San Diego Comic Con is upon us, which means (among other things) that we're writing and drawing Penny Arcade on any surface we can find and then photographing it.  Originally we did it this way because our laptop gave out, but now it's all we want to do whenever we go places.  Also, in order to get napkins to sketch on, I need to order drinks.  The elegance of this pristine mechanism is breathtaking. 

Tomorrow we jump on a plane for San Diego. If you're planning on coming to the show I have some info that you might find useful.

This year we're in booth #1237. It's a good size booth and it's located right on the end of the 1200 isle so it shouldn't be too hard to spot. If you'd like to know what we'll be bringing you can click on this thumbnail of our banner to see a larger version.

So, there are two things.

I didn't post a link to it because I see links to it everywhere, and you've already seen it anyway, because you're a cool person who is perpetually in the know.  Even so, I couldn't take the chance, because the one thing most links to Dr. Horrible don't include is a dire warning about its ephemeral nature. 

You've seen the video referred to by the strip, of course. The craft is one thing, and the articulations especially are noteworthy. What really sets the presentation apart, though, is his frame by frame, physical recreation of each item's animation. That's what elevates it beyond merely a source of lunchbreak entertainment and into the realm of fascination and mystery.

Here, let me save you some time.

I got a lot of mail from people asking if we would be making prints of the Paint the Line series. I guess I only mentioned it once so it shouldn't surprise me that some people don't know that you can purchase a print of almost any comic in the archive. Just look for the "buy a print" button underneath the comic strip.

Warhammer Online saw a few deep cuts in content, designed to ensure a launch that would

The live stream will be starting at 2:30, so in just about 40 minutes. If you can't make the live shows but you still want to see the comic get drawn you can always hit the Ustream site here. I record and upload most of the shows.

Let's talk about PAX baby, let's talk about you and me, let's talk about all the contests we are running to get free hotel rooms and tickets. Every year there is a mystery person who purchases multiple tables at our Child's Play auction and then asks us to give them away. We honestly have no idea who this ridiculously generous person is and I guess that's the way he likes it. This year he's gone a step further and purchased eight hotel rooms in downtown Seattle for the weekend of PAX. These are great locations and each room will come with two 3 day passes for the show. So we need to give these away and we figured that since our 7 word Warcraft contest was so popular we'd try the same idea again. Also we're lazy.

So if you'd like to win one of these hotel rooms and two passes to PAX all you need to do is describe to us your PAX experience in exactly seven words. You can mail your entry to pax_contest@penny-arcade.com. We only have a few rules:

- You must be able to use the prize. If you can't actually come to Seattle and use the passes and the hotel please don't enter. That just isn't cool.

- One entry per person.

- You must submit your entry by Wednesday July 16th at midnight to be eligible.

- It must be exactly seven words long and it must describe your PAX experience.

That's it.

In other PAX related news, we've announced the winners of our PAX 10 competition. You can hit the official site for a list of the 10 winning independent games that will be on display at PAX this year. We had more than 80 submissions and they spanned just about every genre imaginable. We had games with no graphics that just use sound, games that require crazy 3D controllers and even a game that is designed to simulate an orgy and must be played in the dark. Needless to say choosing our top ten was no easy task.

-Gabe out

Neither iPod we own is capable of actually playing Song Summoner, so we had to borrow a peek at someone else's. Like a Monster Rancher, an Audiosurf, or even a Vib Ribbon, Song Summoner can transform your music collection into gameplay. The metaphor here is a tactical game, and the product is (startlingly enough) from Square-Enix, a company with a strong pedigree in the genre. I'm not certain that the clickwheel is a strong contender ergonomically for this kind of experience, but when they dish up the inevitable iPhone and iPod Touch versions I'll have reason to celebrate.

The live stream will be starting at 12:45, so in just about ten minutes. If you can't make the live shows but you still want to see the comic get drawn you can always hit the Ustream site here. I record and upload most of the shows.

A while back I was asked to be a part of a special Street Fighter tribute book from Udon. It's a massive book full of various artist's take on the Street Fighter world to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series. I was honored to be asked to participate and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who I'd draw. When it comes to  the game, I tend to be a Ken man but in my opinion he's not that much fun to draw. I ended up settling on Zangief since I've always thought he was hilarious. Here's a peek at my contribution.

During the Paint the Line series I had a lot of requests for individual panels to be made into wallpapers. I went ahead and made a bunch based on what seemed to be the most popular. Thanks to everyone that mailed me about the artwork in this series. We've been talking about doing Paint the Line for more than two years, so I've had a lot of time to think about these scenes. It was fun to finally draw the match on the submarine and the kiss between Tycho andOksana after thinking about them for so long.

Speaking of oksana, I had a lot of people mail me to tell me that she's "the hottest girl you've ever drawn." I think you are probably right but I honestly can't take much credit for it. The character of Oksana is based on a real table tennis player named Biba Golic. She plays in exhibition matches all over the world as a part of the Killerspin Krew.

During my vacation I played a lot of Final Fantasy Tactics A2. At this point I feel very comfortable recommending it to fans of tactics games or FF in general. The game is really beautiful with gorgeous backgrounds and special effects that look like they belong on the PS2 rather than the DS.  I also read  a great book by Jack  Mcdevitt called Seeker. I've picked up quite a few of his books because his covers tend to meet my stringent requirements. So far I've been really impressed with everything I've read from him but Seeker stands out as being especially good in my opinion. If you dig hard Sci-Fi you should check him out.

So, that's it. The Line has been well and truly Painted. I won't say where the painting occurred, as that might constitute spoiler material. This was originally supposed to be two separate strips (which probably shows) but I accidentally said it was ending today so he drew both.  Let's hear it for the artist, ladies and gentlemen!

Have you ever heard of Fairway Solitaire?  It's one of those "casual" games you might find while you're slumming at Big Fish.  Except this isn't one of those games where you have to click and click and click until you find the hidden broom.  Oh no.