Nick Costanzo
Oct 8, 2007, 10:26 pm
Editorial: I should really be shot for ever thinking this title was clever. And it wasn't even that long ago...
* * * Comixfan Forums THREAD * * *
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THREAD : TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
Started at Jan 26, 2007 05:28 pm by Nick Costanzo
Visit at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=41262
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[Post 1]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Jan 26, 2007 05:28 pm
Title : TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, winged.outlaw@gmail.com
I've Got a Burning Expansion for You, Baby
WARNING: Unless you’re a gaming nerd, the following column will make very little sense.
I have a confession to make... I nearly forgot all about this month’s installment. See, now is as good a time as ever to share my all-consuming addiction with you all: World of Warcraft, along with its new Burning Crusade expansion. It all starts early in the morning. I get up at 6:00 or so, and immediately log onto Medivh to check last night’s auction results (and I swear to god if I get outbid on my Eyeball Wand (http://www.thottbot.com/?i=55891) again I will murder half the server). From there, it;s off to the scenic Plaguelands to butcher the early morning Scourge who have decided to once again infest the Broman Mill, and maybe with just enough time to be only slightly late for work I can make it up to the Noxious Glade to grab a few Invader’s Scourgestones to boost my Argent Dawn Rep. Then, I’m off to work for eight hours where I do what I can to pretend I’m not thinking about WoW the whole time. Come 5-ish, I’m back home to race back to my beloved Priestly duties (healing sick players, bashing in the skulls of bears and skinning them for profit, etc.), and will generally fill the night with adventure. Will I finally dare venture into the Dark Portal? Will I make it more than a few steps into Scholomance without seeing my whole party die (again)? Will I get any sleep?
For the past few nights the answers have been “no”, but I remain optimistic.
How does this relate to web comics, you ask? A silly question, I answer! As most of us in the geek world know, gaming comics are arguably the biggest genre in web comics, and certainly one of the most popular. Webcomic giants such as Penny-Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com) and PvP (http://www.pvponline.com) are among the oldest and most prominent (and funny, on top of it all). Ctrl+Alt+Delete (http://www.cad-comic.com) adds in a bit of surrealistic industry commentary on top of its already bizarre ongoing storyline, while 8-Bit Theatre (http://www.nuklearpower.com) employs the use of seemingly simple lil sprites to make fun of Final Fantasy through the antics of its hilarious cast of characters/archetypes. And of course, there’s always VG Cats (http://www.vgcats.com) if you want a comic that will both parody video games while at the same time make you renounce (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=223) any faith in a true and loving god.
So it comes as no surprise that the advent of the hotly (http://www.mmorpgitalia.it/gallery/files/6/3/4/8/wow2.jpg) anticipated Burning Crusade expansion to the already absurdly-addictive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:South_Park_WoW_computer_lab.jpg) World of Warcraft would be well-represented (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=283) in the world of gaming webcomics. In the months leading up to the release (which stretched out into many, many MORE months of pure agony), the big names were already hard at work with their views of the world (of Warcraft) to come. Some (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/10/17) opted to poke fun at the game mechanics itself, while others (http://www.cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20061023) opted for the always-funny STD-themed jokes. Now that we’ve finally gotten our precious release, jokes about such things as Blood Elf domination (http://www.pvponline.com/article/3093/sun-jan-21) are already springing up all over the net. Hell, Blizzard (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/community/pa-comics.html) itself has a whole section of its WoW site devoted to comics both fan-made and professional.
Oddly enough, the webcomic that most clearly resonates with my World of Warcraft experience (laugh at your own peril) isn’t one totally devoted to gaming. Instead, I look to the always amusing antics of Greg Dean over at Real Life Comics (http://www.reallifecomics.com). Dean’s comic, which he also sorta stars in (his cartoon cartoon self along with his cartoon real life self (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060808.html) and his real life real life self (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060922.html)), is an odd assortment of actual slice of life humor mixed with random sci-fi and fantasy plots that often border on the ridiculous (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060605.html). It’s fairly obvious after a few reads that the title of the comic itself is a joke, often going to far as to make the plot itself (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060918.html) the enemy of the week.
