NOTICE: This shrine is incomplete
Penny Arcade
1998 - current day (ongoing)
by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins
read it at: www.penny-arcade.com
Plot/Setting
An 'episodic', so to speak, comic strip where there is hardly a plot. There are two guys, they like videogames, and thus they talk about videogames! There are short story arcs scattered throughout the comic, though they are few and far between. You can jump at any point and not have anything lost on you (there's even a 'randomise' button for this purpose!). If the web is a newspaper, then Penny Arcade is the 'funnies'.
Cast
Jonathan "Gabe" Gabriel
Lovable goofball. He was once an entitled dumbass, now he's just a dumbass. His design changes reflect this as lost his tough appearance in favour of a cuter "spongebob" (as I've seen it be called) design. At this point, if someone had black hair, a orange long sleeve with a yellow Pac-Man t-shirt over it, and blue jeans, that is Gabriel. He is THE gamer at Penny Arcade. I cannot talk about Gabe without mentioning that he is Mike Krauhlik's self insert, despite the two not looking anything alike. Yet, Gabe is an obvious overexaggeration, as most comedic self-inserts are.
Tycho Brahe
The breakout star of Penny Arcade, though his fame is relegated to "that gross pervert redditor from Poker Night at The Inventory". Still, he is by far the fan favourite. Blue striped shirt and khakis, what more would you ask for his outfit to be? He's the sarcastic one, that's there to act as Gabe's almost nihilistic shadow. Even that's a little of an overexaggeration. He likes the occult, D&D, and general book-nerdy things. He's Jerry Holkins' self-insert and famously looks nothing like the guy. Nothing! Maybe in the early days you could kind of see the resemblance, but the two are so far removed and have been for decades.
Other characters
Kara Gabriel and Brenna Brahe are the respective wives of Gabe and Tycho. Anne-Claire is (or was since she no longer appears in the comic) Tycho's niece, who is also into gaming and nerd culture. Charles (formerly Chuck, but had a personality change dude to some head trauma) is their Apple fanboy neighbour. Div is their DivX (for the less tech inclinded, this was an ancient failed relic that would play media files (audio & video) in higher quality than DVD) who is most know for his drinking and the verbal abuses he throws at the boys. There are many more characters, of course, but these are the main reoccurring ones.
Thoughts
Out of all the comics I've read, Penny Arcade has changed the most. Not in it's base subject matter, but in it's art and writing. And you know, that's pretty normal given how long it's been going and how much it's creators have changed as people. Even with all it's flaws, you can admit that it's nice to see personal growth reflect so clearly in a work. The webcomic boom of the early 00s and the subsequent popping of the bubble can be blamed (at least partly) on Penny Arcade. Modern webcomics would not exist to the same degree without it. It is also the most influential to me (Adrian), personally, and is what really kickstarted me taking art more seriously when I was 15. Something about the characters made me want to draw them over and over, and write various stories (of varying degrees of quality) about them. I can confirm that this inspiration struck not only me. Take a look anywhere and you will find someone who was influenced by it to create something.