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!
Topics and Show Notes
Topics and Show Notes:
featured comic:
The Fall of God - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Fall_of_God/
Theme thread:
Here - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/176212/
Our Contributors:
Bejinks - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/bejjinks/
Special thanks to:
Banes, the mighty beastman of the tundra - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
The musical theme this time was for Simply Sarah - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/simply_sarah/
Episode 174 - Endings, part 1
Jul 7, 2014
This is the end, Beautiful friend, This is the end, My only friend, the end... so drones Jim Morrison in the classic Doors song, but this isn't the end, rather it's a Quackcast ABOUT endings! Today we talk about the ends of stories: how do your write good ones? What makes a good ending? What makes a bad ending? What do you hate? What do you love? Well, many people had something to say on this topic of endings, and it's a very useful subject because ending a story is the hardest part of writing it! We could all use a bit of help in this regard, so listen in for tips and tricks in part one of Endings, a 3 parter! Our very first one!!!
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 164 - Operation Moon 2
Apr 29, 2014
A very SPECIAL episode! For this Quackcast Pit Face, Abt Nihil, Tantz Aerine, Banes, and Ozoneocean perform the sequel to last years Live radio play, with; Operation Moon 2! It also carries on nicely from the continuity of the last three SciFi Quackcasts. After the adventures in the alien hunted diner, the two Hill-billies, Daisy Dooks and her pervy old uncle Hayseed are in the custody of two sinister aliens, Palavi Kuklamu and Fritzi Von Horstheim. Their path is about to cross with the devilishly handsome space rogue Ozoneocean and brave Captain Banes! It's great fun to record a live play like this with all your actors doing their thing at the same time, nice and quick too. Editing is more of a challenge this way though. It's also specially challenging to write the whole thing in one night!
Episode 163 - Hip to be shark!
Apr 21, 2014
HippieVan, one of our wonderful news admins, made a newspost about the latest Archie comic sales tactic/plot device, killing off Archie, in the context of "Jumping The Shark", and it was quite a popular topic of discussion. Jumping the Shark is the term we use for a TV Series (but it could be anything), that has reached a bit of a creative desert so the writers attempt a silly stun or the introduction of a new character or theme or something that breaks the narrative and the story dynamic, all in an attempt to re-energize the failing series. Sometimes it works, but often it's a sign that the thing is on its deathbed. And that's what Hippie joined us to talk about: Shark jumping! In the meantime, we find a shark of our own...
Episode 157 - A very modern Modest Medusa
Mar 11, 2014
Banes returns to the Quackcast to join me on another interview with Jake Richmond of the very popular Modest Medusa! This time we get to find out more about Jake's comic making technique, his writing style, character creation, colour technique, drawing materials, programs and his whole work flow. I had wanted to get into this last time as well on Quackcast 155 but we had a great chat about the things you can do to make money from your webcomics instead. So now we get a full picture of what goes into the making of Modest Medusa! For example; did you know it's all drawn on paper and scanned? Neither did I! This is part one, part two will come out next week. Stay tuned!
Episode 145 - The Third Duck, 2013 DD Radio Play
Dec 11, 2013
Finally! The 2013 DD Radio play is complete! It was a long time in coming but it's out now and still within 2013, despite everything that has happened. The radio plays were started by Ayesinback and have been going for 3 years now, begining with The Karaoke Caper, then last year it was The Duck Always Quacks Twice, and now this year we're proud to bring you The Third Duck! Many great people contributed towards this, our voice actors, producers, writer and musician... and let's not forget all the great comic artists who did the lovely illustrated version! So please enjoy our radio play. -The first one was written by Ally Heart*