In any case, it’s positively creepy just how much Greg’s World of Warcraft experience mirrors mine. See, at first I didn’t even know what Warcraft was outside of the casual mention I’d hear throughout the net on various message boards. Then, on what can only be described as a whim, I bought the game and got hooked (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/050104.html) despite promising to myself that I wouldn’t. Soon, however, a combination of frightening experiences (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/051018.html), general player stupidity (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060116.html), and my computer bursting into flames on my very lap caused me to have to retire from the game for a while. Eventually I was able to once again gain access to a computer that could actually handle the raw power of WoW, but found it difficult to get back into things. I still loved the game, but wasn’t playing anywhere near as much (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060629.html), and actually felt palpable guilt because of it. I have friends who got to level 60 in just a few weeks… I’ve been playing for just over a year now and still find myself far behind (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070105.html) the levels of even the newest members of my guild (http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=60898&TabID=529577). I was far too concerned about unimportant things like going to work and interacting with real people. It was pathetic.
However, thanks to the excitement built up by the Burning Crusade, an all new level of addiction has set in. I started looking over my shoulder to watch out for potential Horde (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070117.html) in my midst, I sacrifice precious slumber time (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070123.html) to keep the Scourge at bay, and tears of true pain are formed during the occasional outages (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070123.html).
The reason for this disturbing correlation between my WoW life and the world seen in Real Life Comics is obvious. Greg Dean is in my head, having long ago installed interceptor cameras into my retinas during a moment of weakness following a particularly trying run through the Sunken Temple of Atal’Hakkar (god, that place is a bitch). He’s peering through my deepest, darkest thoughts, and I won’t lie. It's scary. No one needs to know about my secret Night Elf desires, or my dark design for the entire Gnomish race. If they thought the destruction of their capital city was bad, they’ll really be caught off-guard by Operation: Hobbit-Stomp.
Crap I’ve said too much…
So now I guess I’d better… write some kind of conclusion. After all I’ve only been off the game for an hour or two now. And its not like I have a… a problem or something. I just have to wrap this thing up and… and…
Yeah later. If I don’t get at least five hours of Azeroth a night I start to get the shakes.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo has a perfectly healthy grip on reality.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
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[Post 2]
Author : abaddon667
Date : Jan 27, 2007 06:33 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
To each their own, but I can't stand WoW, Everquest or FFXI. Dunguens and Dragons, or any pen and paper RPG, is just so much better in my opinion. I play D&D once a week, and its so enjoyable compared to these online games....ah well....
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[Post 3]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Jan 27, 2007 09:41 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
I've never played those. My only experience has been when I've gone into various comic book shops that also sold RPG stuff, and found it to be very creepy...
I mean, at least with WoW there's pictures :)
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[Post 4]
Author : James Groves
Date : Jan 27, 2007 09:57 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
the south park episode of WOW was superb. :LOL:
i loved final fantasy 7.
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[Post 5]
Author : spam
Date : Jan 27, 2007 06:27 pm
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
You know, I've mostly avoided WoW for this long - I played for about a month a year ago, got bored and bailed. But....the new xpack areas are pretty sweet, allow for fast leveling & good loot. That and it got my wife to game with me.
I will miss City of Heroes/Villains though...
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[Post 6]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Jan 27, 2007 07:08 pm
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
I liked CoH a lot but never got very far into it. Dont have time for anything else now that I'm on WoW, though...
Behold my utter lack of fashion sense (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k10/WingedOutlaw/leo.jpg), btw. Surprisingly, I get a huge INT boost for looking so stupid :P
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[Post 7]
Author : Xavier Disciple
Date : Jan 28, 2007 11:59 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
Anyone else anticipating Marvel Universe Online on the XBox360 or DC Universe Online for the PS3? the Marvel Universe Online is being made by the same people that made City of Heroes, so I'm hoping for the best there.
