The Digital Strips Podcast
Bring the 5% of webcomics worth reading to the rest of the world. The Digital Strips blog provides coverage of the webcomic community with news and commentary from our crack team of reporters. It consists of reviews of webcomics, with the occasional interview, round-table discussions, and general advice on how to create and run a webcomic.

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S M T W T F S
     
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Syndication

After we give credit where it’s due for Everblue (check out the review in Episode 568), it’s time to jump in the Wayback Machine and travel back to 2011, when Magnolia Pearl was just starting out on a little creature comic called Monster Pulse. We’re back, eight years later, to check in on Bina, Ayo, and the whole gang to see who’s still around and what monsters they have to check out. Join us!

Direct download: DS570Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 9:43am EDT

Families are the worst, right? And we're not even talking about the holidays, but what about when your brother or lazy teenage son lets a sexy bird lady escape from your family's private garden with the golden apple that holds an antidote which would end your family's long reigning fortune? Yeah, that just SUCKS. If you've never experienced that yourself, enjoy our thoughts on The Red King, a comic so full of family drama and angst the bird women leap off the page and fly into your heart.

Direct download: DS569Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 9:24am EDT

We don't do news items that often any more, but John Allison updates are worthy of our attention! After we get excited about Wicked Things, his upcoming expansion of the Scarymachinerydaysiverse, we take to the skies and give love a chance with the hopeful comic, Michael Sexton's Everblue. Once you see the progress this story and artwork have made in the last decade, you'll agree that it's a must-read comic.

Direct download: DS568Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 10:21am EDT

Is it a journal comic? Is it a memoir comic? It doesn't matter, because Ryan Made Mistakes is yet another good, good Ryan Estrada comic. Delve into Ryan's sordid past with tales about school shower apprehension and melting clothes, it's all there, laid bare, for you and I to consume and judge. BONUS: Given the subject matter of the comic, we included a small taste of our other show, Today I Learned Nothing, as Jason recounts his own problems with showing off his bits at school.

Direct download: DS567Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 10:25am EDT

Welcome to Zero Game, where you can earn a second chance at living the life you lost or wasted, but must sit through unbelieveable video game conceits and unnecessary exposition to earn it. Also, in the course of detailing the story of this comic, Steve reminds Jason of the lore behind the vehicular combat game franchise, Twisted Metal, and he is not happy about it.

Direct download: DS566Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 10:56pm EDT

Are you ready to laugh? Like, seriously LAUGH? Then click through to Neil Kohney's The Other End and let the guffaws begin! His comic, which mostly uses children to give hilarious commentary on everything in our modern society, has biting wit and dark comedy that should have you laughing with each click. If not, you're a robot, and we request that you answer this CAPTCHA to proceed.

Direct download: DS565Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 1:56pm EDT

We're calling back to days of yore with a Horizons Watch-esque episode! Hear our thoughts on the short but excellent comics Threader by Liz Kramer and The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh and Silvester Vitale. Check them both out!

Direct download: DS564Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 10:07am EDT

Motion comics can be stiff reading experiences, but what happens when they pay homage to a cartoon era that was likewise simple and stilted? Cyko KO! takes a swing at that question with a Webtoons, online-only comic that has plenty of fun hijinx but might be lacking in heart and depth. Listen to our thoughts, turn down your volume, and give the comic a look for yourself.

Direct download: DS563Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 9:51am EDT

This week features a comic with time travel that's so fun, your nose will bleed! Or your older self might die! But don't worry, he'll come back. Shen, with help from Megan McKay and Dave Mercier, brings us Live With Yourself, a Multiplicity-like with heart and zany, doppelganger-infused hijinx that tells the story of Todd and his three friends, himself, himself, and himself. You don't need more than one of yourself to enjoy this comic, though!

Direct download: DS562Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 10:27am EDT

Plum: it's like Pokemon, except instead of monsters living in balls, it's fruit, and instead of making them fight each other, you stack them. Like, really high. That's the idea behind our comic review this week, Plum! Come for the silly conceit for a story, stay for us brainstorming modern disagreements that could be solved with fruit stacking matches.

Direct download: DS561Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:38pm EDT

The world of Ty Dunitz and Jenn Lee's Rising Sand is desolate, hopeless, and treacherous, fully-realized and under-explored. Follow along with a small but lively group of the survivors of this dangerous land and hear why the art style reminds us of a Don Bluth cartoon and how you might need to give this slow-paced but engaging comic some breathing room in between views.

Direct download: DS560Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:28pm EDT

Monsters live among us and, as usual, kids are the only ones with enough chill to keep them happy and alive. Drew Weing's The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo will entertain and delight you, even as Steve and Jason use it's immense quality to discuss the days when webcomics weren't necessarily so good. Enjoy both, please!

Direct download: DS559Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:02pm EDT

The guys take advantage of a comic still finding its footing in iZiAHZAY's Comic Strips to look back on the early days of webcomics and to explore the origins of a Digital Strips legend.

Direct download: DS558Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:31pm EDT

Lee Keegan has taken the wide open, detailed world of Dwarf Fortress and added his own story and characters to it with Bridgedflickered. Jason doesn't pretend to know a thing about it, so Steve leads the way on why all dwarves are so expendable and who comes up with this goofy names. It's a fun ride!

