Obviously the biggest announcement of PAX this year was Duke Nukem Forever. There was another announcement though that you might have missed. During our very first Q&A of the show we took the stage with Scott Kurtz to announce a brand new comic strip called the Trenches.

Frequently during panels at the Penny Arcade Expo our own Gabriel will receive compliments on his work. This is as it should be; the visual leap between the first strips and today's thrice-weekly offering is so absolute as to bring the true authorship of the earlier comics into question. You may click here for a harrowing, educational juxtaposition.

You might recall that during the last PAX on the west coast, I had to leave because (much to my great surprise) a human being was trying to emerge from my wife. I've have used the "nation" metaphor for PAX on multiple occasions, and it's a comparison with value - like Brigadoon, it is a fleeting kingdom. Born during the event proper, she is its princess - and all of PAX her shining court.

It's pretty incredible where young people draw the line between which which things are impossible and things which are made possible by inexplicable magicks. People living in a space station, right now over our heads, clearly that's not true. But a tiny flying person at the helm of some tooth based economy is a thing quickly absorbed.

We kept thinking about the Xbox Live price hike as the week went on, trying to divine its purpose, and came up with a big ol' goose egg. And a comic, I guess. And I ordered a big stack of cut-rate 12 month cards. But other than that, no. Well, get more money, I guess. That part is relatively straightforward.

The Bible Online, right? Where has this thing been?

Here is another of our Star Wars Political Cartoons:

There's a new Blamimation in town.  Well, there's a new Blamimation, but there's also a whole new way to experience them - Blamimation Nights.  Find out what it means to you. 

We've known Jim Zubkavich for a long time, and in a way, you probably know him too - his art is everywhere.  He's a webcomics pioneer, he did the art for that online Zork, and he works for UDON, so he's literally up to his ass in iconic works for Capcom.  He's taking some time to kick out a pulpy, dungeon crawler type comic called Skullkickers, so if you have enjoyed his other work (or if you just hate skulls) you should avail yourself of the prequel issue, which is free online through that Comixology thingy.

The wardrums have already begun to pound, and if you are able to interpret the message encoded deep in their rhythm, you'll hear a tale of warriors - and their terrible battlegrounds.  The warriors I was referring to are:

We saw an incredible Craigslist ad when we were getting ready to write the strip, an ad which quickly became the strip we were trying to make. Another ad went up shortly thereafter, in response. Also good!

I have gotten almost 300 responses so far! There is simply no way I can post all the great mails I am getting. Here is are a few that echo what a lot of people seem to be saying. I this interesting? Do you want me to post some more?

My Twitter and my email are both exploding today. People on both sides of the used game debate arer crazy passionate about this. If Penny Arcade was a talk radio show this would be a perfect time to “go to the phones”. Since we can’t do that I’d like to do the next best thing.

I had a different reaction to the "fightin' words" of THQ's Cory Ledesma than most. I have a different reaction to lots of things, probably. But this in particular.

I received an early copy of the new Dungeons and Dragons Red Box last week and quickly wrangled a group of friends for a trial run. The game consisted of my wife Kara who has only played 4e a handful of times. My friend Alex who has played in my Monday night game for nearly two years now (Holy shit has it really been that long!). The dashing Kris Straub of Chainsaw Suit fame with his months of 4e experience and his lady friend Marlo who had never played a game of D&D in her life. I want to mention my players because I think that your level of familiarity with the game will shape your opinion of Essentials.

You might have heard of D&D Essentials already; I don't really know what to think of it yet. Billed as a streamlined yet compatible version of Dungeons & Dragons, it makes a virtue of speed at every level of play. It's not hard to find thoughts out there on it, but I couldn't contextualize them because I don't know what's true.