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The messages has been download from Comixfan Forums at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums at 05.10.2007 08:28:19
* * * Comixfan Forums THREAD * * *
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
THREAD : TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
Started at Jan 26, 2007 05:28 pm by Nick Costanzo
Visit at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=41262
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[Post 1]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Jan 26, 2007 05:28 pm
Title : TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, winged.outlaw@gmail.com
I've Got a Burning Expansion for You, Baby
WARNING: Unless you’re a gaming nerd, the following column will make very little sense.
I have a confession to make... I nearly forgot all about this month’s installment. See, now is as good a time as ever to share my all-consuming addiction with you all: World of Warcraft, along with its new Burning Crusade expansion. It all starts early in the morning. I get up at 6:00 or so, and immediately log onto Medivh to check last night’s auction results (and I swear to god if I get outbid on my Eyeball Wand (http://www.thottbot.com/?i=55891) again I will murder half the server). From there, it;s off to the scenic Plaguelands to butcher the early morning Scourge who have decided to once again infest the Broman Mill, and maybe with just enough time to be only slightly late for work I can make it up to the Noxious Glade to grab a few Invader’s Scourgestones to boost my Argent Dawn Rep. Then, I’m off to work for eight hours where I do what I can to pretend I’m not thinking about WoW the whole time. Come 5-ish, I’m back home to race back to my beloved Priestly duties (healing sick players, bashing in the skulls of bears and skinning them for profit, etc.), and will generally fill the night with adventure. Will I finally dare venture into the Dark Portal? Will I make it more than a few steps into Scholomance without seeing my whole party die (again)? Will I get any sleep?
For the past few nights the answers have been “no”, but I remain optimistic.
How does this relate to web comics, you ask? A silly question, I answer! As most of us in the geek world know, gaming comics are arguably the biggest genre in web comics, and certainly one of the most popular. Webcomic giants such as Penny-Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com) and PvP (http://www.pvponline.com) are among the oldest and most prominent (and funny, on top of it all). Ctrl+Alt+Delete (http://www.cad-comic.com) adds in a bit of surrealistic industry commentary on top of its already bizarre ongoing storyline, while 8-Bit Theatre (http://www.nuklearpower.com) employs the use of seemingly simple lil sprites to make fun of Final Fantasy through the antics of its hilarious cast of characters/archetypes. And of course, there’s always VG Cats (http://www.vgcats.com) if you want a comic that will both parody video games while at the same time make you renounce (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=223) any faith in a true and loving god.
So it comes as no surprise that the advent of the hotly (http://www.mmorpgitalia.it/gallery/files/6/3/4/8/wow2.jpg) anticipated Burning Crusade expansion to the already absurdly-addictive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:South_Park_WoW_computer_lab.jpg) World of Warcraft would be well-represented (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=283) in the world of gaming webcomics. In the months leading up to the release (which stretched out into many, many MORE months of pure agony), the big names were already hard at work with their views of the world (of Warcraft) to come. Some (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/10/17) opted to poke fun at the game mechanics itself, while others (http://www.cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20061023) opted for the always-funny STD-themed jokes. Now that we’ve finally gotten our precious release, jokes about such things as Blood Elf domination (http://www.pvponline.com/article/3093/sun-jan-21) are already springing up all over the net. Hell, Blizzard (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/community/pa-comics.html) itself has a whole section of its WoW site devoted to comics both fan-made and professional.
Oddly enough, the webcomic that most clearly resonates with my World of Warcraft experience (laugh at your own peril) isn’t one totally devoted to gaming. Instead, I look to the always amusing antics of Greg Dean over at Real Life Comics (http://www.reallifecomics.com). Dean’s comic, which he also sorta stars in (his cartoon cartoon self along with his cartoon real life self (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060808.html) and his real life real life self (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060922.html)), is an odd assortment of actual slice of life humor mixed with random sci-fi and fantasy plots that often border on the ridiculous (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060605.html). It’s fairly obvious after a few reads that the title of the comic itself is a joke, often going to far as to make the plot itself (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060918.html) the enemy of the week.
