Episode 179 - Token representation in comics
Aug 11, 2014
There's no question in my opinion as to whether representation of different kinds of people in fiction matters. Having spent my childhood poring over superhero comics in which the girl's job is usually to turn invisible and press a button or something, I remember being impressed and delighted by some of the badass female characters in The Spirit. Lady-people could be cool, too?! Is it insulting when comics add token characters to their line up, or does it really make a difference? And what makes a token character anyways? -HippieVan. Banes, HippieVan and I focus on the subject of token representation in media, mainly comics. This discussion was inspired by a newspost HippieVan made in response to a new character in the Archie comic, which got a lot of interesting responses.
Topics and Show Notes
Topics and Show Notes:
featured comic:
Dinnersaurus Rex - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Dinnersaurus_Rex/
Token newspost:
Here - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2014/jul/10/friday-newspost-representation-in-comics/
Special thanks to:
Banes, resident male stripper - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
The musical theme this time was for Attack of the Robofemoids - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Attack_of_the_Robofemoids/ by Bravo1102
Episode 178 - thematical thematology
Aug 4, 2014
For this DD webcomics podcast, Quackcast 178, we talk about THEMES. And no, we're not talking about those fine musical tracks that Gunwallace has been making for our comics. Theme is what's happening below the surface plot of a story. Plot is the events that happen, and theme is what it all means. We asked people What they thought about themes in their work, how they approach them, do you put themes in there on purpose, or does it happen by accident? Is a theme even necessary? We also asked people to talk about some of the themes in their work. We had some very interesting contributions. Themes in stories in comics, movies, TV shows and books are not things we tend to think about that much unless we're trying to be clever but they're an all pervasive and important part of any story nevertheless!
Episode 177 - Charby the Vampirate forever!
Jul 28, 2014
Guess who we had on THIS week? It was Amelius and Evil Emperor Nick! The husband and wife powerhouse behind some very popular comics on DD including Charby The Vampirate and Cwen's Quest. We haven't had them on since Quackcast 10 and 11 which have unfortunately been totally wiped from the interwebs... But that doesn't matter so much since you can hear them both afresh now and they have some goo stuff to say, including talking about the newly revamped version of Charby on charbythevampirate.com that's only up to 50 or so pages as well as the new related project Here there be monsters. We apologise for some slight technical difficulties, but Amy and Nick were good sports anyway and it was a an enjoyable interview!
Episode 175 - Endings, part 2
Jul 14, 2014
Arrrr, this be the second part of our discussion on writing ENDINGS in stories of all kinds, particularly for webcomics! But we discuss a few movie and TV endings here, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, No Country For Old Men, True Detective, and Dexter to name a few. Writings endings is the hardest part of the writing process, so it's lucky we had some wise contributions from people on how to do a good job of it! As well as giving examples of likes and dislikes... This is the second in our 3 part series on endings! I must apologise for the low quality of the recording here, there were very weird delay and repeating effects going on, Banes seems to be singing his own little madrigal at a couple of points. There are a a few parts I had to rerecord later; just a warning about the change of style.
Episode 172 - The QuackQuiz!
Jun 23, 2014
Come on down, it's Quiz time! For this week's Quackcast we had a quiz based on DD comics, as a friendly, fun way to try and promote them... there's even a bit of Drunk Duck history mixed up in the questions. Just a smidge. We had three contestants taking part for the honour of telling everyone else to suck it; Archaeologist Amazon Adventurer Artist Pitface, Psychologist Freedom Fighter Lawyer Comicer Tantz Aerine, and Scientist Philosopher Comic Group Leader and all around boob-fancier Abt Nihil. They all competed to the very limit of their abilities, striving for dominance against each other, employing every dirty trick in the book and even some new ones... So please listen to the first ever DD bottomless Quiz! Oh, and there's even some titbits about the totally mythical married life of Ozoneocean and Pitface.
Episode 167 - Anatomy of a Villain
May 19, 2014
Today we talk about villians! Kawaiidaigakusei made a newspost about villains that generated quite a bit of interest so Banes and I had her on to chat about them and read out some of the things our community members had to say. Kawaii can introduce the topic in her own words: I used to take the side of the cheerful, positive, and heroic protagonist in films and comics when I was much younger. As I got older, I wised up to the idea that being a protagonist is relative to biases of the storyteller. Now I rewatch those same films with a renewed perspective of what constitutes “good” and “bad”. Lately, I have been finding that more and more, I am a fan of villains. I believe the reason we are seasoned to differentiate heroes and villains at a young age is to train our super-ego about rules and societal expectations. It teaches every Goffus that they should aspire to be more like Gallant. But living a hero's lifestyle by-the-book can be as boring as vanilla. For the record, I love vanilla, it is GOOD, but it does not make it any less boring. Emulating the characteristics of a supervillain feeds our id. It just feels good to break the rules. Give villains a chance. Afterall, without a villain, there would be no need for a hero.
Episode 166 - Opinions on Weaponry and mecha
May 12, 2014
Continuing our theme on Mecha and weaponry in webcomics we opened the discussion to our DD creators and they had some very interesting things to say! I fact there were so many interesting contributions that we had to split it up over two Quackcasts- this being the first. We start of with a little comedy quiz on what's mecha and what isn't and then play another great music piece by Gunwallace, this time a theme for Pinky TA! Very appropriate to the discussion... Then we launch into the great contributions!
Episode 165 - Mecha Madness!
May 5, 2014
Today Banes and I have a little talk about weaponry and mecha in webcomic- how do you come up with it? How much research do you do? Should it actually work? Is coolness the only factor to consider? How detailed do you go when you design it? how far away from reality and cartoony is appropriate? We consider most of those questions and a few more, there's a LOT to get into on a topic like this and we really only just barely scratch the surface! In my own webcomic Pinky TA I've done a LOT of research and design work to get my mecha and weaponry looking right, so this is a subject dear to me. But we all have our own opinions on this, not just in webcomics but in games, movies, anime, and manga. I would love it if people could contribute their ideas in the comments here or on the DD forum here: http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/176137/
