The Replay-Value Blog

Pit of Fire - Part 5

Happy Halloween everyone!

I fuckin' love that whale. And to think he was an accident at the end of drawing yesterday's comic.

posted by Garrett @ 3:41 AM Comments: 0

Pit of Fire - Part 4

It's not that I didn't want to draw the third panel, it's that I thought a text description would be funnier.

This is also the largest comic I've ever made. 10 by 12 inches. If I ever print Replay Value books, this one's gonna cause some problems...

posted by Garrett @ 4:42 AM Comments: 0

Pit of Fire - Parts 2 & 3

So... fuckin'... tired...

Three... parties...

BlogSpot was down for a while yesterday and I couldn't update the "Watch this space" post until late in the afternoon. While I was trying to update here, though, I added an... interesting blog to the Replay Value Myspace Page.

UPDATE: BlogSpot has become a nasty bitch during the wee hours of the night. Twice in a row now I've been thwarted when trying to update the site between 2 and 5 AM. Hopefully this will sort itself out sooner rather than later.

Also, I know Garrett isn't wearing his glasses in Part 3. This is because it's very dark out and he/I mainly wear[s] them during the day.

posted by Garrett @ 4:22 AM Comments: 0

Pit of Fire - Part 1

In the last week my roommates and I have had three bonfires. I used to have them all the time with my old roommates who live in Berkeley now, but never in such rapid succession as these recent fires have been. I've wanted to incorporate these bonfires into the comic somehow since last Saturday, but today at work... well, I'll let this arc tell its own story. I have no idea how this story will end as Daniel, Matt and myself have yet to leave on this trek. So throughout the weekend I'll be updating new comics to chronicle our adventure.

That's right, I'm going all out and giving you guys Replay Value every fucking day of this week.

I'll also try to make my shitty updates to the MySpace page on Sunday too, but I have not one but two parties to make appearances at, so coupling that with the PoF arc AND a MySpace update... I'm not gonna make any promises. If anything, Sunday's comic will be in color because it's Sunday and I'm old school like that.

It's been a hell of a week so far. I really like updating every day... it gives me something to do, I have more opportunities to tell more stories, and it's fun. We'll see how things go, this might become permanent.

posted by Garrett @ 3:44 AM Comments: 0

036 - Tastes Like Happy

It's not bacon. They're Morning Star bacon strips and they actually taste like shit. I don't know how they got "bacon" out of "salt and paper" but I'd advise anyone who's buy-vegan-curious to stay away from these. Their sausage patties are the bomb-diggety but these bacon strips suck some ass.

posted by Garrett @ 12:26 PM Comments: 0

035 - Euphemisms - 02

Sigh...

Panel 3 had many, many variations. Lions, tigers, a rhino, at one point it was a giant boa eating Garrett. Thought I'd just stick with a good old lion though. Rawr!

New LOST tonight! New South Park! I'm almost all caught up with Battlestar Galactica! Woo!

posted by Garrett @ 4:11 AM Comments: 0

034 - Euphemisms - 01

This isn't an arc, per-se, just an idea I had for some comics that are strung together not just by a story but also their heavy reliance on visual gags. As it is now this story is only set to run for two comics, so don't worry - it'll be about a week and a half before I embark on something like "Welcome to Hell" again.

Which reminds me. Progress on the actual Replay Value website is going well. The only reason it would miss the November 1st launch date would be because of server issues. As it stands now a friend of mine hired me to make some logos for his new venture, and in return he's building my web page and has offered me space as well. However the guy who owns the server is fortifying it or something at the moment so it may not be ready by November 1st.

Also, I got some mothafuckin' fan art, yo!



Thanks Andrew!

posted by Garrett @ 4:26 AM Comments: 0

033 - Touched By Jesus

There's really not much more I can add to that. The effect is akin to wearing 3D glasses and having things pop out at you, only EVERYTHING is popping out at me in sharp 3D magic.

The length of this strip is purely based on how tired I am. I'm going to actually update every day this week because so many things have happened that need to be made into comics.

posted by Garrett @ 4:43 AM Comments: 0

It's Sunday! And that means...