In any case, it’s positively creepy just how much Greg’s World of Warcraft experience mirrors mine. See, at first I didn’t even know what Warcraft was outside of the casual mention I’d hear throughout the net on various message boards. Then, on what can only be described as a whim, I bought the game and got hooked (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/050104.html) despite promising to myself that I wouldn’t. Soon, however, a combination of frightening experiences (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/051018.html), general player stupidity (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060116.html), and my computer bursting into flames on my very lap caused me to have to retire from the game for a while. Eventually I was able to once again gain access to a computer that could actually handle the raw power of WoW, but found it difficult to get back into things. I still loved the game, but wasn’t playing anywhere near as much (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/060629.html), and actually felt palpable guilt because of it. I have friends who got to level 60 in just a few weeks… I’ve been playing for just over a year now and still find myself far behind (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070105.html) the levels of even the newest members of my guild (http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=60898&TabID=529577). I was far too concerned about unimportant things like going to work and interacting with real people. It was pathetic.
However, thanks to the excitement built up by the Burning Crusade, an all new level of addiction has set in. I started looking over my shoulder to watch out for potential Horde (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070117.html) in my midst, I sacrifice precious slumber time (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070123.html) to keep the Scourge at bay, and tears of true pain are formed during the occasional outages (http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/070123.html).
The reason for this disturbing correlation between my WoW life and the world seen in Real Life Comics is obvious. Greg Dean is in my head, having long ago installed interceptor cameras into my retinas during a moment of weakness following a particularly trying run through the Sunken Temple of Atal’Hakkar (god, that place is a bitch). He’s peering through my deepest, darkest thoughts, and I won’t lie. It's scary. No one needs to know about my secret Night Elf desires, or my dark design for the entire Gnomish race. If they thought the destruction of their capital city was bad, they’ll really be caught off-guard by Operation: Hobbit-Stomp.
Crap I’ve said too much…
So now I guess I’d better… write some kind of conclusion. After all I’ve only been off the game for an hour or two now. And its not like I have a… a problem or something. I just have to wrap this thing up and… and…
Yeah later. If I don’t get at least five hours of Azeroth a night I start to get the shakes.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo has a perfectly healthy grip on reality.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
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[Post 2]
Author : abaddon667
Date : Jan 27, 2007 06:33 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
To each their own, but I can't stand WoW, Everquest or FFXI. Dunguens and Dragons, or any pen and paper RPG, is just so much better in my opinion. I play D&D once a week, and its so enjoyable compared to these online games....ah well....
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[Post 3]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Jan 27, 2007 09:41 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
I've never played those. My only experience has been when I've gone into various comic book shops that also sold RPG stuff, and found it to be very creepy...
I mean, at least with WoW there's pictures :)
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[Post 4]
Author : James Groves
Date : Jan 27, 2007 09:57 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
the south park episode of WOW was superb. :LOL:
i loved final fantasy 7.
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[Post 5]
Author : spam
Date : Jan 27, 2007 06:27 pm
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
You know, I've mostly avoided WoW for this long - I played for about a month a year ago, got bored and bailed. But....the new xpack areas are pretty sweet, allow for fast leveling & good loot. That and it got my wife to game with me.
I will miss City of Heroes/Villains though...
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[Post 6]
Author : Nick Costanzo
Date : Jan 27, 2007 07:08 pm
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
I liked CoH a lot but never got very far into it. Dont have time for anything else now that I'm on WoW, though...
Behold my utter lack of fashion sense (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k10/WingedOutlaw/leo.jpg), btw. Surprisingly, I get a huge INT boost for looking so stupid :P
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[Post 7]
Author : Xavier Disciple
Date : Jan 28, 2007 11:59 am
Title : Re: TANGLED PANELS #9: I'VE GOT A BURNING EXPANSION FOR YOU, BABY
Anyone else anticipating Marvel Universe Online on the XBox360 or DC Universe Online for the PS3? the Marvel Universe Online is being made by the same people that made City of Heroes, so I'm hoping for the best there.
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The messages has been download from Comixfan Forums at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums at 05.10.2007 08:28:19