The crowd in the background of the fourth panel is supposed to be an homage to the creators/characters from whom I borrowed our cameo robots for today’s strip. Can you guess who is who? Vote for Theater Hopper at Web Comics List for a clear view. But forget about that guy on the far left. He’s just a stand in.

For those of you detecting the subtle commentary in today’s strip, congratulations. We’ve just reached the pinnacle of this arc. The whole reason behind introducing the talking DVD player was to get to this point.

I don’t fault Penny Arcade for introducing DIV into the world. If you were going to pick a talking appliance to add as a bristling sidekick, the antiquated DiVX technology was a nice, obscure reference. What I’ve noticed since then is if you have a comic that it somewhat technology-based, it must have some sort of ambulatory robotic counterpart. Hence why the X-Bot from Ctrl+Alt+Del and Pintsize from Questionable Content get a shout-out.

This isn’t meant to be withering criticism. It’s just a device that I’ve noticed in other comics that was lacking in my own. I thought it would be fun to introduce my own talking appliance. But instead of treating it like an official cast member, use it as a mouthpiece to deconstruct some of the cliches inherant in comics. In all storytelling, really.

Almost every comic out there has some kind of fantastic secondary character that comments on how foolish we mortals can be. It’s a way for the author to turn the mirror on the audience without getting in trouble for it. Look at something as generic as Garfield. He’s sarcastic toward his owner that can’t get a date. If you gave a human character those lines, you’d have a hard time relating to him. You’d think he was a real jerk. Give them to the cat and it becomes "Oh, isn’t that cute!"

As revenge on the double standard, I decided to take the concept of the fantastic, impossible comic strip character and turn it back on itself. Take THAT, storytelling device!

But who am I to say what works and what doesn’t? One thing I’ll say, each one of the three comics I took a playful jab at today are certainly getting a lot more traffic than I am. So maybe they’re onto something. Blame Stitch. His comics kind of put me on this anarchist bend. I’ll work it out of my system soon and things will return to normal. The talking DVD arc will end this Friday. So thanks for indulging my quasi-rants in the meantime.

I want to remind everyone that the big sale going on in the store is still happening, but you’re running out of time to make the purchases I know you’re aching to place. Don’t forget that all t-shirts are $9.99, all baby-doll tees are $14.99 and all hoodies are $24.99. Inventory is limited, so we might not have your size in the design you want. Don’t wait for someone else to swoop in and take it! Remember – FREE SHIPPING on all orders!

If I could appeal to you on an emotional level for a minute, even if you’re not interested in buying a shirt…

I could really use your help right now.

I got in a car accident yesterday. Don’t worry. Everyone is fine. No one was injured and I can still drive the car. But winter’s in Iowa aren’t very forgiving and I need to get this fixed as soon as possible. I haven’t gotten an estimate yet (that’s later today). But my insurance deductable is $500. This couldn’t have come at a worse time for us. Not to start playing on the world’s tiniest violin (and I’m not going to go into all the details) but we have a lot of bills flying out the door at the moment. Fixing the car is just one of those unforseen expenses that we’re having to scramble in order to cover.

My logic is this… I have all of these shirts that I need to sell. You like to wear shirts, don’t you? What’s stopping you from getting something really cool that you know you’ll enjoy and – in the process – help a stranger out of a pickle?

I’m not asking for charity. That’s never been the kind of relationship we’ve had. All I’m saying is that I have some great shirts at the lowest prices I’ve ever sold them and you would be doing me a monumental favor by buying one. All the while, you still get something in return. It’s a great deal all around. Everybody  wins.

Think about it and thanks again for your support.