It means that the Replay Value MySpace Page has been updated again. New "photos" have been added. More will come throughout the week... the three there now are a bit boring so I'm going to spice things up.

posted by Garrett @ 4:35 AM Comments: 0

032 - He's Tracing his Memory

Only things I have to say about this are:

1) Daniel is playing Trace Memory on his DS lite. There was no way to get this accross in the comic (Hence it's in the title) but it will be imporant later on.

2) The cookies are, infact, delicious.

Now is time for sleeping.

posted by Garrett @ 5:46 AM Comments: 0

031 - Vote Jackson/Kreyer in 2008!

I had an enormous ammount of fun making this comic. It's based entirely in reality (Daniel and I had a conversation about making smiles count as money shortly before he began eating some poorly prepared scrambled eggs) and it also has a shitload of teaser fodder in the first and last panels.

Also this comic shows what Garrett's new hair is supposed to look like. I need to go back and redraw #030 - that's how I used to draw my shaggy hair circa 2003. I gotta get with the times!

posted by Garrett @ 3:55 AM Comments: 0

030 - It Must Be Fall

I've had this idea for a really long time, but now that I a) finally have Replay Value going and b) it's the fall, I can do it. Plus my actual "winter coat" has grown in so of course I've gotta translate it into the comics. I've always thought it's be a neat running gag for, every fall, Garrett's hair to randomly change styles. Someday it may even save his life.

:O

I added a piece of concept art to the Replay Value Myspace Page yesterday. Throughout the week I'm going to be adding new "photos" and more concept art. I'm not sure yet how epic I want the Jammie Ninja story to be so I'm just trying out different styles and character designs.

And to clear up any confusion, the RPV Myspace is meant to be updated by the Garrett from the comics (meaning Jammie Ninja is his comic, not mine)... which will lead to some fun in the future. The Replay Value Universe is an awesome mess, just you wait and see.

posted by Garrett @ 3:41 AM Comments: 0

029 - Too Much Good Stuff

The second panel here is a work-in-progress. Not that I'm going to change it, but more of, the style of Replay Value is meant to change dramatically when video games are depicted. I don't know if I'm going to always do it with vector art or what, which is why it's a WIP. I've got until a week after the November Launch to figure it out though, so expect to see quite a few game-related comics between now and then.

In the last month I've bought and enjoyed more games on my DS then I have in the two-plus years I've owned it. Daniel, in about a week and a half's time, has almost as many DS games as I've collected since 2004. The DS is now my most-played system. I don't think of it as a handheld, it's just too good. I've owned every GameBoy since the Brick from the 80s and the DS is THE most entertaining version ever. Sure the GB and GBA had some really ace games, but the DS is just in another league. It's the Super Nintendo of handhelds. Like a second Golden Age of gaming.

Polarium. It came out with the DS but I could never bring myself to pay full price for it. Well, I finally found a used copy for $10 so I bit the bullet and got it. It.. is really fucking hard. Like, really hard. There are apparently 100+ puzzles in the Single-Player challenge setting and I'm stuck on #17. Fuck Polarium.

I'm in World 6 of March of the Minis now. This game just keeps getting better and better.

posted by Garrett @ 5:26 AM Comments: 0

028 - Wu Tang Style

I jumped the gun, so to speak. Oops.

I've been watching Battlestar Galactica for the last week. Bryce and Daniel have been on my case since July, if not before then, to watch it. I just completed Season 2.0 tonight. I have... mixed feelings. It doesn't grasp me and force me to watch it like LOST and The 4400 do, but it's still a well-written, interesting show. It has me kinda on the fence, because on one hand, I don't really care if I see the rest of it. However, on the other hand I'm always shouting, "OH FUCK THAT STUPID PRESIDENT! THAT NEW COMMANDER CHICK IS AN ASSHOLE!"

I don't know why but I just can't get into space dramas. I hate Star Wars, have never watched Star Trek, Battlestar gets an OK from me, Farscape only wins because of the hot blue chick and the cartoon episode, and Firefly I'm watching only as a trade to get Jessica to watch LOST. It does have a catchy theme song though.

