Episode 669 - sexelant
Jan 8, 2024
The number of the Quackcast is 669 so that means it's time for sexy stuff again! But despite the topic this isn't an adult cast and we keep things to a respectful tone.
Topics and Show Notes
We chat about how drawing sexy characters can be a lot of fun but they don't have to be realistic or anatomically correct to be sexy; stylised, simplified, or abstract forms can be just as alluring and get the pulse racing, it just depends on the setting, story, and other themes in there. And conversely, a perfectly realistic form with realistic anatomical features can be very unsexy if things aren't done right! We talk about times when sex in a comic is not about sexiness (sex scenes can be very serious or nasty), and also when having sexy looking characters doesn't indicate that it's a sexy comic- just like in real life looking sexy doesn't necessarily have anything to do with sex.
We talk about how sex scenes in porn, comics, imagery, movies and TV shows normally never reflect reality because actual sex tends NOT to be very visually appealing- sweatiness, cramps, mess, gravity, bad breath, bad smells, bad hair, awkwardness, embarrassment, fatigue, disappointment, boredom, not to mention positions that hide all the interesting things from the viewer. Because what is so compelling about sex is NOT actually the bizarre reality, it's the procreation instinct of the viewer. That's tied up with our physiology, partly in our brains but also to do with various organs and glands that secrete hormones, pheromones and other chemicals which drive our behaviour. Sexiness is a symbolic shortcut to evoke that, which is why we don't ever how to show sex in its full gritty reality: the viewer does the majority of the work, they only focus on the thing that suggests to them the idea of sex and heir instincts take over. Which is also why when you normally think of sex you don't usually think about the the ‘mess’ so much.
Then we briefly touch on some sex myths that media perpetuates mindlessly, like the idea that smoking is required after sex, or that losing one's virginity has to involve any pain or blood, or that hymens MUST be broken, and that the “pop your cherry” phrase is actually pretty disgusting and perpetuates a bad sex myth.
What are some sex myths you see in media?
This week Gunwallace was still overwhelmed with holiday duties so I picked out a sexy them from the past. Is this a theme for a comic? No! It could be a theme for X Up, it does have some Wah Wah guitar (the sexiest guitar), but it isn’t, this is a theme for the number 6. The number that a certain DDer, Plymayer, gives to comics when he feels they deserve it: “A 6 out of 5”. This is a theme for a concept, the concept of a supportive DDer, To plymayer, and to every 6 he has ever handed out. (Okay, so it’s also a theme for X Up … but don’t tell anyone).
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic:
Carl and The Lost Shad0w - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2024/jan/02/featured-comic-carl-and-the-lost-shad0w/
Featured music:
X up - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/X_UP/ - by Plymayer, rated A.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
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Episode 666 - Evil
Dec 18, 2023
We're up to number 666 Quackcasts so our topic this time is evil! Evil is a complicated subject, we all think we know what it is but we really don't, there are just so many aspects to it so it's very hard to fully encompass. Broadly “evil” can be something very subjective: anything that runs counter to our own well-being as individuals- people, things and situations that do us harm. You can expand that to your property, your family, friends, acquaintances, pets etc. As that definition gets bigger though to encompass your neighbours, street, suburb, city, state, and country it becomes more objective bit by bit, till we come to the idea that “evil” is something that runs counter to human rights, or the existence of life in general, or the right to self determination etc. A more objective view of evil.
Episode 662 - Drunkduck tales
Nov 20, 2023
Webcomic communities have different cultures, but why and where do they come from? DD's culture is pretty chill, we're reasonably neutral and accepting of a wide range of ideas and perspectives, we're egalitarian to a very high degree, we don't do cliques, we don't exclude, we don't tend to jump on culture wars… We don't like tribalism of partisanship. So why are we like that?
Episode 660 - The Multiverse
Nov 6, 2023
Multiverses are really popular in fiction right now, eg. Dr Strange into the mouth of Madness, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Flash, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Rick and Morty, and The Loki TV series (which I love). So what is a multiverse and why is it used? Basically when multiple universes coexist at the same time, either there are a few and they're widely different or they are infinite and every possibility exists. In the real world the idea of multiple universes is purely theoretical and a relatively minor part of various quantum physics theories, while in fiction it's an important tool for mashing together separate IPs that wouldn't normally fit together and also telling interesting stories with parallel elements and “what-if” scenarios.
Episode 659 - Happy Halloween 2023
Oct 30, 2023
Happy Halloween! The time of spookiness and ghosts. Spooks messed up the cast so the sound quality is really bad I'm afraid, I tried to do what I could to fix it though. This week Banes, I, and Tantz are chatting about Halloween and related subjects like scary movies and things. I personally only like comedy horror, or whacky horror films where things are taken too far so I don't identify with the characters and feel bad because of it. I find I identify with characters in film far too much (if it's realistic), the genre doesn't matter, it can be comedy, horror, murder mystery, romance whatever, so that means if the tone is too tragic and depressing it usually makes me feel extremely down. For that reason a lot of horror doesn't appeal to me unless I can distance myself from the characters somehow. So comedy helps, or if it's super-over-the-top and whacky like The Nun.
Episode 658 - Marvelous musicals
Oct 23, 2023
We're chatting about the subject of musicals for this particular Quackcast. You might think this has nothing to do with webcomics but webcomic musicals popup from time to time, like The Black Parade on DD by Ashlee S.
Episode 657 - The art of the tease
Oct 16, 2023
The art of the tease is what we're talking about here. It's something Banes and I work with on Bottomless Waitress and it's what you see in a lot of raunchy comedies, you also see it in other applications too, like in a slasher thriller where it's teased that a character will become a victim but they never do. My fave application though is the traditional sex comedy where there's never anything explicit even though that is the thing you're always led to expect is just around the corner. The art is to keep people hanging on with the internal expectation of seeing something, while never actually delivering on it and yet not pissing them off.
Episode 652 - Physical traits that set characters apart
Sep 11, 2023
Our topic this week is making your characters individual, distinct and setting them apart through physical traits. In many mainstream superhero comics or manga the only difference between most characters is their outfit, hair, and skin tone. There are a few reasons for that but a big one is that it saves time if the artist doesn't have to change to much when they're drawing different characters. Professional arts work hard and have to work fast so things that make work faster and easier are needed.