Direct download: DS557Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 1:35pm EDT

Learning can be fun, and Aztec Empire is here to show just that. This expertly crafted comic about history informs just as much as it entertains, with plenty of behind the scenes trappings for those of you who always want a little something extra in their entertainment.

Direct download: DS556Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:26pm EDT

Jason loves romantic comedies and tolerates dumb science. Steve loathes both things. This makes their tandem review of LUFF by Arechan a contentious one, indeed! Listen as they come to a consensus of disbelief and enjoyment for this questionably-nominated comic.

Direct download: DS555Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 3:47pm EDT

The internet is a historical oddity, full of old browsers and search engines that rise to fame in a day and burn out just as quickly. But, did you ever want to see what it looks like if they were all represented by magical anime girls? Then boy howdy, do we have the comic for you! Check out our review of the inscrutable Internet Explorer by Merriweather and Princess Hinghoi and pick your favorite anthropomorphized web browser!

Direct download: DS554Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 1:11pm EDT

This podcast has been around for almost 15 years, so Steve and Jason take a quick look back at some of the episode formats that worked and many others that didn't. After that brief introspection, it's time to get lost on a strange planet with a band of intrepid adventurers in Room of Swords!

Direct download: DS553Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 1:20pm EDT

When the whole world is full of nuclear fallout-induced freaks, are normal people the true weirdos? Grace Mulcahy attempts to answer that question as well as many others we don't quite understand with Larkspur. Join a gang and get in the fight!

Direct download: DS552Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 9:47pm EDT

Do you like questionable takes on classic cartoon characters? How about horror comics? Anime? If you said yes to all of those things (and more, who the heck are we kidding), then you will love our review of Misterie Krew's Scoob and Shag!

Direct download: DS551Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:46pm EDT

After Steve was getting fed up with a certain journal comic (Eisner-winning, even!), Jason decided to find something he would enjoy a bit more. Enter My Giant Nerd Boyfriend. Follow along with Fishball and Boyfriend as they navigate life together, one of them being small, and one of them being ridiculously large. Now available on YouTube as well!

Direct download: DS550Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:28pm EDT

After the guys reminisce about podcast days gone by with the John Oliver-laden episodes of The Bugle (the most special of which can be found here), they take a look at the precocious treat that is Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. It's vibes are all-ages and Calvin and Hobbes-inspired, with enough of an identity to tell a story unique to Phoebe and her unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils.

Direct download: DS549Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 9:51am EDT

Beacons of hope have it so tough; always getting chased by one tribe or race, being harassed for their blood and/or life to break this curse and that curse. Doesn't a beacon deserve happiness, happiness with a handsome shark prince with sexy teeth? Find out in our review of Wendy Lian Martin's Castle Swimmer.

Direct download: DS548Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:29pm EDT

Ever want to learn more about nature and the animals it contains, but were afraid it wouldn't be funny enough? Bird and Moon by Rosemary Mosco has you covered, with enough animal facts to fill an Illustrated Wildlife Treasury and dry humor that would make even the stiffest Brit chuckle.

Direct download: DS547Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 3:06pm EDT

While Steve is out, Jason takes the opportunity to catch up with friend of the show and amazing creator of all things ... well, all things, David Gallaher. Hear David talk about his work on The Only Living Boy, the follow-up, The Only Living Girl, his contribution to the upcoming Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, and why many people are wrong about who the best Green Lantern of all time is.

Direct download: DS546Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:08pm EDT

Steve and his family are enjoying Noelle Stevenson's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and they think you should, too! Meanwhile, Jason brings a comic unlike most others you've read before, where love is just around the corner and even the fearsome Duke of Hell is getting into the act. Listen to the guys review Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell and then go read that wonderful, weird comic for yourself.

Direct download: DS545Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 1:55pm EDT

In the mood to solve a mystery? Feeling hated even though you are the very best at what you do? Does your privileged, boring life leave you wanting to don a mask and take down your fellow elites, Robin Hood meets Batman-style? Then Dan Schkade's Eisner-nominated Lavender Jack should satisfy whatever comic appetite you have!

Direct download: DS544Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:23pm EDT

The gods are angry! Also, horny, hungry, lustful, bored, and horny again. We're trying to keep track of the entire pantheon and shipping so many couples you should call us Amazon in our review of Rachel Smythe's Lore Olympus.

Direct download: DS543Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:56pm EDT

After some silly chatter about flip flops, the guys take a peek into the demon-shilling, economy-busting world of botanical curiosities with C.B. McPherson's Bybloemen. Check your feet and stop to smell these flowers!

Direct download: DS542Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 1:54pm EDT

Welcome to the world of Shattered Starlight, where magical girls might just save your life when they're not busy brewing a mean cup of coffee or enjoying some all-night poutine with their cute, cantankerous rabbit friend. It's a story by Nicole Chartrand where anything can happen, but usually doesn't. Listen to our review to see why that's not a bad thing.

