tycho explains the nature of [[Stylistic Suck]].

* [[Self-Deprecation]]: Pretty often, both in the comic and Tycho's missives, notably when Tycho explains the nature of [[Stylistic Suck]].

{{quote| '''Tycho''': "Making something that is bad on purpose - and not bad inadvertently, which is my usual process - is a whole-body thrill."}}

** Tycho and Gabe teach schoolkids how to make comic strips:

Line 292:

'''General:''' Y is kind of a tricky letter. }}

* [[Single Issue Landlord]]: The premise of "That's so locust!"

* [[Slasher Smile]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/resources/real-talk.html Gabe gets a horrifying one] when the comic's popularity happens to cause trouble for [[Jerkass|Ocean]] [[Small Name Big Ego|Marketing]].

* [[Slasher Smile]]: [http://penny-arcade.com/resources/real-talk.html Gabe gets a horrifying one] when the comic's popularity happens to cause trouble for [[Jerkass|Ocean]] [[Small Name, Big Ego|Marketing]].

* [[Slice of Life]]: In more recent years, as the guys have started having families, these sort of strips have started to happen occasionally. [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/9/3/ An example.]

* [[Snap Back]]

Line 302:

* [[So Long and Thanks For All The Gear]]: Referenced in [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/12/2/ this] strip

* [[Something Completely Different]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/9/1/ Here.]

* [[El Spanish O]]: In [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/9/7/ "The Ruse"], Gabe tries to use this as part of a [[Paper Thin Disguise]].

* [[El Spanish O]]: In [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/9/7/ "The Ruse"], Gabe tries to use this as part of a [[Paper-Thin Disguise]].

* [[Species Surname]]: You'd think that Catsby was the dapper cat, yes, and thus the demon Twisp? [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/4/7/ Subverted].

* [[Spin Off]]: They attempted to make a Jim Darkmagic comic arc, which seemed to involve him and his stage performances going horribly wrong. It was however, voted down. Probably due to the fact that "That wasn't Jim Darkmagic! Jim Darkmagic only ever rolls natural 20s! He's seven feet tall with red hair and eyes like the sun!"

* [[Spin-Off]]: They attempted to make a Jim Darkmagic comic arc, which seemed to involve him and his stage performances going horribly wrong. It was however, voted down. Probably due to the fact that "That wasn't Jim Darkmagic! Jim Darkmagic only ever rolls natural 20s! He's seven feet tall with red hair and eyes like the sun!"

** Also due to the fact that, as great as the Jim Darkmagic's (of the New Hampshire Darkmagics) strip was, the even more amazing alternatives -- ''Automata'' and ''Lookouts'' -- crushed it in in the voting, with ''Lookouts'' winning by a small margin (all three concepts are going to be revisited anyway, they just wanted to know what ''order'' readers would like).

** They've since presented another round of potential spinoffs like ''[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/10/27/ Sand]'' and ''[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/11/1/ Queen of Bells]''. One, ''[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/10/29/ The New Kid]'', has already been optioned for a movie.

Line 329:

* [[The Talk]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/1/18/ This].

** Tycho of ''[[Penny Arcade]]'' got a [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/1/17/ particularly painful subversion] of [[The Talk]].

* [[Technology Marches On]]: Inevitable considering how long the strip has run. Some ideas are reinvented to suit new mores - the Fruit Fucker 5000 was originally a parody of the rambling cable-TV gadget advertisements popular in [[The Nineties]], but has since moved on to parody Apple's range of [[~~I Product~~|iProducts]].

* [[Technology Marches On]]: Inevitable considering how long the strip has run. Some ideas are reinvented to suit new mores - the Fruit Fucker 5000 was originally a parody of the rambling cable-TV gadget advertisements popular in [[The Nineties]], but has since moved on to parody Apple's range of [[IProduct|iProducts]].

* [[Tears of Blood]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/9/9/ In response to] [[Cool and Unusual Punishment|a slideshow]].

* [[They Changed It Now It Sucks]]: In-universe; Gabe [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/8/23/ disapproves of] ''[[Dungeons and Dragons|D&D Essentials]]'':

* [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]]: In-universe; Gabe [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/8/23/ disapproves of] ''[[Dungeons and Dragons|D&D Essentials]]'':

{{quote| '''Tycho:''' There was always one thing missing from your tabletop journey: a new version to revile, and an old version for you to cling to like a drowning man.

'''Gabe:''' I don't know what you're talking about, [[Ruined FOREVER|but D&D sucks now]]. I'm going to go online and argue about it.

Line 338:

** Also, in [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/08/17 this strip], Tycho appears to be sitting on the toilet.

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Geez, Tycho. Did you have to use a sharp knife to cut a banana?

** Real life example: Ocean Marketing (or, rather, one person [[Small Name Big Ego|too high up the chain for his own good]]) just picked a fight with Penny Arcade for the loyalty of the gamer population. [[Sarcasm Mode|Surely this will be a battle of epic proportions.]]

** Real life example: Ocean Marketing (or, rather, one person [[Small Name, Big Ego|too high up the chain for his own good]]) just picked a fight with Penny Arcade for the loyalty of the gamer population. [[Sarcasm Mode|Surely this will be a battle of epic proportions.]]

* [[True Companions]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2011/2/21/ Gabriel is not my friend, he's more like my arm.]

* [[Trust Me I'm an X]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/10/9/ "It's okay, I'm a dentist."]

* [[Two Gamers On a Couch]]: The [[Ur Example]].

* [[The Villain Sucks Song]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/6/26/ Open Mic Night].

* [["The Villain Sucks" Song]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/6/26/ Open Mic Night].

* [[Vomit Indiscretion Shot]]: Combined with [[Overly Long Gag]] in [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/11/03 this strip] about Gabe having motion sickness when playing ''[[Mirrors Edge]]''.

* [[Wall of Text]]: [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/10/ I Hope You Like Text].

Line 350:

** Both Jerry and Mike have said that without Robert Khoo, their business manager, they would have sold themselves into slavery for what, at the time, would have seemed like a really good idea. For example: their book rights.

* [[What Measure Is a Non Human]]: The basis of the ''Automata'' storyline

* [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]: The basis of the ''Automata'' storyline

* [[Wild Mass Guessing]]: Combined with [[Intercontinuity Crossover]] [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/1/11/ here].

* [[With Friends Like These]]: Gabe and Tycho.

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[[Category:Trope Overdosed]]

[[Category:Penny Arcade]]

[[Category:Web Comic]]

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