Not nearly as catchy as the Replay Value Animated Series theme, but it'll be a while yet before any of you get to hear that. Tee hee!

posted by Garrett @ 3:00 AM Comments: 0

027 - I've Got A Fan!

Hope you like it, Pamatmat Clan! I don't know how you managed to find my comic but I'm thrilled that you did and that you're enjoying it.

posted by Garrett @ 4:41 AM Comments: 1

Don't forget!

Every Sunday. Like clockwork.

Click here and check it out.

posted by Garrett @ 4:46 AM Comments: 0

Welcome to Hell - Part 10 - Conclusion // 026 - Daniel's Newer Friend

Well, there you have it folks! The end of my huge-ass arc. Which also happens to be Replay Value #25! Yay! I'm really sorry that it was so late.

Also, yes, I did mean to leave Beth out of the wrap-up. She'll get her own arc later on.

And now, today's comic:



Daniel finally caved in and bought a DS lite the other day. I've been playing Trace Memory on mine alot recently and seeing my enjoyment, he became needy of his own dual-screened fun machine. With his DS he got Mario Kart DS, NEW! Super Mario Bros, and Trace Memory. He loves it oh so much.

To best him, though, I went out and bought Mario VS Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis... holy SHIT this game is excellent. It's really nothing like the first one, gameplay-wise, (it's much more like a very hands-on Lemmings) but it is so much fun, and getting top rank on each level is such an insane challenge. It also has a level-building mode, but to unlock all the different parts you need to get a Gold Star rank on each of the 9 levels, plus the boss levels, in the 8 worlds. This makes the replay value shoot through the roof. The game actually encourages you to play through each level slowly to get a feel for it, and then come back to find the quickest, most efficient way out to earn that fuckin' Gold Star.
My ONLY qualm with this game is how you share the levels you've built with other people. Nintendo's Friend Codes for their WiFi Connection is a pain in the ass. But seeing as that's just an extra bonus and not part of the main game, I score it...
Mario VS Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis: 10/10
Oh shit, my first game review.

Now, ofcourse, I'm going to talk about the Season 3 Premire of LOST. I got to watch it yesterday after work, and... I'm hooked all over again. The opening scene had me saying, "Wait, what..what...What the FUCK?" and the ending scene with Jack actually made me cry. It was intense. (I got choked up in the first season when Jack was saying his wedding vows, but this actually got the tears flowing. I'm man enough to admit it!)
I'm so glad I changed my work schedule to have Wednesdays off.

posted by Garrett @ 5:00 PM Comments: 0

Welcome to Hell - Part 9 - Epilogue Three

I'm starting to regret making a MySpace page now. I've tried to log in several times to actually write the blog that goes with this comic and I keep getting the "Sorry! Something is wrong with MySpace, lol!" message. Hrmph.

posted by Garrett @ 3:13 PM Comments: 0

Replay Value is on MySpace! Whore-ay!

Click Here for Replay Value on MySpace!

As the launch of the official Replay Value website draws near, this MySpace page will become more and more fleshed out, and it will eventually run along-side the comic. You can already see several refrences and hints on it.

Today's comic will also be late because I stupidly made this page instead of drawing it.

Also, so glad that Welcome to Hell will be over on Wednesday. I love the arc to death and it'll have huge ramifications on the series in the coming months, but LOST premires on Wednesday night and I'll undoubtedly want to make a comic about it for Friday.

Because of something that happened at work today I'm going to start updating on Sundays too. Most likely they'll be special MySpace-only updates. Sunday October 8th is the first on these side-stories. Be sure to check it out!

SO if you have MySpace and you're a fan, add me! I just found out that I DO have atleast ONE fan out there that's not one of my real-world friends. Hello to The PAMATMAT Clan! Glad you're liking the comic! Check back next Monday (Oct 9th) for something I'm sure you'll enjoy.

posted by Garrett @ 2:46 AM Comments: 0