Direct download: DS541Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 4:28pm EDT

David Gallaher is adding a new achievement to his list with his work on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Steve is hyped about the Midnight Radio Kickstarter supporting a new hardcover collection of comics, and Jason catches us up on his criticism of Pepper and Carrot, which has taken a turn NO one saw coming!

Direct download: DS540Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:38pm EDT

It's Eisner time and Webtoon is claiming more than half the spots for their growing platform! We have quick thoughts on all the nominees, including The Contradictions, Lavender Jack, Let's Play, Lore Olympus, and DS fave, Tiger, Tiger. After that quick update, it's time to travel to the wonderful world of witches with Pepper and Carrot by David Revoy, where we learn to love our family despite our desire to just have some danged fun with some danged magic.

Direct download: DS539Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 3:37pm EDT

Sometimes, the boy just can't bring himself to tell the girl how he feels. And then, before he can tell her, she decides to replace her human body with a synthetic one and move back to Earth. It's a tale as old as time when we review Heartwired by Rod and Leanne Hannah.

Direct download: DS538Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 9:28am EDT

Not content to call it quits at the midpoint last week, the guys decided to review the rest of Seed (or what was there at the time of recording, big doins in the newest update already!). Make Turry happy and listen to our thoughts so we all get out of this relatively unscathed. Please?

Direct download: DS537Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 12:36pm EDT

Jason wasn't fair to Dave Mercier and hop.dude, so he offers his apology along with a promise to read more and give his thoughts. He also noted to The Last Halloween creator Abby Howard how uncomfortable a recent update made him (which she appreciated). Finally, the guys take a look at Said Polat's Seed, a comic about the problems that come with superintelligent AI that escape their confines and harass good, decent folk like you and me.

Direct download: DS536Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:35pm EDT

Sometimes, you just wanna curl up with a good story about a boy who is also a chosen one. And that's what (we think) we have here, with a look at the first two-ish chapters of Brian Shearer's William the Last. Read up, we'll probably return to this one sooner than later.

Direct download: DS535Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:09pm EDT

Webcomics live so long as we, the fans (and erstwhile creators) share them with others and grow the community. To that end, Jason showed someone Hop Dude and they ... appreciated it? And now he has a new one to share with The Square Comics, home of the sick burn and ... well, not much else. But it does that one thing really, really, scorchingly well.

Direct download: DS534Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 3:04pm EDT

In celebration of Mar10 (Mario Day!), we took a look at the Mario-like hop.dude by Dave Mercier. It's ... weird, and subversive, with characters you know and love from the world of Nintendo, but who you've never actually truly met. There's no real way to describe this comic, so go view it on Instagram and judge for yourself.

Direct download: DS533Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:30pm EDT

We're always on the lookout for our next favorite webcomic, so we took a look at a couple new ones in service to that end. Read along with us on the early pages of The Firelight Isle and Kamikaze, and see if they become your new favorites.

Direct download: DS532Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 3:15pm EDT

Aristocracy! Pirates! Anime eyes! Crossdressing! If you want all of those things and more in your webcomics, you can't miss Tiger, Tiger, a Gilbert and Sullivan-like romp in the confines of your browser, written and drawn by Petra Nordlund.

Direct download: DS531Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 3:14pm EDT

After Steve teases Jason with The Automan's Daughter, a great webcomic that is also on hiatus, it's time to venture back into Oddity Woods, to discover what other fun and sinister creatures await us in this cheerfully tragic story. Don't miss this one!

Direct download: DS530Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:39pm EDT

This week, we begin our look at Oddity Woods, a cute, creepy comic that harkens back to the best parts of comics like Broodhollow and The Last Halloween in giving us quirky, fun characters and pants-wettingly scary creatures with a story that you're sure to root for. The second part of our review will post next week. Enjoy!

Direct download: DS529Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:36pm EDT

It's possible that The Abominable Charles Christopher, an outstanding, quiet look at the animal world by Karl Kerschl, is back and that's all Steve needs to believe in good things again. The guys also delve into the magical world of Cut Time, where we follow the adventures of Rel, Sol, and Nal. It's much more exciting than it sounds, trust us.

Direct download: DS528Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:27pm EDT

There were so many great comics in 2018 that we couldn't keep up with them all! So we're using the early days and months of 2019 to get caught up, this time checking out the second season of Nothing Special by Katie Cook. What fun and danger have Callie, Declan, and the rest of the gang gotten into since last time? We're telling you explicitly that in this episode, but you really should check it out for yourself, too.

Direct download: DS527Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:32pm EDT

We're getting rolling in the new year with a longer look at a comic we first discovered last year, The 3 Pilgrims by Trevor Downs. It's very reserved and sparse in its presentation, but the mystery and adventure it presents are well worth joining the three pilgrims on their journey.

Direct download: DS526Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:24pm EDT

Another year of Digital Strips is in the books, but before we move on, we're taking time to remember our favorite comics from the episodes we recorded in 2018. What comics are we keeping up with? What are some stories we'd like to catch up on? We've got loads of comics to talk about, so dig in and see what you might have missed this past year.

Direct download: DS525Complete.mp3
Category:Digital Strips -- posted at: 2:48pm EDT

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